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Historical Fiction

The best way to learn history is not always in a textbook. (That's probably the worst way, really, but more on that elsewhere.) While learning history through novels can be taken too far (it is fiction after all), there's much to be said for getting a feel for the Civil War through books like The Red Badge of Courage or Across Five Aprils, or learning about the deep rifts between Saxons and Normans in Medieval England through Scott's Ivanhoe.

A well-researched historical novel imparts something no list of names and dates can—a picture of life among a particular people at a particular time, the way they thought, the way they ate, who they admired, how they traveled. Sometimes readers are introduced to real historical figures and events from an intimate perspective, not the stale cardboard presentations common in schools.

There's plenty of nonsense available, of course, and just because the cover says a book takes place in Renaissance Italy or ancient Egypt doesn't mean it's a good book, or even that it's historical fiction in the true sense. A writer who simply transposes stories on different time periods isn't really saying anything about that time period, they're just trying to inflate sales with an appeal to the exotic and unfamiliar.

Such bogus historical fiction is really just fantasy. The good stuff is real and bright and dusty and loud, just like an old Roman city or a battle between Roundheads and Cavaliers. It reflects the religious sentiments of the characters as they would have been, such as in Lilli Thal's brilliant Medieval epic Mimus. It shows how one small action can lead to many much larger events, as happens frequently in C.S. Forester's Hornblower series.

Whether you're into the technical descriptions of battles found in Henty's boy-versus-the-world stories, or prefer the romance of The Scarlet Pimpernel, or like to break your heart over and over with books like Amos Fortune, Free Man, historical fiction is above all fiction of the present—not to be kept in the annals of the past, it shows us that the people of long ago (or not so long ago) are not so different than the people of today.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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46 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Renaissance & Reformation, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Arthur Erskine's Story
Reformation Trail Series #14
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$25.95
Betrayal
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
By England's Aid
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Pike and Dyke
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Pike and Dyke
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
By Pike and Dyke
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Pike and Dyke - Unit Study Guide
by Rick Medlin
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
By Right of Conquest
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Right of Conquest
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
By Right of Conquest
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Caxton's Challenge
First American Edition from World Publishing Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.95
Crushed Yet Conquering
Reformation Trail Series #02
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
Dark Year of Dundee
Reformation Trail Series #06
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$10.95
Drawbridge Gate
by Cynthia Harnett
First American Edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Fair Margaret
by H. Rider Haggard
from Great Light Publications
for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Faithful, But Not Famous
Emma Leslie Church History Series
by Emma Leslie
from Salem Ridge Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Glimpses of Truth
Book of Books #1
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hubert Ellerdale
Reformation Trail Series #01
by W. Oak Rhind
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$12.95
Kenilworth
Penguin Classics
by Sir Walter Scott
from Penguin Classics
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Lady of Blossholme
by H. Rider Haggard
Centennial Edition from Great Light Publications
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Prince and Heretic
Prince of Orange Nassau Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Prince and the Pauper
Signet Classics
by Mark Twain
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain, illustrated by William Hatherell
from World Publishing Company
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spanish Brothers
Reformation Trail Series #10
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$14.95
Spanish Brothers
by Deborah Alcock
from Lamplighter Publishing
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Lamplighter Rare Collector Series (Location: FIC-WH04)
St. Bartholomew's Eve
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
St. Bartholomew's Eve
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$20.00
St. Bartholomew's Eve
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Tales of a Scottish Grandfather Series
by Sir Walter Scott
from Cumberland House
Historical Non-Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
The Revolt
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
The Thunder
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Three Men Came to Heidelberg
by Thea Van Halsema
from IDEA Ministries
Biography for 7th-9th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$7.95
Tod of the Fens
by Elinor Whitney Field, Illustrated by Warwick Goble
from CreateSpace
for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.50
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
1965 Printing from Macmillan
for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Under the Inquisition
Reformation Trail Series #11
by Elizabeth H. Walshe
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$15.95
Westward Ho!
by Charles Kingsley
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Westward Ho!
by Charles Kingsley
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Westward Ho!
by Charles Kingsley
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Westward Ho! (abridged)
by Charles Kingsley, abridged by Elizabeth C. Moore and illustrated by Henry Pitz
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
William, by the Grace of God
Prince of Orange Nassau Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
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