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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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Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
Adam and His Kin
by Ruth Beechick
from Mott Media
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient History (Location: HISW-ANC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Against the World
by Henry Coray
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.46 $4.00 (1 in stock)
All Sail Set
by Armstrong Sperry
from David R. Godine
Nautical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Alone Yet Not Alone
by Tracy Leininger Craven
Mti from Zonderkidz
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Ambushed in Jaguar Swamp
Trailblazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Augustine Came to Kent
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Bachelor Girl
Rocky Ridge Years Book 8
by Roger Lea MacBride
First Edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beggars' Victory
Struggle for Freedom Series #3
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.01 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Beyond the Sacred Page
Book of Books #2
by Jack Cavanaugh
from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blackbird Girls
by Anne Blankman
from Puffin Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bold Journey
by Charles Bohner
from Houghton Mifflin
Non-fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$2.40 (2 in stock)
Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Hilda Van Stockum
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boy and the Samurai
by Erik Christian Haugaard
Reissue from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Breaking Stalin's Nose
by Eugene Yelchin
from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Bronze Bow
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1962 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Bull Run
by Paul Fleischman, David Frampton (Woodcuts)
2nd edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in American Civil War Era (1850-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $5.20 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.59 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Castle Diary
by Richard Platt
from Candlewick Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Caught in the Rebel Camp
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Chimney Sweep's Ransom
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
from University of Nebraska
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
from Great Waters Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.80 (1 in stock)
Curse of Carne's Hold
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Cyrus the Persian
by Sherman A. Nagel
from A. B. Publishing, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Defeat of the Ghost Riders
Trailblazer Books
by Dave Jackson, Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dispelling the Tyranny
Struggle for Freedom Series #2
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.01 $5.60 (2 in stock)
Dust of the Earth
by Donna L. Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Biographical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Early Thunder
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.79 $3.20 (2 in stock)
Escape
Huguenot Inheritance Series #1
by A. Van der Jagt
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$11.86 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Escape from the Slave Traders
TrailBlazer Books
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Father's Promise
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.89 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Flight of the Fugitives
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
For the Heart of Holland
Struggle for Freedom Series #4
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.01 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Forbidden Gates
by Denise J. Williamson
from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from American Home-School Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
by Jeanne Bendick
from Bethlehem Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.71 $7.60 (2 in stock)
Give Me Liberty
by L. M. Elliott
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
2nd edition from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (2 in stock)
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Hidden Jewel
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hittite Warrior
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Joanne Williamson
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.60 (4 in stock)
Hostage Lands
by Doug Bond
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.04 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Hue and Cry
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Huguenot Garden
by Douglas Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.40 (1 in stock)
If All the Swords in England
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
In Search of Honor
by Donna Hess
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.80 (1 in stock)
John Treegate's Musket
Treegate Series Book 1
by Leonard Wibberly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Journey to Topaz
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Heyday Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Kidnapped by River Rats
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
King's Arrow
Crown & Covenant Series #2
by Doug Bond & Matthew Bird
from P&R Publishing
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.44 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Kite Rider
by Geraldine McCaughrean
2019th edition from Oxford University
for 6th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Letter Writer
by Ann Rinaldi
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Listen for the Whippoorwill
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Little Town in the Ozarks
Rocky Ridge Years / Rose Years Book 5
by Roger Lea MacBride
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lost Year
by Katherine Marsh
from Roaring Brook Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Madeleine Takes Command
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Ethel Brill
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (3 in stock)
Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Mission to Cathay
by Madeleine Polland
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (3 in stock)
Moccasin Trail
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
Mooring Tree
by Gertrude Robinson
2020 GaTB from The Good and the Beautiful
for 4th-8th grade
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Morgan the Jersey Spy
Adventures in History Series
by James Otis
from A Beka Books
for 4th-8th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$8.08 (1 in stock)
Morning Star of the Reformation
by Andy Thomson
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Mr. Lincoln's Drummer
by G. Clifton Wisler
from Puffin Books
for 5th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.01 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Out on the Pampas
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Parcel of Patterns
by Jill Paton Walsh
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34 $4.40 (2 in stock)
Partisans
Shadow Series #4
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Patty Reed's Doll
by Rachel K. Laurgaard
from Tomato Enterprises
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.60 (3 in stock)
Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Quintus
by R. Weerstand
2nd edition from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.16 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Rainbow's Gold
by Vera Martin Lynch
from William W. Lynch
for 6th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.40 (1 in stock)
Ramsay Scallop
by Frances Temple
from HarperTrophy
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.60 (2 in stock)
Reb and the Redcoats
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Constance Savery
from Bethlehem Books
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Robert T. Reilly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Rescue at the Eleventh Hour
by W. H. G. Kingston
Revised from Grace & Truth Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$5.95 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Roman Mysteries Book II
by Caroline Lawrence
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Runaway's Revenge
Trailblazer Books
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Bethany House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Samurai's Tale
by Erik Christian Haugaard
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.80 (2 in stock)
Sarah Bishop
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Seaman
by Gail Karwoski & James Watling
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$8.49 $4.80 (2 in stock)
Search for a Secret
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Secret Mission
Huguenot Inheritance Series #2
by A. Van der Jagt
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$13.56 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare Stealer
Shakespeare Stealer #1
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Small War of Sergeant Donkey
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Maureen Daly
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Son of Charlemagne
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Barbara Willard
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.71 $7.20 (2 in stock)
Squalls Before War
by Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.00 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.14 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Swift Rivers
by Cornelia Meigs
from Bloomsbury Publishing
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1933 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
The Turning
by Gloria Whelan
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
The Wave
by Todd Strasser
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6ht-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Titus: Comrade of the Cross
Adventures in History Series
by Florence M. Kingsley
from A Beka Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in A Beka Book Report books (Location: REA-ABK)
$8.08 (1 in stock)
Trails to Poosey
by Olive R. Cook
from Misty Hill Press
Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Treasure Island
Usborne Illustrated Originals
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Fran Parreno
from Usborne
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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