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: 10th grade (Ages 15-16), Library Binding
At Aboukir and Acre
by G. A. Henty
from Preston Speed
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th Grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
At Aboukir and Acre
by G. A. Henty
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At Agincourt
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At Agincourt
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Beric the Briton
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Beric the Briton
by G. A. Henty
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Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
from John C. Winston
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in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Bonnie Prince Charlie
by G. A. Henty
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Bonnie Prince Charlie
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Both Sides the Border
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Both Sides the Border
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By England's Aid
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By Pike and Dyke
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By Right of Conquest
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By Right of Conquest
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By Sheer Pluck
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By Sheer Pluck
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Captain Bayley's Heir
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Captain Bayley's Heir
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Cat of Bubastes
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Cat of Bubastes
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Caxton's Challenge
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Cornet of Horse
by G. A. Henty
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Cornet of Horse
by G. A. Henty
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Dark Venture
by Audrey White Beyer, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
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$14.00 (1 in stock)
Dash for Khartoum
by G. A. Henty
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Dash for Khartoum
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Dragon and the Raven
by G. A. Henty
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Dragon and the Raven
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Facing Death
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For Name and Fame
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For the Temple
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For the Temple
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Friends Though Divided
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Friends Though Divided
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In Freedom's Cause
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In the Reign of Terror
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In the Reign of Terror
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Jacobite Exile
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Jacobite Exile
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Knight of the White Cross
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Knight of the White Cross
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Lion of St. Mark
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Lion of St. Mark
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Lion of the North
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March on London
by G. A. Henty
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March on London
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No Surrender!
by G. A. Henty
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No Surrender!
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One of the 28th
by G. A. Henty
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Orange and Green
by G. A. Henty
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Orange and Green
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Out on the Pampas
by G. A. Henty
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Out on the Pampas
by G. A. Henty
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Short Stories of G. A. Henty Volume One
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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St. Bartholomew's Eve
by G. A. Henty
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St. Bartholomew's Eve
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St. George for England
by G. A. Henty
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St. George for England
by G. A. Henty
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Through Russian Snows
by G. A. Henty
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Through Russian Snows
by G. A. Henty
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Tiger of Mysore
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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To Herat and Cabul
by G. A. Henty
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To Herat and Cabul
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Treasure of the Incas
by G. A. Henty
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Treasure of the Incas
by G. A. Henty
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True to the Old Flag
by G. A. Henty
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True to the Old Flag
by G. A. Henty
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Under Drake's Flag
by G. A. Henty
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Under Drake's Flag
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Under Wellington's Command
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Way of Eagles
by Clifford Lindsey Alderman
from Doubleday & Company
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
When London Burned
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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When London Burned
by G. A. Henty
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Winning His Spurs
by G. A. Henty
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Winning His Spurs
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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With Clive in India
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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With Clive in India
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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With Frederick the Great
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th Grade
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With Frederick the Great
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With Kitchener in the Soudan
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With Kitchener in the Soudan
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With Lee in Virginia
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With Lee in Virginia
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With Moore at Corunna
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With Moore at Corunna
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With the Allies to Pekin
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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With the Allies to Pekin
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With Wolfe in Canada
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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With Wolfe in Canada
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Won By the Sword
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Wulf the Saxon
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Wulf the Saxon
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Young Carthaginian
by G. A. Henty
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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Young Carthaginian
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Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
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