It seems as readers we have a fascination with the past that encourages today’s writers to continue bringing us fresh ideas from the past (that sounds funny, doesn’t it?) For several millenia, the world has been taking notes, creating a tangible record for us to look back on and see where we all came from. And for nearly as long, works of fiction have been created and are still enjoyed to this day. When we hear the term “Historical Fiction“, it can mean different things to readers. Whether we’re talking about works by Sophocles or Sarah MacLean, they all fit into this huge genre, with many subcategories that cover all manner of romance, wars, and moral lessons, to name just a few elements.

I’m sure as Aristotle, Sophocles, and others of that ilk were sitting down writing their works on moral treatise that they never imagined they would be read thousands of years later. And technically, they wouldn’t have been considered historical at that time, but looking back on the way people interacted and related gives us a great perspective from the modern point of view and in my opinion qualifies these works into this category.

Interestingly, I usually begin my research with a visit to Wiki for a starting point on the genre posts, but for whatever reason it seemed to fall short on the subgenres that I think should be included here, so I’ll start off with their listings, then add a few that I think were heinously missed.

Prehistoric fiction, according to Wiki, would involve a time before words were put to print. I find this a grey area because even if paper had not yet been invented, many a cave man set his rocks or other impliments to cave walls and left a record of his time on earth. I think a better definition here would include dinosaurs, cave men, etc. as the topic of the books (I’m splitting hairs here, I know, but they need more info for this one.) The only title that comes to mind, for me, is The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel.

Historical Whodunnits obviously involves mystery but would encompass the entirety of time as we know it. Listed here as an example is Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, a fantastic tale of monks and murder in the year 1327. This is a book that I’m proud to say sits on my bookshelf (though I shamefully admit to having never read it…I’ve seen the movie though 🙂

Holocaust Novels takes place in a time not that distant in our past. These books are filled with the pain, grief, and, at times, heroic survival that marks a very dark time. The Diary of Anne Frank being one of the most recognized tales about the Holocaust and its victims, is the epitomye of the subgenre. Other examples include Schindler’s List by Thomas Kenneally and, a more recent offering, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, which is a young adult tale featuring the perspective of a 15 year-old girl from Lithuania.

Plantation Fiction immediately brings forth images of Rhett and Scarlett in Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. The main idea behind the Plantation novel would be that it occurs pre-Civil War in America…and most likely takes place on a plantation. Having said this, it would also need to occur in the southern States, where the plantation lifestyle was abundant during this time.

In the same line as Plantation themed books (and the ones I referred to as being left out on Wiki), I think there are a few other significant themes that need mentioning here. Pioneer fiction is a popular (or was at one time) topic throughout North America. Again, relative to the length of historical writings, the creation of America and Canada is still “new” in the broad sense. Tales of settling in the wild, untamed territories brings about the idea of struggle and success, comboys and Indians, and so on. Little House on the Priarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder was hugely popular in this genre, though you could also example many “western” themed novels here. A more recent release that still features pioneer living is Jennifer L. Holm’s The Trouble with Amelia May. Sadly, I cannot think of any more mature titles as examples (pioneer fiction does not appeal to me…)

And I think this next topic is one that deserves major attention: Slave Literature. Though naturely, being from North America, I think again of the southern United States as the source of this type of story. But within Canada, being the end of the Underground Railroad and all, I’m sure we have our fair share of these narratives ourselves. All too often, it seems people want to forget about this but, thankfully, historic reimaginations and retellings won’t allow this topic to be swept under the rug. Some examples here are Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, told curiously from an Irish orphan’s point of view but highlighting the horror of the treatment of slaves. Personally, I think this category could also be expanded to included any number of situations world wide, where opression, inequalities, and human mistreatments are the main ideas discussed.

Lastly, we come to a personal favourite: the Historical Romance. This has been a popular category for centuries; if you think back to the Greek myths, love is a huge focus. Around here, we seem to have some big fans of the Regency Romance, which narrowly takes place in the years between 1811 and 1820, as well as other historical time frames. Again, I think is where there should be more subcategories with the Historic Romance ideal, like Highlander Romances, which has received enthusiatic responses here at BLI. But love hasn’t been and shouldn’t be contained to these meager times. Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay contained a heartbreaking love story that occurred around the 7th century in China. Some examples here would include Sinful by Charlotte Featherstone, Sarah MacLean’s Love by Numbers series, including the newest, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke’s Heart, among many, many others.

History, well, there’s lots of it, which is fuel for an imaginative author’s writing and it is something so many of us enjoy reading about. I leave you with two questions in regards to Historical Fiction: Are there any other popular themed novels that deserve their own subgenre? and Can you think of any other examples for the above categories? 

About Jackie

Jackie is a quirky mom, living in Ontario, Canada. She's a bookkeeper by day and a book lover by night. She also blogs at The Novel Nation and writes occasionally for Heroes and Heartbreakers.

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