What do you consider "historical fiction"?

Comments/suggestions please before I devote the new few years...

Apologies for lengthy post.

For several years I've been considering writing this story. I almost at the stage of committing to it. (I've gained some significant help from this thread.)

Brief background to the story:
1. Locations: Ireland; United Kingdom; New South Wales; Norfolk Island; Tasmania
2. Period: 1770 - 1940-ish

My writing style:
3. I prefer to write character-based stories. While my chosen characters will have lived through historically significant times, they may not have been actual participants. I plan to maintain the historical accuracy of events that are important to my characters.

Historical basis for my story:
My family tree contains 9 convicts transported to NSW from 1790 to 1860. I plan to base my plots around several of these individuals, with appropriate descendants added to cover the period perhaps to 1940.

As I implied in the Title to this thread, this story will take much time. It might well run to more than 1 volume. I write mostly for my enjoyment and to keep Alzheimer's at bay., so while publication is always in mind, it's not my main motivation.

From what I've read in this thread, I believe my story might be considered literary historical fiction (important for considering publishers / agents. If I go down this style, I reckon I'm going to need to be more disciplined that normal. Any comments or suggestions will help me with some decisions.

Fiction.

Set in a real time and usually in a real place.

In a time period the author did not experience.

Raventongue said:

Fiction.

Set in a real time and usually in a real place.

In a time period the author did not experience.

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Then the '80's would count for me?

Heh. Possibly.

Thanks all. I've much thinking and planning to do before I start. If I start.

Biographical fiction

I was interested to read in this thread the views about biographical fiction. The manuscript I have just finished could be perfectly defined as just that. My characters all actually lived, and the now historical events they existed in really took place. The main character is the biographical focus and the story plays out around his true life. I have researched the hell out of him, but lacking any of his personal papers have fictionalized his words.. Most of the story is true, only the dialogue and feelings I have attributed to the characters is fiction.

bulldoggerel said:

My characters all actually lived, and the now historical events they existed in really took place. The main character is the biographical focus and the story plays out around his true life. I have researched the hell out of him, but lacking any of his personal papers have fictionalized his words.. Most of the story is true, only the dialogue and feelings I have attributed to the characters is fiction.

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Your situation closely follows mine. I'm thinking of enhancing the stories by including historically accurate/plausible incidents in which my characters may or may not have participated.

Sentosa said:

Your situation closely follows mine. I'm thinking of enhancing the stories by including historically accurate/plausible incidents in which my characters may or may not have participated.

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Yeah, that's about the size of it. For instance, a major event occured in the city where my main character lived. In fact, it happened right near his home. Did he witness it? Who knows? Did he know about it? Certainly. As its effects can explain many actions he took later in life, I am choosing to write the story as though he witnessed the event.

bulldoggerel said:

I am choosing to write the story as though he witnessed the event.

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Who's going to argue?

Sentosa said:

Who's going to argue?

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Ha! In my case the event was pretty ugly and the city where it took place would like to do their best to bury it. I had to do my research on it at the state archives. Information at the library in the city itself was "mysteriously" scanty. A few local historians might howl, mostly in embarrassment.

bulldoggerel said:

Ha! In my case the event was pretty ugly and the city where it took place would like to do their best to bury it. I had to do my research on it at the state archives. Information at the library in the city itself was "mysteriously" scanty. A few local historians might howl, mostly in embarrassment.

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Sounds likr you have another story in what you've said here.

Sentosa said:

Sounds likr you have another story in what you've said here.

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This is true. I'm going to try and right a few wrongs by telling the tale. Anyhow your novel of the generations of family descended from convicts sounds pretty fascinating. I am quite interested in genealogy. Do you have letters and diaries to go on? That would be pretty fabulous, even if they were letters from later generations telling about former generations. It will be ambitious undertaking. Lots of work. But, if you have the time and the inclination. I'd read it, but it seems books are getting shorter and shorter these days along with attention spans.
The convicts as ggggggrandparents ins a common ancestry in
your country, is it not? Perhaps there would be a number of readers who would identify.

bulldoggerel said:

This is true. I'm going to try and right a few wrongs by telling the tale. Anyhow your novel of the generations of family descended from convicts sounds pretty fascinating. I am quite interested in genealogy. Do you have letters and diaries to go on? That would be pretty fabulous, even if they were letters from later generations telling about former generations. It will be ambitious undertaking. Lots of work. But, if you have the time and the inclination. I'd read it, but it seems books are getting shorter and shorter these days along with attention spans.
The convicts as ggggggrandparents ins a common ancestry in
your country, is it not? Perhaps there would be a number of readers who would identify.

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I spent years researching and writing a family history which pre-dates my story, so I have lots about social and political settings. I personally knew some ancestors who were born in the 1800s, so that might be some help. The rest will be fiction.

I've just completed one novel, and have 2 others under way. The idea based on family history, is a new concept.

When I start, I have a possible length in mind, but with my writing style I always exceed that because I like to get everything down. When I finish, I go back and cut anything that fails to contribute. For example, the story just completed panned out at just over 100K. It's now 91K, so I tend to overwrite. Strange thing is that some of what I cut are pieces I liked best, but in reality they were padding that did little or nothing to character development, so out they went.

Sentosa said:

I spent years researching and writing a family history which pre-dates my story, so I have lots about social and political settings. I personally knew some ancestors who were born in the 1800s, so that might be some help. The rest will be fiction.

I've just completed one novel, and have 2 others under way. The idea based on family history, is a new concept.

When I start, I have a possible length in mind, but with my writing style I always exceed that because I like to get everything down. When I finish, I go back and cut anything that fails to contribute. For example, the story just completed panned out at just over 100K. It's now 91K, so I tend to overwrite. Strange thing is that some of what I cut are pieces I liked best, but in reality they were padding that did little or nothing to character development, so out they went.

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Oh how I hear ya. The one I just finished weighed in at 150,000 words. People who read my stuff seem to like it, but in order to please agents etc, I now know I just have to finish and go back and cut out everything I DO like. Then the publishing community thinks its perfect, and my pre-readers lament "Oh you left out my favorite part."

I think it's any fiction set in the non-contemporary past that doesn't change past events.

Inserting your own quasi-government agency into the Cuban Missile Crisis = Alternate History.

Napoleonic Wars with Dragons = Historical Fantasy.

Time Travel = Historical Science Fiction

Captain John Smith at the Battle of Waterloo where events otherwise happen as they actually did = Historical Fiction

Great thread, was looking for this very answer. Am writing a novel set during the early Depression and wasn't sure if I should (eventually) look for an agent who specializes in historical fiction or something else.

I had read in several places that historical fiction could be defined as more than just "being in the past." It's having a historical backdrop, but also having it be a major part of the story. I was trying to figure out what genre exactly my new book would fall under recently, and I thought either fantasy or historical fiction (or both). Not to bore you with all the details, but it takes place in ancient China (about 2200 years ago) and has actual events that occurred back then (at least, as far as we know) including locations and major players (i.e. - the First Emperor of China, his Prime Minister, etc.) and I then weave in my twist to it all (some characters have the ability to harness elemental powers, such as Air, Fire, Earth, etc.).

TroyJackson said:

but it takes place in ancient China (about 2200 years ago) and has actual events that occurred back then (at least, as far as we know) including locations and major players (i.e. - the First Emperor of China, his Prime Minister, etc.) and I then weave in my twist to it all (some characters have the ability to harness elemental powers, such as Air, Fire, Earth, etc.).

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That sounds like Historical Fantasy to me, which I think is a subgenre of Historical Fiction?

Bookewyrme said:

That sounds like Historical Fantasy to me, which I think is a subgenre of Historical Fiction?

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Hadn't seen "Historical Fantasy" but that's probably the best description of my book. A mesh of Historical fiction and fantasy, with a good bit of supernatural sprinkled in.

What about novels set in the Vietnam War or the Bosnian War even? Wouldn't those novels be considered historical fiction?

gettingby said:

What about novels set in the Vietnam War or the Bosnian War even? Wouldn't those novels be considered historical fiction?

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I think that would depend. The Bosnian War probably would be considered contemporary--it's just too soon.

But the Vietnam War can be treated as historical fiction. I think it depends on tone (is the history front and center? does it have a nostalgic or reflective feel?), the approach (is it just about the war, or does it tell a story that leads into the present?), and so forth. The Vietnam War is kind of on the borderline.

Novels about the Bosnian War contemporary? Really? They are in the history section in at least some bookstores. I think if the real events are in the history books, the novels are historical fiction.

gettingby said:

Novels about the Bosnian War contemporary? Really? They are in the history section in at least some bookstores. I think if the real events are in the history books, the novels are historical fiction.

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I wrote up a post without reading yours carefully. I apologize and will fix that.

Yes, novels about the Bosnian War might be considered contemporary even though nonfiction books about the conflict are shelved with history. So are books about current events--because they are the events that, presumably, will be in tomorrow's history books.

Novels are a different beast. They're aren't necessarily categorized in the same way as nonfiction. The Bosnian conflict was only 20 years ago (even I remember it!). Culture and technology are largely the same now as then, with some tweaks. A large portion of the population remembers those events clearly. Compare that to the Vietnam War, which ended roughly 40 years ago. Sure, a large portion of the population remembers it, but there has been a great shift in culture and technology since then.

A novel about the Bosnian conflict isn't necessarily going to be contemporary, but it's more likely to be viewed that way than is a novel set in the 16th century. You're pushing the bounds with the 1990's.