Response at last!
Here's the response from the HNS team of editors to HN's original post.
The HNR editors recently discussed this issue on our internal e-mail list. As a group, we feel that such a definition for historical fiction is very narrow and, frankly, a bit bizarre. There are many examples of current historical novels that contradict these comments; just see many of the books reviewed in this May issue of the HNS REview! As one of our editors pointed out, “The joy of historical fiction is that its scope is wide.”
Rather, we suggest you read the agent’s rejection as a statement of the types of historical fiction he’s able to sell. Commercial historical fiction that appeals primarily to women (which is the same as, in some agents’ opinions, that with a romantic angle) is very popular in the US.
We’ve also seen some American agents mention that historical fiction should be strongly anchored to a well-known historical period.
The comments you received reflect these trends. However, all agents are going to have different tastes, and this is far from the only opinion out there.
In choosing agents to approach, you may wish to concentrate on those who have represented novels more similar to the type you’re writing.
— the eds.