History in a Bind: Historical Fiction Reader's Advisory

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What is Historical Fiction?

Historical fiction is "a form of fictional narrative which reconstructs history and re-creates it imaginatively" (The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory). The creator of such works does extensive research on his or her chosen historical time period. Historical time periods featured on this site are defined below.

Time Periods

Pre-historic: Relating to events before recorded history. (Webster's College Dictionary). See: Jean Auel.
Ancient History: Relates to the time period of 0 B.C. to 476 C.E. This usually refers to Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. (Webster's College Dictionary). See: Colleen McCullough and Conn Iggulden.
The Middle Ages: Focuses on the period between 1100 C.E. and extends to 1500 C.E. (Webster's College Dictionary). See: Conn Iggulden.
Renaissance: Refers to the 14th through the 17th centuries. Usually associated with Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, art, and learning. (Webster's College Dictionary). See: Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir.
18th Century: Novels in this category relate to historical events that took place during the years 1700-1799. See: Philippa Gregory, Kenneth Roberts, and Jeff Shaara.
The American Revolutionary War: The American Revolutionary War took place between 1775-1783. The novels in this section take place during this time span and specifically relate to events that took place during this war. See: Kenneth Roberts and Jeff Shaara.
19th Century: Novels in this category relate to historical events that took place during the years 1800-1899. See: E.L. Doctorow, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Patrick O'Brian, Jeff Shaara, and Leon Uris
The Civil War: The Civil War took place between 1861-1865. The novels in this section take place during this time span and specifically relate to events that took place during this war. See: E.L. Doctorow and Jeff Shaara.
20th Century: Novels in this category relate to historical events that took place during the years 1900-1999. See: E.L. Doctorow, Cormac McCarthy, Toni Morrison, Michael Ondaatje, and Leon Uris.
World War I: World War I took place between 1914-1918. The novels in this section take place during this time span and specifically relate to events that took place during this war. See: Louis de Bernieres, Cormac McCarthy, and Jeff Shaara.
World War II: The Civil War took place between 1939-1945. The novels in this section take place during this time span and specifically relate to events that took place during this war. See: Louis de Bernieres, Michael Ondaatje, Jeff Shaara, and Leon Uris.