Napoleon Bonaparte once asked, "What is history but a fable agreed upon?"
Writers of historical fiction may agree or disagree, but they have
helped record the lives of many who
escaped history books.
Through countless hours of research, interviews, reading and listening,
these writers reconstruct the past. Their characters take time
shuttles back 3 to 3,000 years. What results is a rich and unified
picture of how lives may have been years ago.
If you're not already a member of The Historical Novel Society, study up on historical fiction at the following sites:
Soon's Historical Fiction Site
A dream for researchers, fanatics and beginners. This comprehensive
site offers links to hundreds of useful sites. Find new and
current titles, articles, young adult resources, searchable sites, online
texts and more. Be sure to check out the
author database,
where you
can search by author's last name for biographies, online texts, related
links, newsletters and more. You can even email some authors
directly.
Historical Fiction Reviews
Reviews for hundreds of historical fiction novels are listed by author's last name.
Explore experts on historical fiction by time period:
Ancient Greece and Rome
Robert Graves
This author of "I, Claudius" and "Claudius the God" (1934) won world
popularity with the 2-volume fictional biographies of first century Rome.
Mary Renault
Author of "The King Must Die" and "The Mask of Apollo," Renault reconstructs
ancient Greece in several novels.
American Revolution
Howard Fast
Most famous for ""April Morning" and "The Last Frontier," Fast has been
writing for more than 67 years.
Moving West
Willa Cather
This author of "O, Pioneers" and "My Antonia" often used the frontier as a
setting for her work.
Zane Grey
He created the myth of the West in a prolific 57 novels, 10 non-fiction
books and 130 movies.
Civil War
Harry Turtledove
"How Few Remain" still rings in the heart of this war writer.
World War I
William Faulkner
The Nobel prize-winning author of "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay
Dying" is honored here.
James Carroll
Read a short biography of the writer of "An American
Requiem."
The Great Depression
John Steinbeck
Your best bet for primary and secondary texts on this literary great. There are plenty of links to other sites about Steinbeck, too.
World War II
Joseph Heller
Learn more about the author of "Catch-22."
Norman Mailer
The New York State Writer's Institute pays homage to the man who penned "The
Naked and The Dead."