HF’s major purpose

Historical fiction has the added challenge of

bringing the past to life.
Purposes of
historical
fiction

Offers “analysis of recognizable human

character”
Purposes of
historical
fiction

Develops “awareness that the events of history

have an impact on the contemporary”
Purposes of
historical
fiction
Allows us “to think about social change.”
Purposes of
historical
fiction
Educates readers about the past
Purposes of
historical
fiction
It allows us to explore the ways “nations, and
therefore national identity, are constructed.”
Purposes of
historical
fiction
Allows us to “understand the extremes of
human behavior.”
Purposes of
historical
fiction

Helps us retain the past.

Elements of
historical fiction
Characters
Your mission as
writer is to reveal the
people of the past.

Whether real or
imagined, characters
behave in keeping
with the era they live
in.
Dialogue

Dip into the vocabulary

and grammatical
structures of the past.

Use select words and

phrases so that a reader
knows s/he is in another
time period.
Setting

Setting is time and

place.

You need to transport

your readers into the
past in the first few
paragraphs.
Theme

Most themes transcend history.

Ambition, madness, loyalty,

deception, revenge, all is not
what it appears to be, love,
temptation, guilt, power,
fate/destiny, heroism, hope,
coming of age, death, loss,
friendship, patriotism.
Plot

The plot has to make sense for the time period.

Plot will often be shaped around or by the

historical events taking place at that time.
Conflict

The problems faced by the characters in your

story.

As with theme and plot, conflict must be

realistic for the chosen time and place.
World Building

You are building a world for your readers, hence

the customs, social arrangements, family
environment, governments, religious structures,
international alliances, military actions, physical
geography, layouts of towns and cities, and
politics of the time are relevant.