Historical fiction comes in many different forms. It can cross over with many other genres to form incredible sub-genres. In this blog post, I go through these sub-genres and provide examples of authors within these sub-genres.
If you need a recap of what historical fiction is, you can read my blog about it here.
Types of Historical Fiction
Fictional Biographies
While fictional biographies can centre on historical or contemporary figures, it is more common to select the former. These novels are based on fact but add fictional elements to create a compelling narrative. It might be that the events happened but are rearranged to tell a certain story.
Notable examples: Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Gothic Fiction
This subgenre draws influence from medieval architecture and is categorised by fear, the threat of supernatural events and the intrusion of the past upon the present. Gothic fiction is different from other paranormal fiction because its characters are haunted by the past rather than a ghost (although those do appear). This is why it is considered historical fiction.
Notable examples: Dracula by Bram Stoker, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
Historical Romances
These are love stories set in the past. We can break this subgenre down further into regency, western or medieval romances, for example.
Notable examples: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer, Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Bodice Rippers
Bodice rippers are a crossover between historical fiction and erotica. It is typically kept separate from historical romance fiction, so people who don’t want to read about sex can safely avoid these books.
Notable examples: The Silver Devil by Tessa Dare, The Pirates Love by Johanna Lindsey, Wicked Loving Lies by Rosemary Rogers
Family Sagas
Family sagas follow a single family or a number of families over a long period and perhaps several settings. There tends to be a common theme running throughout the book (or books) that ties all the families together.
Notable examples: The Welsh Princes Trilogy by Sharon Penman, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Nautical and Pirate Fiction
Nautical and pirate fiction are fairly self-explanatory: nautical fiction takes place on the sea, and pirate fiction has a character who engages in acts of robbery or violence.
Notable examples: Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Pirate Bridge by Kathleen Y’Barro
Children’s Historical Fiction
Children’s historical fiction is historical fiction that is aimed at children. There tends to be an educational element to these stories.
Notable examples: War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, My Name is Victoria by Lucy Worsley
Historical Epics
Historical epics traditionally came in the form of poetry, but recently writers are starting to turn to novels to tell these stories. These take place over a long period and typically (but not always) focus on a heroic character.
Notable examples: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Wolfhall by Hilary Mantel
Historical Adventures
Historical adventures take the readers on an adventure and put the characters in danger.
Notable examples: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
Historical Mysteries
Historical mysteries are novels that solve a mystery or a crime but are set in the past. Murder mysteries are the most popular, but some novels focus on solving historical mysteries (like finding the Holy Grail).
Notable examples: Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters, The Birdcage by Eve Chase, The Malvern Murders by Kerry Tombsy
Dual Timelines
Dual timelines offer two (or more) distinct but connected plots. One of these plots takes place in the present, and the other in the past. The plots usually alternate between past and present every chapter.
Notable examples: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Clare Marchant, The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
Alternate History
Alternate history (sometimes called counterfactual history, but this phrase tends to be used in academic discussions) is a sub-genre of history that looks at what would have happened if someone or something was different. For example, what would have happened if Hitler had died during the gas attack that invalided him in 1918? What would have happened if William the Conqueror had lost the Battle of Hastings?
Notable examples: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick, 194 by Robert Conroy, SS-GB by Len Deighton
Historical Fantasy
Historical fantasy mixes historical fiction and fantasy. They can take place in a fantasy world but use real aspects of history, or they can take place in a recognisable period but incorporate fantastical aspects.
Notable examples: The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, The Arthurian legend
Summary
Historical fiction is very flexible and can be adapted to suit any story you can possibly think of. You can choose historical adventure, romances or mysteries; you can choose whether you base your characters on real or fictional people; and you can even choose whether the events in your novel play out as they did in history. This gives you a lot of scopes to create the story you want to write.
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