Historical F(r)ictions: Fiction and History Education

Abstract

This chapter differentiates between period and historical novels. Period novels take place in the period in which they are written and become historical with the passage of time. They illuminate details about a place and a time from the perspective of someone who is immersed in them and can be treated as a primary source. Some novels are particularly useful in this regard and this chapter highlights works by British author Jane Austen, Rilla of Ingleside by Canadian author L. M. Montgomery, and The Great Gatsby by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. Historical novelists write across a temporal gap and work to create a historical world that has relevance to contemporary readers. They vary greatly in terms of their adherence to the historical record. Sometimes they depart from the record to allow the reader to understand it more profoundly. Both fiction and nonfiction are important sources for learning about the past.