In place of imagined worlds, some fiction writers dabble in and tinker with real ones—especially real-life events that we recognize from our past history lessons. In this article, we discuss the fascinating genre of historical fiction, as we have done in the Creatinuum Podcast episode "History, My Story: The Reaches of Historical Fiction."
When people think of fiction, they often visualize its non-realist side, where speculative fiction—with genres such as fantasy and sci-fi—thrives. However, with realist fiction, an interesting genre emerges, one where the author takes a preexisting historical event and sets their story in it, maybe even tweaks the details of this event—not in the revisionist sense but that of a curious storyteller who dares to ask, "What if this happened instead of that?" This genre is known as historical fiction, and to this day, it remains quite a popular one.
As opposed to contemporary fiction under the umbrella of realist fiction, which deals with more recent events (say, within the last fifty years), historical fiction is set in eras older than half a century, eras that many readers today would safely call "history." So technically speaking, for those living in this decade (the mid-2020s), stories set in the 1970s and earlier would be considered historical fiction—and that would definitely make certain generations feel their age.
Writers who are fond of setting their stories in bygone eras, more often than not, take liberties with regard to what to "keep" and what to "change" during these historical events (and here, we stress the "fiction" in historical fiction). This is by no means similar to historical nonfiction, under which fall history books, biographies, autobiographies, and the like. These authors are free to "bend the truth" in their works if it means telling better stories to their audiences. This also helps make history more "palatable" to contemporary audiences.
Of course, changing the details of historical events is not a necessity for this genre; historical fiction can also include stories simply set in these eras with no large bearing on major events and/or how they would "change" them. Perhaps the author merely mentions such notable events in passing, or they wish to focus on the culture or lifestyles of these eras rather than significant turning points in history. On this note, it's important to mention that history comprises not only important historical figures whom we would recognize in our old schoolbooks but also the common people who lived unremarkable albeit full lives during these past events.
On the other hand, authors can opt to take the "road less traveled" and fully retell the life stories of the former, and when their creative retellings catch the attention of a large audience, this can alter (likely in a positive light) how this audience would perceive such well-known historical figures in the long run. Take the Hamilton phenomenon, for instance; from being one of the lesser-known American founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton became a household name thanks to the roaring international success of the Tony Award–sweeping Hamilton musical (based, funnily enough, on a completely separate book, Ron Chernow's historical biography of Hamilton).
If anything, Hamilton's success is an excellent example of how historical fiction can, even to this day, appeal to different kinds of audiences—historical accuracy be damned. Fans of the musical didn't care about George Washington's race or whether the Battle of Yorktown was carried by the "magic of hip-hop"; they enjoyed the fact that Hamilton's story, through this medium, was told in such a catchy, creative manner, shedding light on not only historical events but also important themes such as social justice, everlasting friendships, and legacy.
To conclude, the potential of historical fiction as a noteworthy literary genre is limitless, especially considering that different generations come to see various historical events in different lights as a result of the ever-churning crawl of time. "History" can extend to "herstory" for more feminist audiences, and history buffs can praise stories that offer enlightening takes on certain eras or otherwise criticize those that border dangerously on historical revisionism. Ultimately, historical fiction truly is a genre to be reckoned with, whose appeal can change depending on the audience but can never truly be diminished.
Listen in full to Creatinuum Episode 10: "Histroy, My Story: The Reaches of Historical Fiction", available on Simplecast, Spotify, Apple, and other platforms.
Komentar