Historical fiction is a really interesting genre of literature, as it allows the author to place a fictional character or a fictional story within an historical setting. The great thing about doing this is that you can write a story about a really interesting period of history, which can help make the story itself more entertaining. Also using a historical setting can help a book have more impact- for example a war based novel set in an imaginary world would likely have far less of an impression upon its readers than a novel set during The Second World War for example, which people can relate to more easily.

Historical fiction books come in a variety of different guises- sometimes they will have a real character from history as their main character, but others will have a fictional main character that interacts with other historical figures. Also the adventures of the main character can be completely fictional or based on historical evidence, though this normally depends on whether the main character is fictional or not.

Here are some examples of great Historical Fiction Books:

Sharpe by Bernard Cornwell
This series of books focuses on the military life of British soldier Richard Sharpe, set in the Napoleonic era. Sharpe starts life as a private in “Sharpe’s Tiger” but works his way up through the ranks, despite the fact that he is neither wealthy nor from a distinguished family. Sharpe plays a role in many major battles, such as Waterloo and the books are a really entertaining read, as you get the drama of the vicious battles that occur, and the battles Sharpe has with his social superiors.

Hornblower- C.S Forrester
Another series of historical fiction books set in the Napoleonic era chart the life of Seaman Horatio Hornblower. In the first book that was written, “The Happy Return” (called “Beat to Quarters” in the US) Hornblower is a junior captain in the Royal Navy and is sent on an important mission to supply a local landowner from Nicaragua with muskets and powder. However the landowner is a violent madman and Hornblower has to stop him. Although “The Happy Return” was written first, it does not cover the earlier years of Hornblower’s life- reading Mr. Midshipman Hornblower first might be a better choice.

The Three Musketeers- Alexandre Dumas
The Three Musketeers was published in 1844, but it is set in 17th century France and follows a young musketeer named D’Artagnan. The story is very famous, and is a good read for anyone interested in a sword fighting adventure with plenty of political and romantic intrigue. D’Artagnan is featured in two other books by Dumas, “Twenty Years After” and “The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later”