Historical Fiction – Genre News – Articles

I read an interesting complaint the other day in a group on Facebook for historical fiction lovers. They complained that far too many historical romance books were invading the bestseller list, making it difficult for them to find books. Naturally, I jumped on the bandwagon to explain how publishers and authors choose categories and keywords when uploading a book for sale. I don’t know that it helped any, because the complaints kept coming.

Frankly, I will admit when I look at the bestselling list for historical romance, I get confused. There are plenty of category crossovers as well, causing readers to sift through the top one hundred. As a result, I occasionally read nasty reviews when a reader who expected a certain genre gets a miss-match instead.

What is the difference between the two genres? Historical romance is a sub-genre of romance and is set in a time period set before 1950 (per Romance Writers of America. It used to be World War 2, but time marches on). I’m going to borrow from the Romance Writers of America website the romance definition. “Romance novels should have a central love story, where the main plot revolves around individuals falling in love and struggling to make it work. It should have an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.”

The definition of historical fiction, which is a sub-genre of literature, is set in the past and “characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages,” according to the dictionary. Of course, those personages can experience romance too, but it’s not the central story. The Historical Novel Society has a rather lengthy article on what defines the genre.

As a writer myself, I can say that I have fallen into the trap of cross categorization. Some historical fiction novels may have romantic elements, so does that make them historical romance or historical fiction? If it doesn’t follow the rule for a happy ending, reviewers will definitely balk and complain it was not historical romance. If your lover gets beheaded at the end, it’s definitely historical fiction.

There are a few good examples of crossing genre lines taking a look at today’s bestseller lists. What the Wind Knows is a good example that is currently in the top selling-categories of historical Irish fiction, cultural heritage fiction, and twentieth-century historical romance. It’s a time-travel trope, heavily laden with historical fiction, with some romance. Diana Gabaldon has repeatedly stated that Outlander is not a historical romance when it clearly stays in the top one hundred best sellers of that category. It currently holds a spot on the bestseller list for historical fiction too. Of course, both books have romantic elements, but they are more clearly historical fiction time-travel, with romantic elements. I like to write family sagas, but they also have romantic elements. They are not historical romance as defined, and make it difficult to choose the right category.

Checking the current list of best sellers in historical fiction on Amazon, Julia Quinn owns quite a few top spots in that genre, when clearly she writes historical romance. There are a few other obvious historical romance books by known authors on the list. Undoubtedly, that is a result of the historical fiction category being chosen by the publisher or author during the book release.

Is there a solution? Not really. As long as Amazon gives publishers and independent authors the ability to choose two categories, the problem will persist. Otherwise, you will continue to find crossover in both lists, including a few sagas, paranormal, and non-historical romance related books.

Of course, if you’re looking for a true historical romance, you can always stick to the titles with a duke, earl, marquess, or other English-titled aristocrats who look like a rogue on the cover. The history between the pages may not be exactly correct (which brings up another subject altogether), but the romance is hot and steamy with a happily-ever-after ending.

Good luck with your searches!

Romance Writer’s of America gives guidelines as to what constitutes the genre of “Romance” and the many sub-genres that go along with it. It’s basically two points, and I quote: A central love story and an emotionally-satisfying and optimistic ending.

You get the drift. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Have a few obstacles along the way, and live happily ever after.

What about historical fiction with romantic elements? Are they worth the read too? If you’re willing to take the “central love story” but not kill the author for the ending, they can be a satisfying read. Not all historical fiction books have happy or optimistic endings. Stories of kings and queens and the people they loved were largely influenced by their inherited duties and roles. Two of Isabella’s daughters, for instance, were married off for political alliances to men in other countries. One of those daughters was Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII.

One particular book recently released by C. W. Gortner, The Queen’s Vow, has caught my eye. It’s about Isabella of Castile as a young woman. I read an earlier work of his entitled The Last Queen about Joanna of Castile, who was one of Isabella’s daughters who married Philip the Handsome (yes that was his name) the Duke of Burgundy.

A few years ago, I got caught up in Joanna’s story of undying love for her adulterous husband. Definitely not a happy ending, so don’t put it on your historical romance shelf if you think you’ll throw it against the wall when you read the last page. If you’re curious about her, just Google her name and read her sad story of going mad because of her love for Philip. And if that piques your interest, there is a wonderful foreign movie, Juana la Loca (Joanna the Mad). It’s dubbed in English, but well worth the watch. It’s a difficult movie to find, but I’ve seen a few copies on eBay for sale. There are also clips on YouTube if you want to check them out.

Well, in any event, I’ve come across another great Virtual Book Tour site that deals exclusively with Historical Fiction. It’s the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours. We will be receiving promotional updates for tours, and I’m going to include them in our blog. I occasionally read historical fiction, so I may focus on a few of those in my reviews. There is also an Amazon widget at the bottom of the page that will showcase recent releases or books on tour.

In the end, I will confess that I am more of a realist when it comes to stories. There are many personal reasons in my life that have forged my thinking and writing that way. My Legacy Series books are historical fiction with romantic elements. I’ve been crucified a few times over the endings in those books, but I’ve received even more positive responses for writing stories of love that deal with stark realities.

Nevertheless, I thought I would spread our wings and offer you new reads to add to your shelf. I’ll be reading The Queen’s Vow. I love the cover. From what I’ve read, it leans more on the romantic side and Isabella’s love for Ferdinand. This could prove detrimental to finishing my latest book.