Why Historical Fiction Novels Are Effective

When history teachers bring historical fiction novels into their classroom they give their students a unique opportunity to explore history through the eyes of those that lived it. Within historical fiction novels characters and drama interact with past events in a way that compels students to see the past at an emotional as well as a cognitive level.

Once students become immersed in the novel's setting, character, plot and theme, they become interested and stimulated by the novel's story. They begin to draw inferences while reading the novel, about geography, religious beliefs, social attitudes, modes of transportation, distribution of wealth, social classes, and laws. They begin to absorb the historical details in the novel without even realizing they are being instructed. In contrast, if these same historical facts were presented in a textbook and the teacher asked the students to memorize them, it is likely that little information would be retained by many students.

Events become more significant in historical fiction novels because students must comprehend them in order to understand the plot of the novel. Students retain the historical information because it has been understood within the context of the plot, character, setting and theme of the novel. From this perspective, students begin to see how a study of the past helps them better understand the present.

By providing *references, strategies and techniques to help students sift through fact and the fiction, teachers and parents can help students become expert "nitpickers" on the author's use of historical data and spur stimulating class discussions in the process.

The impact of a historical novel on students cannot be minimized. If students respond positively to a good historical novel, they might:

a. be motivated to research the novelist's use of historical data.
b. they might begin to discern the novelist's biases and
c. they might decide to search for historical data to support or contradict the point of view expressed by the author.
or
d. find history interesting.

Brent M. Colley is a local historian who promotes Connecticut History. For a look at his reader's guide to the Historical Fiction Novel- My Brother Sam is Dead, visit: http://mybrothersamisdead.historyofredding.com/

My Brother Sam is Dead is a historical fiction novel told in the first person by Tim Meeker. It recounts the hardships endured by Tim and his family during the early stages of the American Revolutionary War.

Notes:

 

Reference sources for checking the accuracy of historical data include encyclopedias, almanacs, biographical dictionaries, dictionaries of history, serious local and national histories, and numerous other readily available sources. Students may check school and town libraries as well as local historical societies and the state library. Primary source materials are often available locally in church records, deeds, wills, probate records in town halls, local cemeteries, local tax lists, federal census, town meeting records, old maps, letters and diaries, sermons, industrial records, local newspapers and elders who have resided in a community for a long time.