What makes HF into HFF

[EJS]

I'm interested in what divides historical fiction from historical fiction fantasy. In this book, the character interacts with archangels, but otherwise it's a straight up historical novel about the trials and tribulations of a person known as the Public Universal Friend in the American Revolution. Thoughts?

[Abigail]

I’d say that was historical fiction. After all, anyone who had a particularly religious bent in those days might interact with archangels, as might a person with mental illness. If it takes place in a real historical context but the main character has altered perceptions, that seems like historical fiction to me.

I think of historical fiction/fantasy as referring to alternative history stories, or stories set in a similar but parallel world, or stories with traditional fantasy elements like witchcraft and magic.

[Sophia]

I think it is fairly simple. Historical fiction has fictional characters living through real events and interacting with real historical characters.
Historical fantasy is either fictional or real people interacting with imaginary beings that have no basis in reality.
It could also be an imaginary situation.
One of my favourite books of recent times is The Trial of Henry the 8th This has Henry the 8th, very much a real person, facing a, heaven like, trial.
The alleged crimes are real but of course the trial is fantasy. So it is possible for a book to be both historical fiction and historical fantasy.

[Barbara]

I agree that historical fiction must have an historical framework based on known factual evidence, which is not a requirement for historical fiction fantasy. One reason many authors give for writing historical fiction instead of history books is the chance to help underrepresented groups recover their lost voices. For example, The Witches of Vardo by Anya Bergman gives voice to the women affected by witch trials whose views and experiences are almost completely absent from the historical record. In The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd not only gives voice to Sarah Grimke, a remarkable white abolitionist from the South Carolina elite, but also to Handful, the enslaved maid whom Sarah taught to read and write, but who died at too young an age to be able to narrate her experiences and express her views in her own words.

[Sophia]

I have learnt more about history from historical fiction than I ever have from either history lessons or history books.
What I do like doing though is checking the facts on the sites such as wickepedia fter reading an historical fiction book.

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

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