Test Your Knowledge of Historical Fiction

By Melissa L.

The amount of information about writing historical fiction that you can find on the Internet never ceases to amaze me. While I was playing around one day, I discovered this interesting quiz about historical fiction for children. It was actually designed as part of a children’s literature course for teachers, but writers will benefit from knowing this information, too.

There’s one aspect of this quiz that I found particularly interesting. (Warning—I’m basically going to give away an answer or two here, so you may want to try the quiz before you read the rest of this post.) The curriculum this quiz is taken from is intended to show teachers how to use historical fiction in the classroom—namely, to supplement their history curriculums. I’ve always been under the impression that teachers who choose to use historical titles in this way are more concerned about the historical aspects of the books than anything else. But this quiz emphasizes that the story overrides the history—something that I, as a writer, find incredibly refreshing.

Of course it’s important to write a book that’s true to the time period, but in the end, it’s the story that’s the heart of the matter.

How well did you do on this quiz? Do you think it does a good job of covering the basics of historical fiction? And if not, what other basic ideas would you choose to add?

Melissa L. is the YA Editorial Assistant for Wonders and Marvels. You can read more about her here: Editorial Staff.

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Delia

This is very interesting, thanks for posting.

I didn’t do so well on the quiz (*blush*), but apart from my lack of knowledge, I will partly blame this on the fact that I disagree with some of the correct answers. Take this question for instance:

A value of historical fiction for children is
A) It teaches children that the universal needs of humankind are always changing
B) It helps children to learn the chronology of events
C) It helps children judge the mistakes of the past more clearly
D) It portrays the correct view of history

According to the website, the correct answer is C. As a historian, I try to emphasize to my students that the past should be approached on its own terms — i.e. calling a particular event/value/behavior a mistake often ignores the complex historical context that explains it. The way I see it, historical fiction has an enormous potential to call attention to the complexity and contingency of the past.
librarypat

Where did you find the answers?
I agree with you on this question. I don’t particularly care for the choices given or the “correct” answer.
Historical fiction is such a wonderful supplement to the history books. It puts the events, etc. on a much personal level for the individual. It is much easier to understand history if you know how it would have effected you on a personal level.
http://thetruebookaddict.blogspot.com/ Michelle @ The True Book Addict

I did fairly well…I only missed three. I thought it was interesting. It gave me good insight on historical fiction choices for my boys (they are 7 and 8). My writing focus is more on adult historical fiction, but I think these are good tips towards that–to a certain extent.
Joyce

I was surprised that I only missed 3 out of 15. Historical fiction, whether geared toward children or adults, is a great way to expand upon what we learn in a school-setting.

I love this Wonders and Marvels site. Thanks.