historical fiction

American  

noun

1. the genre of literature, film, etc., comprising narratives that take place in the past and are characterized chiefly by an imaginative reconstruction of historical events and personages.

2. works of this genre, as novels and plays.

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Etymology

Origin of historical fiction

First recorded in 1585–95

Example Sentences

Historical fiction may be See’s preferred medium, but she’s come to believe its intensity might require an empty nest.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2023

Historical fiction is fiction, and so in the parts where I've had to change the history slightly, I admit to it always in the afterword.

From Reuters • Nov. 15, 2012

Historical fiction tends to be a challenge for naturalistic stage dramatization, and this earnest work, commissioned by the Irish Rep, has the overstuffed, page-bound feel of a by-the-numbers mini-series.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2010

Historical fiction, according to Moffat, is enjoying an unprecedented boom.

From The Guardian • Apr. 1, 2010

Historical fiction dealing with early day Texas is, however, distinctly maturing.

From Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, with a Few Observations by Dobie, J. Frank (James Frank)