historical fiction
Americannoun
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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.
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works of this genre, as novels and plays.
Etymology
Origin of historical fiction
First recorded in 1585–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 meets horror in Katsu’s latest literary thriller, which adds a supernatural element to a painful part of American history.
From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 2022
Historical fiction can be as political and as pertinent to today’s world as it is illustrative of the world it depicts.
From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2019
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 has gone hand in hand with a revived interest in historical and archæological research.
From Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism by Painter, F. V. N. (Franklin Verzelius Newton)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
