I’ve been involved in a number of conversations that centered upon defining historical fiction. While there are concrete dictionary definitions of the genre, a common definition between writers remains rather elusive. I believe the correct place to start when determining such things is indeed with the dictionary definition(s) of a given word or term.
Defined by dictionary.com: a novel set among actual events or a specific period of history; also called historical novel
Defined by Wikipedia.org: Historical fiction is a sub-genre of fiction that often portrays fictional accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, nominally attempt to capture the spirit, manners, and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity.
I believe most writers who set their stories in historical past would agree on these definitions. However, some writers I speak with prefer to interject some of their own interpretation of “dramatization” and even prefer to lean more heavily upon the fiction than the historical.
Whichever the case may be, it is usually up to the target audience to determine what is and what is not historical fiction. I tend to write to a targeted group of people who have spent much time reading and researching the time periods my books are set in. I know that not only do I owe them historical truths, but they hold me accountable to those facts.
I think it is credible to be creative with historical fiction, but at the same time, remain honest and honor the reputations and realities of people we portray or come across in our writing.
I have read some great historical fiction writers and all of those that I respect and desire to read maintain consistency in their histories. Those that bring modern concepts, mannerisms and vocabulary into historical settings usually get set on the “sell at garage sale” shelf.
To my knowledge, there is no final authority on what is and what is not historical fiction, but however you set out to write, maintain consistency throughout your work. A far-stretching, near fantasy that in later chapters becomes a stick-to-the-ribs historical will lose the original audience and never obtain the respect of the more factual reader.
For purposes of my website http://www.HistoricalNovels.info I define historical fiction as fiction set in a recognizable time in history by an author born after that time. Readers often aren’t particularly aware of the distinction, but I do think there’s a subtle (sometimes not so subtle) difference between a work set in a time the author lived through and remembers and a work set in a time the author had to research. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Of course, with personal experience, a writer has direct knowledge about, for example, the conditions a soldier experienced in a war he actually fought in. On the other hand, writers are able to be much more objective about a time they didn’t live through, whereas we all tend to have strong emotions about events we have lived through and experienced intensely enough to want to write about, and these can skew our perspective.
With over 5000 listings on the site, I’ve found it important to introduce some limits on what I include!