Historical Fantasy: Difference between revisions

 

Historical fantasy novels will be set in an actually historic and geographic location on our own Earth. Although fantastic elements exist in the novel, these are implied not to have made it into the history books because of [[The Masquerade]] or else were dismissed as myth and superstition by more modern historians. Books of this type are typically [[Low Fantasy]], since disguising the epic scope of [[High Fantasy]] to [[Muggles]] in a real world setting would be very implausible.

 

There can be some overlap with [[Alternate History]] if the fantastic elements are shown to have actually changed history as we know it. See also [[Historical Fiction]] for non-fantasy works. [[Gaslamp Fantasy]] and [[Medieval European Fantasy]] are subtropes.

 

* ''[[The Mysterious Cities of Gold]]'' is set in the 16th century during Spain's exploration/exploitation of the New World, but with [[Lost Technology|Lost]] [[Magitek]].

* ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' is set in the 1920s in America, and features a [[Church Militant|nun-with-a-gun]] and [[Deal with the Devil|the demon she's contracted to]] fighting demons and other supernatural threats. The manga also fits under [[Alternate History]] towards the end, but the anime makes a point of working in the 1981 Pope John Paul II assassination attempt into the finale of the show.

* On that note, ''[[Inuyasha]]'' qualifies as well, since it's Sengoku-era Japan but with demons and magic, and yet the timeline appears to be unchanged.

* ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]]'' is set in Sengoku Japan with a truckload of [[Functional Magic]] and [[Lensman Arms Race]] levels of new hidden powers coming to the forefront.

* ''[[Gate Keepers]]'' likewise is set a bit further back, in 1969-70 Tokyo, with a dash of [[Alternate History]]. Aside from the Invaders and super powered heroes, it does manage to capture the real economic and social changes in Japan during that time.

* Arguably due to the presence of [[Anthropomorphic Personifications]], ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' would likely count as well. Especially in the way the Nations are presented in contrast to [[Muggles|their citizens]].

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* [[David Gemmell]] has a few series like this, one set in [[Ancient Greece]] around the time of Philip II and Alexander the Great, and another in [[King Arthur|Arthurian Britain]]. He's also got one set during the siege of Troy, though that one is presented in such a way that almost all of the supernatural things apart from [[Cassandra Truth|Cassandra's precognition]] have obvious natural explanations.

* [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'' is an odd example, since most of the action takes place outside of historical England. The majority of the mystical parts are contained within the land beyond the wall. The wall is just a low stone wall running across the bottom of a village, which happens to contain a gate to the world that is spoken of in fairy tales. The part of England in that world is full of living stars and lightning smugglers. The real world, however, is so mundane that any part of the fairy realm that isn't at least partly from the real world would not survive the trip, turning into lifeless matter.

* [[Patricia C. Wrede]] and Caroline Stevermer's ''[[Sorcery and Cecelia]]'' and its sequels ([[Regency England]], but with [[Functional Magic|mages]]!). Also, [[Patricia C. Wrede]]'s ''Mairelon the Magician'' and ''Magician's Ward''.

* Megan Whalen Turner's ''[[The Queen's Thief]]'' series is an interesting case. It's set somewhere on the Mediterranean in a culture that's heavily Byzantine, but the countries mentioned are entirely fictional. Turner goes to great pains to make the story feel like real historical fiction. The fantasy comes from the highly active pantheon of gods directing events.

* ''[[Tall Tale America]]'': a retelling of American history, but focusing less on tariffs and more on people digging the Grand Canyon with their bare hands.

* ''Devil's Tower'' and ''Devil's Engine'' by Mark Sumner: A combination of the fantasy and western genres. The Battle of Shiloh released magic into the world. A generation later the United States and the Confederacy are confined to the east and the western half of the country is broken up into isolated communities run by sheriffs who've mastered some magical powers.

** Joan Wolf's ''The Road to Avalon'' has no magical elements except for Arthur and Morgan le Fay (portrayed as Arthur's true love) sharing a telepathic link. Merlin is a Roman-trained engineer.

** Courtway Jones' ''In the Shadow of the Oak King'' similarly strips out the magic except for making Arthur and his half-brother Pelleas telepaths. Pelleas also [[Bond Creatures|bonds with]] a pack of wolves. Merlin is a blacksmith and general wise man.

** [[David Gemmell]]'s ''Ghost King'' and ''The Last Stone of Power'', much more akin to "fantasy" than "historical" fiction though they're set in post-Roman Britain.

** ''[[Gwenhwyfar|Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit]]'' by [[Mercedes Lackey]].

* ''[[The Cats of Seroster]]'' by [[Robert Westall]] is set in a fairly realistic version of 16th Century France, with the tactics, weaponry and technology of the era preserved intact. It's just that there also happen to be [[Telepathy|telepathic]] cats and mystical knives that grant immortality to the wielder.

* ''The Cardinal's Blades'' series by Pierre Pevel is [[Alexandre Dumas]] with dragons and dragon-kin, and also a [[Perspective Flip]] since the heroes are agents of Richelieu.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[Highlander]]''

* ''[[Indiana Jones]]''

* ''[[Anastasia]]''

* ''[[Ars Magica]]''

* White Wolf's ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' features a detailed alternate history of the world, in which powerful supernatural forces rage behind the scenes of most major historical events.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

[[Category:Show Genres]]

[[Category:Literature Genres]]