Historical Fantasy: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
A subgenre of [[Speculative Fiction]], '''Historical Fantasy''' is similar to [[Urban Fantasy]], except the setting will be a time and place in the past rather than modern times.
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.
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* ''[[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.
* ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' is 1920s Japan but with
* 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.
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* [[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.
* Most of Andrzej Sapkowski's newer, post-''[[The Witcher|Witcher]]'' works fall into this cathegory, including the [[Fan Nickname|"Hussite Trilogy"]], a series of
* ''[[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.
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** 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.
** ''[[The Warlord Chronicles]]'' trilogy by Bernard Cornwell takes the [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]] route for the first two books, but the waters get muddy in the third book due to some [[Contrived Coincidence
** [[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]].
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* ''[[Highlander]]''
* ''[[Sleepy Hollow]]''
* ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' was set in a loose early 18th century setting until the 4th movie set the year in 1750 and introduced historical characters such as Blackbeard,<ref>He's still alive thanks to Voodoo</ref>
* ''[[Indiana Jones]]''
* ''[[Anastasia]]''
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