Brittanica.com says about historical novel:
"a novel that has as its setting a usually significant period of history and that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic details and fidelity (which is in some cases only apparent fidelity) to historical fact. The work may deal with actual historical characters...or it may contain a mixture of fictional and historical characters"
Yes, if a novel contains historical setting (background - time and place), like a part of history that really ever happened or a really existed historical figure, it is a historical novel.
I am one of the fans of this kind of book/literature/film. I'm fond of history since I was a kid, my mom or my grandma had told me various yet amazing stories. Even until now, my favorite moment is when I listen to someone talking about chronicles of something, someplace or someone. I listen like a good student :D The thing is, I want to know a lot more information about what had happened in a certain time at a certain place with a famous people, that's actually one of the reasons why I choose to study German Literature, German has a great history, who doesn't know about Prussia and Alexander the great? Who doesn't know Hitler and NAZI? Well, I know a lot more about it :p
I love to learn history from novels or films because I didn't even realize that I am learning something, so it's really enjoyable yet entertaining, and I would start to google or find articles about it and compare the real event and those which happened in the book or film. Here are 10 amazing historical novels/roman:
2. Bumi Manusia (The Earth of Mandkind) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
3. Catatan Seorang Demonstran (Diary of a Demonstrator) by Soe Hok Gie
4. Huan Zhu Ge Ge by Chiung Yao
5. Weggesperrt by Grit Poppe
6. The Reader (Der Vorleser) by Bernhard Schlink
7. Jalan Raya Pos, Jalan Daendels by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
8. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
10. Romance in the Rain by Chiung Yao
I even did my thesis very less stressing because I found a corpus (historical novel, of course) and a method that support my hobby :D I will talk about it on my next post hehehe
