Historical Fiction
YEARS 7-8 The History Department and the School Library
HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
Introduction When I was growing up I read the whole canon of Rosemary Sutcliff novels, from Warrior Scarlet to The Eagle of the Ninth and Frontier Scout. I wrote her a letter and I still have the reply she sent me, explaining how and why she wrote The Shield Ring. It is one of the reasons I became so fascinated with the study of history. Books like hers make history come alive for me – people, places and real events are magnified and made personal by the strength and conviction of the characterisation and the evocative storytelling. From histories of the Celts to the ‘Boys’ Own’ story of the oil tanker Ohio, bombed, broken-backed and sinking, but still reaching Malta with critical oil supplies; these books hold endless fascination. With luck, they will ignite your interest in a particular period or person and encourage you to find out more. So, choose a historical novel and be prepared to become a time traveller.
Mr R. Reynolds Head of History
These books are just a selection. There are lots more books by these authors, as well as other titles, available to borrow from the School Library. Librarian's note: If you would like to read about the Ohio there is a book called 'Malta Convoy' by Peter Shankland and Anthony Hunter recommended by Mr Reynolds, or you can read a first-hand account here: http://www.bbc. co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/25/a4101625.shtml 2
List last updated by L.Watts May 2017
HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
Prehistory Michelle PAVER Wolf Brother An adventure with an element of magic set in prehistoric times. First in the series.
Julia GOLDING Wolf Cry This fantasy with a Viking setting is the first in a trilogy.
Ancient Rome
Tw e l f t h c e n t u r y Elizabeth LAIRD Crusade Set against the background of the Third Crusade, this is the story of Salim and Adam who have much in common but who are on opposing sides in a war.
Caroline LAWRENCE The Thieves of Ostia The crime-solving adventures of a group of friends in Ancient Rome. First in the series. Rosemary SUTCLIFF The Eagle of the Ninth Marcus Flavius Aquila wants to know the truth about his father’s disappearance along with the rest of the Ninth Legion in the wilds of Northern Britain.
Fourteenth century Pat WALSH The Crowfield Curse Will is an orphan brought up by the monks of Crowfield Abbey. One day, whilst gathering firewood, he meets a goblin who shares a terrible secret. There is a sequel called The Crowfield Demon.
Anglo Saxons & Vikings Nancy Farmer The Sea of Trolls A young Viking girl and her African slave embark on a dangerous mission.
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HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
Fifteenth century
Berlie DOHERTY Treason Will is a page to Prince Edward, the son of Henry VIII, until he is accused of treason and imprisoned.
Theresa BRESLIN Prisoner of the Inquistion The stories of Zarita and Saulo in fifteenth century Spain, when the Inquisition was terrorizing its victims and Columbus was looking for funding for his voyages.
Paul DOWSWELL The Cabinet of Curiosities The court of Emperor Rudolph II in Prague, where Lukas's uncle is court physician, is a strange and threatening place and becomes even more dangerous when Lukas uncovers a plot.
H.M. CASTOR VIII As a young man Henry VIII was tall, handsome and gifted. What turned him into the despotic, overweight king of later years?
Sixteenth century Susan COOPER King of Shadows Nat Field slips back in time to find himself at the Globe Theatre in 1599 in the company of William Shakespeare.
Jan MARK Stratford Boys Putting on a play with your friends is tough, even if you are a young William Shakespeare.
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Barbara MITCHELHILL Road to London Thomas runs away to London to work in the theatre where he encounters William Shakespeare and a plot that threatens the life of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Swan Theatre, London by Arnoldus Buchelius (Aernout van Buchel) (1565-1641), after a drawing by Johannes de Witt. 4
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HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
Seventeenth century
Eighteenth century
Susan COOPER Ghost Hawk Intertwined stories of Little Hawk, a Native American boy, trying to survive in the wilderness in order to come of age and John Wakeley, a young English settler in America.
Sally GARDNER The Red Necklace A story of the French Revolution, featuring a young gypsy boy with telepathic powers.
Leon GARFIELD Smith Fast-paced story of a twelve- year-old London pickpocket who finds he has stolen a valuable document but does not know who to ask for help in deciphering it and is unable to read it himself.
Sally GARDNER I Coriander A historical novel with a strong element of fantasy, set in London at the time of the Puritan Commonwealth.
Mary HOOPER At the Sign of the Sugared Plum The Sugared Plum is a sweetshop in London where Hannah goes to help her sister. She is excited about her new life until she discovers that the plague is raging in the city.
Jamila GAVIN Coram Boy Aaron is the heir to a great estate and Toby is the son of a slave. They are both being raised in a foundling hospital but do they have another connection?
Tanya LANDMAN Hell and High Water Caleb's father is arrested and transported to the colonies, so Caleb sets out to clear his name and exact revenge.
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HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
Nineteenth century
Philip PULLMAN The Ruby in the Smoke 'Her name was Sally Lockhart; and within fifteen minutes, she was going to kill a man.' From the first page of a gripping Victorian mystery.
Paul DOWSWELL Powder Monkey Sam is a powder monkey whose job it is to bring gunpowder to the artillery on a Royal Navy frigate during the Napoleonic Wars. Depicts the horror and excitement of life on board a warship.
Jon WALTER My Name's Not Friday An intense story of slavery in America at the end of the Civil War.
Christopher EDGE Twelve Minutes to Midnight Mysery-solving with thirteen year old magazine editor Penelope, and printer's apprentice Alfie, in foggy Victorian London.
Tw e n t i e t h century Paul DOWSWELL Sektion 20 Alex longs to leave East Berlin for a life in the West but he is being watched by the Stasi. Is his only option to try to cross the Berlin Wall?
Michael FORD The Poisoned House Abigail is a maid in a house with a malicious housekeeper and a ghostly presence. Can she escape the gloomy and threatening atmosphere?
Mildred D. Taylor Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry Racism and hardship in 1930s Mississippi. This book was the winner of the 1977 Newbery Medal, awarded annually for an outstanding contribution to American literature for young people.
Michael MORPURGO Twist of Gold Sean and Annie escape the potato famine in Ireland to search for their father in 1840s America.
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HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
F i r s t Wo r l d W a r Kate SAUNDERS Five Children on the Western Front A sequel to E. Nesbit's Five Children and It imagines the children grown up and facing the horror and upheavals of the Great War.
Paul DOWSWELL Eleven Eleven The fates of a British, American and German soldier in the final hours of the First World War.
Michael MORPURGO Private Peaceful Thomas Peaceful looks back at his life in the countryside as he fights in the trenches of the First World War.
S e c o n d Wo r l d W a r John BOYNE The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Bruno moves to a new home with his family and makes friends with a boy on the other side of a huge fence, unaware of what it means and what is happening to his new friend Schmuel.
Michael MORPURGO War Horse The terrifying reality of war as seen through the eyes of Joey, the 'war horse' of the title.
John BOYNE The Boy at the Top of the Mountain Orphaned Pierrot goes to live with his aunt and becomes fascinated with her employer, a certain Adolph Hitler. An often dislikeable main character and disturbing scenes make this an unsettling read.
James RIORDAN When the Guns Fall Silent A young man's experiences of life in the trenches, featuring the famous football match in No Man's Land on Christmas Day.
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HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
SPACE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE HISTORICAL FICTION
Morris GLEITZMAN Once Felix leaves his orphanage and goes in search of his parents to warn them that the books in their bookshop may be burnt by Nazis. As he travels, he experiences some troubling events but also makes a friend. William OSBORNE Hitler's Angel Two young refugees are recruited as spies by British Intelligence to kidnap a girl in Nazi Germany.
Ian SERRAILIER The Silver Sword This classic book is based on the true story of a group of children trying to find their parents in war-torn Europe. Helen WATTS One Day in Oradour In 1944, the SS killed the inhabitants of a small French village. This is the fictionalised account of one small boy who survived. Robert WESTALL The Machine Gunners A group of children salvage a machine gun and ammunition from a crashed German plane. 8
HISTORICAL FICTION - YEARS 7-8
IMAGE CREDITS Cover illustration Nimmanhaemin, A. History illustration (no date) Available at: https://www.123rf.com/ photo_51173724_history-education-subject-handwriting-doodle-icon-of-landmark-location-culturesign-and-symbol-white.html (Accessed: 11 April 2017). Page 3 Viking border from book called ‘A Store of Stories for Children’ (1888) Available at: http://www.reusableart.com/border-22.html (Accessed: 11 April 2017). Candlestick and musicians. Klein, Manfred (no date) Font is called ‘Was Woodcuts’ and is a dingbat font. Available at: http://fontpro.com/was-woodcutsfont-8889 (Accessed: 11 April 2017). Page 4 Buchelius, Arnoldus (1596) The Swan Theatre London after a drawing of Johannes de Witt. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_ Swan_cropped.png (Accessed: 17 April 2017). Page 5 Image of London as seen from the south shore of the Thames, prior to the Fire of London [1665?] Available at: http://www.ferdinando.org.uk/17th_century_london.htm (Accessed: 11 April 2017) Page 6 Queen Victoria (1899) An engraving from James Taylor’s ‘The Victorian Empire’. Available at: http:// www.graven-image.co.uk/2012/06/queen-victoria/ (Accessed: 12 April 2017). Page 6 Winston Churchill poster (1939-45) Available at: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1029871/let-usgo-forward-together-poster-unknown/ (Accessed: 12 April 2017). 9