WRITING Historical fiction for children

 

 

Writing historical fiction for children? Shelley Jones helps us see history Through the modern lens.

 

Whilst at the coal face of drafting a novel, I keep one eye on agent wish lists for both adult and children’s historical fiction. These are useful for signposting the historical periods and current bestsellers that are exciting the industry. However, one frequent request stands out which is the desire to see ‘history observed through a modern lens’. Whatever the setting, children will always want to read about characters they can relate to and aren’t vastly removed from their own lived experience.

 

One interpretation of this can mean the use of a light touch, achieved through various tropes and devices. The use of modern language can greatly help the reader relate more directly with historical characters. This is a no-brainer when writing anything set before the 16th century as the modern English language wasn’t commonly spoken until then. However, it is also ill advised to ‘ham up’ the Elizabethan period and beyond by littering the dialogue with pseudo-Shakespearean verilys and thous. If the language used is too strange for today’s child, it creates a barrier to the story and become difficult for them to fully immerse themselves in the book.

 

Same old tale

 

Universal themes also allow the modern child to see themselves in the children of the past. Stories of triumph over adversity, school stories, family drama and friendship problems are all tales as old as time. We see the unwavering popularity of Mallory Towers, The Railway Children, Little Women and Ballet Shoes due to the enduring appeal of their stories. These examples were contemporary at the time of writing but have become historical to today’s child, being set anywhere between 1868 and 1946. Many have also been rewritten and added to by current authors to reflect today’s society and ensure all children see themselves in these perennially popular books.

 

However, whilst keeping the touch light can make for a fun novel – are we illuminating history or dumbing it down? Global and national events inevitably affect a child and this decade more than any since the Second World War has been tumultuous and at times terrifying. A pandemic, wars, and the rise in antisemitism, fascism and dictatorship are sadly nothing new and draw comparisons with the historical events that our children study in school. Last term my daughter studied the Black Death in her Year 7 history lessons. Her cohort, children whose early years of school were disrupted so significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic are well equipped to empathise and relate to children of the plague from five centuries ago. Whilst we are still only learning the effect the lockdowns had on this generation; at least by studying historically significant plagues they can see what happens when a virulent disease spreads unchecked – the fifty percent mortality rate of the Black Death was nothing to be sneezed at (excuse the pun). This may help children to understand why our governments were so fearful in 2020 and why their lives changed so dramatically as a result.

 

Fiction makes history accessible

 

Outside of the classroom, reading fiction set in the period they are studying helps to bring the characters from history to life. In an article about the value of using historical fiction in the classroom, Valerie Tripp said it ‘exercises a child’s imagination through a vicarious experience. It leads children to use themselves and their own lives as comparisons to the characters that lived long ago and often, far away, to reflect on their own experience.’ A few examples of novels set in the tumultuous fourteenth century are ‘Plague’ by Tony Bradman, ‘Plague – A Cross on the Door’ by Ann Turnbull and ‘Children of Winter’ by the doyenne of children’s historical fiction Berlie Doherty.

 

The First and Second World Wars remain significant modules on the history curriculum, and there is a vast canon of historical fiction set in these periods for both adults and children alike - the school librarian should not struggle to stock their shelves with plenty of wartime fiction. ‘When the Sky Falls’ by Phil Earle was described by fellow wartime author Michael Morpurgo as ‘an extraordinary story with historical and family truth at its heart, that tells us as much about the present as the past’. Morpurgo himself is the master of seeing history through the modern lens. He effortlessly pens stories that the modern child will relate to whilst setting them against a historical backdrop. His 2024 novel ‘Billy the Kid’ features a football loving boy whose life is disrupted by the Second World War. This masterful stroke of combining the eternal popularity of football with globally significant events will hopefully entice the reader who would not usually reach for historical fiction. In today’s turbulent political landscape it remains as important as ever to teach the younger generations about the horrors of war. Lest we forget.

 

*Header image: Ell Rose

 

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Photo of Shelley Jones. (Credit: Shelley Jones.)

 

Shelley Jones is a student of English Social and Local History at Oxford University. After a career in retail buying, her second act is focusing on writing novels, both for adults and children. Shelley has written a contemporary middle-grade children’s novel, supported by the brilliant folks at WriteMentor. In 2022 she was selected for Curtis Brown Creative’s Writing Your Novel course, during which she completed her full length historical novel set in Oxfordshire in the 16th century. Follow her on Instagram: @shelljones_writes

 

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Ell Rose is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures. Find they work at fourfooteleven.com Follow them on Instagram and X/Twitter Contact them at illustrators@britishscbwi.org