A historical story is a work of fiction that has a real historical component, which can be a specific period, real characters or a real conflict in history. In this way, this modality of stories has two intertwined elements: the fictitious and the historical.
It could be said that the writer of a story or historical novel recreates the past, reconstructs it through a plot invented by his imagination.
One of the peculiarities of this narrative is fidelity to historical reality. The novelist must document in depth about a certain period, know it in detail so that the reader understands how it was lived in the described stage. It is about setting a reality with real data: about the clothing, the food, the customs, the traditions, the characters and the values of yesteryear.
Although there are no common parameters in these stories, most of them present an assessment of an era. The writer offers his personal view in relation to a historical reality. Sometimes he tries to question a myth from other times, make a parallel with the present or simply remember the idea that it is necessary to know the past to know who we are and where we come from.
By creating an atmosphere from another time, the novelist tries to take the reader on a journey through time. The historical account has become a method of great educational value, since it combines two types of knowledge: the art of literature and history as a science.
Two examples of a historical account
Among the various options that exemplify the historical account, below we present two well-known novels, translated into many languages and both adapted to the cinema: the different titles of the adventures of Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez Reverte and the work of the Finnish Mika Waltari, Sinuhé , the Egyptian.
Captain Alatriste is a character who lived in Madrid in the seventeenth century. He is a military veteran of the Flanders thirds. Live episodes full of adventures and through its adventures it is possible to know the theater of the time, the taverns, the corruption in the different social layers, the life of the court and the prevailing values.
Sinuhé is a doctor who lives in the time of Pharaoh Akhenaten. He is a character who lives a tormented love and thanks to his experiences the reader has very valuable information about ancient Egypt: the meaning of death, the mummification process, the medical techniques of the Egyptians, as well as geographical knowledge about Babylon or Crete or the warrior spirit of the Hittites.
