What if the legends people once told were more than just old wives' tales meant to scare children into listening to their parents? Maybe there was some truth to the stories people shared of faeries and goblins from days long ago. Within the realm of historical fantasy, those myths come to life within the context of real, historical events. Truth and magic blend together in such a way that it's easy to lose oneself and start believing in the "what-ifs." How would history change if the creatures of fairytale truly existed? How would our opinions change on certain famous figures if they were not entirely human? Historical fantasy attempts to answer those questions by throwing us into a world that looks very much like what we're familiar with from history books, but with a fantastical twist.
How is this sub-genre different from other sub-genres of fantasy? Writers of historical fantasy walk a delicate tightrope of finesse in which neither the historical nor the fantasy aspects completely overtake the other, always bridging the gap between the two. They must overlap reality with the imagination in such a way that honors the actual past events and takes readers on a new ride of magic and excitement. History is enriched with mermaids. Fantasy is grounded in a Revolutionary War setting. This sub-genre is a type of alternate history as well, but not all alternate history stories incorporate fantasy elements.
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The setting for historical fantasy varies considerably. They can occur during any important historical event, though they tend to be set during periods of intense conflict. Wars, global catastrophes, conspiracies, transitions between royals, all of these are common jumping-off points within the realm of historical fantasy. Other historical fantasy books take place in alternate universes that parallel a real-time in Earth's history to a certain extent. Within historical fantasy, there is also a subsection known as high historical fantasy. This subsection still draws on a real historical setting, but it features greater detail in its world-building than a typical historical fantasy.
In terms of characters, historical fantasy writers vary in the types of characters they present to their audiences. Many stories feature a protagonist based off of a real historical figure, whose personality is expanded upon to bring a new perspective. Other writers choose to introduce completely original characters who are working behind the scenes during a famous historical event.
