Historical Fiction

Historical fiction is far from the most popular of fiction genres. Look on the shelves of your favorite bookstore: the overwhelming numbers of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, contemporary, and literary works tend to drown the historical titles on the shelves. In fact, the number of works of history in the average Barnes & Noble is probably greater than the number of works of historical fiction. The genre is often the domain of historians turned novelists, or of military men and women who have decided to write a novel (in which case they are often shelved as "War" novels rather than "Historical Fiction," further testament to the form's poor reputation). Why? It may have something to do with the public's on-again, off-again appreciation of history in general, or a general perception that historical fiction is simply another flavor of history, a subject many learned to dread in school. But what is historical fiction, really? Is it history by a different name? Or is it something else, related to history but separate? And if it is separate, what are the differences?