A bibliography to help librarians identify and make effective use of biographical fiction. It cites 4,200 novels in which 1,500 historical figures appear as significant characters. The books included are English-language juvenile, young adult, and adult books published since 1940 (some pre-1940 titles are included if they have been reissued after that date). Individuals are included of both popular and scholarly interest, living and deceased, from all fields of endeavor. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Two librarians compiled this bibliography of 4,200 novels arranged by the 1,500 historical figures who appear as significant characters. A tag identifies each historical personage (e.g., ""Akhbar", 1542-1605, Mogul emperor"). Novels are then arranged by author under each figure, noting title, publisher, and date. Reviews in any of more than 100 journals are cited for each book. Symbols note books for children or young adults. The typical historical figure only has a few novels listed after his or her name, but Elizabeth I has 50 and Jesus has 86. Some books are listed under more than one name. E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime", for example, is listed under Emma Goldman, Sigmund Freud, and others. The publication dates of the novels range from 1940 to 1993; more than half the books listed were published before 1970. Indexes by author, title, and occupation conclude the book. The occupation index is often subdivided by nationality or other category, for example, "Artist, Italian"; "Author, American"; "Political Leader, Canadian"; "Religious Figure, Jewish"
This is the most comprehensive index to characters in historical fiction available and will be useful to researchers and students. However, because so many of the books listed are old, many public and school libraries will probably continue to rely on less-comprehensive subject guides to fiction, such as "Dickinson's American Historical Fiction" (5th ed., Scarecrow, 1986).
