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Specifically, this involves a non-fiction publication with the University of Adelaide Press on the place of historical novels in the History curriculum, and the way they can be used to stimulate student interest. The University of Adelaide Press publishes externally reviewed scholarly books by University of Adelaide staff.

Introduction

At the time of writing this book, historical fiction is experiencing a boom in the Australian book industry. However, the genre's huge retail sales are not reflected in the use of historical fiction in Australian schools.

The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has mandated the teaching of history in Australian schools through an ongoing program. However, this is happening at a time when students' interest in studying history in schools is at a low level.

Compulsory History: the Issues Confronting teachers1

Recording teachers' knowledge base in teaching History shows a similarly mixed picture. In the United Kingdom (UK), where History became a compulsory subject in 1991 for students under the age of fourteen, Ferguson (2011), for example, found that the value and purpose of History had not been communicated to students (see further discussion below below, this chapter).

For me, the use of narratives has had a long and successful history of developing students' understanding of the past. Given the importance of the unique connection of narrative and personal experience—the incomparable and precious relationship between author and reader of historical fiction.

How can the use of historical fiction as a teaching/learning strategy develop and strengthen historical literacy in students. Clearly, the use of historical fiction in the classroom can be directly linked to many of these elements of historical literacy (p. 5).

Defining the Historical novel

Sarah Johnson, one-time editor of the Historical Novel Society's journals, elaborated on the difficulties in reaching a consensus on an acceptable definition of the historical novel: 'the obvious definition that comes to mind is that historical fiction is simply "fiction that is in the past" (Johnson, 2002). It is ridiculous to say that this is only a defining characteristic of historical fiction - it is a defining characteristic of all fiction' (Lee, n.d., emphasis in original).By contrast, the writer of historical fiction seeks to investigate the question 'What was it like?' (Dalton, 2006).

Dalton's words 'the writer of historical fiction is first a writer, not of history, but of fiction, and fiction is about characters, not events' (Dalton, 2006). So historical fiction' concludes Dalton, 'is a close relative of history, but not simply a retelling of the lectures we learned to dread in high school.'. A comparison of Carlyon's The Great War with such works of fiction as Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front shows what works of history and historical fiction seek to achieve.

Any definition of historical fiction will take into account the purpose of the definition and who it is intended for.

The dream is about the role of pastoralism in the development of Australian (white) identity. Memories can also serve to provide a glimpse of the past for groups erased from history. Sometimes it is used to refer to the study of the theories, methods and principles of historical research, the results of which are typical.

The meaning of the narrative is contextual in the sense that the reader will interpret it in the context of generational change in attitudes and values. In the case of historical fiction, this is a shared memory of the past, an addressing of the social images that bind a society. This chapter has argued that the rise of the historical novel phenomena in Australia is associated with a similar increase in the publication of memory literature, such as Pilkington's Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence.

It is the way in which the historical novel offers access to the inner workings of the human psyche, I suggest, that provides its broad appeal, as well as its usefulness as a pedagogical tool in the History curriculum.

He goes on to say, “All the bad news of the modern age had just arrived more or less. They remind readers of the many means by which this can be facilitated through the use of the Internet. I have found Levstik and Barton's (2011) chapter 10 to be by far the most informative textbook account of the use of historical fiction in schools.

Does the book provide insight and understanding into both current and past issues? Steven Saylor's The Judgment of Caesar (2004), a fantastic book, meets many of the above criteria, including telling a good story. In my opinion, the book provides clear insight and understanding into both current issues and issues from the past.

Good teaching in History should not only involve the reading of historical fiction, but the use of the historical novel should be used to complement the learning process in a meaningful way.

Counterfactual Histories and the nature of History

Simply put, counterfactual history is represented by the genre that the excerpt from Macintyre's writings illustrates. To understand what counterfactual history is, it is first necessary to clarify the meaning of history. Curiously, despite the book's denial of the value of counterfactual history, it remains a landmark for the understanding not only of history, but also of counterfactual history.

For Mordhorst, the overt criticism of counterfactual history comes with verifying or falsifying its claims (p. 5). In this context, I return to Macintyre's (2006) counterfactual history of the events in the Indian Ocean on the dramatic night of November 7, 1914. But what can be the use of counterfactual history in history writing lessons in elementary, middle school and senior history.

But using hypothetical history in the classroom not only achieves this, but also in an engaging way.

Alternate Histories in the Classroom

Since the 1960s, alternative history publishing has grown greatly, moving out of the realms of science fiction (Rosenfeld, 2005, p. 5). As Rosenfeld (2005) states: "the best evidence for the growing acceptance of alternative history has been its embrace by the academic community, which has demonstrated a growing interest in the subject with a number of recent publications" (p. 5 ). Closely related to the death of political ideologies in promoting the rise of alternative history is the emergence of the cultural movement of postmodernism," writes Rosenfeld (2005, p. 6).

As this chapter has already suggested, virtual reality (as defined earlier in this chapter) has assisted the spread of alternative history in the same way it has done with counterfactual history. But alternative history is written in the genre of historical fiction, long associated with science fiction. But how does this alternate history tie in with a better-known historical fiction of the Kelly gang.

As a cultural phenomenon, alternative history is now very prominent and potentially attractive to history teachers.

Caught in time’s cruel machinery’: time-slip novels in the History Lesson

In addition to being a legitimate member of the genre, there are excellent commercial reasons for this. In addition to engaging students in the history of the period, the purpose here is primarily historiographical. Over the past two generations, as revisionist historians have examined the period, interpretations of the Depression have shown important changes.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Potts interviewed survivors of the Depression and found that, in addition to hardship and misery, many remembered moments of joy and pleasure. Many of the myths of the Depression were embellished in Caddie, in the book and film versions. Playing Beatie Bow, winner of the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award in 1981, is about a group of children in Sydney's trendy Rocks District.

A member of the group - Abigail - is taken back to the same district in Victorian times, and is engaged in wonderful time-slipping adventures.

DeConstRuCtInG tHe HIstoRICAL noVeL

Whose History? Historical fiction and the Discipline of History in the Classroom

Varying Views of the past

But Tharoor (2010) is far less enthusiastic about Churchill's multi-volume history of World War II than my history teachers were in the 1960s. Tharoor goes on to say that in 1943, the Bengal Famine, one of the worst in history, killed about 3 million brown subjects of the Raj. From these accounts, it appears that Churchill's history of World War II may suffer from a lack of "truth," the very thing that some critics have condemned historical novels for.

The work is, in my opinion, one of the most sublimely creative literary efforts ever produced. Hamilton argues that it is the apparent limits of history that make writing possible; the role of the writer is to fill in the blanks that the writers of non-fiction histories leave unattended (Hamilton, 2003). Part of the debate centered on the relative veracity of historical nonfiction and historical fiction. What could historical fiction add to the debate?

In the early twenty-first century, Australian historical fiction was marketed in styles never before imagined.

Pierce (1992) notes, "some of the historical novels written in the century from 1850 to 1950 were less self-conscious and formally inventive than others". No doubt this view of history dominated many of the historical novels written from the 1850s to the 1950s and even right up to the 1980s. Heseltine has shown that in the second half of the nineteenth century Australian fiction was dominated by 'the saga, the picaresque and the documentary'.

This is of course in line with popular views of the Australian legend: the Aussie Battler conquering the elements. Pierce suggests that understanding the past is precious for both Malouf and Keneally. The Heart Of The Continent (1989) is about two generations of nurses in the outback and wartime (Zinn, 2000).

The genre of the historical novel has undergone major changes since it emerged in Australian literature in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Historical facts and Historical Agency

It is therefore not surprising that within schools the study of history is most often associated with both the study of historical facts and the values and morals of the school's local community. Reynolds (2006) reminds us that historical fiction requires the integration of multiple perspectives, the chronological order of events, and the demonstration of historical literacy skills. The use of historical fiction has the potential to bridge the gap between historical knowledge and understanding.

Nawrot explains the power of historical fiction: 'when reading historical fiction, students enter the historical setting and live with the characters. Knowing history – the development of historical literacy – involves more than simply knowing historical dates, events and personalities. Developing an understanding of historical agency inevitably requires students to understand how historical novelists use facts.

The historical novelist's interpretation of historical facts is closely related to the way he or she interprets history and portrays historical actors.

Key themes in Australian History and their Reflection in Historical novels