If you want to write a historical fiction novel and need some tropes to get some ideas for your story, we’ve included 19 historical fiction tropes in this article.
Read on!
Character-based Tropes
1. The progressive character trying to make changes or break social ceilings.
Often in historical fiction, there is the character who seems out of place due to their more progressive and forward-looking beliefs. Even more often, that person is a woman who loves to read philosophy or be a scientist or become a political leader. These characters are usually the ‘voice of the present’ in historical fiction, providing the reader with someone to relate to throughout the story.
2. A hero arises from nothing to save their people.
The ‘hero from the ashes’ trope in historical fiction is usually used turning a minor hero of a particular time period into the main protagonist by transforming them into an archetypal hero. Think William Wallace in Braveheart or Spartacus in Spartacus. Historically, they were not as moving and influential as their respective films make them out to be.
3. The evil antagonist wants to keep everything the same.
Antagonists in historical fiction are often fighting against the oncoming change in social constructs and political structures. Like Javert in Les Miserables or King George in Hamilton, these characters are depicted far more narrow-minded in an effort to hold onto what they know because it gives them power or a sense of security.
4. One character is full of faith, and everybody knows it.
Because religion has been the driving force behind so many historical events, the ‘person of faith’ character trope represents that ever-present element in a story. This person could be a priest or nun, or even just someone who has grown up in religion.
5. A historical woman becomes more relevant and beautiful.
When the historical fiction focuses on an important woman (like The Other Boleyn Girl or any fiction about Queen Victoria I in England), their physical features are described as much more attractive that they were in real life. This could be to make their power and presence more believable by making them physically attractive as well as mentally cunning.
6. Marginalized people are more important than history remembers them.
When there is little information about a character beyond their name, a new trope is to describe those characters as members as a marginalized community. This is to show that people of different cultures or sexualities have always been present in history; they have just rarely been acknowledged.
7. Faceless servants are given the spotlight they deserve.
A similar trope to the marginalized communities one is giving servants more of a role than history remembers them. Take for example Forrest Whitaker’s film The Butler: a minor real person, the White House butler, witnesses and indirectly impacts major events in US history just by being present.
Time Era Tropes
8. The times, they are a ‘changing…
Setting a piece of historical fiction during an important time of political and social change is a common trope. The most common time periods are the US Revolutionary War, the French Revolution, the US Civil War, the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth the I, the Bolshevik Revolution, and either of the World Wars.
9. Concurrent Narratives show how history repeats itself.
Dual narratives are popular in historical fiction to show how past events have impacted the present. A common sub-trope is the surprise ending which shows an unexpected way the two narratives are connected, usually through the protagonist of the past narrative being a relative of the protagonist in the present.
10. Name-dropping important historical figures or events for historical accuracy.
Even when the plot has little to do with actual historical events, name-dropping the names of historical people, places, or events gives the story relevance. For example, stories set in New York in the 1920s might reference popular Harlem Renaissance artists or if set in Chicago, they might reference Al Capone.
11. Alluding to the things not possibly known during the time of the story.
This is a version of the name-dropping trope that often happens when writers mention elements the present-day reader knows about while the in-story characters shouldn’t. Jack Dawson’s character in the film Titanic is one such character who mentions places in the US, like a roller coaster and man-made lake, that didn’t exist when the Titanic sank.
12. Minor characters and events make an unknown significant impact on the present day.
This trope turns history on its head by asserting that a previously unknown person, like a servant or a shopkeeper, actually turned the tide of history with a small gesture. For example, a house servant doesn’t deliver important surveillance to a general of the American Revolution.
Plot Tropes
13. Go West, Young Man, Go West!
Because the Western Expansion in the US changed the US dramatically during a time when people were struggling and starving, a popular plot trope is to focus on a character making that move.
14. Relationships of convenience are launched for either profit or control.
Another plot trope is to show two people placed into a relationship of convenience because they were so common. The Duke and I (Bridgerton book 1) employs this plot by having the Duke and Daphne pretend to be in a relationship in order to attract other suitors for Daphne.
15. Mismatched characters forced together on a quest.
This ‘odd couple in forced proximity’ trope is often used to highlight a writer’s knowledge of the historic period by showcasing the different people and places the characters could have come in contact with. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a good example of this trope: Huck and a slave ride down the Mississippi River on a raft during the 1830s.
16. Unconventional match becomes the strongest love.
Similar to the ‘relationship of convenience’ trope, historical romance fiction especially might have mismatched lovers who don’t even like each other at the start. Bridgerton’s The Viscount Who Loved Me has the main character Viscount Bridgerton fall in love with the sister of his potential wife when they originally despise each other.
17. Defending against the invading horde.
Because so much of history is about colonization, a popular historical fiction plot trope is to focus on a hero protecting their people from the invading colonizers. This could be Europe defending against the Romans, Asia defending against Genghis Khan, or Scotland defending against the English (like in Braveheart).
18. The end is the beginning.
Since the outcome of a historical event is already known, another plot trope is to begin with the known ending then tell the story of how that ending came to be. Titanic does this by focusing on the expedition to see the sunken remains then introduces the older Rose to describe her experience on the Titanic itself.
19. An alternative version shows what ‘really’ happened.
A version of ‘history is written by the winners,’ another popular trope is to write what happened from the other side’s perspective. For example, there are numerous historical fiction stories about the Battle of Big Horn from the Native American perspective or the Battle of the Alamo from the Mexican people’s that Americans as bloodthirsty rather than the heroes they are described in the history books.