As many teachers and educators seriously question the role of textbooks in the History lesson, teachers and educators are looking increasingly to alternative and more engaging teaching/learning strategies (Villano, 2005). Recognising the significant pedagogical advantages of using historical fiction in their classrooms, some teachers have long used historical fiction as a central teaching/learning strategy in the History classroom. Now, however, student teachers and teachers are advantaged — and consequently, should be reassured — by an emerging amount of research showing how the teaching of historical literacy through historical novels can be achieved. There is, I argue, ample evidence of the many pedagogical advantages of using historical novels in their teaching.

Consider this classroom scenario: there is a Year 9 class researching different aspects of medieval history. One group is researching the design of a typical castle. The teacher reads a short section of Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth (1989) to the group. The selection describes the layout and design of a castle as seen through the eyes of William, a potential attacker. The goal is for students to design their own castle based on the description from the novel. This is a challenging lesson, requiring students to envision text. The teacher reads the excerpt, a few sentences at a time. At appropriate points, she pauses and gives the students time to sketch. Follett (1989) describes the moat as a figure 8.