Tropes of Yesteryear: Common Themes in Historical Fiction

What a gift it is to be able to open a book or press play for a movie, TV show, or song and be transported into another time. Historical Fiction is oftentimes one of the first ways many people encounter different cultures or time periods and it serves as both an excellent gateway to further discovery as well as entertainment.

In December 2025, I wrote about some of my favorite tropes for Romance books, and today I am pleased to discuss literary tropes within the Historical Fiction genre. Before we begin our exploration of the genre, let me provide a few definitions. A literary genre is a category of literature based on shared traits; some examples of genres include: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Romance, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, etc. Also, it is very common to see some stories contain elements from different genres. A trope is a frequently used theme or plot device.

Today, we will look at some books, film (screen), and song examples of Historical Fiction that exemplify common tropes of the literary category. It is vital to remember that Historical Fiction is fictitious; this is especially important when it relates to real people and events. Let us not forget that as a work of Fiction, it is within the author’s rights to alter details whether from an unconscious or purposeful intention.

Tropes:

• War: a common theme which many writers of Historical Fiction use as both a setting as well as a plot point. War can divide lovers, create meetings between people who would never have met otherwise, and challenge the stuff one is made of. Many historical fiction readers find themselves drawn to certain time periods, and World War II literature is amongst the most popular time periods for many readers.

  • Book: All the Light We Cannot See is a Pulitzer Prize winning book by Anthony Doerr that uses the fictional story of a blind French girl whose path crosses with a German boy during World War II.

  • Screen: Inglourious Basterds directed by Quentin Tarantino is described as “In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.” Roger Ebert wrote, “Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s the real thing, a director of quixotic delights.”

  • Song: “Zombie” by The Cranberries has Historical Fiction themes with a war trope as it explores the lasting negative effects of a specific historical event: the Easter Rising in 1916. In 2018, Bad Wolves produced their own version of the song and updated the lyrics to remove the reference to 1916 and to add in the mention of drones to showcase a more modern war experience.

• Orphan’s Bildungsroman: a coming-of-age story told from the perspective of an orphan.

  • Book: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a shocking and heartrending historical fiction novel based on the real-life scandal of the Tennessee Children's Home Society, which illegally kidnapped and sold children from poor families.

  • Screen: Ever After: A Cinderella Story alters the story of Cinderella in 16^th century France with intervention from Leonardo Da Vinci replacing the fairy godmother. From exquisite costume design to a heroine to love, Ever After is a fabulous film.

  • Song: “It’s A Hard-Knock Life” from the musical Annie depicts the less-than-ideal circumstances many orphans faced with unforgettable lyrics like, “It's a hard-knock life for us / No one cares for you a smidge / When you’re in an orphanage.”

• Main Character Ahead of Their Time: throughout history, both in fact and fiction, many people have seemed to contain a certain quality that sets them apart from their contemporaries; these stories depict characters who demonstrate this.

  • Book: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is set in Charleston in the early 1800s and tells the story of Sarah Grimké, a woman who fights for abolition and women's rights far ahead of her time.

  • Screen: Outlander is the television adaptation of the book series by Diana Gabaldon which follows Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743 where she meets a romantic young Scottish warrior. Claire’s medical knowledge and independent nature make her a character ahead of her time, arguably in both timelines.

  • Song: "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl demonstrates how ahead of her time the character Fanny Brice is with lyrics like: “Don't tell me not to live / Just sit and putter / Life's candy and the sun's / A ball of butter / Don't bring around a cloud / To rain on my parade.”

• Clash of Cultures: different cultures meeting or even different social classes from within the same society; readers love witnessing how characters broaden their horizons for better or worse.

  • Book: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe describes the social structure of an Igbo village before and after British colonialism from the perspective of a villager.

  • Screen: Hidden Figures dramatizes the stories of real Black women who overcame adversity to do fundamental work for NASA.

  • Song: “You Did It” from My Fair Lady is a song which showcases how language is affected by social class. The musical follows Professor Higgins as he works to alter the speech patterns of a flower seller, Eliza Doolittle, played by Audrey Hepburn. The song expresses the self-congratulatory nature of Higgins and his team as Eliza tricks people into believing she is of royal blood.

• The Power of the Dollar: these stories share a common theme of financial gain or loss.

  • Book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck depicts the story of one family losing financial status while another family gains it in old agrarian China.

  • Screen: Great Expectations directed by Mike Newell is one of many film adaptations of Dickens’ literary masterpiece which showcases the brutality of Victorian England as young Pip navigates social class, found wealth, and love.

  • Song: “My Shot” from the musical Hamilton explains the urgency Alexander Hamilton felt on his path towards becoming a Founding Father of the United States with lyrics like, “Hey yo, I'm just like my country / I'm young, scrappy and hungry / And I'm not throwin' away my shot.”

• Dual Timeline: dual or multi timeline stories generally connect the various plot points to unite themes across different time periods. This is a frequently utilized theme in Historical Fiction, as it can allow modern characters to interact with historical events or people in a manner that would be otherwise impossible to accomplish.

  • Book: Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head is “a searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist's search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago--inspired by the author's own family history.”

  • Screen: The Fountain is a Romance/Fantasy/and Historical Fiction hybrid story in which one man's devotion to the woman he (played by Hugh Jackman) loves sends him on a journey through the past, present, and future to save her (played by Rachel Weisz) from death.

  • Song: “Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones is told from the perspective of the Devil who explains that he’s “been around for a long, long year / Stole many a man's soul and faith” throughout multiple historical events like the Russian revolution and JFK’s assassination.

For additional book, screen, or song recommendations, visit the librarians at the reference desk of any of our branches to discover more about our physical collections, Libby, or Kanopy.

~Bekka, Lawrence (Headquarters) Branch