Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the real-life past. Typically, historical fiction is a way for authors to imagine how their characters would have participated in (and potentially changed the course of) notable historical events—for example, the end of World War II or the fall of the Roman empire.

Why do you think historical fiction is important as a genre? What are some challenges authors might face when writing historical fiction? Are there some historical time periods that better lend themselves to the genre than others? Why?

Teaching Suggestion: In some ways, historical fiction explores The Nature of Truth by shining a light on the stories of people, places, and things that might not be well documented in our history books. In Code Name Verity, the author not only questions what exactly constitutes “truth,” she tells the story of two women whose war work and efforts are sometimes overshadowed by those of men in World War II history.

• Journalist Megan O’Grady asks, “
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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