The Paradox of Historical Fiction: A Plaidoyer for Fictionality in Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars

Lea Košmrlj

doi:10.4312/an.57.2.45-61

Authors

Lea Košmrlj University of Ljubljana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/an.57.2.45-61

Keywords:

historical fiction, young adult literature, Lois Lowry, Number the Stars, fact and fiction

Abstract

In light of the fact/fiction divide, this paper delves into the literary genre of historical fiction for young adults and re-examines the disputed boundaries between fact and fiction. Exploring Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, a work of historical fiction for young adults about life in Nazi-occupied Denmark, this discussion addresses the paradoxical nature of historical fiction: it is the fictional elements of historical fiction that play the crucial part in bringing historical facts closer to the young adult reader.

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