Historical Fictionistas discussion

Esther wrote: "Historical fiction should always be written in the first person..."

I disagree. I'd probably stop reading historical fiction if it were to ONLY exist in first person. If it's done well, it can work, but not every story fits that format, and not every main character is one that can carry a first person narrative.

I know I've read some books in which the author has more than one first person viewpoint, although I can't remember any specific examples at the moment. That can be a good approach, and an interesting challenge for the author, in establishing the different voices of the various narrators.

I agree that historical fiction which covers a range of events and locations over a period of time needs more than one viewpoint because one person can't witness every event the author might wish to include.