Faction (literature)

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In literature, faction is a neologism used to describe a works based on real historical figures and actual events, woven together with fictional writing. An example of faction is the book According to Queeney by Beryl Bainbridge. This book describes the last few years of Samuel Johnson's life as seen through the eyes of Queeney Thrale, eldest daughter of Henry Thrale and Hester Thrale. Here, the word "faction" is a portmanteau of "fact" and "fiction".

Faction is often disliked as confusing to people who are trying to find facts. For example, schoolchildren told to look for historical information are liable to be confused by faction.

Faction is not only a new phenomenon. Geoffrey of Monmouth was an all too successful faction writer in the 12th century, and later the historian Holinshed was led into error by treating Geoffrey of Monmouth's writings as truth.