Any book that hinges on history to propel the narrative? What do you think? Do all of the above-referenced books count as historical fiction to you? I used to consider this one of the remaining genres that was well-defined to the point of exclusivity, unlike SciFi and fantasy, or thriller and mystery, or paranormal and romance, which tend to bleed into each other fairly easily. Now that my own book was classified as historical mystery (when I'd thought it was something else) I'm curious what hard-core historical fiction lovers consider ripe (or rotten) fruit for their tastes. Is it historical fiction if it involves creatures? How about a thrilling chase after an historical artifact? Or an alternative history?

Of the books you listed, I'd shelve Wolf Hall as historical fiction, and The Plot Against America as alternate history. Haven't read the others (never heard of The Book of Air and Shadows).