Historical fiction?

[javasaurus]

From a conversation at work, the following questions:

What is the difference between "historical fiction" and fiction with a historical setting? And how far back in time do you need to go to be "historical" in this sense? Could fiction written with a modern setting be considered historical fiction in the future?

Comments

[javasaurus.livejournal.com]

I don't watch the History Channel much. Heck, I don't really watch TV much. But looking at the HC's prime time for the next week, there are a lot of potentially interesting shows, nearly none of which are WWII. Is this an off-week for them, or is the WWII stuff mostly daytime and late night?