Le Guin was vaguely in my thoughts for counter-examples, but without a specific story (or stories) in mind. GGK had completely evaporated from my memory: I read The Lions of Al-Rassan as a teen and wasn't impressed enough to read the rest of Kay's fiction. Though the recent skygiants recaps are making me consider taking a stab at the Fionovar Tapestry, because fangirl capslock is irresistible.

So why not go with straight up historical fantasy? What do the non-pseudo-historical tropes add to the story of Maia's development as a person, and as a ruler? It shouldn't be a huge issue, but apparently this is driving me to distraction. (Er, if you don't want to descend into full book club mode about this, no worries! I can mull this over on my own time.)