Research Catalog
The historical novel from Scott to Sabatini : changing attitudes toward a literary genre, 1814-1920
- Title
- The historical novel from Scott to Sabatini : changing attitudes toward a literary genre, 1814-1920 / Harold Orel.
- Author
- Orel, Harold, 1926-2017.
- Publication
- New York : St. Martin's Press, 1995.
Items in the Library & Off-site
Filter by
1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | PR868.H5 O74 1995 | Off-site |
Details
- Description
- vii, 189 pages; 23 cm
- Summary
- Sir Walter Scott, in theory and practice, established a rationale for the writing of historical novels. He identified the relative importance of the roles to be played by real men and women of the past, and discussed the significance of language, the importance of research as opposed to the claims of the imagination, and the proper use of strong passions in his fictional characters. Some of his contemporaries and successors thought that they could surpass his achievement by being more faithful to the 'facts' of history, or by moralizing about more up-to-date issues, but their efforts proved less successful. Not until Robert Louis Stevenson redefined the possibilities inherent in the genre - beginning in the 1880s - did the historical romance attract a wider audience. The resurgence of this type of fiction, called by some 'The New Historical Novel', attracted the impressive storytelling talents of Sir Walter Besant, Richard Doddridge Blackmore, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stanley John Weyman, Anthony Hope, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, and Rafael Sabatini. The Armistice that concluded the Great War brought to an abrupt end this amazing forty-year vogue for costume novels. The story of how and why they became so popular is well worth reviewing.
- Subject
- Scott, Walter, 1771-1832 > Influence
- Scott, Walter, 1771-1832
- 1800-1999
- Geschichte 1800-1920
- Geschichte 1880-1915
- Historical fiction, English > History and criticism > Theory, etc
- English fiction > 19th century > History and criticism
- English fiction > 20th century > History and criticism
- Literature and history > Great Britain
- Literary form > History > 19th century
- Literary form > History > 20th century
- English fiction
- Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.)
- Literary form
- Literature and history
- Historischer Roman
- Englisch
- Great Britain
- Englisch
- Genre/Form
- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 164-180) and index.
- Contents
- Introduction. -- The Scott legacy. -- The emphasis on history in the historical novel. -- Didactic elements in the historical novel. -- Stevenson and the historical romance. -- Robert Louis Stevenson and The Master of Ballentrae (1889) -- Sir Walter Besant and Dorothy Forster (1884) -- Richard Dodderidge Blackmore and Springhaven (1887) -- Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch ('Q') and The splendid spur (1889) -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and The White company (1891) -- Stanley John Weyman and A gentleman of France (1893) -- Simon Dale (1898) by Anthony Hope. -- Sir Henry Rider Haggard and Eric Brighteyes (1898) -- Rafael Sabatini and The sea-hawk (1915) -- Coda: the great war and after.
- ISBN
- 0312124732
- 9780312124731
- 0333607627
- 9780333607626
- LCCN
- 94034636
- OCLC
- ocm31076536
- 31076536
- SCSB-2045441
- Owning Institutions
- Princeton University Library