Historical Novel in English Literature
Introduction
The historical novel is an important form of fiction. It combines history and imagination. It tells a fictional story against the background of a real historical period. The characters may be imaginary, but the time, place, social conditions and important historical events are usually based on history.
Definition
A historical novel is a novel that presents an imaginary story and characters in a real historical setting. The writer uses historical events, people, customs, politics and social life to make the story realistic.
For example, Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe is set in medieval England during the time of King Richard I. The main characters are largely fictional, but the historical background is real.
Thus, a historical novel stands between history and fiction. History gives the background, while imagination gives life to the story.
Origin of the Historical Novel
The historical novel became popular in the early nineteenth century. However, writers had used historical stories much earlier. Some old romances, chronicles and plays also dealt with historical events.
The real development of the historical novel is closely connected with the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). He is generally regarded as the father of the historical novel in English literature.
Before Scott, writers often used history mainly as a background for romance or adventure. Scott gave historical fiction a new form. He carefully studied the past and presented the customs, manners, language, politics and everyday life of different periods.
His first important historical novel was Waverley (1814). It is set during the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Scotland. The novel became very successful and started a new tradition in English fiction.
Development of the Historical Novel
1. Sir Walter Scott
Scott's novels established the historical novel as an important literary form. His famous novels include:
- Waverley (1814) – deals with the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland.
- Old Mortality (1816) – presents the religious and political conflicts of seventeenth-century Scotland.
- Ivanhoe (1819) – presents medieval England during the reign of Richard I.
- The Heart of Mid-Lothian (1818) – deals with Scottish social and political life.
Scott usually placed ordinary people in the middle of great historical events. His novels show how history affects the lives of common people.
2. Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens also contributed to the development of the historical novel. His A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is set during the French Revolution. The novel presents the violence, suffering and social injustice of that period through fictional characters such as Sydney Carton, Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette.
3. William Makepeace Thackeray
Thackeray's Henry Esmond (1852) is set in England during the seventeenth century. It presents political and social life during the period of the Restoration.
4. Robert Louis Stevenson
Stevenson used historical settings in adventure novels. Kidnapped (1886) is set in Scotland in the eighteenth century and presents the political conflicts of the time through the adventures of David Balfour.
5. George Eliot
George Eliot's Romola (1863) is set in fifteenth-century Florence, Italy. Though Eliot was mainly a realist novelist, she used a historical setting to explore human nature, religion and society.
6. Later Development
The historical novel continued to develop in the twentieth century. Writers began to use history not only to tell stories of kings, wars and political events but also to explore ordinary people's lives, social problems, identity and human relationships.
Examples include I, Claudius (1934) by Robert Graves, which presents ancient Rome through the fictionalised voice of the Roman emperor Claudius, and The Once and Future King (1958) by T. H. White, which retells the legends of King Arthur.
Conclusion
The historical novel combines fact and fiction, history and imagination. Sir Walter Scott gave the form its modern shape and made it highly popular. Later writers such as Dickens, Thackeray, Stevenson, George Eliot and Robert Graves developed it in different ways. The historical novel remains popular because it allows readers to understand the past while enjoying an interesting story.
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