The New Faces of the Historical Novel

This article analyzes the problem of referentiality in the historical novel, based on a comparison between its classic and contemporary forms. The first section addresses the “mixture of history and invention” that, following Alessandro Manzoni, was the foremost characteristic of the realist histori...

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Main Author: Felipe Charbel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP); Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) 2020-04-01
Series:História da Historiografia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br/revista/article/view/1530
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author Felipe Charbel
author_facet Felipe Charbel
author_sort Felipe Charbel
collection DOAJ
description This article analyzes the problem of referentiality in the historical novel, based on a comparison between its classic and contemporary forms. The first section addresses the “mixture of history and invention” that, following Alessandro Manzoni, was the foremost characteristic of the realist historical novel. The next section discusses how the meta-historical novel of the second half of the 20th century - for example, Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee) and El entenado (Juan José Saer)-eclipsed the problem of referentiality by assuming that the historical novel should operate by its own procedures, and not those of history. The following sections discuss the referential turn in 21st century literary narratives, focusing on three novels: El material humano, by Rodrigo Rey Rosa; K. Relato de uma busca, by Bernardo Kucinski, and Jan Karski, by Yannick Haenel. The article concludes that the inversion of these two poles—from non-referentiality to the predominance of referentiality—is an unexpected facet of the elasticity of the concept (and practice) of fiction, which by denying itself ultimately enriches itself.
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spelling doaj.art-5e25d438348344518cfbb33cd6106d9e2022-12-21T18:49:15ZengUniversidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP); Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO)História da Historiografia1983-99282020-04-011332194610.15848/hh.v13i32.15301530The New Faces of the Historical NovelFelipe Charbel0Universidade Federal do Rio de JaneiroThis article analyzes the problem of referentiality in the historical novel, based on a comparison between its classic and contemporary forms. The first section addresses the “mixture of history and invention” that, following Alessandro Manzoni, was the foremost characteristic of the realist historical novel. The next section discusses how the meta-historical novel of the second half of the 20th century - for example, Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee) and El entenado (Juan José Saer)-eclipsed the problem of referentiality by assuming that the historical novel should operate by its own procedures, and not those of history. The following sections discuss the referential turn in 21st century literary narratives, focusing on three novels: El material humano, by Rodrigo Rey Rosa; K. Relato de uma busca, by Bernardo Kucinski, and Jan Karski, by Yannick Haenel. The article concludes that the inversion of these two poles—from non-referentiality to the predominance of referentiality—is an unexpected facet of the elasticity of the concept (and practice) of fiction, which by denying itself ultimately enriches itself.https://www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br/revista/article/view/1530historical novelfictionhistoricity
spellingShingle Felipe Charbel
The New Faces of the Historical Novel
História da Historiografia
historical novel
fiction
historicity
title The New Faces of the Historical Novel
title_full The New Faces of the Historical Novel
title_fullStr The New Faces of the Historical Novel
title_full_unstemmed The New Faces of the Historical Novel
title_short The New Faces of the Historical Novel
title_sort new faces of the historical novel
topic historical novel
fiction
historicity
url https://www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br/revista/article/view/1530
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