First published 2023
Bruce Holsinger assembles novelists, scholars, and critics to examine historical fiction in the twenty-first century. The collection investigates why writers select specific moments, events, and figures for their fictional works and how these choices shape readers' views of the present. Contributors explore how contemporary academics study the creation and reception of historical fiction, and whether these scholarly approaches align with writers' creative concerns. The volume asks what academics can discover from current practitioners of this ancient genre, and how novelists view their work in relation to critical traditions that influence their academic peers. Hilary Mantel contributes an original essay about creating the Wolf Hall trilogy. Other internationally recognized novelists including George Saunders, Namwali Serpell, Maaza Mengiste, and Téa Obreht add their perspectives to this comprehensive examination of historical fiction's current state and future possibilities.
Genres: historical-fiction, criticism, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: metafiction
Period: 21st-century
240 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press