Skip to main content
Modules
Courses / Modules / ENGL3099 The Historical Novel

The Historical Novel

When you'll study it
Semester 1
CATS points
15
ECTS points
7.5
Level
Level 6
Module lead
Kevin Brazil
Academic year
2024-25

Module overview

What can novels tell us about history? What can history tell us about novels? This module will explore these questions by studying the literary genre of the historical novel, from its origins in the eighteenth century to its emergence as one of the most prominent genres of the present day. We will read novels from all over the English-speaking world, following the emergence of the historical novel in Ireland, Scotland, England, the United States, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa. We will look at influential theories of the relationship between history and fiction, by thinkers like Georg Lukács and Hayden White. And we will ask what the historical novel can tell us about the nature of time, trauma, national identity, the relationship between generations, decolonization, and more.

Back
to top