The Historical Novel: An Essay

Rediscover the power of storytelling that shapes our past and our understanding of it. In The Historical Novel: An Essay, Herbert Butterfield offers a clear, provocative exploration of the delicate dance between history and imagination. This seminal Herbert Butterfield essay probes how novelists reconstruct the past, balancing factual fidelity with moral and narrative truth. Butterfield maps the strengths and pitfalls of historical fiction, from the grand reconstructions of Walter Scott to the intimate moral insight of later novelists, delivering sharp historical novel analysis and literary criticism on historical novels that still resonates today. Celebrated for its lucid arguments about the history and fiction relationship, this essay examines why historical narrative exploration matters: how storytelling frames national memory, ethical judgment, and scholarly understanding. Readers gain historical fiction insights into genre conventions, the responsibilities of writers who recreate lives long gone, and critical frameworks for exploring historical narratives. Out of print for decades, this work is now lovingly restored and republished by Alpha Editions. This edition has been carefully prepared for today s and future generations not merely a reprint but a collector s item and cultural treasure. Essential for casual readers curious about understanding historical novels and for classic literature collectors seeking foundational historical literature critique, Butterfield s study remains a must-read for anyone investigating the historical novel genre study and the enduring relationship between history and fiction.