Until the 1970s, historical fiction was a scorned genre that belonged to Georgette Heyer and Jean Plaidy. Over recent decades, literary fiction has turned back to History, from Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy to Helen Dunmore, Francis Spufford and Eleanor Catton. In the nineteenth century the historical novel had been more respected, with examples (sometimes impressive, sometimes absurd) from Scott, Dickens, and George Eliot.

This lecture will examine the genre’s vicissitudes (while noticing Georgette Heyer’s novelistic virtues).

A lecture by John Mullan recorded on 1 March 2023 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/historical-fiction

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Historical Fiction from Sir Walter Scott to Georgette Heyer and Hilary Mantel