historical novel
literature
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Edit History
historical novel, a novel that has as its setting a period of history and that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of a past age with realistic detail and fidelity (which is in some cases only apparent fidelity) to historical fact. The work may deal with actual historical personages, as does Robert Graves's I, Claudius (1934), or it may contain a mixture of fictional and historical characters. It may focus on a single historic event, as does Franz Werfel's Forty Days of Musa Dagh (1934), which dramatizes the defense of an Armenian stronghold. More often it attempts to portray a broader view of a past society in which great events are reflected by their impact on the private lives of fictional individuals. Since the appearance of the first historical novel, Sir Walter Scott's Waverley (1814), this type of fiction has remained popular. Though some historical novels, such as Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (1865–69), are of the highest artistic quality, many of them are written to mediocre standards. One type of historical novel is the purely escapist costume romance, which, making no pretense to historicity, uses a setting in the past to lend credence to improbable characters and adventures.
Key People: Winston Churchill Victor Hugo Xenophon Aleksandr Pushkin Sir Walter Scott
Related Topics: genre
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
This article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.
Kálmán Mikszáth
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Kálmán Mikszáth
Hungarian author
Alternate titles: Mikszáth Kálmán
By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica • Last Updated: May 24, 2022 • Edit History
Kálmán Mikszáth, Hungarian form Mikszáth Kálmán, (born January 16, 1847, Szklabonya, Hungary [now Sklabiná, Slovakia]—died May 28, 1910, Budapest), novelist, regarded by contemporaries and succeeding generations alike as the outstanding Hungarian writer at the turn of the century. He studied law but soon took up journalism. In 1887, already famous, he was elected to the National Assembly.
Born: January 16, 1847 Hungary
Died: May 28, 1910 (aged 63) Budapest Hungary
Notable Works: "A Noszty fiu esete Tóth Marival" "A fekete város" "Beszterce ostroma" "Különös házasság"
Mikszáth scored his first success with two volumes of short stories entitled A tót atyafiak (1881; "The Slovak Kinsfolk"), and A jó palócok (1882; "The Good Palócs"). In 1894 he published his first novel, Beszterce ostroma ("The Siege of Beszterce"), the story of an eccentric Hungarian aristocrat. Mikszáth's early art is romantic. Toward the end of the century he became more realistic as the writer of everyday life, which he described with understanding and sympathy, though he did not hesitate to pillory the shortcomings of society with sharp-witted satire.
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Only toward the end of his life did Mikszáth succeed in creating such full-sized novels as his two principal works Különös házasság (1900; "A Strange Marriage") and A Noszty fiu esete Tóth Marival (1908; "The Noszty Boy and Mary Tóth"). The first of these works is set in early 19th-century Hungary and deals with the fight of two lovers against the oppressive forces of society. The second tells the story of a frivolous young noble who tries to make a fortune by seducing a rich middle-class girl. Mikszáth's last work, A fekete város (1910; "The Black City"), is the finest of his historical novels.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
This article was most recently revised and updated by J.E. Luebering.