Contemporary English Historical Fiction當(dāng)代英國歷史小說

ContemporaryEnglishHistoricalFictionI.IntroductionBritainisthehomeofEuropeanhistoricalfiction.WalterScott,afamousEnglishnovelistwhosemaincontributiontoliteratureislargelyinhistoricalnovelisgenerallybelievedtobethetruefatherofEuropeanhistoricalfiction.FromWalterScotton,manyBritishwritersfocusonhistoryandmanyhistoricalnovelscameintobeing,butforquitealongtimeBritishhistoricalnovelscouldnotmatchtheglamourofthehistoricalnovelsbyWalterScott.However,sincetheendofthesixtiethinthelastcentury,therecomesthesuddenboomofhistoricalfictioninBritain.Notonlyhistoricalnovelistswritehistoricalnovels,butalsosomefamousseriousnovelistswritesomehistoricalnovels.Suchaboomisduetothehistoricalturninliterature.Sinceliteratureisrelatedwitheitherphilosophyorhistoryinsomeliterarycritics'eyes,andmanymaterialsinnovelsarefromhistory,theboomofhistoricalfictioninEnglishliteratureisquiteunderstandable:"almostallnovelsaresetinthepast,eventhosewritteninthepresenttense."Thereisadisputeoverwhatnovelconcerningthepastisahistoricalnovel.Thefatherofhistoricalfiction,WalterScott,settherule:"itissixtyyearssince."Inthethirtiesinthelastcentury,theMarxistcriticLukasarguedthatearlyhistoricalnovelslikethosebyScot,Balzac,andTolstoyshowedthatman'snaturewasnotfixedbuttransformedovertime;thus,theyshowedthatrevolutionwaspossibleand,indoingso,madeitmorelikely.Butnowitisgenerallybelievedthathistoricalfictionincludesawiderangeofworksonthebasisofbiographicaldetailsandhistoricaleventswhicharesetintheperiodsotherthanthewriter'sandcontemporaryreaders'time,representingcharactersininteractionwithsettings,culture,andpeopleofthepast.Forquitealongtimehistoricalfictionwasconsideredtobeakindofpopularliterature,butnotaseriousgenreoffiction,butsincetheseventiesinthelastcentury,thehistoricalnovelhasbecomefiction'smostprominentandenduringsubgenreandhas,moreover,unshackleditselffromitsearlierimageasasomewhatlowbrowcousintoseriouswriting.Criticshaveperceivedchangesinthefundamentalattitudeofsomehistoricalfiction,changesthatappeartoberelatedtoaparallelnarrativeturninhistoricalwriting,andtotheimpactofpoststructuralismandpostmodernismonliteraryfiction.Historicalfictionnowisahybridform,halfbetweenfictionandnonfiction.Itisapioneercountry,withoutfixedlaws.Tosome,ifitisfiction,anythingispermittedinthenovel.Toothers,wantoninventionwhenfactsaretobefound,or,worse,contradictionofwell-knownfacts,isahorror:aviolationofanimplicitcontrastwiththereader,andabetrayalofthepeoplewrittenabout.IncontemporaryBritishliteratureBookerPrizeisgenerallybelievedtobethebellwetherforthenovelwritinginBritain.In2009allofthesixnovelsintheshortlistofBookerPrize,J.M.Coetzee'sSummertime,A.S.Byatt'sTheChildren'sBook,SimonMawer'sTheGlassRoom,SarahWater'sTheLittleStranger,AdamFoulds'TheQuickeningMazeandthefinalwinnerHilaryMantel'sWolfHallareallhistoricalnovels.Thecompetitionwasveryfierce.TheBookerPrizeCommitteechairmanJamesNaughtythinks,theBookerPrizeawardedWolfHallbecause"thisisagreatwork.Narrativeandplotbold......Strangeisthat,inthewordsofHilaryMantel,oneofthejudgessaid,withthecontemporarynoveltellsofasixteenthCenturystory.""Thismorningweseveraltogether,wedon'tknowwhowilleventuallywin."Naughtysaid,"Ithinkweinthevotingprocesswereverytired,butletusencouraged,wefinallyselectedaworthyManBookerPrizetohonorthework."Naughtyalsosaid:"the6entriesareverygood,close,Mantel'sWolfHallisjustthemountainstheslightlyhigherheadmountain,otherworkswillberememberedforthereader."Veryinterestingly,butnotaccidently,LostManBookerPrizewenttoJ.G.Farell'sTroublesin2010.FarellwontheBookerPrizein1973forhisnovelTheSiegeofKrishnapur,ahistoricalnovel.AfterMantelwontheBookerPrizein2009forherhistoricalnovel,WolfHall,whichissetaroundtheEnglishReformationinTudorperiod,in2012heranotherhistoricalnovelBringUptheBodiesasasucceedingnoveltoWolfHallwontheBookerPrize.HistoricalnovelshavewonmanyliteraryprizesinBritainsofar,whichhasattractedagreatattentionofliterarycritics.IfwelookbackatthehistoryoftheBookerPrize,inits45years'historyaltogether17historicalnovelshavewontheprize,accountingfor1/3ofthetotal.ThesehistoricalnovelsareP.H.Newby'sSomethingtoAnswerforin1969，JohnBerger'sGin1972,J.G.Farrell'sTheSiegeofKrishnapurin1973,RuthPrawerJhabvala'sHeatandDustin1975,PaulScott'sStayingOnin1977,WilliamGolding'sRitesofPassagein1980,SalmanRushdie'sMidnight'sChildrenin1981,ThomasKenneally'sSchindler'sArkinl982,J.M.Coetzee'sLifeandTimesofMichaelKin1983,PeterCarey'sOscarandLucindain1988,A.S.Byatt'sPossessionin1990,BarryUnsworth'sSacredHungerin1992,PatBarker'sTheGhostRoadin1995,PeterCarey'sTheTrueHistoryoftheKellyGangin2001,HilaryMantel'sWolfHallin2009,theLostManBookerPrizewinnerJ.G.Farell'sTroublesin2010(TheLostManBookerwasdesignedtobeawardedjustonce,toabookpublishedduringaperiodin1970thatwoundupbeingunsuitablefortheBookerPrizebecauseofrules'change.)andHilaryMantel'sBringUptheBodiesin2012.BesidesthehistoricalnovelsthathavewontheBookerPrize,suchhistoricalnovelsasJohnFowles'TheFrenchLieutenant'sWomanin1969,MichaelOndaatje'sTheEnglishPatientin1992andMargretDrabble'sTheRedQueenin2004areveryfamousandnoteworthy.TheboomofhistoricalfictioninBritainhasmanyreasons.First,BritainisthehomeofhistoricalfictionandforquitealongtimehistoricalfictionhasfullydevelopedandthereisverylargeandstablereadershipofhistoricalfictioninBritain,andsecondly,thewaveofnewhistoricisminthewestgivesriseandimpetustoEnglishhistoricalfiction,andalsomanynoveliststrytheirbesttomakesomeexperimentinfictionandtheyusehistoryasaplatformtoconveysomeidealsandpracticetheirwritingtechniques.ThatrecentBritishandanglophonefictionhastakenahistoricalturnhasbecomeafocusofcriticalcommentaryonthecontemporaryBritishliteraryscene.Thehistoricalnovel,asubgenreoftheEnglishnovelwithacontinuouspresencesincetheeighteenthcentury,hasinthepasttwodecadesflourished,enjoyingpopularsuccesswithadevotedreadership,undergoingenergeticfeministandpostcolonialrevisions,winningsignificantprizes,inspiringfilmandtelevisionadaptations,andcommandingsignificantcriticalattention.Historicalfictionincludesawiderangeofworkswithabasisinbiographicaldetailsandhistoricalevents,setinperiodsotherthanthewriter'sandcontemporaryreaders'times,andrepresentingcharactersininteractionwithsettings,cultures,events,andpeopleofthepast.Somewriters,suchasPatrickO'BrianandJ.G.Farrell,builtcareersonhistoricalfiction.Manymorenovelists(PenelopeFitzgerald,HilaryMantel,TimothyMo,IrisMurdoch,JeanetteWinterson)havewrittenoneortwocriticallyacclaimedhistoricalnovels,whilenotdedicatingthemselvesexclusivelytothisgenre.Afewwriters(PeterAckroydandStevieDavies)havewrittenbothnonfictionalhistoricalworksorbiographiesandalsofictionalnarrativessetinthepast.上一頁12下一頁II.TheCharacteristicsofContemporaryEnglishHistoricalFictionIncontemporaryEnglishhistoricalnovelsreaderscanfindsixoutstandingcharacteristicssuchasimperialcomplex,reflectiononwars,exposureofhumanityandtransmissionofideals,reflectionofcolonialism,rewritingofhistoryandexperimentinhistoricalnovelsintechniques.1.ImperialComplexAftertheSecondWorldWar,Britainbegantodeclinedramaticallyandirreversibly.TheobviousrecessionineveryaspectinthecountrydisappointedtheEnglishpeople.AstheEnglishstrengthwasdecreasinggraduallymanyEnglishcoloniesbegantoresorttoindependenceandfinallygainedindependenceoneafteranother.AlthoughBritainisneveranempirewherethesunneversets,thecontemporaryEnglishpeoplearestillobsessedwiththepastglamouroftheCommonwealth.Manypeoplehaveverystrongimperialcomplex.Somenovelistsalsohavestrongimperialcomplexandtheyshowsuchanostalgichistoricalnoveltorecallthepastgoodtimeincolonialcountries.HistoricalnovelstoreflectcoloniallifeandhistoricaleventscomeintobeingsuccessivelyinBritain.P.H.Newby'sSomethingtoAnswerfor,J.G.Farrell'sTheSiegeofKrishnapurandPaulScott'sStayingOnaresuchrepresentativehistoricalnovels.OnthebasisofSuezCanalCrisisthenovelSomethingtoAnswerforshowsthehelplessnessandhopelessnessofBritishEmpirethroughthelossoftheprotagonist'sidentityinEgypt.TheSiegeofKrishnapurshowsthetrueIndiaatthetimeoftheIndiannationaluprisingthroughoutthecountryin1857,butthehistoricalnoveltriesitsbesttobeautifyEnglishruleandweakentherealitythatEnglishmanipulatedIndiainveryfield.Theinsultingeventofoilingbulletswithbutterandlardisonlyconsideredtobetheresultofculturalmisunderstandingandtherefore,itistreatedlightlybutnotseriouslyatall.Thereisnotanyreflectiononit,andthereare,quiteunderstandably,noanywordsofcriticismonit.StayingOnfocusesononeEnglishcouplewhodecidetostayinIndiaafterIndiagainedindependenceandBritisharmyleftIndia.Thenovelunveilsfromtheperspectiveofthecouple.ItexposesthecontradictionandconflictbetweenBritainandIndiabeforeIndianindependenceincomparativelyauthenticway,anditalsoshowssomeaspectsofpolitics,economy,people'slifeandtheirstateofmindafterIndianindependence.2.RefectiononTwoWorldWarsThebloodinessandcrueltyofthetwoworldwarsleaveaninerasablememoryfortheEuropeans,includingEnglishpeople.ThewartraumaremainsasacollectiveorhistoricalmemorythatgivesrisetothedepictionofthetwoworldwarsinthehistoricalnovelsinBritishliterature.Inaddition,thecloudofthecoldwarwascastoverthewholeworld.Manypeopleatthattimewereafraidthatthedeepeningtensionbetweenthetworegimesmightleadtothethirdworldwarifthesituationcouldnotbeproperlyhandled.Anymissmeantaterribledisaster.Therewasauniversalcallforworldpeaceandaresistanceagainstwarsamongthewesternpeople,andtheEnglishwerenottheexception.BasedontheFirstWorldWarPatBarker'sTheGhostRoadrevealsthedistortionofhumanityandthecrueltyofthewar.Besidesthetwoworldwars,civilwarsinex-colonialcountrieswerefrequentafterindependence,whichbroughtmiseryanddisastertothepeopleinthosecountries.J.M.Coetzee'sLifeandTimesofMichaelKnarratesthedisasterbroughtaboutbythecivilwarinSouthAfrica,revealingthehumble,helplessandhopelesssituationforthecommonpeople,andthepeople'slifewasnothingbutonlydust.3.ExposureofHumanityandTransmissionofIdealsSomeEnglishwritersusehistoricalmaterialsasaplatformtorevealhumanityandexpresstheirideals.WilliamGolding'sRitesofPassagenarratesastorywhichisaboutthehappeningsinashipsailingtocolonialAustraliaduringNapoleonWarPeriodintheearly19thcentury.Thehistoricalnovelexposesthegraceandalsovicesofhumanity,illustratingtheideathathumannatureisbothbenevolentandvicious.ThomasKenneally'sSchindler'sArktellsreadersaheart-touchingstoryaboutrescuingthelivesoftheJewsintheNaziconcentrationcampsattheriskoflivesduringtheholocaustintheSecondWorldWar.Atthetimeofcreatingtheimageofthehero,OscarSchindler,theshortcomingsofthehero'sarealsoexposedasanaverageman.Thenovelradiateshumanitarianglamourhereandthere,projectingthegreatnessofhumanity.4.ReflectionofColonialismAftertheSecondWorldWarEnglishcoloniesbecameindependentsuccessively,butmanyremainasmembersoftheCommonwealthaftertheirindependence.InBritaintherearemanyimmigrantwritersfromtheex-colonialcountries,andtherearealsomanywriterswhowriteinEnglishintheCommonwealthcountriesbeyondBritain.Someofthesewriterswritehistoricalnovelstoexposeandreflecttheinfluenceandharmthatcolonialismhasbroughttotheirmothercountries.PrawerJhabvala'sHeatandDustcoversahistoryoffiftyyearsbeforeandafterIndianindependence.UndertheEnglishrulebeforeindependence,IndianpeoplesufferedenormouslyfromtheEnglishexploitationandenslavement.Theircustomsandtraditionweredespisedandtramped,too.TherewasnodignityforthenativeIndianpeople.Thecolonistswereonlyinterestedinexploitationandplunder,andtherefore,India,"ImperialJewelintheCrown",wasonlytheproducerofrawmaterialsandmanufacturingfactories.TherewasnoanyrealdevelopmentforIndia.SuchcolonialexploitationandplunderresultedinIndia'spovertyandbackwardnessformorethantenyearsafteritsindependence.TheIndianswerestillignorantandunintelligent,andoldhabitsandcustomsremainedthesame.ThenovelrelatesthesufferingsandpermanentharmthatEnglishcolonistshavebroughttoIndianpeople.SalmanRushdie'sMidnight'sChildrendisplaysthesignificanthistoricaleventinIndiafrom1919to1997throughthreegenerations.ThenoveldescribesthesideeffectsofcolonialismandexposessuchdisastrousconsequencesofEnglishcolonialisminIndiaasreligiousconflictandnationaldisunity.OnthebasisofEnglandandAustraliainthe19thcenturyasthebackgroundPeterCarey'sOscarandLucindanarratesthehistoryofEnglishculturalinvasionintoAustraliannativeculture.UnderthehelpofgunsandcannonsEnglishcultureerasednativeAustralianculture.EnglishinvasionnotonlyhasravagednativeAustralianculture,butalsospoiledthenatives'souls.BarryUnsworth'sSacredHungerdirectsitsattentiontowardthedetestableslavetradeinthe18thcentury.Thenoveldenouncesthemonstrouscrimesthatthecolonistshavecommittedwhentheyexplorethecolonies.5.RewritingofHistoryDuetothelimitationofhistoricalrecordinghistoricaleventscanbecovered,oreverworse,bedistorted.Sincetheendofthe1970sanewtrendofthoughtwhichisconcernedwithrewritingofhistoryfirstappearedinAmericaandsoonitsweptthroughoutEuropeandthenthewholeworld.Somehistoricaleventshavebeenreexaminedandrewritten,andsomepeoplewhohavebeenmarginalizedorseldom,orevennotmentionedatallinprevioushistoryhaveachancetoappearinsomeofthehistoricalnovels.PeterCarey'sTheTrueHistoryoftheKellyGangreexaminesthedistortedimageofaforestbanditKellyGanginprevioushistory,rectifyingthelong-heldwrongimageofthehero.HilaryMantel'sWolfHallin2009recreatesahistoricalfigureThomasCromwell,acontroversialbutoutstandingstatesmaninthetransitionalperiodofBritainfrommedievalfeudalismtomoderncapitalism.Forquitealongtimethegreatstatesmanhasbeenregardedasavillainandacheat.However,underMantel'spenthishistoricalfigureisrecreatedasaloyalandfaithfulcourtier,agratefulman,afilialson,abenevolentmasterandasympathetichumanist.InthenovelCromwelltakescenterstage,andhereheplaysthe"enlightened"statesmen:"agentlefather,ajustandforgivingpatron,andadefenderofthecommonman---inshort,theidealmodernman."ThomasCrowellisalsoagoodandaffectionatehusbandandatrustworthyfriend.ThomasMore,onthecontrary,isdepictedasareligiouszealotwhopersecuteshereticswithoutanymercy.Hetormentsthemonlyforonepurpose:tochangetheirreligiousbeliefsothathecanaccomplishhisgreatdeedsinreligiousendeavor.Inhistory,althoughMorewroteUtopiaandforthishehaslongbeenconsideredahumanist,heisactuallyverycrueltoprotestants.ThedepictionofThomasCromwellandthatofThomasMorehaverevertedthetraditionalimagesofthetwohistoricalfigures.SomecriticssaythatthisdichotomybetweenCromwellasaservantofthepeopleandMoreasareligioustyrantsimplydoesn'tmatchthehistoricalrecord,butthevividdescriptionandstep-by-stepnarrationmakethedepictionauthentic,oratleastbelievableinartisticworld.6.ExperimentinHistoricalNovelsinTechniquesForonetimetherecamesuchvoicesasthedeathofliterature,andthedeathoffiction,butjustaswhatthefamouscontemporaryEnglishnovelistFowelsoncepointedout,nomatterwhetherliteraturehasdiedorfictionhasdied,itisnotliteratureorfictionitselfthathasdied,butitsoldform.JustliketheliteratureinothercountriesatpresentcontemporaryEnglishliteratureisalwaysexploringnewformstowriteworksin.Meta-fictionisjustoneoftheformseverandstilltried.Meta-fictionisakindofnovelabouthowtowriteanovel.Itpaysattentiontotheprocessofthenovelwriting.A.S.Byatt'sPossessionisconsideredtobeatypicalmeta-novel.Infact,JohnBerger'sGisalsoaverytypicalmeta-novel.Althoughitssubtitlehasthewords"ANovel",theuseoflargequantityofhistoricaldocumentmakesthenovelquitedifferentfromanytraditionalnovel.Theprotagonis