The Historical Novel

Although 19th century Europeans and Americans regarded their era as the vanguard of international peace and progress, the century was filled with the brutalities of class revolt and the carnage of revolution. The historical novel arose concurrent with these volatile conditions, during the turbulent wake of the American and French Revolutions. We will trace the beginnings of the historical novel in works by Scott and Pushkin, and then its later development in works by Stendhal, Dickens, Anatole France and Pasternak. The central text of the course will be Tolstoi's War and Peace. (Formerly LITS 0220) 3 hrs. lect.