Article
Fictorians: historians who 'lie' about the past, and like it
TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Programs
(2015)
Abstract
Debates about history and fiction tend to pitch novelist against historian in a battle over
who owns or best represents the past. This article posits that things are not quite so
dichotomous: novelists write non-fiction histories, and historians even sometimes write
novels. In fact, these latter seem, anecdotally, to be increasing in number in recent
decades. The author approached some of these historians to find out why they have
turned to writing fictionalised versions of the past to complement, or sometimes
replace, their non-fiction publications. For the sake of clarity, in the article I have
playfully dubbed the historians who write historical fiction as ‘fictorians’. The article
considers their responses within wider discussions about history and fiction, and
reflects briefly upon the meaning of this ‘fictional turn’ for the future of the history
discipline.
Disciplines
Publication Date
2015
Citation Information
De Matos, C. (2015). Fictorians: historians who 'lie' about the past, and like it. TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Programs, 28, Online