A Concoction of Ours
Not the same obligation as historians
In my previous article “Amalgamation of Friction and History” I had mentioned a certain someone; the Father and Pioneer of Historical Fiction, Sir Walter Scott.
“Historical Fiction is not history. You’re blending real events with actual historical personages with characters of your own creation” — George R.R Martin
Scott was a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and a biographer. His knowledge in history and his fluency in literature made him an elite figure in the formation of the historical novel genre. “Scott’s formula for the historical novel was an unmistakable innovation which became a pattern for those who followed him.” His story is pure fiction, his hero is imaginary, the setting is as authentic as possible, and the events of history are quite accurate.
“After all, that’s why we read historical fiction- to be transported to another time, and to be astonished at ancient peoples’ life…” — Michelle Moran
Unlike his contemporary writers; Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly; Scott had a way of captivating his readers with his creativity of mixing authentic and accurate history with the romantic elements. His passion for places made it easier for him to Romanticize the events that took place there. His works were in a way that didn’t encourage enough on “walking away” or “leaving behind” ones “materialistic life for a natural one”. He had a a yearning for scenic description and a taste for the romance of distant past.
He strongly followed the idea of “dwelling in past” however it didn’t just dwell on the “unrealistic good days” but succeeded in combining it with his art of bringing out the detailed living of the era or age he was writing about. Being versed in the political literature of the period, he knew how to draw a detailed picture of London in the early 17th century while laying out the effects of Scottish arrival into the English capital: the ambitions and fears of the incomers and the suspicion they strung up.
“History tells us what people do; historical fiction helps us imagine how they felt” — Guy Vanderhaeghe
Walter Scott neither possessed the elements of Imagination nor demanded of his readers. Meaning that he rather create a more “realistic” feeling than an “imaginative” one. He was a very objective writer of his age, Early 18thC, he dwelled more on his resources of real life experience and was more “factual based than a spontaneous overflow of emotions”.
His novels were less Bio-centric (nature)and more Anthropo-centric (human) in nature. His works show both the beauty of men and as well as the ugliness that dwells within along with the richness of ambiance that surrounds them. Even though he grew up in the outskirts of Scotland while growing up, his novels are richer in human characteristics while they stay in their respective social settings rather than pulling them out of their zones and putting them into “nature”. He had a way of finding refugee in civilizations from civilization itself.
