Linguistics and Literature Studies Vol. 3(3), pp. 111 - 119
DOI: 10.13189/lls.2015.030305
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The Finagling Art of Historical Fiction

Stephan Paul Bortolotti ^*
Department of General Education, Midstate College, Illinois, USA

ABSTRACT

Historical fiction is a sub-genre of fiction, not history, since it often portrays fictional accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events. Historical fiction presents readers with stories that take place during a notable period in history and usually during a significant event in that period. Historical fictionists misrepresent historical "fact" in an attempt to achieve a certain artistic effect: to capture the social and cultural conditions of the people in a given time, with particular attention paid to accurate contemporary details often ignored by historians. This paper explores reasons why writers of historical fiction employ certain tactics when they write, such as lying and manipulating. Finagling an audience ties directly into Brown and Levinson's definition of Negative Face and so this paper also explores the intersection of B/L's politeness theory and creative writing, specifically how the relationship that exists between interlocutors in oral communication mirrors the same relationship between author and reader in creative fiction.

KEYWORDS
Historical Fiction, Fabulation, Brown and Levinson, Politeness Theory, Negative Face

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Stephan Paul Bortolotti , "The Finagling Art of Historical Fiction," Linguistics and Literature Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 111 - 119, 2015. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2015.030305.

(b). APA Format:
Stephan Paul Bortolotti (2015). The Finagling Art of Historical Fiction. Linguistics and Literature Studies, 3(3), 111 - 119. DOI: 10.13189/lls.2015.030305.