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The historical novel has been a popular genre since the early 1800s. I don’t just mean a novel set in the past, which of course is a valid kind of story. Rather, an historical novel as is traditionally defined is a story that mixes some real history and/or real historical characters with fictional history and/or characters to together make a coherent story. For children, there is the We Were There series (see my review), where real events and characters are seen through the eyes of fictional child characters who often interact with the historical figures and events. The novels of G.A. Henty (see my reviews) are mostly prime examples of historical novels.
The question then arises – where did this genre come from? Did it just randomly appear or did someone invent it? One can make a good argument that the whole genre of historical fiction was invented, or at the very least made extremely popular, by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) of Scotland. In his earlier career, he was widely known as a poet. In 1814, a novel appeared with the title of Waverly, with an anonymous author. Waverly is thought of as the first true historical novel. Many other historical fiction novels by the same author appeared, with the collection eventually called the ”Waverly novels.” In 1827, Scott revealed to the world that he was the author. The Waverly novels were bestsellers across Great Britain and the English-speaking world for years to come. As evidence of this, when you or your children read The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder in the Little House series, you will see that a kind neighbor gave Laura and Almonzo Wilder the complete Waverly novel collection, which were a great comfort, especially on those long South Dakota winter evenings. The pioneers who settled the American west were not illiterate bumpkins. They brought Christian civilization with them as they went away from their old homes in the eastern United States.
Today, the main train station in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is called Waverly Station. Within a few hundred meters of the train station is the 200 feet tall Gothic Scott Monument, with 287 steps up to the highest viewing platform (I have climbed it). The inner walls are decorated with his book titles and carved depictions of the more memorable of Scott’s characters. Abbotsford, the estate of Sir Walter Scott, is a tourist attraction only an easy train ride away from Edinburgh (I hope to visit it in 2027). It is thought that Scott taught Scotland to be Scottish again, after centuries of intermittent episodes of English military and cultural oppression, since most (but not all) of his main characters were Scottish.
Many of the Waverly novels are not read very much today in the United States (except by fans like me) but the three listed below have demonstrated enduring appeal: Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward, and The Talisman. It is possible that part of the reason that these three are still read is because popular movies were made of each of these books in the 1950s. Ivanhoe, with its famous love story of Ivanhoe and Rowena and the doomed love of Rebecca for Sir Ivanhoe, has also been adapted for TV in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. The motivated good middle school reader can get through these wonderful but dense novels, as well the high school reader and beyond.
Ivanhoe is the story of the brave and honorable Sir Ivanhoe, an ethnically-Saxon knight who is in love with the Lady Rowena, the last of a long line of Saxon royalty. The time is that of the Norman king Richard the Lion-Hearted, who has gone missing after the first Crusade. This is also the time of Robin Hood, who comes into the story. Ivanhoe’s father, Cedric, still cherishes hopes of throwing off Norman rule, which had endured ever since the Norman Conquest in 1066, and having a free Saxon England again. Ivanhoe, however, has pledged his loyalty to Richard and has become a part of the new, integrated, England. Through a variety of circumstances, Ivanhoe has also pledged himself to protect the Jewish woman Rebecca and her family and he never breaks his word. You can imagine how many exciting incidents, including single combats, attacks on castles, intrigues, and rescues that this cultural melange can engender! Through it all, untarnished, Sir Ivanhoe’s Christian knight’s honor and goodness shines bright.
The Talisman is set in time a bit before Ivanhoe and a thousand miles away, with Richard the Lion-hearted on the First Crusade. Sir Kenneth, a simple Scottish knight but young and brave, joins King Richard in the Christian army. Kenneth meets and forms a friendship with a Saracen warrior (Saladin in disguise) and has several interesting conversations with him comparing Islam and medieval Catholic Christianity. Intrigue abounds around Richard and King Philip of France and several traitors who are more interested in jockeying for European power than in fighting the Muslims who have been slowly but brutally conquering territory that used to be Christian. Overall, an intriguing story and great adventure that is soundly based on historical accounts of the time.
The plot of Quentin Durward reminds me a bit of Longfellow’s famous poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish. In the poem, the shy Miles Standish asks his friend John Alden to speak to Priscilla Mullins and tell her of Miles’ love for her and his desire to marry her. When John carries out this task for his friend, Priscilla famously says, “Speak for thyself, John Alden!” John and Priscilla are soon married. Quentin Durward is a young Scottish knight who is sent to France by his rich aristocratic uncle to investigate a French countess for a possible marriage contract. The young, beautiful French countess does not say “Speak for thyself, Sir Quentin” but in a series of amazing adventures, a similar result is reached.
One should note that making a Scottish-French connection was not an outlandish plot device by Scott. There was a long history, over many centuries, of impoverished Scottish soldiers serving as mercenaries for the French king and of intermarriage between the French and Scottish aristocracy, all promoted by the two countries’ mutual dislike of their common enemy, England.