“Neither Fish nor Fowl:” An Exploration of Historical Fiction on the Basis of Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy

摘要

This thesis examines the debate surrounding the genre of historical fiction, taking on a postmodern view of historical writing. Subsequently, this thesis places Deborah Harkness' All Souls trilogy in this debate, which is a historical fantasy series. Through an analysis of Harkness' novels, in particular their fantastical elements and fantastical protagonist, this thesis concludes that history, fiction and fantasy are intertwined in the novels and therefore are able to appropriately fit together as subjects. The notion that these seemingly opposing elements are in fact quite alike undermines some critics' distinctively negative assessment on the genres of historical fiction and historical fantasy.