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A true story : Defining accuracy and authenticity in historical fiction
Saxton, Laura
Saxton, Laura
Author
Abstract
Historical fictions create stories about events and individuals that once existed. Anxiety around the truth of such fictions is common and ‘authenticity’ and ‘accuracy’ are familiar terms in such discourse. However, this language is often used interchangeably with both terms typically referencing a text’s perceived truthfulness. This article argues for a distinction between accuracy and authenticity in historical fictions, proposing definitions for both terms. Accuracy denotes the extent to which a text’s representation is consistent with available evidence. It is concerned with historical veracity and whether specific aspects of an historical fiction can be considered factual. Authenticity, however, refers to an impression of accuracy and the extent to which readers believe that a representation captures the past. Appraisals of authenticity are subjective and are shaped by the prior representations of the past that have been encountered by an individual reader. Such perceptions might be informed by historical research, yet they are not necessarily so. Authentic representations need not be accurate. Using textual analyses of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall and Peter Morgan’s The Crown, the article demonstrates how accuracy and authenticity allow for discussion of the complex relations between fiction, evidence, truth, and culture in our reading of historical fiction.
Keywords
historical fiction, authenticity, accuracy, postmodern historiography, Wolf Hall, The Crown
Date
2020
Type
Journal article
Journal
Rethinking History
Book
Volume
24
Issue
2
Page Range
127-144
Article Number
ACU Department
Centre for Education and Innovation
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled