Historiographic metafiction

Historiographical metafiction is a term that was coined in 1988 by the literary theorist Linda Hutcheon to describe a new genre of postmodern historical novel, which enjoyed great popularity since the 1960s.

In contrast to the classic historical novel, which is characterized by Walter Scott, the historiographical metafiction is characterized by the strong use of metafictional means. The possibility of historical knowledge will be strongly questioned. Often this happens because the boundary between fiction and history is blurred; by the historiographical metafiction out around its own fictionality and problematized, it provides the possibility of neutral historiography per se in question.

Frequently used stylistic devices in this process are about reflections on the characteristics of history, which are incorporated into the novel, anachronisms that appear in the narrative and break the illusion, or very unsafe narrative situations that challenge the reader to question the given information. Historical figures that occur in these novels are usually recognizable heavily fictionalized. Pastiche and parody are central stylistic device in the figure representation.

Examples of novels that are attributed to this genus, are about John Fowles ' The French Lieutenant's, Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient or Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon.