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A review by 4harrisons
The Historical Novel by Georg Lukács
4.0
Having read War and Peace this year, and having enjoyed several Walter Scott novels in the past, it seemed logical to follow up with what remains an excellent analysis of the historical novel as literature despite having been written in the 1930's.
Starting with Walter Scott, Lukacs analyses the development of the historical novel in a number of phases leading up to humanist authors of the thirties. Throughout he prioritises two key factors. First that the novel is written with an organic connection to the life of ordinary people and the social trends that underpin the structure of society at the time portrayed. Second is an understanding of how the portrayal of the past links forward to the present. Scott's portrayal of highland life in Scotland shows the end of feudal Scotland and the triumph of bourgeois capitalism. He therefore strongly critical of much mid to late nineteenth century work, particularly that of Flaubert, which uses the past as a decorative backdrop for subjects that are fundamentally modern in character.
Lukacs' description of the early twentieth century work of writers like Heinrich Mann is unfortunately coloured by the contemporary Soviet position of the "popular front" in opposition to fascism, which he seeks so support through a sympathetic assessment of liberal authors. This does however raise interesting questions about a liberal intellectual position that opposes the extreme right but without taking a Marxist or historical materialist view of history and society. Some of this feels hugely relevant to the position taken for example by the UK Labour Party under Keir Starmer although I haven't worked that out yet properly.
In short this is crucial reading for anyone who's read work by writers such as Walter Scott and Tolstoy and wants to understand why these authors' works seem to bring the periods described to life so well.
There are some thoughts about Lukacs' analysis and the current state of modern British politics on my blog here: https://marxadventure.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/liberal-opinion-and-movements-for-change/
Starting with Walter Scott, Lukacs analyses the development of the historical novel in a number of phases leading up to humanist authors of the thirties. Throughout he prioritises two key factors. First that the novel is written with an organic connection to the life of ordinary people and the social trends that underpin the structure of society at the time portrayed. Second is an understanding of how the portrayal of the past links forward to the present. Scott's portrayal of highland life in Scotland shows the end of feudal Scotland and the triumph of bourgeois capitalism. He therefore strongly critical of much mid to late nineteenth century work, particularly that of Flaubert, which uses the past as a decorative backdrop for subjects that are fundamentally modern in character.
Lukacs' description of the early twentieth century work of writers like Heinrich Mann is unfortunately coloured by the contemporary Soviet position of the "popular front" in opposition to fascism, which he seeks so support through a sympathetic assessment of liberal authors. This does however raise interesting questions about a liberal intellectual position that opposes the extreme right but without taking a Marxist or historical materialist view of history and society. Some of this feels hugely relevant to the position taken for example by the UK Labour Party under Keir Starmer although I haven't worked that out yet properly.
In short this is crucial reading for anyone who's read work by writers such as Walter Scott and Tolstoy and wants to understand why these authors' works seem to bring the periods described to life so well.
There are some thoughts about Lukacs' analysis and the current state of modern British politics on my blog here: https://marxadventure.wordpress.com/2022/11/30/liberal-opinion-and-movements-for-change/