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‘Those Gay Days of Wickedness and Wit’

The Restoration Period in Popular Historiographies (18th–21st Centuries)

Flothow, Dorothea

Wissenschaft und Kunst, Bd. 35

2021

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Abstract

The popular re-imaginings of past historical periods – in particular of ‘successful’ periods like the Victorian or the Tudor Ages – in modern media are currently a flourishing field of study. By comparison, the Restoration period (1660–1688/9) is under-researched in studies of popular historiography. This era has a dubious reputation characterized by uninhibited libertines, the twin catastrophes fire and plague, and a growing absolutism overcome in the ‘Glorious Revolution’. Yet in the last three centuries, the Restoration period has featured in numerous historical novels, historical romances, in history plays and historical comedies. The present study examines changing images of this period in popular historiographical genres since the early eighteenth century and analyses them in the context of the political, cultural, and historiographical discourses of their time. Additionally, it traces the historiographical changes in these genres, offering insights into their developments and functions in the field of historiography.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

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Cover Cover
Titel III
Imprint IV
Table of Contents V
Introduction 1
1 Popular Historiography 31
1.1 Popular History – Defining the Field 31
1.2 Popular Historiography and History after the Linguistic Turn 38
1.3 Academic Historiography as 'Privileged Insight into the Past' 45
1.4 Popular Historiographies and Memory Studies 54
1.5 Résumé 58
2 Popular Genres and the Presentation of the Past 59
2.1 Genres as 'Ways of History-Making' 60
2.2 Defining Historical Drama 63
2.2.1 Previous Attempts at Defining Historical Drama 64
2.2.2 Historical Drama as Popular Historiography 73
2.3 The Historical Novel 84
2.3.1 Definitions of the Historical Novel – Trends and Issues 85
2.3.2 Writing History in the Novel 90
2.4 Historical Crime Fiction and the Historical Romance 100
2.4.1 Historical Crime Fiction 102
2.4.2 The Historical Romance 109
2.5 Résumé 117
3 Writing the Restoration Period – The 17th and 18th Centuries 119
3.1 Writing the Restoration Period – Preliminary Remarks 121
3.2 The Political Agenda of Post-Restoration Writers 129
3.3 Secret Histories and the Restoration 133
3.4 Of Whores, Highwaymen and Courtiers 140
3.5 Résumé 157
4 The Restoration Period in Nineteenth-Century Re-Writings 159
4.1 The Restoration Period and the Nineteenth Century 160
4.2 The Restoration World on the Nineteenth-Century Stage 166
4.2.1 The Theatrical Context of the Nineteenth Century 166
4.2.2 The Restoration Period in 'Serious' Dramatic Forms 176
4.2.3 The Restoration Period in 'Comic Forms' 185
4.2.4 Résumé – The Restoration on the Nineteenth-Century Stage 198
4.3 The Restoration Period in Narrative Fiction 199
4.3.1 The Historical Novel and the Writing of History 199
4.3.2 The Restoration in Nineteenth-Century Historical Fiction 205
4.3.3 Assessing the Period: Moral Indignation and Secret Longing 210
4.3.4 In Good King Charles's Golden Days – Assessing Restoration Figures 220
4.3.5 Restoration Politics and Religious Controversies 232
4.3.6 The Restoration and the Historical Romance 237
4.3.7 Résumé – Historical Fiction and the Restoration Past 242
4.4 Summary – The Restoration in the Nineteenth Century 242
5 The Restoration Period – The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 245
5.1 Popular History, the Historical Profession and the Restoration Past 248
5.2 Historical Drama and the Restoration Period 255
5.2.1 Developments in Historical Drama 255
5.2.2 Romantic Comedies and the Restoration 261
5.2.3 Late-Twentieth-Century Reactions – Exploring Restoration Politics 272
5.2.4 Exploring Restoration Libertinism and Twentieth-Century Morality 274
5.2.5 The Restoration Theatre and the Actress – Exploring Gender 279
5.2.6 Staging Charles II and Nell Gwynne – Recent Trends 286
5.2.7 Résumé – The Restoration Period in History Plays 293
5.3 The Restoration Period and Historical Fiction, 1900 to Today 293
5.3.1 Twentieth-Century Historical Fiction and the Writing of the Past 294
5.3.2 Romance Fiction in the Early Twentieth Century 299
5.3.3 A Women's Period – The Restoration in Women's Fiction 306
5.3.4 The King and the Actress – Changing Images of Nell and Charles 317
5.3.5 Restoring the Restoration – The 'Literary' Historical Novel 325
5.3.6 Crime Fiction and the Restoration Period 331
5.3.7 Résumé – Fiction and the Restoration (1900 to Today 339
5.4 Popular History and the Restoration (1900 to Today 339
6 Conclusion – The Restoration Period in Popular Historiography 341
7 Bibliography 351
7.1 Primary Literature Featuring the Restoration 351
7.1.1 Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Texts 351
7.1.2 Nineteenth-Century Plays 353
7.1.3 Nineteenth-Century Novels 355
7.1.4 Twentieth and Twenty-First-Century Plays 358
7.1.5 Twentieth and Twenty-First-Century Novels 359
7.1.6 Popular Histories, Films and Biographies on the Restoration 361
7.2 Further Primary Works Cited 363
7.3 Secondary Literature 365
7.4 Collections and Databases Used 423
Backcover Backcover