Critical Article summary #3

Writing Backward: Modern Models in Historical Fiction

  This article written by Anne Scott MacLeod is about criticisms of today’s versions of Historical Fiction. It focuses mainly on books and how they portrayed history, but they were not accurate.  She opens up stating that "Historical fiction should be good fiction and good history", but now a day’s people are focusing more on fiction then accuracy of the history. The books have been lacking in accuracy especially in children’s historical fiction; they are putting today modern views on the past. Characters are being portrayed as having more modern views an example she stresses is female characters. Female characters are always being portrayed as feminists who go against the grain and views of their society; they are always fighting for more freedom or just have more freedom. But the truth is in many stories, the time period and setting makes this all in accurate. Most women would not stand up for this because of the consequences, and most societies would not tolerate this. Authors are not focusing on the truths about those past societies and everyday life; the real working life, or hardships that many would have faced are being muddled. The historical truths are being cut out of the story to make it more intriguing; yet the books are still being passed as historical fiction. Ms. Scott MacLeod used books such as Sarah Plain and Tall, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and  Catherine, Called Birdie all as examples to show how authors are manipulating historical fiction as it is more fiction then history. She wants authors to know that people of the past had different views of the world and everyday life; they were not just us 100 yeas ago. They approached the world differently and authors should have these differences between our world and theirs clear in their novel. Ms. Scott MacLeod closes saying; "To wash these differences out of historical fictions is not only a denial of historical truth, but a failure of imagination and understanding that is as important to the present as to the past". She truly believes that the past is as important as the future.