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DC Field | Value | Language |
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dc.contributor.advisor | Brayfield, C | - |
dc.contributor.advisor | Evenden, E | - |
dc.contributor.author | O’Reilly, Sally Anne | - |
dc.date.accessioned | 2013-05-17T13:04:40Z | - |
dc.date.available | 2013-05-17T13:04:40Z | - |
dc.date.issued | 2012 | - |
dc.identifier.uri | https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7435 | - |
dc.description | This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University. | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Motivation: When I set out to write a novel about Shakespeare’s Dark Lady, I wanted the focus to be on her, not the Bard. However, as I developed the idea, I realised that his character was an essential component of the narrative. So how should I set about ‘inventing’ such an iconic character? In addition, how relevant were earlier versions – biographical and fictional – to this project? Though I found a wealth of material about Shakespeare and his plays, I discovered there is a substantial sub-genre of Shakespeare invention. As a writer new to historical fiction, this felt a little like putting Jesus Christ into a story – and it turned out that some writers have given Shakespeare a distinctly Messianic character. Methods: In order to invent my own version of Shakespeare, I needed to assimilate what had gone before. The line between fact and fiction was blurred, but I clarified what was known and what unknown, and established what was myth. I then researched fourteen fictional versions of Shakespeare, starting with Kenilworth (Sir Walter Scott, Constable & Co, 1821) and ending with Shakespeare’s Memory (Jorge Luis Borges, Penguin, 2001). Results: My discovery was that the invention of history is a complex imaginative and intellectual process, but each writer solves a succession of challenges in their own way. Identifying these challenges helped me to create a new Shakespeare, and to clarify my own reasons for writing this particular novel. Conclusions: Far from being a form which is nostalgic, escapist or conservative, historical fiction is continually re-inventing itself in the light of the events and ideas which are contemporary to the writer. The continuing evolution and re-acquisition of the character of William Shakespeare is an illustration of its perennial significance. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | Brunel University London | - |
dc.relation.ispartof | School of Arts | - |
dc.relation.uri | https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/7435/3/FulltextThesis-vol-1.pdf | - |
dc.relation.uri | https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/7435/1/FulltextThesis-vol-2.pdf | - |
dc.relation.uri | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7435/1/FulltextThesisVol.1.pdf | - |
dc.relation.uri | http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/7435/1/FulltextThesisVol.2.pdf | - |
dc.subject | Creative writing | en_US |
dc.subject | Historical fiction | en_US |
dc.subject | Feminism | en_US |
dc.subject | Authorship | en_US |
dc.subject | Fact-based fiction | en_US |
dc.title | ‘Dark Amelia’ a novel re-imagining historical characters within a fictional story; and a critical thesis: ‘Inventing Shakespeare’: Is this relevant to 21st century writers? A short history of made-up Shakespeares and an examination of the challenge of re-inventing iconic historical characters.’ | en_US |
dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
Appears in Collections: | English and Creative Writing Dept of Arts and Humanities Theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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FulltextThesisVol.1.pdf | Full text PhD novel | 2.01 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
FulltextThesisVol.2.pdf | Companion to the full text PhD novel | 1.32 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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