Trying to get two or more critics to agree on a hard-and-fast distinction between literary fiction and genre (aka commercial) fiction is like trying to nail jelly to a tree.
Even the historical fiction penned by Sir Walter Scott himself does not always fall neatly into one or the other category, which categories Christy French defines as the difference between fiction that is primarily plot driven (genre fiction) and fiction that is primarily character driven (literary fiction). Additional characteristics that often are called upon to distinguish between the two are the overall excellence of the writing in literary fiction, and broader appeal to a popular audience in genre fiction.
For many modern readers of historical fiction, such distinctions are irrelevant--if it's a good read, they read it; if not, they don't.
Most of the historical fiction covered in our two most recent posts probably would be characterized by critics as literary rather than genre historical fiction. Nonetheless, a good deal of early historical fiction is very much of the genre variety. Which may account for why so many popular 19th century authors of historical fiction (A. J. Church, for example, as well as most of the other authors listed in Jonathan Nield's 1902 A Guide to the Best Historical Novels and Tales) are largely unknown today...
...and why few people today can even name the author of the best-selling genre historical novel of 19th century America (a book which a few critics still maintain should be considered literary historical fiction, and which has been turned into a comic, a movie [four times], a stage play, a musical, several cartoons, has never been out of print, and which outsold every book in America, except the Bible, until Gone with the Wind was released in 1936):
One probably could reasonably argue that many 19th century authors of historical fiction actually fall into some kind of in-between category, depending upon one's own taste for a particular author. Charles Dickens, for example...
...or Alexandre Dumas, père...
Perhaps the best thing to do, as suggested above, is to ignore such distinctions altogether and simply enjoy what's available. As this genre has attracted an increasing number of authors over the past century (as we shall see in tomorrow's post), this well-nigh guarantees that your nightstand will never be devoid of historical fiction....
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