'Instead of a Historical Novel, a Romantic History': Karamzin’s Approach to Imaginative History in 'Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter' and 'Marfa the Mayoress'

• In Event: The History of Historical Fiction: Karamzin, Pushkin, Saltykov-Shchedrin

Abstract

Neither of Nikolai Karamzin’s two historical tales is typically considered a successful work of historical fiction: critics have generally interpreted “Natalia, the Boyar’s Daughter” as a generic sentimentalist romance cloaked in unconvincing historical coloring and viewed “Marfa the Mayoress” as an uneven attempt to unite civic and personal histories. I argue, however, that Karamzin formulates a coherent and consistent approach to the genre of historical fiction in these two works, one which seeks to creatively overcome the lacunae of historical sources and “translate” history (both linguistically and emotionally) into a mode accessible and appealing to contemporary readers. This paper proposes that Karamzin’s tales’ inclusion of anachronisms, employment of a contemporary sentimentalist lexicon, and explicit basis in “imagination” rather than fact do not preclude their “historical” status.

Author

• Emma George, Princeton U