‘As every dullard knows, the historical novel is neither history nor a novel. History means footnotes and careful citations from others tenured in the field, while the “serious” novel is about the daily lives of those who teach school and commit adultery.’
I'm partial to historical mysteries. Do those count as historical novels to others, as they do to me? How about when we turn our own autobiography into a murder mystery set back in time, say, 20 or 30 years? (Harking back to Dorothy Sayers -Gaudy Night- though she wrote that in a reminiscent non-historical mode.). Or perhaps there is some rule for historical versus vintage as there is for antique versus vintage. I think antiques have to be over 50 or 100 years old.
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