tegeus-Cromis
a better poet than swordsman
- Joined
- May 17, 2019
- Messages
- 1,343
For a while, this kind of novel seemed very popular, particularly with British writers: novels featuring more than one narrative, one usually set in the present, one in the past, that had some kind of connection (for example, the characters in the present might be researching the characters in the past, or be their descendants, or be acting in a film or play about them), and where the stories in some way echoed each other. Sometimes, some kind of speculative-fiction link between the timestreams might be suggested, but it was not usually necessary. Probably the most famous example of this is A.S. Byatt's Possession (1990). Other examples are Peter Ackroyd's Hawksmoor (1985) and Chatterton (1987 -- three timestreams!) and D.M. Thomas's Ararat (1983). A later example is Michael Cunningham's The Hours (1998), and the movie based on it. The same conceit appeared in the 1981 movie of John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman. The notion even appeared in the chick-flick genre, in Julie & Julia (2009).
I know there are other examples of this, but I can't think of them right now. Any others you can suggest? And why do you think at a specific time in British history, this structure was so popular?
I know there are other examples of this, but I can't think of them right now. Any others you can suggest? And why do you think at a specific time in British history, this structure was so popular?