a historical novel is a form of story-like narrative which is a combination of story and history. accordingly, we cannot easily comment whether, within this framework, it is the history that isbeing focused on by the author—as all the story’s elements are employed in the service of the historian—or history simplyplays an incidental role at the back stage of the story. the best exampleof the mix...

Although contemporary historical novels share a number of features with the traditional historical novel, as analysed by Lukács (1981), they display a fundamental change in the perception of history, evident in the disappearance of the omniscient narrator, in their choice of significant and representative figures, and scepticism regarding teleology of history or the world-historical role of war...

this article draws attention to the ways in which anita amirrezvani’s the blood of flowers (2007), a historical novel set in 17th-century iran, can be placed within the neo-orientalist discourse which informs many of the post-9/11 memoirs and novels set in contemporary iran by women of the iranian diaspora in the united states. besides being a novel on islam and islamic rule—which makes it much...