Providing a Voice for the Other: Marginalization in British Historical Fiction on the Dutch Golden Age

Abstract

The genre of historical fiction has received much critical attention lately. Scholars, such as Linda Hutcheon and Jerome de Groot, have found that historical novels can reinstall the marginalized in historical narratives. While sub-genres like the Neo-Victorian novel have already been researched, the sub-genre of Dutch Golden Age novels has so far received little attention. Through a close-reading of three bestselling British historical novels on the Dutch Golden Age, and a study of relevant theory on the genre of historical fiction in relation to marginalization, this paper attempts to show how British historical fiction on the Dutch Golden Age provides a voice for the Other, stripping the golden era of its lustre. It contains three case studies of The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach, and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which argue that these novels heavily underline female marginalization and use appropriated works of Dutch Golden Age art to achieve this. Significantly, the novels also include other forms of marginalization, related to class, sexual inclination and race, which are often introduced by male characters. To establish the sub-genre any further, it is necessary to consider a greater variety of historical novels on the Dutch Golden Age, as the study’s framework has likely influenced the research results.