Fiction of Narrative: Essays on History, Literature, and Theory, 1957-2007

For students and scholars of historiography, the theory of history, and literary studies, Robert Doran (French and comparative literature, U. of Rochester) gathers together 23 previously uncollected essays written by theorist and historian Hayden White (comparative literature, Stanford U.) from 1957 to 2007, on his theories of historical writing and narrative. Essays are organized chronologically and reveal the evolution of White's thought and its relationship to theories of the time, as well as the impact on the way scholars think about historical representation, the discipline of history, and how historiography intersects with other areas, especially literary studies. They specifically address theory of tropes, theory of narrative, and figuralism. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Hayden White is celebrated as one of the great minds in the humanities. Though perhaps best known for his tropological theory of discourse, White's theory of historical writing as narrativization is no less influential. Since the publication of his groundbreaking monograph, Metahistory, in 1973, White's work has been crucial to disciplines where narrative is of primary concern, including history, literary studies, anthropology, philosophy, art history, and film and media studies.This volume brings together twenty-three of White's previously uncollected essays written over a fifty-year period. These texts find White at his most essayistic, engaging a wide range of topics and thinkers with characteristic insight and elegance. Throughout his long career, from his earlier work on intellectual history and the philosophy of history to later essays dealing with poststructuralism and postmodernism, White has sought to reveal the essential relationship between history and theory. The Fiction of Narrative gathers in one place White's important -- and often hard-to-find -- essays exploring his revolutionary theories of historical writing and narrative. These works, deftly introduced by Robert Doran, trace the arc and evolution of White's field-defining thought and will become standard reading for students and scholars of historiography, the theory of history, and literary studies.Praise for Hayden White"No other historian appears to be at the frontier of so many developments or so skillful at integrating them into traditional American scholarship in the history of ideas." -- Journal of Modern History"White is a master of critical and provocative thought." -- H-Net Reviews"White has arguably changed the course of historiography in the past twenty years... Any serious historian will need to engage the issues and answers that White raises." -- Religious Studies Review"White lays out his arguments with a clarity and rigor that few can match." -- Choice