The Theoretical Aspects of the Historical Novel Genre in the Turkish Literature

Abstract

In the early twentieth century, Turkish literature entered a unique stage of development. This development is more pronounced in the historical novel genre than in other genres of literature. At the beginning of the century, the Ottoman state weakened under the influence of Western powers and was in danger of collapsing, which led to the rise of feelings of independence, patriotism and national prejudice in the Turkish nation. After the proclamation of the republic, the interest of writers in Turkish history and, of course, in the genre of historical novels increased compared to previous periods. Through these novels, the writers tried to awaken the love of homeland, nation and national consciousness in the Turkish nation. Therefore, the tradition of writing historical novels expanded in the early twentieth century. Historical novels are one of the most controversial types of novels. Therefore, there is no universally accepted definition of a historical novel. The question of how to name a historical novel is also controversial, so the study addresses such issues. It explores the history and stages of the genre's development, and later the various views on how to name a historical novel. In the end, the work is summed up with a short conclusion.