Meeting the Bard: Representing Shakespeare in Historical Fiction and Time-Travel Fantasies for Young Readers

Abstract

This thesis examines Shakespeare as a character in children’s and YA historical fiction novels and time-travel fantasies. The first chapter provides an overview of children’s and YA fiction, and deals with the concepts of popular culture and “Shakespop,” while also exploring Shakespeare’s influence on literature for young readers. The study then focuses on the concept of “character” and analyses the critical implications of transforming a historical figure into a fictional character. The second chapter centres on Shakespearean historical fiction. It investigates the character of Shakespeare as a father figure to boys in comparison to its depictions as an unfit biological father. The chapter also examines Shakespeare as a character in novels that focus on his youth and in works that deal with his relationship with his wife. Following a description of the fantasy genre and the conventions of time-travel fantasy, the third chapter investigates representations of Shakespeare as a mentor and great playwright from the point of view of 20th- and 21st-century protagonists. At the same time the chapter considers Anti-Stratfordian theories as represented in the corpus, in particular by analysing Shakespeare as an imposter. This thesis explores how representations of Shakespeare as a character offer positive and/or negative models for growth and adult life, while also highlighting the teachings that can be drawn from such models and their relevance to readers’ everyday lives.