An academic look at Hornblower, anyone interested?
I'm getting good at resurrecting old topics, but I hope you guys won't mind. I have a question. Now that I have finished my master's thesis and am officially an MA, I was wondering would anyone be interested in reading about what I researched. You see, I am now a girl with an academic degree on Hornblower... :lol: I did my thesis on the novels (as some of you may or may not remember) and my pov was to study how the historical facts, values and attitudes of the period (both Napoleonic wars and Forester's own time, the WWII & the beginning of the cold war) are reflected in the fiction. But as I wrote my thesis in Finnish (of course), posting about my results will require a little bit of translating work. And if people aren't that interested, I won't go through the trouble, not yet at least. But if someone would like to discuss this sort of a topic, I'd be happy to start a thread. (Besides, I'm a little curious about perhaps taking my research a bit further and all sorts of thoughts on the topic might help me decide whether to pursue a licenciate or a doctorate one day. Imagine that, a doctorate on Horry... Hehee.) I'm in the middle of a very hectic autumn, though, so even if there's interest, I won't be able to post tomorrow or the day after that. I've got a bunch of exams to grade first. (Say, some 170...) But let me know, if there's any interest on this sort of academics among the HH bookclubbers and I'll get back to it as soon as possible. (I might consider posting about the topic later on Horatians, too, but I think IZ is a good place to start. This is what I consider home.) :horatio

I remember you were researching Horry, Yavannie! Good on you for finishing the masters! I admit to not really being 'into' the books, though your thesis sounds fascinating! I would love to read it! Sounds like you're working hard on the new term - many thanks for considering us home.. :hug

It was about time I finished the darned thesis after all these years and two different topics. :wink: Luckily I didn't get bored with the novels while using them as sources - some people get sick and tired of their topics. Not me. Must've been the strong visuals that go with the stories. Hehee. But I'm glad you're interested. I'll begin translating a synopsis of sorts. It'll give me a nice break from grading papers. And hey, of course this is my forum home. I may have been gone a while, but this is the first (and so far the only) forum I've ever been active on. :hug

I'd be very interested in reading what you wrote, Yvannie. I read a few of the Hornblower books and the visuals help me, too. I've written papers on adapting stage plays or books into movies, so your paper on historical accuracy is right up my alley. When you get a chance to translate, I'll be reading also. I consider IZ my home away from home, too. I'm glad you're reviving some old threads.

GG, I'm glad to hear you're interested also. I'll try to summarize my research soon enough and perhaps there'll be some sort of a discussion. Your papers sound very interesting, too, btw.

Mine were nearly twenty years ago, so they are long buried. The subject still interests me. I just try to put theory into practice now.

All the better, then. Making theory practice is, unfortunately, quite a challenge for a historian... Although perhaps I could do it, if I wrote a historical novel. Which has been my dream for years. Hmm.

I say go for it. You never know where it may take you.

I may eventually try to write a novel, absolutely. But I've noticed that creativity (for me) requires a little bit of breathing space and a little bit of idleness. By which I mean that while my calendar is so full-packed and all I can think of is grading papers, I won't get any fiction done. As soon as I have more free time (like during summer vacation), I'm more productive. (Hence the amounts of bad fanfiction grow every summer - they're like weeds!) But perhaps one day... :wink:

I'm trying to pick and choose more carefully now as it always takes more time to complete something than I think it will. In my head, I've written about three times what I have on paper. :roll:

Oh, inside my head..let's not go there! (at least not without a blow torch!)

Hee, Stevie, I wouldn't count on your weeds being taller... :lol: I write some seriously silly stuff. (And it's only read by one person, usually. Because that's the way we've decided it should be, as the stories are somewhat of an inside joke. The weeds should not be spread any wider, hehe.) Although I have slightly higher ambitions (if that can be said for any fanfic-ish story) for one story that got started through a meme in LJ. The story is about Harold Lowe's later life - and the image in my head is quite clearly Ioan... Surprise, surprise. :lol: :naughty