Julia Nitz Bücher

In postmodern societies, the representation of history across various media intertwines the reconstruction of historical facts with the creation of narratives tailored to societal needs. The heightened interest in Georg III., particularly following Alan Bennett's drama and its film adaptation, marks a significant shift in the discourse surrounding this monarch, transitioning from the image of a mad king to that of the first modern monarch. This study exemplifies the textuality of history through the lens of Georg III., focusing not on the actual historical figure but on the portrayal crafted by British media since 1990. It develops a comprehensive, media- and genre-spanning reading model for historio(bio)graphical texts and their accompanying materials. The cognitive reading model captures the textual design of these works and their impact within the cultural context, adaptable to any genre or media form. It also considers aspects of text production by accounting for mutable genre and media conventions, making it suitable for both synchronous cultural text analyses and diachronic studies. The focus is on the employed communication strategies, integrating content and performative dimensions of collective memory construction. This study aims to advance narrative research by developing cross-media and cross-genre narratological methods for historical texts and contributing to a typology of historical narratives.

Exploring the diaries of eight Southern women during the Civil War, Julia Nitz reveals how literary allusions shaped their understanding of a tumultuous world. By referencing works like those of Shakespeare and British Romantic poets, these women navigated personal and societal crises, using literature as a lens to examine issues of slavery, Confederate politics, gender roles, and identity. Nitz challenges previous interpretations that dismissed these references as mere embellishments, highlighting their significance in the diarists' reflections on their experiences and societal roles.

First presented at the conference ‘Intercontinental Cross-Currents: Women’s (Net-)Works across Europe and the Americas (1789–1939)’ in Wittenberg, Germany, in December 2013, the papers assembled in this volume trace nineteenth-century women’s networks inside and outside historical movements and literary texts, in diverse genres, at various historical moments, and from different vantage points. Considered together, the contributions attest to the potential of a woman-centered approach to transatlantic historiographical, cultural, and literary studies. Very much like the people, texts, and objects they examine, they are transatlantic in scope and perspective. Truly inspired by the idea and concept of the Atlantic Crosscurrents, these essays confirm and emphasize interdisciplinarity and methodological variety in (trans-)Atlantic studies.