SOURCE: "The Historical Bent of the Chartist Novel," in The Literature of Labour: Two Hundred Years of Working-Class Writing, The Harvester Press, 1985, pp. 46-61.

In the following excerpt, Klaus analyzes the use of the historical novel in Chartist fiction, and argues for its importance in the development of working-class literature.

The treatment of Chartism is symptomatic of the insularity that has overtaken so many academic disciplines: whereas the historians' fascination with the period manifests itself in dozens of publications every year, students of English have so far deemed it worthy of little more than the occasional footnote. It is not

a question of parity, for Chartism's socio-historical significance clearly exceeds its standing in literary history. But if we agree with one definition of Chartism as 'a response of a literate and sophisticated working class, different in tone and temper...