Abstract

The article examines Jonathan Spence's book The Question of Hu, asking the central question as to what difference it makes if the book is viewed as history or fiction. In addition to raising specific questions as to Spence's treatment of his materials, the article addresses the question of the historical novel, following on the work of Georg Lukács and Sir Walter Scott, and concludes that Spence's work is not of this genre. Neither is it a history à la Herodotus or Thucydides, where analysis--the raising of historical questions and sharing the evidence and inference with the reader--and narrative must go together. The article concludes that, wonderful as is The Question of Hu as literature, it is not a true piece of historical narrative. In coming to this judgment, the article has used Spence's book as a way of reflecting on fundamental questions concerning the nature of history, fiction, analysis, and narrative