Thesis
Reimagining a lace town : Part I a novel: 'the queen of the midlands', Part II a critical thesis: what creative processes can a writer use to transform archived oral testimonies into fictional worlds?
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2019
- Thesis identifier
- T15306
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201491712
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- ‘Reimagining a Lace Town’ explores the potential of extant oral histories as an inspiration for fiction. It falls into two parts: a novel ‘The Queen of the Midlands’; and a critical thesis which explores how a writer can draw on an archive of oral testimonies to create a fictional world. ‘The Queen of the Midlands’ is set against the historical backdrop of the East Midlands machine-made lace industry. It reimagines a lace town inhabited by two fictitious female lace workers and tells their overlapping stories at three separate and distinct points in their lives: as children and sworn enemies; as young women who forge a truce; and as elderly women who have become firm friends. The novel explores their relationship and shines a light on the machine-made lace industry that shaped their lives. It employs historical, regional and industrial detail gleaned from an archive of oral histories. It draws on the nature of the oral history interview to inform its three-part structure. It uses anecdotes, descriptive language and storytelling techniques found in the archive to inspire the reimagining of a lace town. The critical component considers the heritage of East Midlands machine-made lace. It discusses how my own personal connections with this heritage and geography seep into the novel’s creation. It goes on to consider my practice-based research as an interdisciplinary practice, embracing oral history theory and the work of other East Midlands novelists. It examines the listening process and the transformation of spoken text into prose fiction. It considers the ethical implications of this work and the potential of oral history as an interdisciplinary field for creative practitioners to engage with.
- Advisor / supervisor
- McIvor, Arthur
- Colin, Beatrice
- Resource Type
- Note
- Previously held under moratorium from 18 November 2019 until 18 November 2024.
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2019
- Former identifier
- 9912736593302996
- Embargo Note
Relations
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PDF of thesis T15306 | 2021-07-02 | Public | Download |