Final answer:
Scottish author Sir Walter Scott is credited as the originator of the modern historical novel, a genre that combines factual historical settings with fictitious characters. His works contributed to the rise of nationalistic feelings during the Romantic Period, and he set the stage for various literary trends including realism and naturalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sir Walter Scott is credited as the originator of the modern historical novel. This genre typically combines a factual historical setting with fictional characters, crafting a narrative that allows readers to immerse themselves in a past era while following the invented lives of the novel's protagonists. Scott's novels like Rob Roy and Ivanhoe were part of a wave of literature that sparked feelings of national pride and an urge for independence during the Romantic Period, which was distinguished by a strong emphasis on individual emotion, the natural landscape, and the glorification of the past and its heroes.
The literary landscape saw various trends and movements contributing to the evolution of the novel. The Enlightenment and the Great Awakening encouraged individuated interpretations of texts, including novels, which saw the advent of different storytelling approaches such as gothic tales from writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Mary Shelley, and later realism and naturalism from novelists such as Mark Twain and Jack London. These movements paved the way for the acceptance and popularity of historical fiction and other novel genres.
Reading novels set in historical times allows readers to feel a connection with history and often serves to reinforce a sense of national identity. It became customary for readers to seek a mix of education and entertainment in their literature, a desire that historical novels have successfully fulfilled by providing a fictional narrative within an accurately portrayed historical context.