Editing Historical fiction (section)

====Germany====
A major 20th-century example of this genre is the German author [[Thomas Mann]]'s ''[[Buddenbrooks]]'' (1901). This chronicles the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the [[Hanseaten (class)|Hanseatic]] [[bourgeoisie]] in the years from 1835 to 1877. Mann drew deeply from the history of his own family, the [[Mann family]] of [[Lübeck]], and their milieu. This was Mann's first novel, and with the publication of the 2nd edition in 1903, ''Buddenbrooks'' became a major literary success. The work led to a [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] for Mann in 1929; although the Nobel award generally recognizes an author's body of work, the Swedish Academy's citation for Mann identified "his great novel ''Buddenbrooks''" as the principal reason for his prize.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1929|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1929/| publisher=Nobelprize.org| access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> Mann also wrote, between 1926 and 1943, a four-part novel ''[[Joseph and His Brothers]]''. In it Mann retells the familiar biblical stories of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], from [[Jacob]] to [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] (chapters 27&ndash;50), setting it in the historical context of the reign of [[Akhenaten]] (1353–1336 BC) in [[ancient Egypt]].

In the same era, [[Lion Feuchtwanger]] was one of the most popular and accomplished writers of historical novels, with publications between the 1920s and 1950s. His reputation began with the bestselling work, ''[[Jud Süß (Feuchtwanger novel)|Jud Süß]]'' (1925), set in the eighteenth century, as well as historical novels written primarily in exile in France and California, including most prominently the ''[[Josephus trilogy]]'' set in Ancient Rome (1932 / 1935 / 1942), ''[[Goya (novel)|Goya]]'' (1951), and his novel ''[[Die Jüdin von Toledo|Raquel: The Jewess of Toledo]]'' - set in Medieval Spain.