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In the new season of Netflix’s historical fiction series The Crown, Princess Margaret hides out in her car, slunk low beneath the windows, as her friend bluffs his way inside an asylum to meet her two cousins. The cousins, who Margaret previously believed to be dead, were sent to the institution so the royal family would not have to deal with the public questions their very existence would provoke (( The Crown, “The Hereditary Principle,” directed by Jessica Hobbs and written by Peter Morgan, aired November 15, 2020, on Netflix. )). Princess Margaret confronts her mother, enraged that the family hid her cousins away and wrote them off as dead. After the conversation, both women come away with a new understanding of each other and, perhaps, a sense of foreboding about the future of the family.
The Crown‘s Accolades
Only, according to the history books, all of those encounters are fictional. The cousins exist, as did the institution they were confined to. But there is no evidence that Princess Margaret visited them, and there is no documentation of a confrontation between the Princess and the Queen Mother (( “Who Were the Queen’s ‘Hidden Cousins,’ Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon?” The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, November 26, 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/the-crown-queen-cousins-nerissa-katherine-bowes-lyon-b1721187.html. )).
Of course, Netflix billed its momentous project as a drama, specifically historical fiction. Peter Morgan, The Crown‘s creator, never claimed to have written a documentary. Instead, he has taken history, or in the vernacular of entertainment, canon, and shaped it into a narrative. Each episode, the show explores a historical event through a new lens — a fictional lens, but a probing one. The characters engage in conversation that is not technically part of the official canon, but it is generally thematically true to the historical record. The episodes’ main plotlines are often based on actual incidents, but the private reactions, the interpersonal dynamics, and the family drama are, to a large extent, made up.
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Crown received a 97% approval rate (( “The Crown: Season 4.” Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_crown/s04. )). The Guardian labeled season 4 as “the best series so far of the royal drama” (( “The Crown Season Four, First Look Review – Enter Diana, Thatcher, Bombast and Bomb Blasts.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, November 10, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/nov/10/the-crown-season-4-first-look-review. )). BBC News awarded it 4 out of 5 stars (( “The Crown.” BBC News. BBC. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cnm9ezwqe4jt/the-crown. )). The series is being written about by everyone from The Washington Post to The New York Times to The Atlantic.
In other words, The Crown is widely accepted– as it should be, with its entrancing cinematography, incredible acting, and beautiful writing. But it is also fanfiction. Peter Morgan obviously maintains an abiding interest in the people and events he’s writing about. The amount of research meticulously poured into every episode is clear and monumental. Like many fanfiction authors, creators of historical fiction such as Peter Morgan generally accept the basic premise and even the inevitable ending of the events they choose to focus on. But these creators don’t want to be limited by the canon. They didn’t set out to be historians. They are storytellers.
A Deeper Dive
The Crown is far from the first entertainment to tackle historical topics in creative ways. The Tudors (( The Tudors, created by Michael Hurst, on Showtime)) and Medici (( Medici, created by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer, on Netflix )), both well-received TV series, fictionalize non-fictional families. The King’s Speech (( The King’s Speech, directed by Tom Hooper (2010; Telluride: The Weinstein Company, 2011), film. )) and Hidden Figures (( Hidden Figures, directed by Theodore Melfi (2016; United States: 20th Century Fox, 2017), film. )) delivered versions of authentic people to the big screen and very real academy award nominations to their creators.
Most recently, the musical juggernaut that is Hamilton educated generations about an American founding father who presumably did not actually spit rhymes at every opportunity. The audience didn’t buy tickets to watch history. They bought tickets to watch the truth. As a genre, historical fiction has proved that truth can sometimes be seen more clearly or explored more specifically when old stories are told in new ways. Lin Manuel Miranda humanized Alexander Hamilton by revealing his loves, ambitions, achievements, and regrets. No one would argue that Hamilton is a fact. But it’s hard to conclude that it means it’s false.
In the world of online, written fanction, there are two broad categories that most of the works could be divided into. The first is colloquially referred to as AU– an alternate universe. The second is canon-compliant. On Archive of Our Own, a popular fanfiction website, the Supernatural fandom has over 237,000 stories (( Works, Organization for Transformative. “Archive of Our Own Beta.” Archive of Our Own. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93. )). Of those, thousands are specifically tagged as “canon-compliant.” That means that the writers chose to follow the rules and the general storyline of the universe created by Eric Kripke. So what are all the stories about? Why do people read them?
They read them for the same reason they watch The Crown. Everyone knows that Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s marriage falls apart and that she dies in a fiery car crash. But they watch the episodes anyway. Likewise, everyone knows that Sam and Dean fight demons, look out for each other, and avoid getting trapped in hell. But they read the stories anyway.
Fact Versus Fiction
As historical fiction, fanfiction often isn’t about finding out what happens next but about digging deeper into what happens now. The emphasis isn’t on big plot reveals but on subtle character details and intricate relationship dynamics. As historical fiction, fanfiction often honors the love people feel for the original show– the original history– by taking a closer look and a deeper dive.
Yet, more often than not, fanfiction creators are not lauded by the media or taken seriously as artists by academia. Generally, they are ignored. Occasionally, they are sued. They are certainly never nominated for Emmy’s, as was Peter Morgan for series 3 of The Crown (( “Peter Morgan.” Television Academy. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.emmys.com/bios/peter-morgan. )).
The Truth Of The Matter
Overall, academia tends to sanction historical fiction as legitimate while often rejecting fanfiction, but, in the end, it should accept both. Both fanfiction and historical fiction stretch the canon to explore specific relationships. Both fanfiction and historical fiction bend the facts to uncover the truth. Both fanfiction and historical fiction accept outcomes while questioning intricacies.
The love fanfiction and historical fiction have for their original canons are clear– unlike the genres themselves, it is genuine. Perhaps it is time the accolades they each receive from academia become real as well.