Historical period drama

A historical period drama is a work of art set in, or reminiscent of, an earlier time period. The term is usually used in the context of film and television. It is an informal crossover term that can apply to several genres but is most often heard in the context of historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swashbucklers. The implication is that the audience is attracted as much by the lavish costumes as by the content. In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres. It may be as long and general as the medieval era or as limited as one decade—the Roaring Twenties, for example.

Definition

Historical drama film stories are based upon historical events and famous people. Some historical dramas are docudramas, which attempt an accurate portrayal of a historical event or biography, to the degree that the available historical research will allow. Other historical dramas are fictionalized tales that are based on one or more actual persons and their deeds, such as Braveheart (1995), which is loosely based on the 13th-century knight William Wallace's fight to protect Scotland's independence.

Period Piece (book)

Period Piece: A Cambridge Childhood is an autobiographical memoir by the English wood engraver Gwen Raverat covering her childhood in late 19th Century Cambridge society. The book includes anecdotes about and illustrations of many of her extended family (see Darwin–Wedgwood family).

As the author explains in the preface it is "a circular book" and although it begins with the meeting of her parents (Sir George Darwin and Maud du Puy) and ends with Gwen as a student at The Slade, it is not written chronologically, but rather arranged in a series of fifteen themed chapters, each dealing with a particular aspects of life. The book is illustrated throughout with wood engravings by the author.

The book is dedicated to her cousin Frances Cornford.

It was originally published by Faber & Faber in 1952 in hardback and as a paperback in 1960. It was reviewed in The Times and by David Daiches in The Manchester Guardian

Period Piece has been translated into Danish (Min forunderlige barndom, 1980) and Swedish (Så var det då : min barndom i Cambridge, 1985).