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Why are James A. Michener 's historical sagas so successful? Is it because the general public is fond of their thrilling taste or because the books successfully mix facts and fiction? An analysis of Michener's novel on the history of South Africa, The Covenant, can help answer this question. For Western readers, South Africa is a faraway land which, in a few years, has switched from political struggle against apartheid to sanitary struggle against AIDS. But when the book was published in 1980, the Afrikaner's nationalist power, which relied on the gold and diamond landowners, was locked in segregation and repression policies. In The Covenant, James A; Michener gives his own interpretation of the relations between Blacks and Whites, Bushmen and Dutchmen, Boers and Xhosa, Voortrekkers and Zulus, and finally between Afrikaners and Englishmen, throughout history. To study The Covenant is to observe what the American author has selected from a mass of historical facts in order to explain the evolution of South African society. In pursuing our analysis, we will realize that his choices are intimately linked to his political and philosophical ideas. But we will also see that the well-known specialist of historical sagas stretching through hundreds and even thousands of years, could rely on a whole team whose job was to help bring the South African project to a successful end. Discovering the religious and nationalist significations of The Covenant, we will also understand how this good example of contemporary literature was written thanks to a combination of money and skills. ; Quelles sont les raisons du succès des sagas historiques de James A. Michener ? Plaisent-elles au grand public pour leur goût du sensationnel ou pour leur esprit didactique ?L'analyse de L'Alliance, son roman sur l'Afrique du Sud, peut en partie servir à répondre à cette question. Pour un lecteur occidental, l'Afrique du Sud est une terre lointaine qui est passée en quelques années de la lutte politique contre l'apartheid à la lutte sanitaire ...

Why are James A. Michener 's historical sagas so successful? Is it because the general public is fond of their thrilling taste or because the books successfully mix facts and fiction? An analysis of Michener's novel on the history of South Africa, The Covenant, can help answer this question. For Western readers, South Africa is a faraway land which, in a few years, has switched from political struggle against apartheid to sanitary struggle against AIDS. But when the book was published in 1980, the Afrikaner's nationalist power, which relied on the gold and diamond landowners, was locked in segregation and repression policies. In The Covenant, James A; Michener gives his own interpretation of the relations between Blacks and Whites, Bushmen and Dutchmen, Boers and Xhosa, Voortrekkers and Zulus, and finally between Afrikaners and Englishmen, throughout history. To study The Covenant is to observe what the American author has selected from a mass of historical facts in order to explain the evolution of South African society. In pursuing our analysis, we will realize that his choices are intimately linked to his political and philosophical ideas. But we will also see that the well-known specialist of historical sagas stretching through hundreds and even thousands of years, could rely on a whole team whose job was to help bring the South African project to a successful end. Discovering the religious and nationalist significations of The Covenant, we will also understand how this good example of contemporary literature was written thanks to a combination of money and skills. ; Quelles sont les raisons du succès des sagas historiques de James A. Michener ? Plaisent-elles au grand public pour leur goût du sensationnel ou pour leur esprit didactique ?L'analyse de L'Alliance, son roman sur l'Afrique du Sud, peut en partie servir à répondre à cette question. Pour un lecteur occidental, l'Afrique du Sud est une terre lointaine qui est passée en quelques années de la lutte politique contre l'apartheid à la lutte sanitaire contre le sida. Mais en 1980, lorsque le livre a paru, le pouvoir des nationalistes afrikaners, appuyé sur celui des propriétaires des mines d'or et de diamants, s'enfermait dans sa politique de ségrégation et de répression. Avec L'Alliance, James A. Michener propose une version de l'histoire des relations entre Blancs et Noirs, entre Bushmen et Hollandais, entre Boers et Xhosa, entre Voortrekkers et Zoulous, enfin entre Afrikaners et Britanniques. Etudier L'Alliance, c'est confronter les faits historiques et ce qu'en a retenu l'auteur américain pour expliquer l'évolution de la société sud-africaine. En menant cette analyse, on s'apercevra que les choix effectués sont intimement liés aux idées philosophiques et politiques de l'auteur. Mais on s'apercevra aussi que le spécialiste des sagas familiales couvrant des centaines, voire des milliers d'années, disposait en fait de toute une équipe de travail mobilisée sur le projet. Au-delà des significations religieuse ou nationale, L'Alliance est aussi la collaboration de l'argent et des compétences pour donner naissance à un produit de la littérature contemporaine.