Abstract: Influenced by New Historicism, recent American literature is attempting to rewrite history with a number of new historical novels. The authors use controversial historical events or legal cases as source materials for fictional representation in an attempt to reinterpret history by highlighting the parts obliterated by the official narrative, thus providing alternative perspectives and leading towards a renewed historical perception. This paper is not an in-depth analysis of any individual work, but aims at drawing a general picture of contemporary American novelists' political involvement and historical counter-writing through a brief review of some representative works. This paper attempts to reveal, from the joint concerns of the authors, the oppression of the marginalized by the will of the state power.

Key words: contemporary American novels, new historical novels, New Historicism