disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory Volume 27 Archives Article 21 7-2018 A Reckless Verisimilitude: The Archive in James Ellroy’s Fiction Bradley J. Wiles American Public University System DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/disclosure.27.18 Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure Part of the Archival Science Commons, and the English Language and Literature Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Wiles, Bradley J. (2018) "A Reckless Verisimilitude: The Archive in James Ellroy’s Fiction," disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory: Vol. 27 , Article 21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/disclosure.27.18 Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure/vol27/iss1/21 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory. Questions about the journal can be sent to
[email protected] disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory Vol. 27, July 2018 A Reckless Verisimilitude: The Archive in James Ellroy’s Fiction Bradley J. Wiles AMERICAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM The archive as both plot element and narrative presentation factors significantly into the work of James Ellroy’s novels in the L.A. Quartet and USA Underworld Trilogy series. This article examines the important role of the archive as a source of information and evidence that Ellroy’s characters utilize in their attempts at either maintaining or attacking the status quo. Through these novels, Ellroy conveys the potential power archives wield over the trajectory of history and our understanding of it by demonstrating how the historical record is often shaped in favor of the powerful.