Historical Fictionistas discussion

Steve wrote: "Great topic. I was a graduate student doing research, and I discovered historical incidents—in US-occupied Germany, in my case—that seemed better treated by fiction. I recently posted about it here..."

No, no one tells you that. It would be too discouraging!

Eileen wrote: "Steve wrote: "Great topic. I was a graduate student doing research, and I discovered historical incidents—in US-occupied Germany, in my case—that seemed better treated by fiction. I recently posted..."

Exactly, Eileen. I had to unlearn everything.

Steve wrote: "Eileen wrote: "Steve wrote: "Great topic. I was a graduate student doing research, and I discovered historical incidents—in US-occupied Germany, in my case—that seemed better treated by fiction. I ..."

At least you learn to do things differently. I was fortunate to have received an excellent grounding in grammar, and while I am not a professional writer in my day job, it does involve a lot of analytical writing. So I knew how to put a coherent sentence together. Just not one for a novel!

Everyone benefits from a grounding in grammar in my opinion, Eileen. I only received mine in English when I learned German! It simply helps one organize their thoughts better. As for a novel, I found that writing to get at the heart of a story and a character requires one to discover a different set of tools completely—and sometimes break grammar rules in using them. But, one has to know the grammar first to break it!

Very interesting topic. I took a degree in history at university and then went into academic book publishing. I've always enjoyed reading historical fiction. But it didn't really occur to me to write it until a few years ago, when I took up writing fiction generally. I started off with short stories but really got bitten by the bug when we found a true story about some hidden love letters in Corsica and I turned the story into a novel. Now I've got all sorts of ideas for historical fiction - just need to find the time to research and write them!

For me the idea first occurred nearly ten years ago when writing my undergraduate dissertation on the Pendle Witch Trials in Lancashire, 1612. In between the historical assessments required in an academic thesis, I recall thinking how interesting some of the characters were, how there's so much of their story which factual history is unable to tell...the kind of gaps which can be filled in by good fiction. One character in particular just grabbed me, and I felt compelled to tell her story. Almost a decade later, I finally have and hope to publish my first novel next year. This was my starting point and now the ideas just keep on coming, definitely been bitten by the bug!

I too got into historical fiction writing through my academic work. My thesis was on one of Jane Austen’s unfinished novels, and I went to Dorking in Surrey to see if I could turn up anything relevant to that book. I did not, but in the process discovered all sorts of interesting characters and historical tidbits about Dorking at the turn of the nineteenth century--and a series of novels was born (in my head, at least; just starting to get them on paper).

I came to the Pazzi Conspiracy through a magazine article I read about the assassination attempt to murder Lorenzo & Giuliano de' Medici in Florence Cathedral on Easter Sunday, 1478. Years of research resulted in "The Sign of the Weeping Virgin." I'm currently writing the prequel, and so now it's back to all the books and notes accumulated over the years. Good luck to you all in getting your ideas and dreams down on paper. It was a long time coming but well worth it.

I was reading Ron Chernow’s biography on Alexander Hamilton when I came across the Manhattan Well tragedy. Only four pages were devoted to Levi Weeks’ trial, and most of those focused on Hamilton’s oratory skill and his rivalry with Aaron Burr, but I was hooked. My first novel CITY OF LIARS AND THIEVES, based on the Manhattan Well tragedy and the United States first recorded murder trial will be published this January.

Congratulations on the publication of your book, Eve. That's wonderful....and it is a terrific way to begin 2015.

Thanks Alana. You r very kind. Best wishes for the new year.

The poster above who said 'I couldn't manage to invent a time machine' said it for me.

I'd always known I was going to do it, though, but it took me years to get started (apart from a few part-finished novels on the English Civil War when I was 11) because I couldn't find the angle - there were plenty of things I wanted to write about but what sort of book was it going to be? A romance? A mystery? A tragedy? Literary? Commercial? Just 'historical fiction' didn't give me enough to get going with. Then after I'd got firmly rooted into YA I suddenly realised how lots of the tropes of YA dystopian could work in a historical setting and I found my voice.

I began writing very young (13) and it wasnt until I sat down and ask myself, "What kind of books do I like to read?" that the answer came to what I should write. I had dabbled in romance and mystery but HF was were I found I blossomed. Now I am adding to my writing toolbox, YA fantasy. My children love all Tolkein and Funke and so I asked myself another question, "Can I write something they would love?" And so I began my first novel in YA fantasy. We will see if what the answer is to that question once I finish the novel.

It wasn't a conscious decision really. It probably all started when as a four year old I visited the Coliseum in Rome and my father told me: "This is where they fed the Christians to the lions." Now THAT get's a four-year-old's attention! I started looking at everything much more carefully, wondering where the Christians had hidden, and where the lions had been kept.

When I started writing fiction in grade school it was set in the past just because that was what interested me. Then my family moved to England and I was visiting all these fascinating castles and manors and the imagination just took flight. I find, even now, I am often inspired by places. Visiting the mountain retreats of the Albigensian lords in the Languedoc or the palm-framed monasteries of the Lusignan's on Cyprus sets my imagination on fire. "What was it like when...?"
To find the answer to that and other questions, I had to do a lot of research, and I soon discovered I liked learning the answers. That led to a PhD in History. Now when my imagination is set on fire by some new place I visit, I know how to go about finding answers to most of my questions -- and the rest becomes the basis for my writing. It's a wonderful process!

What was your PhD, Helena? Was it anything close to what you write about?

Like you Helena, I was introduced to history by my father (although in the Tower of London, not in the Coliseum). But it was a article in my local paper, about a local man who was accused of treason and executed without a trial, that started me down the path of writing. My initial research was sporadic - I was working in a job that had nothing to do with history - and raised more questions than it answered, but eventually I started to build a picture of this man and the times and places in which he lived. I published the first book on-line last year, and the second available has been available online since the start of this month.

I also agree with you that writing is a wonderful process. The history left numerous gaps, to be filled by my imagination, and at this point history, my career (in personal development) and my knowledge of the local area (Cumbria) came together as I started to fill out his character. Given his background and what he achieved he must have been an inspirational and imaginative leader, while his personal life appears almost entirely unknown, and a blank space to be filled as I wished. That is something I really enjoyed doing.

It's a great life, this writing!

Exactly! I like to say that the historical record is the skeleton of my work -- and I can't add extra arms or remove legs or even fingers! But the flesh and blood, the muscle, skin etc -- those are the emotions, motives, fears and ambitions of people that we -- as authors -- can add to the skeleton of facts to turn the historical record into something more attractive and comprehensible. Good luck with your books!

Gosh, I wish they had a 'like' button or a 'similar experience' button on these discussions. Lots of great wisdom here.

My first book, "Raping Aphrodite" is set against the 1974 invasion and division of Cyprus. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Cyprus in the early 1950s. When the invasion occurred, their villages were seized by Turkish forces and their relatives either were killed or became refugees. I didn't have the maturity or discipline to write that book earlier, but I did later, as I matured. I started it in 2009 and published it in 2011. I knew much of the history from my parents, but also spoke with other relatives and scoured the Internet, too. I wrote the book for various reasons but the biggest one is that I routinely meet people who either don't know where Cyprus is, haven't heard of its history, or both. I felt I was in a position to open the door on Cyprus, so I did.

Cyprus is enchanting -- at least it was the first time I visited some 20 years ago. (Development since hasn't been so kind, but the island will outlive all the ugly, hasty, modern buildings.) And for history -- what place on earth could be richer? The layers of history on Cyprus are amazing -- from the Minoan to the Modern. I personally became utterly captivated by Crusader Cyprus -- Bellapais, Kantara and St. Hilarion, Kolossi and Famagusta. Four of my books are set there, though I've only published one of them. (Not allowed to mention it by name here, but you can find it on amazon.com; it also just won a literary prize.)

Unfortunately, most people want to read about the familiar, not the unfamiliar -- the 100 millionth book about New York rather than a book about Cyprus or Ethiopia (where I currently and which also has a three thousand year old history!)

But we have to write what's in us -- even if it isn't popular. We just have to recognize that if we write about something unfamiliar we're unlikely to become best-sellers. Keep up the good work!

Keep with it Helena. I for one would far rather read about Cyprus or Ethiopia than about New York.

Helena wrote: "Cyprus is enchanting -- at least it was the first time I visited some 20 years ago. (Development since hasn't been so kind, but the island will outlive all the ugly, hasty, modern buildings.) And f..."

There are always a few oddballs like me out there who don't want to follow the crowd; I appreciate something different [and well written]!
BTW, any plans for more Spartan books or do you feel you have you said all that's in you on them?

Jerry wrote: "Keep with it Helena. I for one would far rather read about Cyprus or Ethiopia than about New York."

Thanks for the encouragement! I can only write about what inspires me so it's nice to think there are one or two readers out there!

Jane wrote: "Helena wrote: "Cyprus is enchanting -- at least it was the first time I visited some 20 years ago. (Development since hasn't been so kind, but the island will outlive all the ugly, hasty, modern bu..."

Nothing on Sparta short-term. Maybe at a later date. I'm particularly intrigued by the fact that Sparta had a fleet and was able to project power in the Archaic period. But for now, I fully absorbed in the crusader kingdoms, the fall of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade. Great material here and it keeps me very busy and fired up.

I love reading, and always have, but came to pure histfic later in life. Before I was enamored of scifi and fantasy (still am!). But thanks to Sharon Kay Penman, Diana Gabaldon and many others, I've developed a love for historical fiction.

I've been writing travelogues for 20 years, and finally broke down and made a travel guide about Ireland. That was my first published book. Then I did one for Scotland (you can't have just one, like Lay's!).

Gabaldon's success (her first novel was written as a practice to learn about writing novels... the rest is, as they say, history), I plunged in and wrote a historical fiction novel about Ireland in 1846. I didn't think enough people knew about the atrocities, and wanted to highlight them. I used places I'd visited and loved, and really enjoyed the research to find buildings that may have existed at the time, etc. Now I'm hooked!

My interest in writing Historical Fiction evolved from encouragement by high school and college instructors and always finding myself assigned US Army administrative duties although I had no specialized training, and interest in post-war Germany. After retirement from the Army I began research into the Sudetenland crisis. A story immediately surfaced in my mind. Conversations and interviews with ethnic German survivors and my Cold War experience in West Germany supported the development of my novel—"The 5K Zone."

My follow-up novel—yet unnamed— involves the young protagonists surreptitiously entering East Germany to trick and return a Nazi criminal to the West for prosecution.

For me it started with a love of reading as a child. I loved to get lost in a book and often identified myself with characters in historical novels. That developed my love of history and of writing. It seemed only natural for the two to come together in writing historical fiction!

It was not the genre I was most interested in, but since I was the last baby born on a now uninhabited Scottish island, my fellow members of our writer's circle encouraged me to write about my life there. I felt that my own life was a bit too personal, and got the idea of a historic novel when doing my genealogy. An elderly woman, now living in Canada found me on genes reunite and told me that her grandfather had come from the same island, but she could find any record of his death. She gave me a brief history about the family and, with her permission, I changed the names and I had my characters. The novel sold well, so I did a second and a third. I intended to stop there, but I have been badgered by fans to go on. I really do think I'll stop after book four though, at least in this particular series, though I do love history, always have.

I love history and have read so much that when it was suggested to me to write that historical period pieces just made sense. I love the research involved and making everything tie together.

Currently I have a historical mystery romance series, a military romance series, a paranormal erotica series, an adult coloring book series, and a kid's series (under a diff name lol).

12 yrs of researching my family history lead me to an amazing 1000 yr story... We were Normans that invaded Southern Italy.

Ive been able to trace my family back to the year 1083 in Salerno Italy, through the 12th and 13th centuries in Ravello and in the 14th century to Lettere and from there to 1896 when my grandfather left Lettere and moved to the US.

After discovering all of this actual history I decided to tell the story wrapped in fiction.

When I was a child, I was an avid reader of martial arts and chivalry novels (a unique genre of Chinese literature with historical settings). In my high school years, one of my favorite subjects was Chinese History. Then life got in the way and it was not until after I retired from the corporate world that I began reading world historical fiction voraciously. While reading Pearl Buck's Imperial Woman, I tried to search for more books of such kind and I discovered that there's an acute shortage of English fiction set in China's historical past, which has an untapped treasure trove of riveting stories waiting to be told. With that thought, and inspired by a Chinese TV historical drama series, I formed an idea of what I wanted to write about.

In late 2014, I began researching for my first historical epic set in 17th century China. It's about Qing Dynasty's legendary first Empress Dowager who was a Mongolian princess descended from Genghis Khan's Borjigit clan.

I'm pleased to say that I've just found a publisher for my book.

Congratulations on your publishing deal, Alice! Look forward to hearing more as the project moves along.

Thank you Abigail! It so happened that the publisher loves Chinese history too and has offered me an editorial role in the development of a new, soon-to-be-launched, series of fiction set in Old China. I'm quite excited about this opportunity to work with Earnshaw Books :)

Earnshaw Books, eh? Sounds like a Brontë fan.

Earnshaw Books is a Hong Kong-based publisher of books on China and occasionally beyond. Graham Earnshaw, the proprietor, has lived in Hong Kong and China for over 40 years.

Ah—I was thinking it was named after a Wuthering Heights character! But Earnshaw is not all that uncommon as a name.

I knew what you meant - Catherine Earnshaw :)

Great topic! It's been so interesting to me to read the varied reasons that people were drawn to particular time periods and exploring history generally.

My interest in myth and legend led me into historical fiction, which for me is heavy on the speculative side. I'm fascinated by the possibility that gods, and other legendary characters, were once real people, and their stories were passed down through an oral tradition of storytelling, providing ample room for embellishment and even propagandizing. So I work in an ancient time period, and while I have a ton of license with my characters, I do loads of research on everything from late Ice Age geography/climate, to costume and religious practices. For my latest project, I've bumped up a few centuries and researched Sumerian, Babylonian and other middle eastern early cultures.

If I could go back in time, I would have focused more on history, archaeology, anthropology, etc. during my college years. As an adult now, I love learning new things.

Myth and legend are such important building blocks for any kind of fiction, historical or no. I see you focus on antiquity (I am a big fan of the whole Ereshkigal story myself), but wonder if you have read the Evangeline Walton quadrilogy of stories based on Welsh myth, starting with Island of the Mighty? I adored them as a kid but have not read them since, so no promises that they would be wonderful! But they sound very much in your wheelhouse, gods imagined in human terms.

That sounds like a great suggestion, Abigail. Thanks!

Andrew wrote: "If I could go back in time, I would have focused more on history, archaeology, anthropology, etc. during my college years. As an adult now, I love learning new things."

I can relate to that feeling Andrew. While I'm glad that I studied Chinese History in school, it has been my regret that I didn't also include European History in my curriculum. As an adult, curiosity has nudged me towards reading world historical fiction avidly and occasionally Greek myths. But it has always been a dream of mine to try to arouse more interest in Chinese History among Western readers through fiction writing.

Abigail wrote: "Myth and legend are such important building blocks for any kind of fiction, historical or no. I see you focus on antiquity (I am a big fan of the whole Ereshkigal story myself), but wonder if you h..."

I'm also a fan of Neil Gaiman who does something similar in terms of re-imagining gods. Another big influence of mine is Gregory Maguire, though I can't claim to have his wordsmithery and wonderful use of humor (not overdone). Reading his Wicked series as well as his retold fairy tales (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister is my favorite) really piqued my interest in telling 'the other side' of well-known stories. He isn't known as an historical fiction author, though I think he had a very convincing grasp of era/setting in Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (17th century Holland) and Mirror Mirror (Renaissance Italy).

Historical Fiction is like Fantasy, but with artifacts and real places you can visit. Dragons, wizards, sword swing'n heroes an' heroines? Got 'em! Remember, history is written by the... Author.

Interesting take on Maguire, Andrew. I didn’t love his work when I read the first book in the Wicked series; maybe I should give him another try!

Abigail wrote: "Interesting take on Maguire, Andrew. I didn’t love his work when I read the first book in the Wicked series; maybe I should give him another try!"

Another period piece by Maguire - Egg & Spoon, set in late era imperial Russian, and inspired by Russian folklore. It's one of my very favorite titles by him.

This also reminded me of another great period piece that includes fantasy elements: Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni.

Thanks, Andrew!

I've always enjoyed reading historical fiction but the genre that got me interested in writing historical fiction was Science Fiction time travel, where the author takes you deep into a period of history with realistic illustrations of life.. ways of thinking, customs and attitudes towards religion. So when I wrote my first novel, set in 1975 I had a pretty good template. I also am old enough to remember 1975 quite well and it was enjoyable going back through research and my own memories to flesh out the plot and characters.

Andrew wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Interesting take on Maguire, Andrew. I didn’t love his work when I read the first book in the Wicked series; maybe I should give him another try!"

Another period piece by Maguire -..."
I really enjoyed The Golem and the Jinni & have only read one by Maguire. I will have to try him again as well.

My reason is a combination of the others mentioned above but with a unique twist...

I swam around Manhattan (the island) in the early ‘80s. It was part of a race they held each summer to promote water quality in New York City. But on this day, the race organizers had misjudged the tides (the tides around New York harbor are especially tricky, as I would learn much later). As I rounded the corner at the Battery or lower tip of Manhattan (swimming counterclockwise), I ran into an ebbing tide coming out of the East River. And it was so strong that I couldn’t fight it; I just had to wait for the tide to slacken. And as I sat there, treading water with not much else to do, I looked up at all the tall buildings and started to wonder: What was this place like before? Before the skyscrapers? Before the millions of people? What was it like when Henry Hudson first sailed right past the spot where I now waited in 1609? Basically, I asked myself one of the key questions of history: “How did things get to be this way?”

Well, I quickly pushed that idea aside when my boat crew yelled down at me: “Start swimming! The tide had shifted!” And so I did, and I won that race. And I left that germ of an idea way back in a dark corner of my mind. And it wouldn’t be until about 30 years later—this past year, in fact—that I finally decided to write the story that answered the question I asked myself on that July day while treading water off the tip of Manhattan. “How did things get to be this way?”

And that is a true story.

While growing up, I always hated listening to jokes about the Italians going into World War 2 with their hands raised. This was not at all the case, and I wanted to point out the bravery of the Italian population during this horrific time. Although Bridge of Sighs and Dreams is fiction, It is based on real events. I felt compelled to write a war novel in which the women don't play the role of wallpaper or objects of amusement to soldiers and politicians. The women in Bridge of Sighs and Dreams take center stage in a behind the lines battle between good and evil.