Historical Fictionistas discussion

What are your experience with writing to universities, museums and other places to get help with your historical questions?

I have been pleasantly surprised by the level of commitment and willingness to help by everyone.
I have called and e-mailed Harvard University, Princeton University, New York Historical Society among others and my questions were answered or forwarded to someone who could.

Some are helpful, some not. Sounds like you've been lucky.

I too have had great success with the librarians and archivists that I have worked with for my novel set in the 19th century and based on historic figures of the time. I have worked with the NY Public Library - (they digitized a whole diary for me!) the Winterthur Museum, the Adirondack Museum, the Library of Congress (which has wonderful digitizers and they explain how to use them), and now I am working with the NY City Old Records Division in the Court House and so far have had some good luck with people helping me. Being pleasant and reviewing the online collection of materials is key to getting results.

Sheila,
That is so nice to hear.

I had the Columbia medical University start a huge e-mail chain to get me the correct information to the College for Physicians and Surgeons in the mid 19th Century. I even found out that the college moved which made for a nice historical detail.
People were so nice.

I am a retired marine biologist, librarian, documentalist and publisher of bibliographic databases it's gratifying to see historical fiction research benefiting hugely from the digital age. I now read for pleasure and enjoy history and historical fiction and we truly benefit from the wonderful research effort of our authors. Thank you for enriching your books so meticulously.

Margaret,
Thank you so much for saying that.

I do try my very best to be accurate and it really helps to be able to research online and find experts to ask, it would be a lot harder otherwise.

I've been on both sides of the divide (as an ex academic/museum person turned histfic writer) and I echo what Sheila says about reviewing the information available online. The more of the groundwork you've done already, the more people will be inclined to help. For the most part museums see it as part of their mission to assist researchers, though both they and universities are finding it harder to maintain that function in the light of the increased monetisation of their role - if you're being encouraged to run your university department as a business it's tricky finding time to do stuff for free, even if you want to.

The only time I've encountered a brick wall was when I was interested in a thesis by a new PhD graduate which she hadn't published and her university had allowed her to place under embargo. I'd like to think this was purely because of her concerns about the heightened risk of plagiarism in the internet age, rather than her not wanting to help. I wish she'd get on and publish it, though!

Just one more note: I dedicated my latest book; Imaginary Brightness, to librarians everywhere because they never stop searching.

I've been working on a novel set in WWI and I agree that doing the background work is very helpful - not least in guiding you to what you need to know. But I've found corporate archives and museum archives fantastically helpful. State and National Archives have a good system, but they are overloaded. Much of the stuff I needed I found by using Google Scholar to locate academics working in the area, and then emailing them. If your question is precise and clearly within their field of expertise they are usually happy to help.

One thing which might also be helpful if you're working in 19th and 20th century - the National Library of Australia has digitised just about all the newspapers printed in Australia during that period. Even if you're not writing about Australia, the capital city newspapers like The Sydney Morning Herald reported overseas news extensively - and it's all searchable by keyword. So if your local news isn't digitised, you can at least get dates and major events from Oz.

Pamela, I write WWI fiction too and am a historian of that war. What aspect do you write about?

Pamela,
Thank you that is excellent information. I might take a look at those.

Right now I´m writing a novel set in late 19th Century and early 20th Century based on poor working class milkmaids (women who milked cows for a living) as well as the Swedish Suffragists.

I don´t have much about WW1, it is mentioned in the background at the end of my novel, but it is not a big part of the story.

Are you writing a novel?

Hi Larry and Helen
Yes, I'm a novelist. My first historical novel for adults is coming out at the end of April. It's set in Sydney in WWI and looks at what life was like for those left behind. It's based partly on my grandfather's war experience. The novel I'm currently working on is set in 1920 and deals with an English war bride who marries an ANZAC soldier but finds, when she arrives in Sydney, that he is already married. Happened more than you might think, apparently! It's set 1920-21. I'm doing quite a bit of 'on the ground' research here, as many of the buildings, etc., of that era are still around.

Your novel sounds fascinating, Helen! Is it set in Sweden?

Larry, I've got to get your potato book! As someone whose ancestors were mostly Irish, it calls to me! What is your WWI fiction about?

Larry,

I tried to buy your potato book as an ebook, but it didn't seem to be available?

Pamela,
Yes it is set in Sweden, begins in 1889 and ends in 1819 when women win the right to vote.
My first novel James´Journey is set in Virginia and in New York, 1855-1859.

Your book sounds great. Keep us posted on when it is ready.

Pamela, my potato book has never been put in e-format, though it should be still available in paper. Thanks for taking an interest in it; I appreciate it.

If you're working on Australia and ANZAC issues, you may know Daughters of Mars, by Thomas Keneally, about two sisters who nursed at Gallipoli and in France. If you're interested, I can give you a link to my review of it.

I had no idea that many soldiers came home married, unbeknownst to their supposed fiancees back home. Sounds like the makings of a strong premise.

My WWI fiction has mostly to do with Belgium, as in the German invasion and occupation. Most are thrillers, but some are more family/relationship novels.

Since this forum is on research I was wondering if anyone had a recommendation for a hand held digitizer.

Helen,
sounds great! I'll check out James' Journey. My WWI novel, since you asked, is called The Soldier's Wife and will be available from April 28.

Larry,
I'll have to buy it in hardcopy then! Yes, I know Kenneally's work. If you liked that, you might also like his first novel, Bring Larks and Heroes, which is set in the early days of European settlement in Australia.

Doing the research for my books has made me realise how strong a motivator the German occupation of Belgium was for the rest of the world. Your books sound great.

Thanks Pamela, I look forward to The Soldiers Wife!

Sheila,
What do you mean my a digitizer exactly?

Thanks for the recommend, Pamela; I'll look for Keneally's first novel when enough time has passed to review him again. And thanks, too, for the compliment. Hope you find a paperback copy of Potato, and that the Irish chapters in particular please and inform you.

Sheila, I wish I could recommend a hand-held pen scanner. I've tried two and returned them both. They'd be a godsend in an archival library (or any noncirculating library), where there are too many documents to read in too little time.

How about taking photos with your iPhone? I usually do that.

So do I.