Comments on: On Pet Peeves and Historical Fiction

By: LeAnne Hardy

LeAnne Hardy — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 15:10:15 +0000

Pet peeves: potatoes and tomatoes in pre-1492l Europe.

I once read a book by a well-know best-selling author that included parts set in Atlantis. Now, Atlantis is mythical so on the one hand he had the right to make it up. But aspects of the culture were definitely modeled on second millennial B.C. Crete, but included carriages that didn’t appear in Europe until the 18th century A.D. Other events in the book were very clearly set in 5th century England. VERY off-putting.

By: Cara Putman

Cara Putman — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:22:32 +0000

I like to visit the location and spend time at museums. I’ve been blessed to have archivists and curators open their files to me so that I have source documents. I love that! And it helps me know what is possible and where I need to bend history because the details aren’t captured to make it work. For example, in my latest, it’s set during the inaugural year of the All-American Girls’ Professional Softball/Baseball League. I ended up creating two teams because the detail simply didn’t exist to follow the playing schedules. But my note to readers made it clear that a town and two teams were fictitious. Everything else followed the actual happenings as much as possible.

By: Sharon Mayhew

Sharon Mayhew — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:02:58 +0000

Wonderful post! Research is so important when you are doing a historical fiction. Your research has to come from a variety of places. I’m working on a hf mg and pb. So far I have interviewed people who lived through that time period, read children’s books from England that where written right after that time period, read articles on the actual events from the BBC and watched movies and video clips about/or from that time period. I keep lists of words, phrases, activities, characteristics of people and events for this time period. Plus, when I get it finished I’ll have it reviewed by some of the people who lived the story.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:39:23 +0000

Like the poster above, I notice the “thinking” as well as the other details. There’s a specific example tickling the back of my mind, but unfortunately I can’t get it to come out and play. But at the time it REALLY bugged me. I have always loved the “Betsy-Tacy” books by Maud Hart Lovelace. In the high school books, the girls phone each other all the time — and Betsy graduated in 1910. Granted that’s a titch later than 1905, and granted Betsy apparently was in hte upper middle-class part of the equation — just wanted to give you an example!

I have just started a book of historical fiction, “Her Mother’s Hope,” which is a generational saga by Francine Rivers. I’m only in 1901 Switzerland, at the moment, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes open for things that don’t ring true. She is about to leave behind her difficult childhood (Papa is a wretched human being…). And through the story, it’s also about mothers and daughters. I have 3 of the latter, so I’m sure I’m going to enjoy this.

By: Cat Woods

Cat Woods — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:43:48 +0000

This is why I don’t write historical fiction. Way too much pressure to understand a world I am not totally familiar with. While I love history (and also thought about majoring in it) I know enough to know I don’t know enough to write it accurately!

Thanks for the reminder that period writing is more than the clothes the characters wear.

By: Latayne C Scott

Latayne C Scott — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:53:03 +0000

How do I try to assure historical accuracy? I shamelessly ask anyone with historical background regarding my WIP to read it. I’d rather find out and fix something now, pointed out by someone I may not like very much, than have the world point it out later.

By: Rowenna

Rowenna — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:45:52 +0000

This definitely gets my goat…As Lynn said, characters who are modern people in historical costume bug me. I don’t demand precise historical dialogue or anything like that, and am happy with some bending of societal norms if the fact that they’re being bent is acknowledged. After all, even today, plenty of people fall outside the norm.

Details also bother me–for instance, an eighteenth-century character calling her outfit a “dress” instead of a “gown.” The word dress was a verb or adjective, not a noun in that period. Or that character wearing a coat, rather than a cloak. It’s just a detail, but I tend to feel (almost subconciously), if the writer didn’t take the time to nail down the details, the authenticity of the rest of the work is in question, too.

By: Kathy N.

Kathy N. — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:54:42 +0000

One of my great fears is that I missed some nuance of the time period in my novel. I don’t want to jerk the reader out of ancient Israel because a Burger King wrapper blows across the street. Or something equally ludicrous to the educated reader.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:07:36 +0000

That they happen in the past. Sorry.

By: Lynn Dean

Lynn Dean — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:45:42 +0000

I’ve been catching up on blog reading today, and I see now I should have saved my comment on yesterday’s article for today. For a history lover, it’s easy to spot a modern heroine with a bonnet on her head. People not only lived differently, they spoke and thought differently–looked at their world and their faith differently. For example, I doubt anyone in the 1800s would have referred to accepting Christ as their “personal savior.” That phrase (and to some degree that concept) did not come on the scene until much later, though they certainly understood that Jesus died for their sins.

I enjoy reading old diaries, personal letters, and newspaper obituaries to gain insight into people in other times and places. I guess it’s a habit I picked up from writing research papers, but nothing compares to original source documents for accuracy. You still have to be careful, though, in how you interpret the motivations behind the facts.