Susan here, thinking about the importance—or not?—of historical content in fiction—something we historical writers come face to face with every writing day.
Years ago, I went far up into the remote Highland hills with some Scottish 
friends to see a natural well once used by the Picts. As kids, my friends would visit the well to make a wish and leave flowers or pretty stones. That historical place, for the locals, is part of their ordinary world. And it’s important to them—so important that one dark night, my friends and their young friends removed an old carved stone set there by some medieval churchmen to erase the paganism of that ancient spot. My friends spirited the stone away because they wanted to restore the well to its Pictish origins; a thousand years later, the churchmen’s offense still burned in local memory, especially when fed by a little local ale. Well, soon enough the police were searching for the missing medieval stone. So back the thing had to go, secretly, wrapped in a blanket inside a pram, and pushed up into the hills by a few guys fortified by a few pints.
History is a thriving thing, with the power to excite and incite us, to inspire us to care deeply. The love of it can nudge us into action on starless nights because we so respect the past, our ancestors, and social memory. We feel the tug of it in our imaginations, perhaps in our DNA. Look at any college campus class schedule; visit any museum; go to any bookstore and browse the bestsellers table, the mystery and romance sections and more. We still care, and we still find ways to connect history to our own lives, our own times.
Before I wrote historical fiction, I was in academia, trained as a historian, specifically an art historian, and now, in fiction, I use what I learned there—methods of research, processes of thinking and inquiry, writing techniques: defining a beginning, middle and end; how to evocatively describe, how to create tension and anticipation, even how to develop a plot by telling the story of an artist, a painting, an artistic trend. Good nonfiction historical writing can keep a reader on the edge of their seat just as a good story can do … tell a clear story, infuse it with meaning, keep the reader with you. And there are important differences—no footnotes (yay), and you can Make Stuff Up.
So when I began writing fiction, I thought I was prepared. Then I found out how difficult it is to do this–it's not just making stuff up. Story needs a solid structure and strong elements. The historical writer should be pretty familiar with the chosen historical subject. And it’s a challenge to juggle all this while sticking to a word count and other publishing parameters.
I also discovered that accuracy and mastery is not enough in historical fiction. It’s essential—a historical story will suffer without a reliable historical framework, even if it’s just sketched in. But imagination, voice, ability and common sense are just as essential. Accuracy in fiction does well when it’s tempered with authenticity.
We can reconstruct history with structure and facts, with logical conclusions, we can create a precise portrait of a historical figure or a landscape of events. We can also conjure all of that for the reader without a great amount of detail. Conjuring—that’s what suits the realm of fiction, mingling the historical facts with imagination, creating a kind of shorthand that evokes authenticity—a sense of the time and place, the daily life, where the characters walk and events take place. Dialogue, action, narrative and emotion give the facts an immediacy, a sort of storytelling magic that brings history to life. For me, the success of historical fiction often hinges on a delicate balance of accuracy and authenticity.
I’ve run into this with every book I’ve written, none more challenging than when I wrote the stories of the real, historical Lady Macbeth and Queen Margaret of Scotland. With my historian's hat on, I carefully followed the fascinating track of actual history, and then wore my fiction-writer’s hat to elaborate and flesh out the facts with imagination—tempering accuracy with touches of authenticity, trying not to deluge the reader with minutiae and explanations, while keeping imagination on a rein too, to preserve a sense of historical truth. In every book I write, I want to conjure an authentic sense of the era and its events and people, while keeping the spotlight centered on story and character.
Readers of historical fiction enjoy being immersed in that world, carried along, tapping their own imaginations to add to the read, taking away something valuable for themselves. And hopefully they’ve learned something too while they’re reading. They want to feel and sense what it was like to live back then, in that time or that place. That’s why, for me, authentic has more weight than accuracy in historical fiction. I’ll tweak and adjust to make sure the characters and the tale are vivid and convincing. But at the same time, I won’t sacrifice accuracy—it’s the essential framework and provides the pins and seams that hold a historical tale together.
Sometimes a story works with great detail, the grit of that past reality, but the complexities of sticking to an accurate timeline can mess with the best plot. And sometimes we just want a galloping, rollicking good story that informs and entertains—even if its history is distilled and indicated rather than exactly portrayed. I’ll always be a stickler for historical accuracy, I’m just wired that way as a writer and a historian. But I’ll also bend the truth where it enhances the story, as long as it doesn’t wander too far off. I want the history to be strong and reliable—and I also want the story to be dynamic within that structure.
Historical writers, fiction and nonfiction too, are storytellers, part of an ancient line of bards. Some recited genealogies and battles and epics—the historians of their day. Others were tellers of tales, singers of songs. Today we historical writers do the same, though the modes of delivery have changed!
What do you think works best in historical fiction, accuracy or a lighter hand with the historical framework? Do you look for a chance to learn history from historical novels, or are you looking more for a focus on character and plot over historical context? We’d love to know your thoughts!
Human nature hasn’t changed over the millenia but their beliefs have. And beliefs affect actions. So my preference is to root the story in basic humanity while explaining what the culture is like and how people interact in that culture.
Human nature hasn’t changed over the millenia but their beliefs have. And beliefs affect actions. So my preference is to root the story in basic humanity while explaining what the culture is like and how people interact in that culture.
Human nature hasn’t changed over the millenia but their beliefs have. And beliefs affect actions. So my preference is to root the story in basic humanity while explaining what the culture is like and how people interact in that culture.
Human nature hasn’t changed over the millenia but their beliefs have. And beliefs affect actions. So my preference is to root the story in basic humanity while explaining what the culture is like and how people interact in that culture.
Human nature hasn’t changed over the millenia but their beliefs have. And beliefs affect actions. So my preference is to root the story in basic humanity while explaining what the culture is like and how people interact in that culture.
Great thoughts, Susan! It’s always a balancing act, never more than in books like your mainstream historicals. But real history so enhances the stories.
Great thoughts, Susan! It’s always a balancing act, never more than in books like your mainstream historicals. But real history so enhances the stories.
Great thoughts, Susan! It’s always a balancing act, never more than in books like your mainstream historicals. But real history so enhances the stories.
Great thoughts, Susan! It’s always a balancing act, never more than in books like your mainstream historicals. But real history so enhances the stories.
Great thoughts, Susan! It’s always a balancing act, never more than in books like your mainstream historicals. But real history so enhances the stories.
As a reader I appreciate mostly a good story – well defined characters and a good plot. But, of course, I want the facts to be as accurate as possible also. So, I do appreciate “sticklers” like you Susan. I also appreciate authors who will put a postscript at the end of a book to explain when they do “fudge” the facts a little. Although to tell the truth, most of the time I would not have even noticed. What I am more likely to notice is inappropriate language – slang words or phrases from the 20th or 21st century.
As a reader I appreciate mostly a good story – well defined characters and a good plot. But, of course, I want the facts to be as accurate as possible also. So, I do appreciate “sticklers” like you Susan. I also appreciate authors who will put a postscript at the end of a book to explain when they do “fudge” the facts a little. Although to tell the truth, most of the time I would not have even noticed. What I am more likely to notice is inappropriate language – slang words or phrases from the 20th or 21st century.
As a reader I appreciate mostly a good story – well defined characters and a good plot. But, of course, I want the facts to be as accurate as possible also. So, I do appreciate “sticklers” like you Susan. I also appreciate authors who will put a postscript at the end of a book to explain when they do “fudge” the facts a little. Although to tell the truth, most of the time I would not have even noticed. What I am more likely to notice is inappropriate language – slang words or phrases from the 20th or 21st century.
As a reader I appreciate mostly a good story – well defined characters and a good plot. But, of course, I want the facts to be as accurate as possible also. So, I do appreciate “sticklers” like you Susan. I also appreciate authors who will put a postscript at the end of a book to explain when they do “fudge” the facts a little. Although to tell the truth, most of the time I would not have even noticed. What I am more likely to notice is inappropriate language – slang words or phrases from the 20th or 21st century.
As a reader I appreciate mostly a good story – well defined characters and a good plot. But, of course, I want the facts to be as accurate as possible also. So, I do appreciate “sticklers” like you Susan. I also appreciate authors who will put a postscript at the end of a book to explain when they do “fudge” the facts a little. Although to tell the truth, most of the time I would not have even noticed. What I am more likely to notice is inappropriate language – slang words or phrases from the 20th or 21st century.
I learn toward accuracy in historic fiction. And I get very irritated by out-of-sync language, but my overriding need is for a good story. (NO, I’m not copying Mary T.; just agreeing with her.
Keep as accurate as possible, fudge at need for the sake of the story — and add an end of book “essay” to keep the record straight.
I don’t read historic fiction to learn about history. I DO look up points in novels that intrigue me.
I learn toward accuracy in historic fiction. And I get very irritated by out-of-sync language, but my overriding need is for a good story. (NO, I’m not copying Mary T.; just agreeing with her.
Keep as accurate as possible, fudge at need for the sake of the story — and add an end of book “essay” to keep the record straight.
I don’t read historic fiction to learn about history. I DO look up points in novels that intrigue me.
I learn toward accuracy in historic fiction. And I get very irritated by out-of-sync language, but my overriding need is for a good story. (NO, I’m not copying Mary T.; just agreeing with her.
Keep as accurate as possible, fudge at need for the sake of the story — and add an end of book “essay” to keep the record straight.
I don’t read historic fiction to learn about history. I DO look up points in novels that intrigue me.
I learn toward accuracy in historic fiction. And I get very irritated by out-of-sync language, but my overriding need is for a good story. (NO, I’m not copying Mary T.; just agreeing with her.
Keep as accurate as possible, fudge at need for the sake of the story — and add an end of book “essay” to keep the record straight.
I don’t read historic fiction to learn about history. I DO look up points in novels that intrigue me.
I learn toward accuracy in historic fiction. And I get very irritated by out-of-sync language, but my overriding need is for a good story. (NO, I’m not copying Mary T.; just agreeing with her.
Keep as accurate as possible, fudge at need for the sake of the story — and add an end of book “essay” to keep the record straight.
I don’t read historic fiction to learn about history. I DO look up points in novels that intrigue me.
That’s a great point, Kathy. The cultural spin is always an important aspect in a historical story!
That’s a great point, Kathy. The cultural spin is always an important aspect in a historical story!
That’s a great point, Kathy. The cultural spin is always an important aspect in a historical story!
That’s a great point, Kathy. The cultural spin is always an important aspect in a historical story!
That’s a great point, Kathy. The cultural spin is always an important aspect in a historical story!
I agree, Mary Jo. If the track of a story coincides with actual historical events, I think it’s important to acknowledge that, whether the story is a romance, a mystery or a mainstream novel. We don’t have to go into detail if it’s an off-stage sort of event, but if it involves the characters or affects the plot, it needs to be at least noted even in passing. How much and how far – that’s the balancing act!
I agree, Mary Jo. If the track of a story coincides with actual historical events, I think it’s important to acknowledge that, whether the story is a romance, a mystery or a mainstream novel. We don’t have to go into detail if it’s an off-stage sort of event, but if it involves the characters or affects the plot, it needs to be at least noted even in passing. How much and how far – that’s the balancing act!
I agree, Mary Jo. If the track of a story coincides with actual historical events, I think it’s important to acknowledge that, whether the story is a romance, a mystery or a mainstream novel. We don’t have to go into detail if it’s an off-stage sort of event, but if it involves the characters or affects the plot, it needs to be at least noted even in passing. How much and how far – that’s the balancing act!
I agree, Mary Jo. If the track of a story coincides with actual historical events, I think it’s important to acknowledge that, whether the story is a romance, a mystery or a mainstream novel. We don’t have to go into detail if it’s an off-stage sort of event, but if it involves the characters or affects the plot, it needs to be at least noted even in passing. How much and how far – that’s the balancing act!
I agree, Mary Jo. If the track of a story coincides with actual historical events, I think it’s important to acknowledge that, whether the story is a romance, a mystery or a mainstream novel. We don’t have to go into detail if it’s an off-stage sort of event, but if it involves the characters or affects the plot, it needs to be at least noted even in passing. How much and how far – that’s the balancing act!
That’s a good point about the author’s note, Mary. I try to include those in my books, and I’ll confess where I’ve had to change things to suit the story. Sometimes it’s just necessary to fudge the facts, blur them a little, stretch out the timeline or whatever is needed.
And very good point about the language – that’s one of those authentic touches that is so important to creating a true historical feel! I find it so jarring when the language just doesn’t ring true.
That’s a good point about the author’s note, Mary. I try to include those in my books, and I’ll confess where I’ve had to change things to suit the story. Sometimes it’s just necessary to fudge the facts, blur them a little, stretch out the timeline or whatever is needed.
And very good point about the language – that’s one of those authentic touches that is so important to creating a true historical feel! I find it so jarring when the language just doesn’t ring true.
That’s a good point about the author’s note, Mary. I try to include those in my books, and I’ll confess where I’ve had to change things to suit the story. Sometimes it’s just necessary to fudge the facts, blur them a little, stretch out the timeline or whatever is needed.
And very good point about the language – that’s one of those authentic touches that is so important to creating a true historical feel! I find it so jarring when the language just doesn’t ring true.
That’s a good point about the author’s note, Mary. I try to include those in my books, and I’ll confess where I’ve had to change things to suit the story. Sometimes it’s just necessary to fudge the facts, blur them a little, stretch out the timeline or whatever is needed.
And very good point about the language – that’s one of those authentic touches that is so important to creating a true historical feel! I find it so jarring when the language just doesn’t ring true.
That’s a good point about the author’s note, Mary. I try to include those in my books, and I’ll confess where I’ve had to change things to suit the story. Sometimes it’s just necessary to fudge the facts, blur them a little, stretch out the timeline or whatever is needed.
And very good point about the language – that’s one of those authentic touches that is so important to creating a true historical feel! I find it so jarring when the language just doesn’t ring true.
Definitely, Sue, I agree with you and Mary about the language and details. Keep the language and other details and set up as accurate as possible while making sure that the needs of the story are being served.
Like you, I don’t read historical fiction to learn the history, but we all absorb info while we read, so it’s good to be getting the right info, whether it’s a lightly sketched historical picture or well developed!
Kind of like “fake news” vs. real news, LOL. But in fiction, it’s easier for authors who have reason to manipulate the facts to find forgiving readers! 😉
Definitely, Sue, I agree with you and Mary about the language and details. Keep the language and other details and set up as accurate as possible while making sure that the needs of the story are being served.
Like you, I don’t read historical fiction to learn the history, but we all absorb info while we read, so it’s good to be getting the right info, whether it’s a lightly sketched historical picture or well developed!
Kind of like “fake news” vs. real news, LOL. But in fiction, it’s easier for authors who have reason to manipulate the facts to find forgiving readers! 😉
Definitely, Sue, I agree with you and Mary about the language and details. Keep the language and other details and set up as accurate as possible while making sure that the needs of the story are being served.
Like you, I don’t read historical fiction to learn the history, but we all absorb info while we read, so it’s good to be getting the right info, whether it’s a lightly sketched historical picture or well developed!
Kind of like “fake news” vs. real news, LOL. But in fiction, it’s easier for authors who have reason to manipulate the facts to find forgiving readers! 😉
Definitely, Sue, I agree with you and Mary about the language and details. Keep the language and other details and set up as accurate as possible while making sure that the needs of the story are being served.
Like you, I don’t read historical fiction to learn the history, but we all absorb info while we read, so it’s good to be getting the right info, whether it’s a lightly sketched historical picture or well developed!
Kind of like “fake news” vs. real news, LOL. But in fiction, it’s easier for authors who have reason to manipulate the facts to find forgiving readers! 😉
Definitely, Sue, I agree with you and Mary about the language and details. Keep the language and other details and set up as accurate as possible while making sure that the needs of the story are being served.
Like you, I don’t read historical fiction to learn the history, but we all absorb info while we read, so it’s good to be getting the right info, whether it’s a lightly sketched historical picture or well developed!
Kind of like “fake news” vs. real news, LOL. But in fiction, it’s easier for authors who have reason to manipulate the facts to find forgiving readers! 😉
I don’t read historical fiction to learn about history, but I do look for accuracy as to major events, major personages, and certainly behavior and belief. Too many inaccuracies and anachronisms absolutely destroy a story for me
I don’t read historical fiction to learn about history, but I do look for accuracy as to major events, major personages, and certainly behavior and belief. Too many inaccuracies and anachronisms absolutely destroy a story for me
I don’t read historical fiction to learn about history, but I do look for accuracy as to major events, major personages, and certainly behavior and belief. Too many inaccuracies and anachronisms absolutely destroy a story for me
I don’t read historical fiction to learn about history, but I do look for accuracy as to major events, major personages, and certainly behavior and belief. Too many inaccuracies and anachronisms absolutely destroy a story for me
I don’t read historical fiction to learn about history, but I do look for accuracy as to major events, major personages, and certainly behavior and belief. Too many inaccuracies and anachronisms absolutely destroy a story for me
I prefer to have historical accuracy in an novel. In this way the personality of different figures in the past come alive for me more strongly. I enjoy delving into a time period, so that I feel I’ve lived there and understand the pressures of a character who had to deal with the constraints of that era.
I prefer to have historical accuracy in an novel. In this way the personality of different figures in the past come alive for me more strongly. I enjoy delving into a time period, so that I feel I’ve lived there and understand the pressures of a character who had to deal with the constraints of that era.
I prefer to have historical accuracy in an novel. In this way the personality of different figures in the past come alive for me more strongly. I enjoy delving into a time period, so that I feel I’ve lived there and understand the pressures of a character who had to deal with the constraints of that era.
I prefer to have historical accuracy in an novel. In this way the personality of different figures in the past come alive for me more strongly. I enjoy delving into a time period, so that I feel I’ve lived there and understand the pressures of a character who had to deal with the constraints of that era.
I prefer to have historical accuracy in an novel. In this way the personality of different figures in the past come alive for me more strongly. I enjoy delving into a time period, so that I feel I’ve lived there and understand the pressures of a character who had to deal with the constraints of that era.
I don’t mind liberties taken with well known historical facts so long as I have confidence that the author knows that’s what she’s doing; this is fiction, not documentary. So I too appreciate that note at the back that explains what she did and that it was deliberate, whether I would have noticed the change or not.
On the other hand, readers can be too nitpicky. Alan Furst got criticized in an amazon review for having a female character wear nylons in 1938 when the commenter said they weren’t available until 1939. This commenter had a whole list of gaffes which made no difference at all, really.
If an author gets things like tone, culture, language and attitude right, that is more important to me.
I don’t mind liberties taken with well known historical facts so long as I have confidence that the author knows that’s what she’s doing; this is fiction, not documentary. So I too appreciate that note at the back that explains what she did and that it was deliberate, whether I would have noticed the change or not.
On the other hand, readers can be too nitpicky. Alan Furst got criticized in an amazon review for having a female character wear nylons in 1938 when the commenter said they weren’t available until 1939. This commenter had a whole list of gaffes which made no difference at all, really.
If an author gets things like tone, culture, language and attitude right, that is more important to me.
I don’t mind liberties taken with well known historical facts so long as I have confidence that the author knows that’s what she’s doing; this is fiction, not documentary. So I too appreciate that note at the back that explains what she did and that it was deliberate, whether I would have noticed the change or not.
On the other hand, readers can be too nitpicky. Alan Furst got criticized in an amazon review for having a female character wear nylons in 1938 when the commenter said they weren’t available until 1939. This commenter had a whole list of gaffes which made no difference at all, really.
If an author gets things like tone, culture, language and attitude right, that is more important to me.
I don’t mind liberties taken with well known historical facts so long as I have confidence that the author knows that’s what she’s doing; this is fiction, not documentary. So I too appreciate that note at the back that explains what she did and that it was deliberate, whether I would have noticed the change or not.
On the other hand, readers can be too nitpicky. Alan Furst got criticized in an amazon review for having a female character wear nylons in 1938 when the commenter said they weren’t available until 1939. This commenter had a whole list of gaffes which made no difference at all, really.
If an author gets things like tone, culture, language and attitude right, that is more important to me.
I don’t mind liberties taken with well known historical facts so long as I have confidence that the author knows that’s what she’s doing; this is fiction, not documentary. So I too appreciate that note at the back that explains what she did and that it was deliberate, whether I would have noticed the change or not.
On the other hand, readers can be too nitpicky. Alan Furst got criticized in an amazon review for having a female character wear nylons in 1938 when the commenter said they weren’t available until 1939. This commenter had a whole list of gaffes which made no difference at all, really.
If an author gets things like tone, culture, language and attitude right, that is more important to me.
One reason I love historical romances is that the good authors have researched and include that in their books and I can learn more detail about an event or period while also enjoying a good book. Occasionally, I have read an author who then had an explanation of why they have used “poetic licence” and changed the date of an event by one or two years, for example. This I can readily accept, as the author has obviously researched and got everything right otherwise, but authors who try to write about a period in history, and imbue the characters with totally modern mannerisms and speech, or who cannot get very basic facts about their chosen time period correct, I cannot condone and make a note to NEVER read one of their books again.
One reason I love historical romances is that the good authors have researched and include that in their books and I can learn more detail about an event or period while also enjoying a good book. Occasionally, I have read an author who then had an explanation of why they have used “poetic licence” and changed the date of an event by one or two years, for example. This I can readily accept, as the author has obviously researched and got everything right otherwise, but authors who try to write about a period in history, and imbue the characters with totally modern mannerisms and speech, or who cannot get very basic facts about their chosen time period correct, I cannot condone and make a note to NEVER read one of their books again.
One reason I love historical romances is that the good authors have researched and include that in their books and I can learn more detail about an event or period while also enjoying a good book. Occasionally, I have read an author who then had an explanation of why they have used “poetic licence” and changed the date of an event by one or two years, for example. This I can readily accept, as the author has obviously researched and got everything right otherwise, but authors who try to write about a period in history, and imbue the characters with totally modern mannerisms and speech, or who cannot get very basic facts about their chosen time period correct, I cannot condone and make a note to NEVER read one of their books again.
One reason I love historical romances is that the good authors have researched and include that in their books and I can learn more detail about an event or period while also enjoying a good book. Occasionally, I have read an author who then had an explanation of why they have used “poetic licence” and changed the date of an event by one or two years, for example. This I can readily accept, as the author has obviously researched and got everything right otherwise, but authors who try to write about a period in history, and imbue the characters with totally modern mannerisms and speech, or who cannot get very basic facts about their chosen time period correct, I cannot condone and make a note to NEVER read one of their books again.
One reason I love historical romances is that the good authors have researched and include that in their books and I can learn more detail about an event or period while also enjoying a good book. Occasionally, I have read an author who then had an explanation of why they have used “poetic licence” and changed the date of an event by one or two years, for example. This I can readily accept, as the author has obviously researched and got everything right otherwise, but authors who try to write about a period in history, and imbue the characters with totally modern mannerisms and speech, or who cannot get very basic facts about their chosen time period correct, I cannot condone and make a note to NEVER read one of their books again.
I love historical and cultural detail in fiction and often click through to Wikipedia or Google (from my Kindle app) to learn more. (Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book, wondering why it’s not giving me more info, lol. Yes, I’ve done that.) I’m not fanatic about it unless it’s consistent, proving that the author didn’t research, just PFA (pulled from air). At the other end of the spectrum, I recently gave a book up because the author included too much detail–she was a historian and seemed to have dumped in everything she could find on a couple of well-documented lives. Seems like, as Susan said, it’s all in the balance.
I love historical and cultural detail in fiction and often click through to Wikipedia or Google (from my Kindle app) to learn more. (Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book, wondering why it’s not giving me more info, lol. Yes, I’ve done that.) I’m not fanatic about it unless it’s consistent, proving that the author didn’t research, just PFA (pulled from air). At the other end of the spectrum, I recently gave a book up because the author included too much detail–she was a historian and seemed to have dumped in everything she could find on a couple of well-documented lives. Seems like, as Susan said, it’s all in the balance.
I love historical and cultural detail in fiction and often click through to Wikipedia or Google (from my Kindle app) to learn more. (Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book, wondering why it’s not giving me more info, lol. Yes, I’ve done that.) I’m not fanatic about it unless it’s consistent, proving that the author didn’t research, just PFA (pulled from air). At the other end of the spectrum, I recently gave a book up because the author included too much detail–she was a historian and seemed to have dumped in everything she could find on a couple of well-documented lives. Seems like, as Susan said, it’s all in the balance.
I love historical and cultural detail in fiction and often click through to Wikipedia or Google (from my Kindle app) to learn more. (Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book, wondering why it’s not giving me more info, lol. Yes, I’ve done that.) I’m not fanatic about it unless it’s consistent, proving that the author didn’t research, just PFA (pulled from air). At the other end of the spectrum, I recently gave a book up because the author included too much detail–she was a historian and seemed to have dumped in everything she could find on a couple of well-documented lives. Seems like, as Susan said, it’s all in the balance.
I love historical and cultural detail in fiction and often click through to Wikipedia or Google (from my Kindle app) to learn more. (Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book, wondering why it’s not giving me more info, lol. Yes, I’ve done that.) I’m not fanatic about it unless it’s consistent, proving that the author didn’t research, just PFA (pulled from air). At the other end of the spectrum, I recently gave a book up because the author included too much detail–she was a historian and seemed to have dumped in everything she could find on a couple of well-documented lives. Seems like, as Susan said, it’s all in the balance.
Like many of your readers, I, too, LOVE the historical detail in so many of the Wenches’ books (and in many of the honorary Wenches as well). As a high school teacher, I am sometimes SO frustrated that I cannot in good conscience recommend some beloved historical romance to my students when they’re covering a particular time period, when I myself have gained a more “intimate” (!) understanding of the time period from it! In my own work, I try very hard to keep all historical detail accurate, and then at some point when I have to deviate a bit, I just cross my fingers and hope no one will check all THAT carefully!
Like many of your readers, I, too, LOVE the historical detail in so many of the Wenches’ books (and in many of the honorary Wenches as well). As a high school teacher, I am sometimes SO frustrated that I cannot in good conscience recommend some beloved historical romance to my students when they’re covering a particular time period, when I myself have gained a more “intimate” (!) understanding of the time period from it! In my own work, I try very hard to keep all historical detail accurate, and then at some point when I have to deviate a bit, I just cross my fingers and hope no one will check all THAT carefully!
Like many of your readers, I, too, LOVE the historical detail in so many of the Wenches’ books (and in many of the honorary Wenches as well). As a high school teacher, I am sometimes SO frustrated that I cannot in good conscience recommend some beloved historical romance to my students when they’re covering a particular time period, when I myself have gained a more “intimate” (!) understanding of the time period from it! In my own work, I try very hard to keep all historical detail accurate, and then at some point when I have to deviate a bit, I just cross my fingers and hope no one will check all THAT carefully!
Like many of your readers, I, too, LOVE the historical detail in so many of the Wenches’ books (and in many of the honorary Wenches as well). As a high school teacher, I am sometimes SO frustrated that I cannot in good conscience recommend some beloved historical romance to my students when they’re covering a particular time period, when I myself have gained a more “intimate” (!) understanding of the time period from it! In my own work, I try very hard to keep all historical detail accurate, and then at some point when I have to deviate a bit, I just cross my fingers and hope no one will check all THAT carefully!
Like many of your readers, I, too, LOVE the historical detail in so many of the Wenches’ books (and in many of the honorary Wenches as well). As a high school teacher, I am sometimes SO frustrated that I cannot in good conscience recommend some beloved historical romance to my students when they’re covering a particular time period, when I myself have gained a more “intimate” (!) understanding of the time period from it! In my own work, I try very hard to keep all historical detail accurate, and then at some point when I have to deviate a bit, I just cross my fingers and hope no one will check all THAT carefully!
I read historical fiction because I love history. More so I love how people lived in time gone by. So I do appreciate accuracy with a real good story. I left school early so I’m mostly self educated and I’ve gotten most of it through reading my favourite novels. Keep up the good work. I’m certainly learning lots.
I read historical fiction because I love history. More so I love how people lived in time gone by. So I do appreciate accuracy with a real good story. I left school early so I’m mostly self educated and I’ve gotten most of it through reading my favourite novels. Keep up the good work. I’m certainly learning lots.
I read historical fiction because I love history. More so I love how people lived in time gone by. So I do appreciate accuracy with a real good story. I left school early so I’m mostly self educated and I’ve gotten most of it through reading my favourite novels. Keep up the good work. I’m certainly learning lots.
I read historical fiction because I love history. More so I love how people lived in time gone by. So I do appreciate accuracy with a real good story. I left school early so I’m mostly self educated and I’ve gotten most of it through reading my favourite novels. Keep up the good work. I’m certainly learning lots.
I read historical fiction because I love history. More so I love how people lived in time gone by. So I do appreciate accuracy with a real good story. I left school early so I’m mostly self educated and I’ve gotten most of it through reading my favourite novels. Keep up the good work. I’m certainly learning lots.
I enjoy historic settings, because they take me out of my everyday world, but what really makes me fall in love with a book is plot and characters. Along the way I have absorbed a lot of 18th & 19th century history, which I never studied in school. I am not a nitpicker, although I do notice anachronistic language and attitudes.
I know a lot more about the latter half of the 20th century, from non-fiction reading and hearing eye-witnesses talk about it. I don’t read World War II fiction, because I am a nitpicker about that era, and I’d be liable to throwing the book across the room if the author gets it wrong!
I enjoy historic settings, because they take me out of my everyday world, but what really makes me fall in love with a book is plot and characters. Along the way I have absorbed a lot of 18th & 19th century history, which I never studied in school. I am not a nitpicker, although I do notice anachronistic language and attitudes.
I know a lot more about the latter half of the 20th century, from non-fiction reading and hearing eye-witnesses talk about it. I don’t read World War II fiction, because I am a nitpicker about that era, and I’d be liable to throwing the book across the room if the author gets it wrong!
I enjoy historic settings, because they take me out of my everyday world, but what really makes me fall in love with a book is plot and characters. Along the way I have absorbed a lot of 18th & 19th century history, which I never studied in school. I am not a nitpicker, although I do notice anachronistic language and attitudes.
I know a lot more about the latter half of the 20th century, from non-fiction reading and hearing eye-witnesses talk about it. I don’t read World War II fiction, because I am a nitpicker about that era, and I’d be liable to throwing the book across the room if the author gets it wrong!
I enjoy historic settings, because they take me out of my everyday world, but what really makes me fall in love with a book is plot and characters. Along the way I have absorbed a lot of 18th & 19th century history, which I never studied in school. I am not a nitpicker, although I do notice anachronistic language and attitudes.
I know a lot more about the latter half of the 20th century, from non-fiction reading and hearing eye-witnesses talk about it. I don’t read World War II fiction, because I am a nitpicker about that era, and I’d be liable to throwing the book across the room if the author gets it wrong!
I enjoy historic settings, because they take me out of my everyday world, but what really makes me fall in love with a book is plot and characters. Along the way I have absorbed a lot of 18th & 19th century history, which I never studied in school. I am not a nitpicker, although I do notice anachronistic language and attitudes.
I know a lot more about the latter half of the 20th century, from non-fiction reading and hearing eye-witnesses talk about it. I don’t read World War II fiction, because I am a nitpicker about that era, and I’d be liable to throwing the book across the room if the author gets it wrong!
“Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book.” That’s funny – I do the same thing. I love “real” books, but my kindle is spoiling me.
“Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book.” That’s funny – I do the same thing. I love “real” books, but my kindle is spoiling me.
“Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book.” That’s funny – I do the same thing. I love “real” books, but my kindle is spoiling me.
“Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book.” That’s funny – I do the same thing. I love “real” books, but my kindle is spoiling me.
“Picture me stabbing my finger at a physical book.” That’s funny – I do the same thing. I love “real” books, but my kindle is spoiling me.
I definitely want my historical romances to be historically accurate, but in terms of attitudes, not just factual details. I toss books aside when the heroine seems to think it would be no big deal to have an illegitimate child in the 19th century. There’s a limit to the amount of stupidity on the heroine’s part that I will accept.
On the other hand, minor factual details depend on what I know. I don’t know exactly how large a wine glass should be in 1810, so if the author gets it wrong, I’ll never notice.
However, there are things I do know, and I get annoyed at all those Regency heroines enjoying fluffy scones decades before baking powder and baking soda were available.
I definitely want my historical romances to be historically accurate, but in terms of attitudes, not just factual details. I toss books aside when the heroine seems to think it would be no big deal to have an illegitimate child in the 19th century. There’s a limit to the amount of stupidity on the heroine’s part that I will accept.
On the other hand, minor factual details depend on what I know. I don’t know exactly how large a wine glass should be in 1810, so if the author gets it wrong, I’ll never notice.
However, there are things I do know, and I get annoyed at all those Regency heroines enjoying fluffy scones decades before baking powder and baking soda were available.
I definitely want my historical romances to be historically accurate, but in terms of attitudes, not just factual details. I toss books aside when the heroine seems to think it would be no big deal to have an illegitimate child in the 19th century. There’s a limit to the amount of stupidity on the heroine’s part that I will accept.
On the other hand, minor factual details depend on what I know. I don’t know exactly how large a wine glass should be in 1810, so if the author gets it wrong, I’ll never notice.
However, there are things I do know, and I get annoyed at all those Regency heroines enjoying fluffy scones decades before baking powder and baking soda were available.
I definitely want my historical romances to be historically accurate, but in terms of attitudes, not just factual details. I toss books aside when the heroine seems to think it would be no big deal to have an illegitimate child in the 19th century. There’s a limit to the amount of stupidity on the heroine’s part that I will accept.
On the other hand, minor factual details depend on what I know. I don’t know exactly how large a wine glass should be in 1810, so if the author gets it wrong, I’ll never notice.
However, there are things I do know, and I get annoyed at all those Regency heroines enjoying fluffy scones decades before baking powder and baking soda were available.
I definitely want my historical romances to be historically accurate, but in terms of attitudes, not just factual details. I toss books aside when the heroine seems to think it would be no big deal to have an illegitimate child in the 19th century. There’s a limit to the amount of stupidity on the heroine’s part that I will accept.
On the other hand, minor factual details depend on what I know. I don’t know exactly how large a wine glass should be in 1810, so if the author gets it wrong, I’ll never notice.
However, there are things I do know, and I get annoyed at all those Regency heroines enjoying fluffy scones decades before baking powder and baking soda were available.
As usual, another wonderful Word Wenches question posed to us. As we all do, I have a long list of favorite authors. And to my list there several sub-lists, again nothing unique. But on my list are authors who set their works in a time-period, don’t cling to the historical events happening at the time and concentrate on, and excel at plot, character and romance. Others are very focused on historical events and their accuracy but also tell compelling stories. And many excel at all of the above. Of the W.W. I have read, I would have to say they all fall into the last category.
But I also like other sub genres and and I can truly enjoy a well-told story, again, whether they fall into one or more of the ‘types’ I mentioned above. I get especially excited when a writer makes me want to look up lots of things while reading her books.
But agreeing with what many have said before me, I really don’t like the author using language that doesn’t belong to that time in history.
As usual, another wonderful Word Wenches question posed to us. As we all do, I have a long list of favorite authors. And to my list there several sub-lists, again nothing unique. But on my list are authors who set their works in a time-period, don’t cling to the historical events happening at the time and concentrate on, and excel at plot, character and romance. Others are very focused on historical events and their accuracy but also tell compelling stories. And many excel at all of the above. Of the W.W. I have read, I would have to say they all fall into the last category.
But I also like other sub genres and and I can truly enjoy a well-told story, again, whether they fall into one or more of the ‘types’ I mentioned above. I get especially excited when a writer makes me want to look up lots of things while reading her books.
But agreeing with what many have said before me, I really don’t like the author using language that doesn’t belong to that time in history.
As usual, another wonderful Word Wenches question posed to us. As we all do, I have a long list of favorite authors. And to my list there several sub-lists, again nothing unique. But on my list are authors who set their works in a time-period, don’t cling to the historical events happening at the time and concentrate on, and excel at plot, character and romance. Others are very focused on historical events and their accuracy but also tell compelling stories. And many excel at all of the above. Of the W.W. I have read, I would have to say they all fall into the last category.
But I also like other sub genres and and I can truly enjoy a well-told story, again, whether they fall into one or more of the ‘types’ I mentioned above. I get especially excited when a writer makes me want to look up lots of things while reading her books.
But agreeing with what many have said before me, I really don’t like the author using language that doesn’t belong to that time in history.
As usual, another wonderful Word Wenches question posed to us. As we all do, I have a long list of favorite authors. And to my list there several sub-lists, again nothing unique. But on my list are authors who set their works in a time-period, don’t cling to the historical events happening at the time and concentrate on, and excel at plot, character and romance. Others are very focused on historical events and their accuracy but also tell compelling stories. And many excel at all of the above. Of the W.W. I have read, I would have to say they all fall into the last category.
But I also like other sub genres and and I can truly enjoy a well-told story, again, whether they fall into one or more of the ‘types’ I mentioned above. I get especially excited when a writer makes me want to look up lots of things while reading her books.
But agreeing with what many have said before me, I really don’t like the author using language that doesn’t belong to that time in history.
As usual, another wonderful Word Wenches question posed to us. As we all do, I have a long list of favorite authors. And to my list there several sub-lists, again nothing unique. But on my list are authors who set their works in a time-period, don’t cling to the historical events happening at the time and concentrate on, and excel at plot, character and romance. Others are very focused on historical events and their accuracy but also tell compelling stories. And many excel at all of the above. Of the W.W. I have read, I would have to say they all fall into the last category.
But I also like other sub genres and and I can truly enjoy a well-told story, again, whether they fall into one or more of the ‘types’ I mentioned above. I get especially excited when a writer makes me want to look up lots of things while reading her books.
But agreeing with what many have said before me, I really don’t like the author using language that doesn’t belong to that time in history.
I think that actual history is a great jumping off points for the “conjuring” but I don’t lose too much sleep if the accuracy isn’t 100%. If I was looking for straight up history, I’d read a history book and not a novel.
I think that actual history is a great jumping off points for the “conjuring” but I don’t lose too much sleep if the accuracy isn’t 100%. If I was looking for straight up history, I’d read a history book and not a novel.
I think that actual history is a great jumping off points for the “conjuring” but I don’t lose too much sleep if the accuracy isn’t 100%. If I was looking for straight up history, I’d read a history book and not a novel.
I think that actual history is a great jumping off points for the “conjuring” but I don’t lose too much sleep if the accuracy isn’t 100%. If I was looking for straight up history, I’d read a history book and not a novel.
I think that actual history is a great jumping off points for the “conjuring” but I don’t lose too much sleep if the accuracy isn’t 100%. If I was looking for straight up history, I’d read a history book and not a novel.