Writing Historical Fiction

So, Sir, When Did You Stop Raping Your Wife?

A few weeks ago, I received a copy of Philippa Wiat’s  1983 novel about Katherine Grey, Five Gold Rings. The novel opens with a chapter showing Katherine’s older sister, Lady Jane Grey, being cajoled, whipped, and finally raped by a man whose identity is concealed from the reader until the last line in the chapter:

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As You Know, Bob, When Henry VII Founded the Tudor Dynasty . . .

One of the biggest pitfalls which can befall the historical novelist is what has been called the  “As you know, Bob” syndrome. This is where the writer, needing to give the reader some necessary information, has one character impart it in a conversation with the other character, as in “As you know, Edward, in 1485

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"Further Reading" Sections in Historical Novels?

I’m going out of town for a couple of days (work, not pleasure, but with pretty scenery, I hope). While I concentrate on lofty, airplane-encouraging thoughts, here’s a question for you: Do you like it when historical novelists include a “Further Reading” section in their books? Or do you find it pretentious and/or unnecessary? Do

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In Which This Blog Descends Even Lower Into Silliness

I should be working, but it’s still Thanksgiving weekend and I’m not inclined to be industrious. Fortunately, I came across this site some time ago (I think it was via someone’s blog, but I can’t remember the culprit) and decided finally that it was time to maximize its full potential. So here, without further ado,

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Ten Rules for Writing Ricardian Historical Fiction

As it’s been quiet in my part of the blogsphere, I’m double posting this one on my Richard III blog. Some time ago (I never was accused of being au courant), rules for writing various sorts of historical fiction were circulated in blogdom. Astonishingly, as far as I know, no one provided any for the

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Ten Reasons to Write Historical Fiction

1. If your hero is riddled with angst, it’ll be because someone is trying to overthrow him, not because he is having a mid-life crisis. 2. There is seldom a need to have one character say to another, “I’ll be there for you,” “I’m conflicted,” or, “You’re just not meeting my needs.” 3. Your heroine

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