How does a modern author write authentic and compelling historical fiction?
Here are twelve points to consider in planning your novel.
- The Period: Choose a period of history about which you feel passionate so that the research becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. My favourite historical period is the Tudors which has plenty of drama and no end of fascinating characters. So far, I have written and published four historical novels with another on the way.
- The Sources: Don’t rely upon the secondary sources of the period, but track down the original sources for yourself. You will be surprised to find how often they have been misquoted or misused by historians and historical novelists. For example, there are early biographies about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and Sir Thomas More which can provide a different perspective on events and bring to life key members of the Tudor court. There are also the reports of the foreign ambassadors to the Tudor court which are quite fascinating in their interpretation of events.
- The World-Building: Draw your readers into the alternative historical world of your novel. What is different about how the people in that era lived, thought and acted? What were the challenges of their time? How can you succeed in making your heroic characters identifiable and sympathetic to modern readers? For example, what were the perils of life at the Tudor court? How do your protagonists manage to survive them?
- The Chronology and the Plot: Aim for a nimble storyline which is based upon an accurate chronological timeline. What is your unique take on the period? Which events are you intending to include and why? And what will you leave out? Some of these decisions will be resolved in the editing process.
- The Conflicts: Which historical events will provide dramatic conflicts and challenges for your main characters? How much fictionalisation will be necessary to create a satisfying plot? For example, do any of your characters face moral challenges as a consequence of the break with Rome? Are they at risk from the outbreaks of the mysterious Sweat of 1517 and 1528? Are they members of noble households which suffer from the suspicion and hostility of the Tudor monarchs? Or do they somehow manage to find ways to stay in favour and prosper?
- The Characters: Are you going to write about historical characters or fictional ones? Or a combination of both? Find out how people of that era dressed so that you can create a vivid image of each character. Make use of contemporary portraits such as Hans Holbein’s paintings of members of the Tudor court. The famous picture of Anne of Cleves has a major drama surrounding it.
- The Narrative Voice: Will you use an omniscient narrator or a point-of-view character to tell your story? If it is a main character, then will you choose an historical or a fictional character? Why is their viewpoint interesting? How will it shape the story? And in what ways will it limit the plot? My first novel was narrated by a fictional dressmaker to Queen Anne Boleyn named Margery Hallows. My second novel was related by Will Somers who was the official fool and close companion of Henry VIII. Both narrators were part of the Tudor court and had a personal perspective on events which was shaped by their roles as royal servants.
- The Dialogue: Aim for a compromise between genuine period language and understandable modern sentences. Otherwise your readers may end up feeling tired and baffled trying to work it out. There are examples of surviving Tudor letters including the love letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn and the business correspondence of the Lisle family which illustrate the elaborate way in which contemporary Tudors spoke and wrote.
- The Settings: Pay attention to the settings. If possible, go to visit sites from that period so that you can imagine your characters there and add realistic details to your scenes. Hampton Court is a well-preserved Tudor palace and Burton Agnes is a country house which has much surviving Tudor furnishings.
- The Detail: Read specialist studies of the period to find the telling details which will add interest to scenes and convince your readers. For insights into the magnificence of Henry VIII’s court read “A Marvel to Behold”: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII by Timothy Schroder (2020). For descriptions of Queen Elizabeth I’s dresses read Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d by Janet Arnold (1988). Research those questions which naturally arise from your storyline such as the Tudor understanding of medicine. But don’t try to include all your research or else your readers will become exhausted by it.
- The Ending: When and where will you end your story? Will it be at the deathbed of your main character? Or will you find a happy resolution along the way which will leave your readers feeling satisfied?
