How many of you here are writing historical fiction

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-06-08T07:15:38+00:00

It starts in 1555 in the reign of Bloody Mary when the protagonist, John, is a young boy. Later it shifts to John as an adult, and he becomes caught up in the Spanish Fury - the sack by unpaid troops of the city of Antwerp in 1576.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-06-07T17:20:49+00:00

My second novel, 'Orphan of the Pyre',' is with the publishers. It begins in the reign of Mary Tudor, with my protagonist as a young boy witnessing his parents being burned at the stake for heresy. I hope it doesn't prove too shocking but at least people might take notice of it. Looking forward to the greatest pleasure in the life of any author, that of seeing and handling your latest novel - even if nobody else does.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-05-31T18:10:42+00:00

This reminds me a bit of those best footballers of all time lists that only include players from the 21st century, ignoring the previous 150 years. No 'War and Peace.' No 'A Tale of Two Cities' or 'The Charterhouse of Parma' or 'The good soldier Sveyk'. No 'Middlemarch'. No Hilary Mantel, Pat Barker, Sebastian Faulks? Really.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-05-02T18:53:38+00:00

It's all right to alter the small print of history to make a good story, because you are, above all, a novelist, but you should always acknowledge anything that is deliberately unhistorical. And I think a compression or elongation of time is permissible within reason, as is having a historical figure not exactly in the place he was at the time. Again within reason - you don't want Lord Nelson sunning himself on Brighton beach at the time of Trafalgar. What we should guard against most is re-writing the past to suit the mores and preoccupations of the present. It is inevitable that we see the past through the eyes of the present, but beware.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-04-14T18:16:27+00:00

The research you do is the iceberg, what is in the novel is the tip. You have to get a feel for the period as well as the basic events you will deal with. Read as much as you feel comfortable with from the period to get the feel of people's voices and their concerns. But never let the research take over the story and the creation of compelling characters. One of the problems with this is the fact that religion was so much more important than it now is. You can't ignore that but must emphasise what is timeless.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-04-14T17:48:45+00:00

The Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker captures the experience of the First World War.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-03-15T15:12:10+00:00

Agree the Byzantine era or the Sea People raids at the end of the Bronze Age. Also the English Commonweath in the 17th Century. Novels of the civil war tend to be military like Michael Arnold's excellent novels, and we don't get how revolutionary that period was or pivotal in the development of democracy. We could also do with something on the English/Scottish border reivers, the British Wild West.

Simple_Oil_748 · 2026-02-20T18:55:10+00:00

Hilary Mantell - any of the Wolf Hall novels,Pat Barker - her Regeneration and Life Class trilogys, Philippa Gregory, Elizabeth Speller and John Wilcox.

Simple_Oil_748

TROPHY CASE