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Creating a Sense of History in the Narration of a Historical Novel

5/7/2013

9 Comments

 
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Writing a historical novel is a balancing act of the modern and the ancient, from current and past ethical boundaries to a balance of the literary styles of two different eras.

On the first topic, I have a friend, Albert A Bell, who writes ancient Roman mysteries, and his protagonist, Pliny the Younger, is a slave-owner. Part of Albert’s task is to include in Pliny the attitudes of a wealthy Roman toward those slaves, while still keeping him a sympathetic character to the reader. It’s a definite balancing act. I don’t know what Pliny really thought about his slaves or how he treated them but Albert keeps him distanced yet reasonably compassionate and makes it believable. I doubt many Roman slave-owners thought much about their slaves as people but to the modern mind it’s nearly impossible to feel sympathetic to a character who treats people as inferior. Modern readers, for the most part, want a protagonist they can see as a good guy, which sometimes blurs the line of historical accuracy.

In my novels, set in 1910s Detroit, many people with social status would have been raised with very definite opinions regarding people of color, the poor, and the ‘insane’ – which would have included gay people, who were considered sexual deviants. My protagonist, Will Anderson, was raised in that type of household, and when an openly (or as openly as was possible) gay man tries to befriend him, Will rebuffs him again and again. He accepts the man’s help only when he has exhausted all his alternatives. I felt like I was walking the line there. I wanted to include a historical perspective on homosexuality but I also wanted this character to be significant in the book. The only way I could do that was to box Will in enough that he had no choice. From there it felt right.

On the second topic, writing style has obviously changed a great deal over the years. Even though my books take place only a hundred years ago, if I wrote in the style of the early 20th century most readers would yawn and put down the book halfway through the first chapter. (That’s not strictly true. If I wrote a book in the style of the day no publisher would touch it, so no one would read it at all.)

Our goal as historical fiction writers needs to be to create the impression of the historical style. Our books are not written in the verbiage, syntax or particularly the style of the time period we write but are instead our approximation of that language – to create the feeling of authenticity to the reader while keeping the book moving along.

The most common method employed is to use loftier language for the well-to-do. With most historical novels set in the US, I tend to read with an English accent. There is a definite reality to that. Depending on time and place, it wasn’t unusual to hear educated Americans speaking much more like Brits.

However, poor people did not speak that way – in America or anywhere else. They used terrible grammar and had horrible vocabularies, and many of them swore like stevedores. (How’s that for a historical word?) I personally get suspicious when I’m reading a book in which the peasants speak like nobility. Okay, there probably were a few – somewhere – but the other millions of poor folks didn’t even know anyone who talked like that. They didn’t go to school. They didn’t read. Heck, they didn’t bathe. When survival is the rule of the day language tends to be left behind.

I imagine this is a somewhat contentious issue, so what do you think? Should historical writers strive for absolute historical accuracy or should they write in a way that readers will find more accessible? You’ve seen which side I come down on. How about you?



9 Comments
Don Petersen
5/9/2013 08:21:17 am

I love your books. I love them because they are entertaining. If being period-accurate renders them less entertaining, then I say make them less period-accurate.

Is that selling out? Perhaps. But it's also paying the bills!

Reply
DE Johnson
5/9/2013 09:10:06 am

Thanks, Don. I strive for both, but you're right. Sometimes the story has to win over strict accuracy, if there's no other way to go. Ultimately, the story is what matters most!

Reply
Eunice Low
5/11/2013 03:06:40 am

Yes, I agree! I think your using the historical style was perfect. It sure kept me reading - and getting oh so excited whenever I'd read the name of an old building or street name. I moved away from Detroit 54 years ago, so being reminded of those things really took me back.

One thing I did miss, though, was a map. I wanted to follow the action on a map of the city.

I've just read the first book, but am anxiously waiting for the next two. And more, if you write more! Thank you!

Reply
DE Johnson
5/11/2013 10:49:24 pm

Hi Eunice,
I'm glad you enjoyed The Detroit Electric Scheme. We thought about including a map, but because of the space the book covered, you would have needed a microscope to read it!

A couple things you'll find in the other books - Author's Notes that talk about the real events in the book, so you don't have to guess what's real and what's fiction, and the third book, Detroit Breakdown, has a map of Eloise Hospital in 1912, since half of the book takes place there.

Hope you enjoy those as well!

Reply
Eunice Low
5/12/2013 01:39:55 am

I'm sure I will enjoy both books. And the Author's Notes. I remember all the jokes about "Eloise" all the years I was growing up, so knowing more about that place will educate me as well.

Keep on writing - I'm loving it!

Eunice Low
5/12/2013 01:46:30 am

I'm sure I will enjoy both books. And the Author's Notes. I remember all the jokes about "Eloise" all the years I was growing up, so knowing more about that place will educate me as well.

Keep on writing - I'm loving it!

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    D.E. Johnson:
    Author of the Will Anderson Detroit Historical Mystery Series

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  • Home
  • Blog
  • Books
    • The Detroit Electric Scheme >
      • To Buy The Detroit Electric Scheme
      • Literary Reviews
      • Goodreads Reviews
      • Chapter One
      • Characters
      • Detroit Electric
      • Scenes
    • Motor City Shakedown >
      • To Buy Motor City Shakedown
      • Literary Reviews
      • Goodreads Reviews
      • Chapter One
    • Detroit Breakdown >
      • To Buy Detroit Breakdown
      • Literary Reviews
      • Goodreads Reviews
      • Chapter One - Detroit Breakdown
      • Eloise Hospital
    • Detroit Shuffle >
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      • Chapter One
      • Literary Reviews
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  • Contact