While debated amongst historians, the historical fiction novel’s origins are typically traced to the publication of Waverly in 1814 by Sir Walter Scott (1777-1832). Since then, this particular genre has garnered such popularity amongst readers that it has a gondola of its own at nearly every major and local bookstore today. As a connoisseur of such books and a student of history, I have often wondered how a historical novel is written. As someone who has studied history and the historical method, I have been equally curious about the research methods of historical fiction authors. While such an inquiry seems impossible to answer due to the individual preferences of authors, there does appear to be a set of common guidelines they all follow.
After looking through our collections, I found historical novelist Eugenia Price’s research and correspondence for her novel Maria. Utilizing her work, I was able to compare her methods to those of current authors within the genre. What I found was that the most challenging step when writing a historical novel is finding the right voice for the story being told. In a historical novel, it is important that the dialogue and point of view sound period-appropriate without being too outdated and impeding the reader’s comprehension of the material. Another key element when writing for the genre is saturating the story with a detailed setting. It is important to ensure the reader has a remarkable sense of time and place while following the narrative of the protagonist to create a clear picture of the time in history in which the novel is based. It seems a lot of authors choose to look at artwork from the time period when delving into their setting.
An author’s point of view and setting, however, cannot be created without proper research. After doing some digging myself, I have found that common research practices amongst authors of the genre typically align with the historical method used by historians. This means that a lot of authors utilize an array of historical sources, including primary, secondary, and even tertiary sources to write their novels. To clarify, primary sources are original documents, creative works, and/or artifacts from the period of time being studied. Primary sources are commonly used as time-stamped evidence in understanding people, places, and events of the past. Secondary sources are commonly scholarly books and articles written by experts in the field that analyze and interpret primary sources. Tertiary sources are typically summaries that help break down the information from primary and secondary sources as reference. With my experience as an information specialist working with authors here at the SAHS Research Library, archival repositories like special collections libraries are vital for the story building and writing process of a historical novel.
While, historical research is arguably the most vital step, it is equally important according to writers of the genre that once writing commences to allow creativity override the research. It is important to note that unlike history books, the historical novel at the end of the day is a work of fiction that is primarily character and plot driven. There is typically no analysis or theory when utilizing historical evidence as a historical novelist. That does not mean, however, that the authors’ research is not sound. Readers of the genre are not looking to learn history, but rather immerse themselves in a fictitious story set during a historical time period. Thus, the research historical novelists obtain is used as an accent rather than the main focus of the work. As a reminder, historical novels can be full of credible historical incite, but should not be taken as fact altogether.
Having a passion for reading and sharing stories set in the past sparks a certain curiosity, which is what historical novelists give their readers. While their writing and research methods may not catch the eyes of scholars within the field, historical novelists and their works inspire readers to investigate and learn more about what has happened in the past and thus have a significant role amongst history lovers like myself.
Written by Shelby Fox, Information Specialist
Works Cited:
“Four Tips for Writing Historical Fiction.” National Centre for Writing | NCW, 26 June 2022, nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/writing-hub/four-tips-for-writing-historical-fiction/.
Thompson, David. “Tools and Techniques for Historical Research.” Department of History and Philosophy of Science, 1 Aug. 2017, www.hps.cam.ac.uk/students/research-guide/tools-techniques-historical-research.
Vertical Files: Eugenia Price
The East Florida Gazette, Volume 40 No. 2