So You Want to Write a Historical Novel

I have a guest blogger today—a talented author of historical novels, Laurie Alice Eakes.

Take it away, Laurie Alice . . .

Today, I started to read a book by one of my grad school mentors (thesis adviser). I already knew that Victoria Thompson is a talented writer and have consumed several of her Gaslight historical mysteries. This one, Murder in Chinatown, surpasses the other ones I've read, which is really saying something. The question is why? She has the same characters; the same setup of Sarah, her midwife heroine in late 19th century New York City, encountering a murder; and Detective Frank Malloy working with her to solve it. Classic mystery series plotting.

What makes this book stand out, are the details. As my husband put it, this story could not have been set anywhere else at any other time and been the same story.

To me, this is the definition of a true historical novel. It's not about the costumes or the language; it's about the whole picture, how the plot, characters, and historical setting are integral to one another.

If the story could take place in Regency England or Victorian San Francisco, it might be categorized as a historical novel, yet it falls short of the true spirit of the genre. Why? Because the details aren't refined enough, the research too minimally displayed, to give the reader a true experience of time-traveling into the past.

In Murder in Chinatown, Thompson points out that, at the time of her story, Chinese women were not allowed into the U.S.; therefore, Chinese men were marrying Irish women. The Chinese men made more money than and showed more respect for their wives than did the Irish men, so the women were better off. Right there, you have a setup that dates this story firmly in time and place. Earlier, you don't have the restriction on Chinese immigration. The Irish-Chinese integration is crucial to the plot with the melding—or is it clashing?—of cultures. Take out these historical details, and you have a different tale.

In my first book, The Widow's Secret, I use a real historical character, Sir John Fielding. That this Bow Street (London) magistrate was blind was crucial to solving the mystery surrounding my hypermetropic (far-sighted) heroine. Without his insight (no pun intended), the story would have had to go in a far different direction or not worked at all.

Tracie Peterson is another author gifted in taking real events and incorporating them into her novels. She doesn't use them gratuitously to enhance her story; she uses these events as an integral part of the story. Take out that event, and the story is not the same one. In A Lady of High Regard, her heroine is involved with Sarah Hale of Godey's Lady's Book Magazine, fame, and conditions amongst seamen's wives along the docks of Philadelphia. These are aspects that are unique to the story. Take them out, and the heroine has nothing to do.

And that is the key to writing a true historical novel, as opposed to a novel set in history—the story cannot be transported to another place or time.

Happy writing. ☺