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THE HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY was formed in 1997 to help promote !tistorical fiction, All staff a11d co11tributors are volunteers alld work Ullpaid We are all open society- if you wa11t to g e t i11vol ve d, get ill touch.
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Cover Story
Under the Influence of the Jacket
ELIZABETH CHADWICK explores the book cover in the wo rld of cornmercial hi sto ri cal fi ction
Special Feature
The History Behind the \v'riting
MARGARET JAMES: The l\ [orning Promise
C.W. GORTNER: Dark Deeds (T h e History Behind the Sec ret Lion)
JOHN BARLOW: Drugs and the Victorians
MICHELLE STYLES: Re sea rching _·\ntiquity
In Every Issue
Inside the HNS Community
LUCINDA BYATT profiles H S member -\dclaida Lower
Practicing History
CANDACE ROBB urges writers of hi storical fi ct io n to loo k b eyo nd the sh orthand
A Da y in the Life
IRENE GOODMAN c h ro nicl es a typical day in the life of a ew York litera r y age nt Kate Allan
Industry
in the Grove, and Other
BETHANY SKAGGS hi g hli g hts some conferences and workshops where hi storical fi c ti on is on offer
Teaching the Historical Novel: Part Two 16
NEIL HARGRAVES completes hi s discussion of h ow he de\ el ope d a course o n the hi storical novel
Profiles
A Reflection on the P ote ntial of the Past to Pla y an Ongoing Role in the Present 32
MICHAEL WYATT profil es Jane Steve n son
mperor
SARAH CUTHBERTSON discusses Julius Caesar and writing with Co nn Iggulden
Rasputin: A Riddle \v'rapped in a Mystery Inside an E nigma 36
VICKI KONDELIK interviews Robert -\.lexander
Do the Characters Breathe? 38
LUCINDA BYATT talks to Jamie Byng about Canongate and hi sto rical ficti o n
Inside the HNS Community
Tn her debut column profiling HNS members, LUCIND.-\ BY -\TI Jpeaks to Adelaida Lo1verfrom Castil.e, Spain.
IF' he11 didyo11 joi11 I Il\TS a11d ca11 yo11 tell us ho,v the occaJio11 arose?
. \ couple of years ago I was surfing the Net looking for historical novel publishers, ru1d the I-INS website came up. I ,,·as hooked immediately.
Tell 11s briefly why yo11 e,yqy H L S?
The best reasons for joining HNS: keeping up with the historical fiction market and enjoying a community of like-minded people.
Do yo11 belong to a reading gro11p that enjoys historit-aLJit1io11? Or is there a spedaL /oms far historical jictio11 i11 the country where yo11 Lil'e?
In Spain, historical fiction is enjoying "a golden age." Go to bookstores and you'll find tables full of books on Templar knights, Roman senators, and Egyptian queens. Right now there is too much de1ivative fiction after Dan Brown, but there are also many citysponsored contests ru1d awards specificallr for historical novels. Recentlr, the historian Cesar Vidal won the 6~' Historical Novel -\ward ' ~\lfonso X El Sabio" for his novel, Firefrom Heam,, set in the Rome of ;o.[arcus \urelius. The Shado,v of the !Vind by Carlos Ruiz Zafi.in, another historical novel, occupies the first place in fiction lists. Even better, the future seems bright; historical fiction shows up strongly in jU\·enile fiction.
The iue1itable question: J/lhat is yourJaw11rite historical nol'IJL?
Federico Garcia Lorca once said that in Spain the dead are less dead than elsewhere. Imagine this is tnie and Spaniards really need to take something to the grave. If I could take only one book it would be Herodotus's Htstory, a work of historical fiction and non-fiction.
IFho is your jal'Omite fictional charaiter oryour jal'Ourite period? Or 1vhat memorable historical. IIOl'eL hal'e you read recent!,?
Once I thought my favourite period was Classical ru1tiquit:y. I loved the novels of t-.[ary Renault and Robert Graves, ru1d still do. But nowadays I cast a wide net. Recently, I returned to my native Spain and I picked up a novel by Antonio Gala entitled The Mat111scrip1 Cannesi (1990, Premio Planeta) tl1e story ofBoabdil, tl1e last t-.[oorish king of Granada. In tl1is book, Gala argues tl1ere was no resistru1ee to the arrival of Islam in Spain because there was no .-\rab invasion but a peaceful migration. This was news to me; I distinctly remember learning in history class about tl1e noble Gotl1, Don Pelayo, who started what would become ru1 eight-hundred-year clash \Vas Gala engaging in historical revisionism? You bet. But it seemed he was also addressing ru1 importrult issue \v'hat does it mean to be a European? Coincidently, his argument and its rebuttal reflect tl1e editorial pages of Spruush newspapers on tl1e stru1ds.
Do you e,!)oy historical non-fiction? Do yo11 hal"e a jal'Ourite biography or non-fiction book?
Since I am constru1tly doing research, I am always reading historical non-fiction. Some of my all-time favourite autl10rs: Victor Davis
Hanson and .John Keegru1 •-\n unforgettable title: The Healing I l and: l\fa11 a11d U701111d in the Amie11t IIYorld, by Guido Maj no -\s you cru1 tell, I lm e mayhem.
IF'hat books do yo11 hare 011 your bedJide table at the mome11t?
I read according to mood. If restless, I get non-fiction (Fairies, IVitd1 eJ; and 1/1/erewoll'/Js i11 the Middle Ages: History of the Double by Claude Lecoutex) Contented means fiction Gust started _\rturo Perez Reverte's Captain ALatriste) \nd, for tl10se days when I am tired and grumpy, poetry (re-reading a beloved Campos de Castilla, by _ \ntonio ;..cachado).
HNSME
MB ERS
If rou would like to be featured 1Il tllis colwnn, please contact Lucmda Byatt (see inside front cover for details).
Practicing History
C.-\ND -\CE ROBB 11rges 1vriters of historicalji,tion to Look bryond the shorthand.
Process. Practice. I'm exanuning those concepts in relation to my work as I prepare to lead a few workshops in wluch I apply yoga to writing ru1d creative focus. I'm seeking insight into how I work witl1 history. In yoga, ru1 importru1t part of my routine is checking in, taking a fruniliar posture, such as downward facing dog, and noticing how it feels right at tlrnt moment. An ankle is stiff, tl1e fingers on one hand are bw1ehed up, I'm dizzy. So I've been experimenting witl1 checking in as I work. Trying to notice what's going on
,-\s I was sketching out a scene involving.John of Gaunt I realized tlrnt I didn't have a clear image of him in my mind . Yes, I'd described lum in one book as looking very much like his fatl1er - tall, atl1letic, fair hair and eyes, but I kept reverting to an abstraction of him. He kept disappearing inside his nrune or role, tl1e questions about his character. Curious, I tried tl1is with Edward, tl1e Black Prince. I saw him in armour! It's delicious when sometl1ing like tl1is brings on a good, full-body laugh. I cru1't recall who once wrote tlrnt she saw
Lllli11da Byatt is a translator and book retiewer li1ing in Edi11b11rgh.
various times in hi story in different colours. Have you ever noticed how you continue to imagine cities you've visited in the weather yo u experienced on your \-isit? I\-e come to think of these simplificati ons as a shorthand .
.-\pparentlr, e\·en when I believe I've taken someone out of tl1e shorthand and placed him o r her o n a page of fiction, I someti m es continue to see the person in the shortlrnnd form. T h e reel flag for me is that they're vague. I mar h ave placed tl1em in a scene and even put dialogue in their mouths, but tl1er're \·ague.
I'm thinking about John of Gaunt, a man I e n countered first in -\nya Seton's Kat!Je1i11e, in which hi s role is that of romant ic hero For years I've dealt with him at tl1e borders of the Owen \rcher novels, and for years I\·e resisted entertaining the possibility tlrnt he was \-ying for po,,·er with hi s brother, th e Black Prince, and that Gaunt's ambition inspired hi s son to wrest the crown from hi s cousin, l(ing Richard II. I resisted anr consideration of suc h a tl1eorr because I thought it made him much less of the misunderstood romantic hero tlrnt Seton had seen him as . But n ow, as I'm deep in thought about -\lice Perrers (w h o counted o n him) and .Joan of Kent (who mothered the man John's son deposed) T can 1-io longer ignore the non-Seton aspects of hi s character. But it's a struggle. T feel guilty, as if I'm betraying him -or .-\ n ya Seton. How stronglr I internalized her ,·ision! But just as in yoga tl1e postures become unique for me, for my body's cm rent climate, so must.John become the man who makes se n se in the story I'm drawn to tell.
In my writing \\·orkshops I urge the participants to push past the intellectualizations and steer by the h earts of their characters, real or imagined. It's not only tl1 e Black Prince who must step out of tl1e armour!
I'd love to h ear from other published hi storica l n O\·elists about your "practice." \, 'rite to me at sohmcler@cand acerobb .c om.
Candace Robb 1s the a11thor of the O/l}en Archer and the !11argaret Kerr crime sezies, set in 1../- 'b century 1 ork a11d Late 13 th ce11t11ry Scotland, and 1s at n•ork 011 a 1/0l'ef of Alice Perrers, the mistress of King Edward IT!.
A Day in the Life
IRENE GOODJ\L-\N chronicles a typical day in tl1e life of a New York literary agent
I'm an agent. It's what I do for a li ving and it keeps me verr busy. People often wonder w h at that means. \'(/hat exactly do I do all day?
Here is a rundown of a sample day.
9:15 I arrive at tl1e office There is an email from an editor witl1 an attachment of a cover design. The design is absolutely awfu l, and tl1e author is concerned l\[iriam Kriss, my associate, redesigns it on her computer and we se nd it to tl1em. They agree it's better and after a few tweaks, tl1ey adopt tl1e n ew design.
9:30 I get a call from an author who wants to nm a story idea by me. We brainstorm for a while and tl1e idea begins to take shape.
9:45 .-\n author calls. She is very upset because her publisher has assigned a PR firm to work with her, and she hasn't heard from tl1em. Her book is being published in two months - not much time. I call tl1e publisher to find out what's going on. They tell me tlrnt tl1ey are meeting with tl1e PR firm tomorrow and will keep us posted.
10:00 I get an offer on a manuscript tl1at has been sent to several publishers. T h e offer is modest, but it's a start. I immediately email tl1e otl1er publishers to tell them of tl1e offer and to ask if they are sti ll in.
10:15 The mail arri\-es It includes a few checks from Danny Baror, who sells my foreign rights. It also i.nclucles a delivery and acceptance check, a cO\·er proof, a new contract, and se, eral pieces of Lmsolicited mail. The checks are deposited, the contract is set aside for later pemsal, and the unsolicited mail is put into the "slush pile ."
10:30 C h ecking the email, I see that two of the publishers with the manuscript that h as the offer have dropped out. \nother publisher is running numbers, and another is awaiting a second read. The phone rings. It's another publisher, offering more than the first one did. I email the other s to let tl1em know.
10:45 ·\n author calls with a problem. He has spent the last two months working on a proposal for a book about a historical figure, and it has just been announced on P11bfishers L111uh that someone else just so ld a book about tl1e same personage \Ve talk about how he could reposition his book so that it will be different. Then I call a few editors to ask tl1eir opinion. Ther feel tl1e market could bear another book on the subject if it were from another angle . However, none of tl1em agree on tl1e angle. One tlu.nks it should be shameles sly so,--y, one thinks it should be from a servant's point of view, and one thinks it should be literary so it can go hardcover. The author and I immediately nix the literary idea, because he is a commercial writer and doesn't w,rnt to change. He likes the sen ailt idea, because it gives him more flexibility, so we go with that .-\nd he was alreadr plairning to make it shamelesslr sexy.
11:15 The auction continues. The first publisher raises tl1e offer, and tl1e second publisher tops it -\ tl1ird publisher jumps in with still more -\t this point I ask for detailed terms, vision , ai1d marketing ideas.
11:45 I get a call from a Contracts l\[ai1ager at a publisher. We have requested reversion of rights on several titles. They have tl1e right to reissue tl1e books witl1in a certain time frame. They are calling to see if we will extend tl1e time fraine Because we like tl1eir plan, we agree to anotl1er six months.
12:15 I call a publisher to ask if plans for a book tour have been finalized. They are waffling because tl1ere is a chai1ee tl1e author could meet witl1 a regional group of store mai1agers, but tl1ey aren't sure if tl1eir bi1dget will allow for it. It involves adding ai10tl1er city. I ask if tl1ey cai1 capitalize on that city ai1d add some signings and some media, if they can get it. They cai1 probably get the signings , but media has been tough. I contact tl1e autl1or, ai1d we discuss tl1e pros ai1cl cons. The author agrees to pay for half the added expense. I report this to tl1e publisher, ai1d the extra city is added
12:30 I meet ;m editor for lun ch. I have known her for years and tell her about some projects, but tl1en she starts telling me about how
9n Ever:} 9ssue
she loves wilderness adventure trips. I never knew this about her. l\[oreover, l have a suspense novel about a woman lost in the wilderness, so I tell her about it. I never thought she would be interested in it, but she is. [Footnote: three weeks later, she acquires it.]
2:15
Back in the office. The auctio n is in full swing. 1l1e first publisher has faxed a page explaining how they see the book, h ow they will build the author, what kind of cO\·er they ha\·e in mind, and what some of their basic marketing ideas are. l share these with the author. l call the second publisher, and they are \·ague. 1l1ey want the book, but don't have anything concrete to tell me. The third publisher emails another set of ideas. 1l1ese are quite different from the first one, ru1d some of them are not in sync with what the author wants to do. The first publisher tops the offer currently on the table. The second publisher drops out. Now we are dmn1 to the final t\\·o. The third publisher matches the offer, but refuses to top it. l call the author. \'\ 'e alread:· know we wru1t to go with Publisher #1, but we wrult to sec if they'll go up. I call them ru1d nru11e ru1 ru11ount that will get the book off the table ru1d into their hru1ds. 1l1e:· agree - we have a deal!
3:00 Irene \Vebb, my L.. \. co-agent, calls to tell me she has interest from two production compru1ies for a chick-lit novel. One is more established and wants to option the book, but they will probably ne\ ·er get a green light on it. The other is smaller, but more determined. 1l1er can't offer as much, but are much more likely to get a mm·ie made. \X e need to decide which one is better.1l1e second comp,rny asks to talk to the author, so we arrange a conference call bet\veen the author, me, Irene \,'ebb, and the producer. It turns out the producer is in New York and so is the author. The col1\·ersation is \-err positi\·e, but because of the proximity, the author ru1d I ask to meet the producer. [This happens a week later. The author and the producer are extremely simpatico, ru1d he acquires the book.]
3:30 i\[iriam has questions about a contract that she is negotiating. She has caught a fme point that no one noticed \\e discuss it ru1d she calls the publisher to get the contract chru1ged.
3:45 I look over ten pieces of w1solicited mail. \Ve each try to look at ten per day. This group doesn't seem to have ru1y obvious winners, but I do ask to see three chapters based on one of the queries. i\[iriam has better luck today. She is very excited about ru1 urban frultasr manuscript ru1d calls the author to offer representation.
4:15 I take a few moments to look at some of my authors' websites . I make a few notes ru1d put these into emails to the authors to suggest possible additions or changes.
4:45 I get a call from ru1 editor about a novel I sent h er. I've been trying to sell this novel for t\vo-ru1d-a-half years. She likes it! Not only that, but she suggests it cou ld be the start of a series. She asks how much I want for it. I nru11e a figure ru1d she professes great shock. She names a lower number and I profess great dismay. She goes off to see if she can get more.
5:00 I call ru1 author's publicist to discuss the author's website with her. We agree that it needs updating ru1d make a li st of ways to accomplish this.
5:15 I learn that a book published ten years ago is going to be reissued. The author has since moved on to another publisher, and
they also have a book br the auth or scheduled at the sru11e time. One of the books needs to be moved T h e first publisher suggests ano th er month . The second publisher doesn't li ke that month. \\le go back ru1d forth, ru1d finallr agree to move the reissue into the following year.
5 :30 I choose a mrurnscript to take home ru1d read that night. I trr to read for an h our on \1·eeknights, and trr to read a whole mrurnscript on weekends. Tonight may be cut short, because I want to watch "Boston Legal. " Hey, I h ave a life!
5:45 I check the email before leaving. One of my authors has made the Ne,v 1ork Times bestseller list! I call the author and arrru1ge to send her flowers.
6:00 l lea\·e the office and go to the Barnes & Noble in Greenwich \'illage, where ru1 author is doing ru1 event. .-\ftern·ards we \1·ill go out for a drink.
7 :30 On my way home!
lreJJe Goodman has been a literary agentfor orer tll'enty-jil'eyears, Jpetiali:;Jng in career b11ildi11g. She represents major bestsellers as ll'eli as bnllia11t nell'comers. Histotical fic!ion is one of her first 101-es.
Kate Allan asks ... What's a New Independent Publisher Doing With Historical Fiction?
I'- \ TE .\LL.-\ inmtigates Mym2idon Books.
"It's a personal interest of mine," confesses Ed Hru1drside, writer, business consultant, and the founder of i\ [rrmidon Books, a new independent publisher of adu lt fiction based in ewcastle. "I've alwap had a passion for hi story of ru1y kind -\11-time fa\·ourite authors are Robert Graves, George l\[acDonald Fraser, ,-\llru1 i\Cassie, Patrick O'Briru1,Jru11es Clave!!."
l\[yrmidon will release their first titles this coming autumn ru1d Ed expects the historical fiction element to comprise about a quarter to a fifth of their ou tput. However, he's keen to point out that l\[yrmidon are genera l trade fiction publishers. "\X'e are looking for \·ariet:y in o ur titles where m ostgenres are represented," he says. "\Ve don't wru1t to be stereotyped as publishers of particularly this or that."
I asked him whetl1er l\[yrmidon h ad acquired ru1r historical fiction so far. "Yes, our tl1ird acquisition, to be released in hardback this November, is called The Gift of Rain. It's written by a i\[alaysian lawyer call Tru1 Twan E ng. It is ru1 epic, sumptuous story set in Penru1g before and during tl1e .J apru1ese occupation but also has a sub-text tliat reaches back to tl1e Boxer Rebellion in China "
So what is l\[yrmidon looking for in terms of submissions? 'Tm mainly looking for a story," Ed says. "Too mru1y writers have notl1ing to sar but tl1ink that if tl1ey're especially clever in tl1e way tl1ey say it they'll be forgiven and go on to win a Booker prize.They won't. Good stories are a rarity. Stories are tl1ings where people forge new
empires, fall in lo ve, exact vengeance, escape fro m a h o rde o f , ·ampires, ri g ht inju s tice s, o vercome adversity o r slau g hter and eat their o wn p a re nt s 111 ey a re th e c o mm o n currency of bo th p o pular ficti o n and tn.11) · gre at lite rature
"Seco ndl y, the key thin g for h ist o rica l fi c ti o n is a uth e nticity. Co mpul s i,-c rea d e rs o f h is tor ical ficti o n lik e to w all o ,,· in the d e tail. Hi s to ri ca l n o veli s ts mu s t kn o w their p e ri o d and se ttin g in sid e o ut : s ig h ts, s m e ll s, tec hn o logy, literature , mu sic, fa s hi o n . Th ey n ee d to kn o w fi, ·e tim es m o re th an they w o uld e ve r atte mpt to includ e in th e i rs tori"."
Yes, we' re all guilty o f o ver-re searchin g, I think , but ac tuall y all the hi s tor ica l n o v e li s t~ I kn o ,,· 10\·e ,, all o win g in th e p e ri o d d e tail th e m se lves
" I Io,, ·c, ·cr, it's b een a ,, hil e sin c e I re ad hi s to 1i cal ,,·o rk th a t was really sa ti sfy in g ," says E d . " T h ere 's so mu c h d e riniti,·e s tuff ri g ht n o w: 1 a p o leo ni c a pin g o f Patri c k O' Brian a nd Be rn a rd Co nrn ·cll , innum era bl e s wo rd -and -sand al re- te llin gs o f Caesa r, _\l e x and e r, The Tfiad- Te m p la rs, p os t D a \'in c i Co d e ar e s ta rrin g to bu g m e a littl e. T h o ug h th e m a rk e t fo r hi s to ri cal fi c ti o n h as ri se n e xp o n e nti all) ·, th e q ua li ty and o ri gi n ality is n o t as goo d as it ,,·as."
E d h ad w a rn e d m e h e h ad so m e c o ntrO\·c rsial , ic ,,·s in an e m ai l p rio r to o ur inte n-i e w. But it go t m e thinking: is h e ri g ht ? I s hi s to ri c al fi ctio n to d ay less likel y to be o ri gi nal; .-\re pub lish e rs, ,, h o arc und e r grea te r co mm e rc ial pre ss ure s th ;m e, cr befo re, m o re lik e ly to publi sh m c- toos th ese d a,·s?
If th e)· are, th e n i\ [yrmid o n is ai min g to break th e m o uld " \'\ 'e want , \\ i thin th ree yea rs, to b eco m e th e U K 's m os t influ e nti al ind e p e nd e nt pub lis h e r o f t ra d e fi c ti o n o ut side Lo nd o n ," E el says. ":\nd i t's a good ti m e for ind e p e nd e nt publi sh e r s right n o w. Incl e. p e nd e nt s a re m o re a bl e to take ris k s o n so m e thin g a littl e diffe re nt and a bl e to i..t 1,·est th e bi gge r pro p o rti o n o f th e ir cos t i..t1 th e fab1i c o f th e ir boo k s."
I lik e th e so und o f th at. I'm pub lis hed b y an ind e pend e nt publi s h e r m yse l f - Ro b e rt H ale, founded in 19 3 6. -\nd the y c e rt ai n! )· tak e story-d 1 i , ·cn fi c ti o n th at d e fi es easy c a tego 1i za ti o n into li s ts else wh e re, co mm iss io n uniqu e co ver art and p ro du ce attra c tiv e , lo n g -l as tin g h ardcO\·ers. O kay, so th e auth o r se ll s less b oo ks, but in th e m eantim e I'll keep kiddin g m yse lf that I'm a t the fin e-w in e e nd o f th e m a rk e t \ 'i , ·e la di ffe re nce !
Kate Allan is the a11 thoref Pe rfid y and P e rfecti o n (2006) and co -a11thor ef"TT1 e La d y So ldier (200 5) by .Jen nifer L indst!J.
Red Pencil
CIN 0 ) • I04LLA R ana!J::;:_es the work behindpolishedJina! man11smp ts. In this iss11e, she profiles O k sana by S11san K. Do11J/IS and S11sa11 M(!Y IP'a1Te11.
I l avi ng rece ntl y ce le brat ed m y fifti e th birthda y, I fo und mu ch in m y life h as ch an ge d . O ne thin g remained co n s tant , h o w e ve r, a love fo r rea din g \.J1 ea rl r fa sc in ati o n with un so lv e d m ys te ri es int ro du ce d me to Gran d D u c h ess -\.n as ta sia and the Ro m an o v s. Pri o r to 1998, rum o r s and pr e te nd e rs surfac ed cl ai min g at lea st o n e o f th e tsa r's
childre n s ur vi ve d th e 19 18 assassi n atio n i n Yeka terinburg, Russ ia.
In 1 99 2 , h o we ,·er, th e royal fa mil y's b o n es we re d iscove re d in a min e s h a ft. Six yea rs l a te r , a pr es id e ntia l co mmi ss io n co nfi r m e d th e id e ntiti es o f tl1 e d ece ase d , but two Ro m an ov c hildre n' s re m am s we re mi ssi ng. 1
l\[ y int e res t i n th e Ro m an o v s and th e Ru ss ian Revo luti o n led m e to Oksana b y Su san I,. D o wn s (S l,D) and Su sa n i\ [ay Warren (Si\l \t) T h e ir s to r y ce nte rs aro und O k san a Te re kh ova, a c h am bermaid to th e Gra n d D u c h esses, and \nt o n [...Jasse n , a ;\ [e nn o n ite fro m th e Russ ian s te pp e. land s In a ch an ce mee tin g, Tsa r N ic h o las asks \.J lto n to take O k san a to sa fe ty. It see m s a si m p le req u es t, bu t Oksan a h as a sec re t - o n e th a t co uld ge t th e m bo th kill e d I fo und thi s n ove l so co mp e llin g I rea d it in fo ur h o u rs, an d th e aut h ors co ll abora ted so sea ml ess ly I n c , ·e r o n ce d e tec te d th a t two p eop le h ad w ri t te n th e S t O rl"
C h ap te r o n e begins in th e ea rl y days of t h e Ru ss i a n Re , o l ution, w h e n as \n ton pu ts it, 'T h e w h o le of Russia h ad go n e m ad " Bound for Pe trograd after a , ·isit h o m e, h e di sembarks fro m a s tal led train to ge t a brq Jh of fr es h air. \ d an c in g beam of li g h t d raws h i m in to t h e fo rest ,, h ere h e finds a man, k n eeling in prayer. \'\ 11e n h e rises, \n ton rea li zes th e stranger is tl1 e tsar.
A grand and horrifying recognition sei::;:_ed Anton and drore him to a deep bon•. ") 011r Jmpe1ia! I Iighness! Begging;'Ol1rpardon
I 'm sorry to dist11rb J would nel'er Had I k11011'11 T .. . " He fell silent, erery cog11i:;:_a11t tho11ght hmi11g left him, sal'e a deJperate plea for the forest floor to ope11 11p and swallow him 1vho!e.
"Sare the protoco/,J'Ollllg man. Tonigh t, we arej11s/ /ll'o ef Father R11ssia~ Je!!ow partisans "
Anton dared to raise his head.
T sar 1"\1icho!ai Roma1101" effered him a nod before shifting his ga:::_e to sct111 Ihe demi11g 's perimeter.
The !a11/em light frescoed the mo11arch ~face in 1,m·egated shades ef gray. A bas-relief ef wony mt deep ml!'!)'S i11to the monarch's forehead and raised mo1111ds 1111der his ryes. "Pardon 1Jry !a,k ef ,v11rte9 ) 011 ob1io11s!)• know ll'ho J am, but J hat~Jel to makeyo11r acq11ai11ta11ce. Might J !eam your name?"
"Anton, ) 011r 1U ajes(Y. A11to11 ]oha111101ich Klassen." He effered the R11ssian rersio11 ef his name i11 his best R11ssia11 m1w t, sen / another fleeting g!a11ce at the
tsar, the11 dropped hisga:;:_e. He wmH't at all s11re 11,•here he sho11fd train his ryes. H e had 11ez-er st11died the proper protocolfor co11rersi11g with royalty, had 11erer been i11 a position to need such knowledge
''} 011 appear to be a_yo1111g and heaftl!J man, b11t I see )'OIi are dressed as a ti1ifia11 . H are )'OIi J11!filled J'Ollr mifira,y d11ty or are )'OIi prese11t!J 011 feare?"
''f\1eit/Jer, l onr 1\ lajesty T am 1 \ [e1111om/e and therefore e......-empt from sen ice i11 the armed forces . " A11to11 hoped the pallid gloll' from the la11tem Jaile d to betrqy his embarrassmen t
'1/lh, JCS, 1\ [e1111011ite. So JOII sen-ed J'Ollr co1111 try as a Red Cross Sani ta re, perhaps, or i11 the fo res tri ?"
"T am sony, l 011r 1"\Iajes(); b11 t 110 " T here it ll't.hA11to11j· greatest shame - exposed to Tsar Nichofai himself DeJpite the ,old, he ,011/d feel heat ,reepi11g 11p his neck, into his/ace, b11mi11g the tips of his ears.
"I ll'as n'i!fing to serre, ) 011r ,U ajes(y. B111 as the eldest son, T am e;,:empt jivm adire duty i11 order to assist i11 011rjami!Jj· hamw·Jacto1y. I orersee 011r ll'areho11ses and sales office in Petrograd." A11to11 j· 1ight leg started in trembling and he r,ied to gire his thigh a sq 11ee;;y to ,v11tml the Jpasm. f Te mllfd barejy feel the pinch th1v11gh his glore let, ll'hife A11to11 ,v,!ld not will his leg still, one mrio11s look jivm the tsar immobifi:;:_ed him
"OJ co11rse JOII are nilling to defend )'Ollr ,v1111t1y I sense JO/Ir del'O tio11; see the fire of pat,iotism b11mi11g i11 J'Ollr qes. The battle between Jpi,it11al co111idio11, ft.11m!y lf!Yalties, and partisan allegiances is one I can appretiate." The 111011ard1 j· ga:;:_e b1mv1ved thro11gh to A11to11 s so11!. 'Tell me this . . . " His Impend M ajes[J fer the foreword to his command hang i11 the air like a FebmtJJy itide 011 a Sibe1ic111 roof, and A11to11 man-eled at j11st holl' still a forest i11 the dead of winter co11fd be.
" Asa 1"\Ie1111011ite,JOII are a man offaith, areyo11 1101?"
''} es, si,; I seek to be del'OJII in "!Y om·sriall faith. I ,v11sider ll!)'Self a pilg,im i11 search of Jpi,it11al tmth " That m11,h //'as tme, as Jar as he Jpoke. He might struggle i11 eJpo11si11g all t he t enets of his Jami!J's 1\le1111011ite religion, but A11to11 StJJV 110 need to sqy as 1J111ch to the mfer of the whole of l !Jlperial R11ssia.
'1/'.''efl, "!Y b(!J, someti!Jles God calls 11po11 11s to sen-e i11 11'<:)'S ll'e neither choose 11or foresee. Perhaps He has set )'OIi apart for a Jpetial p11rpose "
A11to11 sensed he n·as e11d11n·11g the ngors of the most srn·11ge11t e.,:am. DeJpite the cold, he jl11shed hot 1111der the tsars s,mti11y.
"I ca11 't help but befiere that the Lord, i11 His mercy, sawfit to amwer my prqyer for aid l!J com-er;gi11g 011r
paths in these 1voods Some ll'Ollid sqy it is fate or happe11 sta11 ce, b11 t I perso 11af!y befiez-e it is Pro1ide11ce that b1v11gh t yo11 to me."
The tsar took a step back, then a11othe1~ 1111ti! he stood j11st bryo11d the fampftgh1j· trajectory. Hisga:;:_e seanhed the J},'(llf of trees as he mo tio11edfor A11to11 to jolloll' him "Le t me Jpeak to the 11rge11q at hand. I don't expect thry ll'iff feaz-e me i11 peace 11111d1 longer. I s//Jpect thryi ·e let me be 1111 ti! 11011 •i11 hopes Tmight end "!Y 011'11 life cJlld sare them from haii11g to detide whatJ· to be,v111e of me." Agt1i11 , he sca1111ed the forest bqo11d. "[ disembcJrke d 11ry t mi11 a co11pfe rers ts 11p the tracksfrom here 1111 der the mse of m11s!JJvom h1111ti11g. I deJperate()' meded some air. " T he tsarp11fled i11 a deep breath, and A 11to11 Jo11ght the ,ra1i11g to fill his OIi'// l1111gs
'1/llf of R 11SJia 1nlf soo11 k11011 : so therd· 110 sense ll(J' keeping it a se.ret 110w. A jell' ho11rsp1ior, I laid down my a11 t horit_y as monarch oz-er 011r mag11ificent Fatherlan d. I am 110 lo nger tsm~ "A t hisp1v1101111ceme11t, st reng th seemed to drai n from the mfer like a Jreshshom S amso11 . For the b,iefest mo111e11t, his sho11fders sl11mped, b11 t he 1igh ted himself ll'ith a shake of his head.
Oksa11a is th e fo urth b oo k in th e " I Ie ir s of -\ nto n " series, ye t i t reco unt s th e b egi nnin g o f \nto n's talc. I as ked SKD ,md S:-[ \Vw h o ,Ho te wh at ,u1d ,, h r th ey o pted to w rite th e fi rst book las t "Origin all y ,,·c d e b a te d s ta rtin g th e b oo k 'a t th e b egi nnin g.' But as we fl es h ed o ut th e pl o t, w e b egan to toy with th e co n cept o f go in g back in to tim e to unr ,1\-cl a m ys te ry. SM\'\ "s Ru ss i,m fri e nd s p layed into thi ssh e kn e ,,· h e r fri e nd s we ll , but th e ir p are nt s and gran d pa rents' stoLies in t ri gue d h e r and s h e b egan to w o nd e r wh a t c h o ices th ose re latives m ad e th a t ca u se d h e r fri e nd s to be th e p eo pl e th ey are to d ai·.. \\'e d es ir ed to c rea te a s to ry th at all o wed a rea d e r to see n ot o nl y th e e n d p ro du c t but the p rocess \, 'e sh o we d th e h a pp y e ndin g fir st th e n re , ·eal ed h o w th e y go t there ." Si\ [\V u s uall y w ri tes th e roug h draft th e n se nd s it to S1--:D to edit , but Oksa11a " n ee d ed a s p ec ial to u c h -\s a ro yal , O ksm rn's vo ice n eeded to be di stinc ti vel y elegan t. S1--:D's ,nit. ng emb o di es a cert ai n ele g ance th a t p e rfe c tl y s uite d thi s s tory, so she w ro te th e fir s t te n chapte r s Si\ I\\ ' th e n pi c k e d u p th e last ten chapt e rs, e ditin g the fir s t chapte rs to in co rp o rat e h er vo ice. SI--:0 th e n e dite d and pro o fed the final ch a pte rs to in corp orate h er vo ice. \Ve are s till am azed at h o w well it c am e toge tl1 e r."
Fo r th e p assage ab o ve, tl1e auth o r s se nt m e thi s ea rl y draft, four re , is io n s, and the final ver s io n o f thi s sce n e. T h e rev isio n s in co r po rat e d min o r d e l e ti o n s a nd a dd i ti ons, some text rea r ra n ge m e nt s, but Si\ I\V a nd S KD 's co m me n ts pro, e d most e nli g hte nin g in h o w th e y e dit
A grand an d honifyi11g re,vgnitio11 sei;;yd A11to11 a11d droz-e him to a deep bo//,'. ' '} 011r Imperial II1gh11ess 1 Beggi 1igyo11rpardon I'm sorry to dist11rb I 11'011/d nerer H ad I k1101m I " I le Jell silent, erery ,vg11i:;:_a11t tho11gh t hating left him, saz-e a desperate plea for the fores t floor to open 11p and s11'0/loll' him ll'hole How co u ld he h ave eaves d ro ppe d on the (name for Tsar N ickolai as th e hea d of the Or thodox Church) r He fe lt more ill th an he had on the trauL
Si\IW added the last two se nt ences to this paragraph, and felt the tsa r's religi o u s title sh o uld also be used S fw disagreed . " I'm wondering if -\n to n , as a i\lc nn onite, wo uld be thinkin g in the se term s o r kn o w th a t s pecific title for the tsar. \l so Peter the Great did awa1· 11 ith the Patriarch of the Orthodox [C]hurch and it w as rein stitute d b,· the parliament at abo ut this time ." Their editor at Barbour Publi shin g concurred. " I'm no t s ure wh y it 's imp o rtant to bring in the idea of the tsar being head of the church. \X 'o uld thi s matter to a :\ [cn no nitc?
I'd think his political po11-cr wo uld be m o re imp o rtant. If you want to bring out the tsar's role in th e church, include contextual se n se of why this mattered to. \nto n ." Thus, the published ver sio n appeared this 11·ay:
A g,ra11d a11d honif>i11J; recog11itio11 J-ei:;:_ed A111011 a11d drore him lo a deep boll' '1. 011r Impe,ial High11ess! Beggi11gJ'011rpardo11 I 'm sorry to distmiJ Tll'oll!d 11erer r Tad T k11011'11, T " He jell silent, erery cog11i:;:_a11/ tho11ght hari11g left him, sare a deJpera/e plea far the fores/ floor to ope11 11p a11d Sll'a!fo,v him ll'hole. Tloll' co11/d he hare earesdropped 011 the sorereig11 m!er of all R11Ssia? He felt more zll than be had 011 the lrai11.
. \uthors arc ca uti o ned against u sin g "odd" word s in tl1eir n a rratiYcs because they req uire the reader to interpret the se ntence
The la11/em lightfrescoed the monard1 jjace in rnnega ted shades of grqy. A bas-relief of ll'ony m l deep rnUrys i11l0 th e mo11ard1j·forehead a11d raised mo1111ds 1111der his qes
S.\[\\' felt "frescoe d " was o ne s uch example, so in s tead o f using these two sente nces, she s ugges ted replacing tl1cm with: " \'( 'o rr y cut deep , ·alleys into th e mon a rch's forehead and raised mounds under hi s eyes." \\ 'orki ng fr o m thi s suggestion, thcr settled on thi s version in the published noYel:
''Fear 110/. ) 011 are i11 110 danger." Tsar l\Tikolai's roice seemed to assure both of them deJpite the inco11gmity of that tho11ght. A11ton 11odded, as if agreei11g, a11d noticed th e Jl'orry that ml deep ['(JUrys i11to th e mo11ard1's forehead. "Pardon my la,k of co11rfe[J'," Tsar 1"\'ikolai co11ti1111ed. '1. 011 ob,iomfy k11oll' ll'ho Tam, b11t T hare Jet to make yo11r acq11ai11 ta11ce 1U igbt T learn yo11r 11ame?"
In editing the first draft, Sr-1\'Z' wondered why SKD used Petrograd rather than St. Petersburg? Pe o ple wh o grew up during tl1e Cold \'\'ar
think of Pctrograd (or Leningrad) as the SoY iet n ame for the city, whereas St. Petersburg wa s tl1e city's name pri or to tlrnt time period. S fill 's research sh owed, h owever, that " [t]he n ame of th e city flipflopped back and fort h a couple of tim es durin g tl1i s pe ri od. i\t this particul a r po int , it was Petrograd. That's how the tsar referred to it in all of hi s per so n al correspondence." :>
T h e last paragra ph o f the draft also changed. This wa sn 't th e, 1d of the sce ne, but served as a tran si ti o n to the tsa r's mi ssio n for \11ton. : \s w6ttcn, this paragraph wa sn't compelling. In revising, Si\ [\'Z' aske d whether " Bo lshev ik s" was tl1c proper wo rd choice, but S f'"[) re pli ed, "Bo lshe,·iks 11·e ren ' t th e issue yet, no r did they have th e o rg;rni ze d po wer at thi s po int. It wo uld h ave been either th e Prov isio nal Forces or tl1e rebel s. Lenin comes o nt o th e sce ne s hortly, but not yet." Bel o w is the final versio n th at appears in th e book.
':,,.-11/ of R ussia ll'ill soo11 k11011; so !herd· 110 se11se 11ry keepi11g it a seirel 110w. A jell' ho11rsp1io1; T laid don'// my a11tbority as mo11arch orer 011r 111ag11ificent Fatherland." He sighed, a11d for the b11·efest moment, his sho11/ders sl11mped.
"T am 110 lo11ger tsar." His rnice lost stre11gth ll'ith the pro1101111cenie11t.
i\To longer tsar? A11to11's month grell' d1y; qnestiom lined his th roat. 1/1/as Kaiser lf 1/ifhe/m 01·e1-r111111i11g Petrograd? Or had the rebels taken captil'e the ro_yc1I fc11m/y?
Perhaps the Great !Var, the i11temal d1aoJ; and th e allegatiom of mismanagement fl11al!y t11med the tsar mad.
\\11ile the po rtrayal o f hi s tory in fiction w as important to both authors, they neve r permitted it to become a detriment to the story -\s .-\.ndrew M Gree ley wrote in In"sh um, " 1l1c purp ose of hi s torical fiction is to enable a reader throu g h tl1c perspective of characters in the story to feel that she o r h e is pre se nt at the e\·ents."
Often considered a solitary endeavor, writing so metimes works better when tw o pe o ple combine tl1eir stre n gth s to create a better book tlrnn citl1er autl10r could have achieved alone. "S lill's s trcngtl1 s include great r esea rch skills and her no vel s shine with d e tail and texture. Si\[\'( ' shines as a suspense writer and h er s tren gths arc plot and characteLizatio n Togetl1er, we felt we had skill s tlrntcould pull toge tl1 cr a series th a t accurately re flect e d life in Russia as well as to ld riveting stories. S lill is also a profe ss ional editor, so we reallr tapped into h er ski ll s. \, 'e called our team, appropriately, 'Sp it a nd Polish'."
It helped tlrnt bo tl1 Susans h ave common interests and already knew each other fr o m their member ship s in \mcri can C hri stian F iction Writers (:\ CF \\ l They chose this particular tim e period because "Sr-. [\'(/ 11·as interested in tl1e tl1 e me of seei ng h ow Go el worked out Hi s promi ses fr o m ge nerati o n to generation, especially after hearing from her Ru ss i an friend s th e tales of h ow their parents and grandparents had per se \·ercd in their faith durin g tl1 e dark reign of communism S lill wanted to write a s tory about th e plight of the Me1rnonitcs who emigrated fr o m Rus sia. The ide a ger minate d from a ph o tograph given to h er by o n e of the sin g le adoptive mothers whom Susan assisted in the ad o pti o n o f a Russian orp h a n This adoptive m other came fr o m Ru ss ian roots, but tl1e o nl y link she had
to h er Ru ss ian pas t was a n o ld ph o togra ph , r e p o rt ed l y o f h e r gran d mo th e r and grea t-a unt s tandin g a t a gr aves ite, th e wo rn and ill egib le n ame o n th e to mb s to n e e ngrave d i n Cyr illi c. S KD k e pt thi s photo o n h er desk, and o ft en , th e qu estio n ' \'\'h a t if ' ed ge d into h er th o ug ht s ."
Co ll aboratio n was n ' t alw ays easy sa ilin g, th o ug h T h ey fa ce d an y n umber of c h all enges - \n i ti n g s tyle, vo ice, pl o t twis ts - but n egot ia t io n , frie n ds hi p, a n d fa ith pl aye d signi fica nt ro les in O\·ercomi ng th ese co n fl ic ts. "I t takes le ttin g go o f th e wo rd s, and , our \ 'Oice, an d all o\\ in g an o th e r p e rso n to groo m th e \\·o rk to mak e it bet ter. \\ 'e h ad to kee p an e nd -goa l foc u s and kn o w th at \\·e \\ ·e re worki ng toge th er, n o t co mp e ti ng Co mp ro m ise was an a ttribut e \\ ·e both \\ ·orked h ard to ac hi e \·e. \'( 'e m ad e a co n sc io u s effo rt to kee p pnde o ut of th e picture. Ou r fri e nd s hip is m o re im po rt an t th a n b ooks, an d th at k ep t o ur p e rs p ecti \·e in p lace, al so."
Seei ng eac h oth e r a t th e annu al -\ CF \\' Co nfe re n ce " is o n e o f th e h ighl ight s of o ur year." T h e ,·'ve b o th s p e nt tim e in Ru ss ia - St\ [W as a mi ss io n ary fo r e ig ht yea rs a nd S l--::.0 as a Ru ss ian -\d o pti o n Prognun Coord in ator. St\ [\'( ' b eli e \·es " Ru ss ia as a \\·h o le is a m ys te ry to th e res t of th e wo rld , and I lo ve d b e in g abl e to writ e fr o m th e inside ou t an d sh are a di ffe re n t p e rspecti \·e." S l--::.O's e xp e ri e nces dre \1· h er "to d e lve d eepe r into al l thin gs Ru ss ian I also h ad th e add e d bl ess in g o f fac ili ta tin g th e ad o pti o n s o f m r thr e e n e ph e ws and o n e n iece, and a p ar t of m y m o ti, ·ati o n fo r writin g 'T h e H e ir s o f -\nt o n ' series was to fos ter a se n se o f p ri d e in th e m fo r th e ir n a ti ve c ulture "
Oksa11a sh ows h ow co ll ab ora tio n wo rk s if write rs recogni ze e ac h oth e r's stre ngth s an d we akn esses and m aint ain a pro fess io nal attitude Trust is o f p aramo un t imp o rt an ce, as are the gro und rul es th e p arh1 e rs establis h to g ui de all aspec ts o f th e writin g p rocess . Co ll ab ora ti o n isn't for eye 1-yo n e, bu t if su ccessfu l, it can b e a rewa rdin g ve nture.
Notes
I. Gcui n c Baba k ia u , "Now, wh ere to bm y th e Ro m au o v sY' USA Today, 2 f-ebruny 1998.
2 TI1is sce ne takes place 0 11 3 i\larc h 19 17
Ci114Y Vallar is a freelance editor, a11 assodate editor for S olander, and the Editor of Pirates and P,frateers {lmn •d11cf>•raffar.com/pirates.html) A re tired librarian, she also w,ites historical norefs, tead1es workshops, and re1im·s books.
Caught in the Middle
F i c tion
b y B.KBIRC fI
Sefeded for p11blicatio11 I!] bisto,ical nore!ist Ei\ l t\L \ D.-\ R\\ 'I1
" D o n ' t go b e in g n os y," Finni an said. " Yo u ' ll o nl y ge t int o tr o uble ."
" I ju s t want to see \1 hat tl1 e )·'r e d o in g ," J esse whin e d F innian put d o wn hi s knife ru1d loo ke d a t hi s yo un ges t so n.
" I d o n't w ant yo u n0\d1 e re n ea r th e m so ldi e rs," h e sa id.
" But Pa," J ess e prote s ted ' Th ey wo n ' t see m e. Yo u sa id I w as a goo d hunte r. "
" Yo u h ea rd me," Finni an said . " Bes id es, yo u d o n ' t hunt pe o ple. No w go h e lp yo ur m a fini s h up th a t d ee r s h o ul der. It's ge ttin g late and r o u ru1d Eam o n s till go t th e fee din g to d o."
Doggo ne it. .Je sse kicked at a log th a t h ad fall e n fr o m th e ,,·oodpil e Ba rk fl e w fr o m th e o ute r rin g o f th e dry woo d fl e w ri g ht a t hi s fa c e. He wiped hi s eye s o n hi s coa t and s to mp ed off aro und b ac k to find i\la.
\'\11y c o uldn ' t he go se e th e m ? -\11 th e o th e r b oys h ad; e ve n th e b o ys yo ung er thru1 he wa s. It wa s n ' t fair. \\ 'as n ' t h e th e o n e w h o fir s t sa w th e sm o ke ri sin g fr o m th e ir c;u11pfires tw o d ays ago? It w as all hi s g randma 's fault. She saw th e squ ares in h e r tea lem cs Sh e alw a 1·s sa w b ad thin gs in them and h ad b ee n talkin g abo ut so ld ie rs o n the m o untain since late s ummer , ru1d a in ' t n o n e o f it co m e to p ass She wa s ju s t an o ld crippl e d gyp s y trrin g to ge t a tt e nti o n by sca rin g folk s half to death ab o ut thi s wh o le thin g.
H e fo und i\Ia o ut near the sm o ke h o u se rubb ing sa lt o n th e las t pi ec e o f sh o ulder meat
" Pa sa id I had to h e lp ro u ," J esse said.
" \'\11 e re were yo u ru1 h o ur ago?" s h e as ke d , ru1d th e n h ru1d ed him a thick wire h o ok
" Helpin g Pa with th e hid e."
" G e t th es e h oo ked and I'll hru1 g th e m ," s h e said. " H urry n o w It's fixin g to rain ."
J ess e je rk e d the wire th ro u gh th e m ea t so h a rd so m e of it to re. H e wrapp e d it in the burlap ru1pv ay.
" Yo u s till mad ab o ut th ose so ldi e rs?" s h e as ke d.
"No pe ."
" Yo u kn o w wh a t Grandm a sa \1 ," sh e wa rn e d.
" I kn o w."
" It's safer here Even P a ru1d E am o n a re s tay in g cl ose to h o m e Don't yo u be runnin g o ff, yo u h ea r?"
'~\in't n o thin g to d o aro und here."
"Take thi s to th e h o u se an d gi ve it to Grandm a."
She hru1ded him a l arg e, h e avy b o wl with w a tery bl oo d swishing in the b o ttom.
" Yo u can wa s h it if yo u ain ' t go t n ot hin g e lse to d o," sh e sai d.
" Th a t 's wo men 's wo rk ," J ess e sa id , ru1d th e n wi s h ed h e h adn ' t. He p o ur ed th e bl oo d o ut o n th e gro und. Hi s o ld h o un d rru1 O\ er ru1d li c ked th e g ra ss wh e re th e bl oo d s pill e d \Val kin g b ac k, J esse gr abbed a le g fr o m the pil e o f deer e nt rail s ru1d tosse d it to th e
ru iimal
" \,--O m e n 's wo rk ? D o yo u want to d o di sh es fo r th e ne xt fe w we e k s?"
"No."
"No what?"
"No, l\la'a1n."
"That's better. ow run along."
_Jesse strolled in the back door and put the bo,, l on the table. The tempting smell of fresh-baked biscuits filled the room from a pan o n top of the stove covered with a cloth. _-\s there was no one else around, he slipped his hand under the fabric and helped himself. The dough was so hot that he was forced to chew with his mouth ope n so the bread wouldn't burn the inside of his mouth. He put the rest of it in his s hirt pocket to eat later.
Eamon \\ ·as in the front room lacing his boots. _lesse slid one arm out of his coat.
"Let's go get the feeding done before it gets too cold," Eamon sa.id, and then looked up ''You better get those crumbs off your face before Grandma sees them."
_Je sse put his arm back in his coat a.nd wiped his face \\·ith his slee,·e
Eamon hadn ' t shown ru1r interest in the soldiers. He'd be seventee n soon ru1d old enough to enlist Since they were no longer part of Virginia, he 'd ha, ·e to be Union, of course. Pa, along with most of the ,·aller dwellers, had seen the notice on the front of the genera l sto re during their last ride to Renick. Some nice fellow had ta.ken a minute to read the paper aloud, or most folks would ha, ·e paid it no mind. News didn't reach the mountaintop quickly, ru1d there had been times it didn't reach the mountaintop at all.
B.K. Birch is a 1m/erli1i11gin Chadorre, l\'C, USA. This srory "Ca11ghr in rhe Middle" has grown i11ro a 101111g Adlllt Historical T1ilogy ll'hich she is amwt!J shopping to agents Herp11b!isbing tredits ind11de 11 7iltld1ild P11b!ishing 11ith t/1,'0 Editor's Choice All'ard n ins, Charlotte Parent l\[agazine, Copperfield Re,·ie,,·, Pcnwomanship, Brgone Days, l\[id-South Re,·iew a11d Emerging \'\ omen \'\ 'riters. Her poet,y has bee11 p11blished exre11siz'e!J i11 the US a11d abroad a11d she w1ites book re1ie1Nfar i\lidwest Book Revie,,· a11dCurledup.com. She is also rhe ma11agi11g editor of The Scruff)· Dog Re,·iew, a11 011!i11e literal] ' maga,;:_i11e {lt•ww.thesmtjfjdogreziew.com) and is a member of 1"\'011h Carolina lr'1itm· 1"\'efll'ork I-Ier website is mi·w.bkbirduom.
"It' ll be snowing br nightfall," _Jesse said.
"Nah; it ne,·e r snows when it's foggy," Eamon said _Jesse ,,·aited until he was sure no one else could hear him.
"Let's snea.k out later and go see the soldiers," he whispered.
"You heard Pa," Ea.mon said. "He don't want us going over
Jes se grabbed the slop bucket from the back step and followed Eamon to the barn. Tilfough the fog, misting rain slapped at him - that b o ne -co ld rain that penetrated the sk in and mad e hi s muscles ache. there."
"But e,·eryone else's seen them. \Vhy cru1't we?"
"Pie rce was over talking to l\[a this morning," Ea.tnon said, "whi le ~·ou ru1d Pa were hunting. Said someone saw rebels camped n o rth of Renick."
"So?"
"So Union's crunped on the north edge of the mountain Rebels at Renick. Guess who's in the middle?"
"Us?"
" \'\1rnt you think is going to happen when they start shooting at each other?"
Jesse sucked in a breath of cold air along with the realization of what Ea.mon was saying.
"You think they're going to fight? Up here?"
"They're going to meet up somewhere," Eamon said. "Some thing's going to happen. They ain't just going away. It don't work that way."
"\Vhat do they ,,·ru1t with our mountain?" Jesse asked. "Our mountain's just a meeting place. No other rea so n I know of."
"\'\11en do you think they'll meet?"
"Soo n. I ca.ii feel it. Grru1dma's been smelling it in the airsays it's a hard metal smell, foreign She says she ca.ii taste it in the water, too."
"Gra ndma's been saying that for months ."
"Don't put down what you don't understand, Jesse. That's the gypsy blood in her. Grru1dma will see you've been ta.lking bad
about her in her leaves a.ncl ta.ke a switch to your backside," Eamon warned, ru1cl then lau g hed.
"Cou ld she?" Jesse asked. TTc'd never thought about that. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the co ld clamp air. Grru1clma could be pretty scary when she got mad.
"Heck, I don 't know," Eamon said. "Don't care, either. I ain't the one say ing she's wrong."
_Jesse swal lowed hard. I le poured the slop along the bottom of the trough. \'\'atchin g the h ogs snort ru1d eat reminded him he was hungry. They had some nice hams on them now and butchering was only a few weeks away.
Eamon came out of the barn, straining behind the wheelbarrow.
"Ta.ke these over to the h eifers a.nd give one to the bull. I'll get the sheep."
_Jesse wheeled the hay o,·er to the south pasture as the cows strolled towards him They knew it was feeding time. He untied the har ru1d scattered it on the ground, then s toocl at the side of the bull pen, to ss ing the la st bundle over the fence.
Eamon was wa.iting for him at the barn.
"Took you lo ng enough. Did you feed the cows close to the barn?" Erunon asked.
"Just like Pa said," _Jesse ru1swered.
"Pa wrults us to keep the horses in the barn. I cleru1ed up the manure already."
"He didn't tell me that."
'Tm telling you "
The boys remained quiet for the rest of the walk back to the hou se The rain had turned to sleet ru1d the drops stungJesse's face. He pulled his collar up close to his neck to shield his skin from the whipping wind, pretending the stea.n1 from his breath was tobacco smoke
They both saw the horse ru1d wagon at the srune time.
"Becca's here,"Jesse taunted.
"S hut your mouth," Erunon shot back. Becca was Ea1non's girlfriend.
"Becca, oh my love,"_Jesse teased in a femi n ine voice
Eamon shove d hi m in the mud.
'Tm telling,'· Jesse said. He got up and tried to wipe the mud from his pants.
'Tm telling tha t you're sneaking out to see the soldiers."
"You will not! "
"\Vil! too," E am on said. "I' ll tell her you tried to get me to go with you."
". \JI right," Jesse relented. "I won't tell."
\s soon as Jess e had reached the back gate, the smell the fried deer meat ;md po tatoes assai led him. He hoped Becca's whole f;unily hadn't come. He was hungry an d they ate a lot. Erunon stopped off at the outhouse so he walked the rest of the way by himse l f.
"\'(lrnt happene d to you?" i\la asked the moment she saw him.
"\'\lrnt?"
"You got mu d all over your coat. Did Eamon push ,·ou d01n1 again?"
"No. I slipped."
"\\ell, take those clothes off before you catch cold and get mud all o,·er the floor."
Jesse couldn't sleep. Tinsy :md Becca got his room and he was stuck with the cot in the living room. It 11·as right near the stove and he 11·as sweating from the heat. Eamon snored on the floor beside him. No one talked about the soldiers all e,·ening because of what ther did to Becca.
I le got out of bed :md tiptoed into the kitchen. I le grabbed the ladle, scooped himself a cool drink, and stared out the window. i\laybe, just maybe, he would see something. There was nothing, though - nothing except raindrops tapping on a dirty 11·i ndo11·pane and darkness. Jesse went back to his cot
He lay there and wondered if the war would still be going on wh en he was old enough to enlist. Thal will be jireJearsfrom 11011• 011d the 11'(!)' moity folks ore talking, th e 1mr will be 01-er soo11. Images of him courngcousl)· walking into the \nny office at Renick ,md signing his name, amidst his mother's tears and father's pride, played O\·er and over in his mind.
"Did you pus h your brother down?" i\la asked him.
"Is that what h e told ,·ou?" Eamon asked.
"1 ope. I le sai d he fell."
"Then he fell," Eamon said "\\'here's Becca)"
"She's laying do w n in the back room."
"Is she sick?"
"Not really. Jesse, did you fill the wood box?"
Jesse peeked aro und the corner and saw 11·ood stackeu in the
lessc took off hi s coat, the n sat d0\n1 on the floor and pulled off his boots. ll1 e wind rushed ins ide when Eamon opened the door. box.
"It's already fu ll ," _Jesse said.
"I got it," Fin ni a.n called from the front room.
"Is dinner read y?" _Jesse asked. I Iis stomach had been growling for some ti m e now.
"Not quite," i\ la answered. "Go on in the front room and , ·isit."
_Jesse ,miked in th e front room and sat down beside Tinsy, Becca's younger siste r She didn't even acknowledge him and she looked like she'd been cr ying.
"\\'hat's going on?" Jesse asked. The air was thick with tension and worry. Eve n he could feel that.
"Becca ru1cl Tinsy are going to be staying here for a while," Pa said.
"\'(11y?" Eamo n asked as he walked into the front room.
"One of the so ldi ers crune up on Becca while she was feeding the chickens. 1 le tried to get at her," her pa said, and took a sip of coffee.
" Is she all right?" Eamon asked.
"She ain't said o n e word since it happened . I guess she came up on him while he was s tealing a chicken. He ran off howling with an ass full of bucksho t I unloaded in him ."
Eamon got up to walk to the back room.
"Sit down, son," Finni an said, catching his arm. "Give her a little time."
"Jesse. Eamo n Come wash up for dinner," i\la called from the kitchen.
t t t
That was just what Tommy Turner had clone about six months ago. Tommy's ma used to stop by c,·ery 11·eek after he left to ask Grandma to read her lea,·cs. Jesse could still picture the look on i\lissus Turner's face when Grandma delt,·crecl the inc,·itable gloom and doom - ru1cl her prediction had turned out to be correct. Tommy died of dysentery somew here in \'irginia. Them Turners weren't real strong. Jesse hoped Pa would let him go when Eamon ,,·cnt to sign up
''.lesse," Eamon ,, hispcrcd.
"\Xlrnt?"
"You want to go see them soldiers?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah, right now. "
"But it's dark and raining."
"They 11·011't be able to sec us, or hear us. Come on, let's go."
"\\lrnt about Pa; You heard what he said."
'~ \re you coming or not?"
Jesse thrc11· back his blanket and slid on hi s p ,m ts. T le was in his boots and coat in no time and follo11·cd Eamon out the back door.
T h e rain had stopped, but fog shrouded the fields in a 11 hite glow Though the wind had died down,_fcsse still felt the damp and cold in his bones.
They walked north for about an hour until they came upon lights clotting the landscape, not far from Becca's place. Rows and rows of dull white tents with campfires out in front defined a muddy cru11p.
"Be quiet," Erunon 11·hisperecl, poi.nting at a guard who stood about twenty yards away from them fiddling with his musket. They traipsed along amongst the trees away from the camp. Layers of wet dead lcal'es cushioned their steps and they mO\·ed without a sou n d, submerged in the darkness behind an endless row of grungy white tents. Eamon stopped about fifty yards out and crouched down behind a tree stump.
Jesse couldn't beliel'e it. TI1ere they were, hundreds of Union soldiers, perhaps thousands. TTe wondered if they knew about the rebe l camp, just 0l'er the other side of the mountain.
"\'(11at ha,·e we got here?"
_lesse jumped when he heard the grufh·oice.
"Rebel spies," another rnice said.
Eamon started to get up but a large black boot shoved him back to the ground.
Jesse was too scared to turn around. Pa was going to kill them both.
"\'(,11at you boys doing out so late at night?"
_Jesse was afraid to answer. Eamon didn't say a word. _Jesse heard a click as one of them cocked a revolver close behind his ear.
"Talk to me boy."
"I just wanted to see the soldiers," _Jesse said. "l\Ie and him both \'\'e didn't mean any trouble. \Ve ain't spies." _Jesse's voice was shaking as he spoke.
"You live around here?"
"Yes sir, about an hour's walk from here," Eamon said. "-\ strong arm grabbed _Jesse's shoulder and flipped him around to face the men. The other so ldier grabbed Eamon.
"\'ou got any sisters?"
"No sir, _Jesse said. "_lust me and him." "Let them go,Jake," another man said, approaching. "I hear there' already someone hurt because he was messing with the locals."
" \\ 'e \\'as just h in ing a little fun," _lake said. He turned to the boys. "You get on out of here and don't come back. You might just get yourself shot."
_lesse took off through the brush. He heard Eamon crashing through the trees behind him, and didn't stop running until he reached the safety of his own back porch. Winded, the boys took their boots and coats off outside and tiptoed back to bed.
Jesse awoke before Eamon the next morning •-\fter dressing, he rolled his cot up and tied it with a string. There was just enough sunlight shimmering through the kitchen window for his sleepy eye to find the \\'ater bucket, scoop out a cool drink and rin e it around in his mouth. ! le walked to the back door and spit the water out onto the ground.
Something caught his eye. I t was just a quick movement, a shadO\\. really, over by the south pasture. He saw it again, moving in
mountain exploded in gunfire, mostly coming from near the rebel camp -\rtillery fire blasted through the tranquil morning, charging the air with the putrid smell of charred wood and gunpowder.
_Jesse sat near tl1e fire listening to the battle. He could hear horses whinnying and men shouting. The fighting seemed to be closing in around them.
''I'm going on over to tl1e soutl1 pasture to bring the cows up," Finnian said. "\Ve'll put tl1em in tl1e sheep barn. No use leaving tl1em down tl1ere for target practice."
"Do you think the soldiers will get this close?" _Jesse asked. "I don't know, son," Finnian said. "Go on out and help Eamon get the sheep in tl1e barn Stay low!"
Jesse got up and skulked to the barn. He flinched with each explosion of cannon fire. The earth itself trembled beneath his feet. By tl1e time he got to tl1e bam, Ean1on had tl1e sheep penned in. _lesse sat clown beside him and listened.
'Tm scared," _Jesse admitted.
"i\[e too. Have been for awhile."
"\'( 'hy you scared?"
"Because if it doesn't end soon, I'll have to go fight. [ don't want to fight."
"I don't want you to go, eitl1er," Jesse said.
Jesse heard Pa coming \\'itl1 the heifers and opened tl1e wide door to let him in.
"It's getting real close, boys," Finnian said. "I'll finish up here. Get i\[a, Grandma, and the girls and get to tl1e root cellar."
"\Vhere's tl1e bull?" Eamon asked.
"Stubborn son-of-a-bitch wouldn't come out of his pen . l had to lea\·e him tl1ere."
_Jesse ran after Eamon back to tl1e house. Smoke billowed from the trees just beyond tl1e soutl1 pasture.
"Union J' campeclon the north ec(r}e ofthe mountain. 1<{J6efs at 1</Jnic~ {juess whoJ' in the miclcffe?"
the trees. I le mshed back inside and shook Eamon until he was awake.
"Eamon, someone's out there. Br the south pasture in tl1e brush."
"Go get Pa," Eamon said, pulling on his pants.
Jesse rushed into Pa's room; onl)· l\[a was there, sitting on the edge of the bed unwinding tl1e braids from her hair.
"\, 'hat's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," _lesse said, and ran back tl1rough tl1e front room and into tl1e kitchen. Pa was peering out the kitchen window with Eamon looking over his shoulder.
"What is it?" Eamon asked.
"It's starting," Finnian said. "\Valked over to the _Johnson place tl1is morning. The woods were crawling with Union soldiers. Going west to outflank tl1e rebels Looks like Grandma was right again, bors."
TI1ey talked little during breakfast, and Becca took hers in the bedroom. Jesse hadn't even seen her since she arrived.
"Stay inside," Pa cautioned, when tl1ey had finished eating. " \ 'ou only go outside if you need to use tl1e outl10use."
They heard the first shots right before lunch. Then tl1e
_-\s they burst tl1rough tl1e back door, l\[a started hollering and ordering everyone around, already intent on mm ing tl1em down below. Grandma sat in her rocking chair covered with her blanket, calm, as if in a trance.
"Help your grandma,Jesse," l\[a said. "Tinsy, get a sack and pack up tlrnt bacon and tl10se biscuits. Eamon, get some wood and stack it out by the cellar door. I'll get Becca. and some blankets "
The gunfire had become deafening. Dishes rattled in tl1e cabinets as tl1e whole house shook. _Jesse grabbed his grandmotl1er's blanket and stuffed it w1der his am1.1l1en he hooked her arm inside his, helped her to her feet and walked witl1 her to tl1e cellar. It seemed wrong to Jesse to sit an old woman in the dirt, but he smootl1ed tl1e bhmket over the bare eartl1en floor and did it anyway.
Tinsy ran into tl1e cellar past.Jesse, her arms full of food left over from breakfast wrapped up in a worn cloth. Spying an empty comer, she stowed tl1e bundle and tl1en cowered beside it , her dark blue eyes wide witl1 fear.
_Jesse scurried back outside to help Eamon bring a few more armloads of wood down the hill.
"Get back inside!" Pa shouted, mnning past Jesse to the house.
9n Ever!! 9ssue
i\la came down lugging a mountain of blankets; Eamon followed, carrying Becca in his ;ums.
TI1er huddled together against the back wall as the building quaked over their heads. Tinsy squeezed .Jesse's hand while they watched the shelves around them buckle and all their preserves of corn, tomatoes, and green beans crash down around their feet, sending up plumes of dust to choke the air. The wooden legs of the potato bin gave way, and bushels 9f potatoes spilled into the wet shards of shattered jars that littered the ground.
.lesse guessed it was late afternoon ,,·hen they'd heard the last blast rock the mountain. Some time after, he began hearing men shouting orders, whik others continued to scream in agony.
"I'm going out to see ,,·hat's going on," Finni an said. "Don't come after me. I'll be back as soon as I can."_ \ faint light illuminated the room then disappeared again as his pa went out the door. :\la lit a candle.
Jesse shook from the inside out. He would ha,·e cried if Tinsy hadn't been curled up next to him in a blanket. He could feel her shivering and put his arm around her, his hand still numb from her grasp. She snuggled in so close that he could smell the perfume that almost cm·ered the odor oflye in her hair.
Pa was gone for what seemed like forever. _\t last,.Jesse heard his familiar footsteps above.
"Kate, you all come on out now," he called through the door. "There 's a lot of work to be done. "
Jesse helped Grandma to her feet, led her arow1d the broken glass and out the door. Tinsy came right behind, one hand still clutching the blanket around her, the other holding tight to Jesse's shirt. Eamon followed with his arm around Becca. i\[a was the last one out.
Jesse's heart raced, but his fear steeled his limbs. He took a deep breath to fight back the tears that stung his eyes as he held tight to Grandma. There was too much to take in all at once.
The sharp smell of burned metal and sulphur coated the inside of his nose. Even though clouds of thick black smoke hung low in the twilight,.Jesse could see that every window in their house had been broken, just like all their stores of winter food that now lay spoiled and broken on the dirt floor of the cellar. Grandma stopped abruptly at the kitchen door.
"\'\'here is it?"
"\'('here's what, Grandma?"
"i\[y cup!"
Jesse looked through the bits of glass on the floor, yet didn't see anything resembling her precious cup.
"I don't see it, Grandma."
Tinsy poked her head around Jesse, her face pale and streaked with dirt.
"Can you help look for a white cup and saucer?" .Jesse asked, ignoring the fright in her eyes.
"The one she reads with?"
"\res."
"It's right there, under the table." Tinsr pointed a shaky finger. '~\nd there's the saucer."
"They must have fallen off the ledge," Jesse said, bending down to pick them out of the debris.
"Here you go, Grandma." .Jesse gently placed the cup in her hands. "Looks like the saucer has a new chip in it, but it's not broken."
barn closest to the house. He could hear the horses whinnying and the sheep bawling, so figured they must be fine. He surveyed the land toward the south pasture. Only a skeleton of tlrnt barn remained. Pa emerged through blowing black smoke, running back to the house.
"Get the wheelbarrow and take some wood out to the south pasture,.Jesse," Finnian ordered. "\, 'e need a fire. There's men dying everywhere!"
Jesse didn't move. I Te watched mutely as Pa brought a horse from the near barn, forced a bit into its mouth, and thre\\· Tinsy up on it.
"Ride to Hillsboro, and get Doc Burns," he ordered, hm1ding her the reins. I Ie slapped the mare on its rump and it took off. Tinsy jerked back and struggled to hang on.
Pa looked at Jesse.
"Get that wood now!" he shouted, and ran back into the house.
Jesse hurried to collect the ,,·heelbarro\\· and then headed down to the woodshed ,,·here he filled it. Though the path oozed with mud and his load grew hea,·ier a he pushed toward s the south pasture, the thought of seeing an actual battlefield excited him.
\'\lien Jesse sa\\· the bull lying dead in its pen, he froze again. The poor beast had so mwy bullet wounds piercing its bloody hide that he couldn't count them a.II.
Four soldiers rushed past him and jumped the fence. They didn't seem to notice Jesse as they went to work, tying one encl of a rope to the bull's hind legs and tossing the other end m·er one of the few rafters of the barn that remained. Together, the)· hoisted tl1e animal, then the tallest of them slashed the bull's throat, 1umping back to amid the gushing blood.
"\'\11ere do you want tl1e wood, mister-"_lesse asked the tall soldier.
"O,·er here, son," someone called off to .Jesse's left. "I got a fire going m·er here."
Jesse turned, spied a man about thirty yards awai · wa,·ing through a smoky cloud. _Jesse's legs wobbled as the distance between them seemed to stretch to a mile. He slowlr realized tlrnt corpses m1d dying men littered the path between him m1d tl1e fire, dozens of them, maybe a hundred. Jesse felt something close around his leg, looked clmrn to see a bloody, mud-caked hand clutching his ankle.
"Please," was all tl1e man said. Jesse kicked, and tl1e hand fell back to the crimson grass.
No matter how hard Jesse tried to a,·oid it, at times the wheel ran o,·er a hand or m1 arm tliat reached out. Some of the men begged him for help; others had too much blood coming from their mouths to say anything. They just moaned or gurgled.
.Jesse swallowed a lump in his throat and wished it would all go away. Some men had no legs and a pond of blood soaked the grass where their legs should have been. He saw bodie s with no heads, heads with no bodies, arms and legs not attached to anything at all, and men without any clothes writl1ing on the cold ground in charred skin. ot one blade of bu med or trmnpled grass had escaped the bloodbath.
\Vhen he reached tl1e man at the fire and dumped his wood on the ground,Jesse leaned over and vomited.
"No time for that, son. I'll need all the wood you can bring. Night's coming on and these men will freeze to death."
.Jesse returned to the woodshed. I Ie hauled wood until not a stick remained.
Becca and i\fa ripped up all but a few of the blankets for bandages, and.Jesse helped Eamon hitch up the wagon to haul dead bodies. Three hours passed before Tinsy returned with Doc Burns.
Throughout the night,_Jesse kept his ere on a man riding a horse through the field shoutingorders.111e men who were not wounded were sc urrying about at his command.
" \Vho is that? " .Jesse had asked one of the soldiers.
'T hat there, son, is General \ Villiam \V "-\verell, Commander of the Uni o n Forces around here. He knows ~[cCle ll and himself."
. \t the first blue light of dawn,Jcsse sat alone on a stump by th e woods, overlooking the south pasture. Gone were his romantic n o ti o n s of the soldiers, their bra,·e ry and their valor. Those images had fled fr o m his mind just as tl~e souls fled from the dead men who were piled in heaps around the field.
.Jesse never , c,·er, wanted to sec another soldier.
END
G11esl Editor Emma Domin //'OJ' bom in Lo11rlo11 anrl bro11gh1 11p there onrl in 11 fanhattan anrl Bmssef.r. Her rleb111 noref The Mathematics of Lm·e 1nll be p11bfisherl in the UK l?J Hear/line R eriew in ]11!)• 2006, anrl 0' Monr;w in the US ear!J in 2001. Publishing 1 ews sairl f!!The ~[a thematics of Love , "It 's a bramra and compeffing fear of sroryrefling, enfizwed by co111ind11g rlet(J/1 a11rl roices. as well as l?J se1io11s reflection 011 the 11a/11re of hislOfJ', memory anrl reportage." Emma was a m1111er· 11p in th e 2005 Fish Shor! Historie s Pri:;:_e for her story "R11ssia11 Tea , "n•hich rhe j11dge, 11 fiche/ Faber, called "an admirab!J s11brle story, admirab!J read "She has also had s11ccess in the 200-1- and 2005 Bn'dport Pn':::_es and other comperirions. After being all'arded an MPhil in IVriringfrom th e Unirersi(Y of Glamorgan, Emma is 11011 •working/or a PhD in Crearire IVn'ring al Goldsmiths College. I [er website is 11nw.emmadam1·11.com.
Murder in the Grove, and Other Offerings
BETH -\ 1 Y SK :\GGS bigbfights some co1iferences a11rl workshops 11•here historical fiction is 011 offer
One of the more satisfying of life's joys is getting toge ther with people who share a mutual interest, and if you're readin g thi s, you probably ha,·e an interest in hi s to rical fiction. Regardles s of whether your interest manifests it se lf by writing, reading, o r b oth, one of the easiest ways to meet th ose " ·h o share your love of hi stor ica l fiction, exchange ideas and informati o n, and spark your creati,·c thinking is to attend an Historical Fiction conference \ s rnu' rc probably aware, the Historical No,·el Society (HNS) ha s offered conferences in the United 1-.:.ingd o m sin ce 20 0 1, and th o ug h the date for the next conference has not ret been set, thi s conference is us ualhhe ld in London in October. I I NS's first North .-\merican conferenc~ was held la s t year in Salt Lake C ity, Utal1, with the next sc heduled for 8-10 lune 2007 at the Desmond H o tel and Conference Center in .-\ lbany, ew York. H , S reali zes, h o \\ ·e, ·er, that as it s m e mb ers arc scattered across the globe, n o t e,·eryone can attend the I I S conferences due to travel distances or the time of year. \'( 'ith this in mind, we'd like to provide you with some ot h e r fantastic opportunities for conferences and workshops of interest to hi st0tical fiction readers and writers
Surre y International Writer s Conferenc e 19 October 2006 (Masters clas ses); 10-11 October 2006 (Conference)
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada \'( 'e bsite: http:/ /www.siwc.ca/
Conferences that focus solelr on histo rical ficti o n are relativel y few in number, but tl1ere are , ·ari o u s conferences and work s h ops that contain strong historical fiction components One such conference is the annual Surrey International \Vriter's Conference (Sl\'Z 'C) held in Surrey, Britis h Columbia. The Sl\'( 'C a ttempts to provide ,VLite rs at all levels with opportunities to refine their writing skills, make contacts with other writers and those in the publishing industry, and ga in an understanding of tl1e literary market. To this end, the Conference offers m·er seyenty worksh ops, sessions with editors and agents, and a writing contest. The Co nference also offers the Blue Pencil Cafe, where professional writers make themselves available for fifteenminute appointments to answer questi o ns and take a lo o k at as pi tin g writers' works.
"-\.I though the Conference includes all genres, there are many elements of the SIWC that are geared specificallr toward historical ficti o n, and others that are more general, but would still appeal to those interested in historical fiction. SIWC Conference Board l\lember and Past C hair Carmen l\lerrells had this to say about why historical ficti o n is a major component of the Conference. "Since we try to cover all th e creative writing bases, including historical fiction in our program is a natural. But even aside from that, I tl1ink everyone on our planning board recognizes the fact that historical fiction is an imp01tant market in terms of interest and sales. "-\ !so, by its nature - the re searc h involved, for examp le, compared to some other types of ficti o n - it is an area where interested writers would seek instmction, education, and tips. "-\ lot of writers say that writing historical ficti o n is o ne of the more challenging genres, and therefore, it's a genre where writers often seek extra assistance."
This extra assistance is offered in a unique way through the Blue Pencil Cafe, which provides registrants with the opporti.mit:y to make fifteen-minute, one-on-one appointments with noted authors to ask questions and have three pages of their work critiqued Though the Blue Pencil Cafe includes authors of all genres, noted historical fiction authors who have participated in the past include Diana Gabaldon, ,-\nne Perry, and .Jack \Vhyte. i\Ierrells stresses that, "\,'e alwars try, and in the past have succeeded, at having at least one, preferably all, of our historical fiction
presenters do at least a few of these sessions so that our registrants interested in historical fiction
can get some feedback from the
by Creative Holidars, a companr that offers packages which combine creative writing instrnction for intermediate and beginning writers with the beauty and history of Nova Scotia The \'C 'riting the Historical 1 ovel \v'orkshop provides both tuition and assignments in ,niting historical fiction with instructor Russ Barton. Susan Borgersen of Creative Holidap sa1·s the workshop was first offered in "as a result of responses to our website. The site lists the workshops we offer for beginning and intermediate fiction writers and for our
1-fisto1:1 pfa3s a crifica(efement in the story, 6ut ho w cfo3ou incfuae it without turnin_J 3our 6ooKinto a history fesson?
pros. Likewise, we have editor/ agent pitch sessions (ten-minute time slots), also by appointment. \,'e always have at least some editors and agents who represent historical fiction available for appointments, and both of the appointment scenarios are, again, a matter of trying to ensure that the Sl\'\'C has something for e,·eryone."
So, what kinds of subjects do the noted historical fiction authors who speak at the Conference choose, and why? "Sometimes our historical fiction presenters have areas of expertise for which they've already prepared workshop presentations (or simpk ha,·e areas they enjoy presenting), such as historical research, historical dialogue, or historical settings. If those topics fit into our program (i.e., if we haven't already slotted someone else to do it), we welcome that. By the same token, sometimes they ask us what we'd like them to speak about, we give them some workshop topics that fit into our o,·erall program, and they choose what they are most comfortable with. It's a matter of trying to ensure that all of our registrants' interests will be represented," says i\[errells. She adds that, "Depending on our program for any particular year, we sometimes also have historical fiction panels, with three or more historical fiction authors on the panel. Some of our historical fiction presenters do a bit of multitasking too, and give workshops in areas that are not necessarilr focused on historical fiction. For example, Jack \Vhyte has done workshops geared toward beginning writers and Diana Gabaldon has done workshops on description, detail, and character development that were helpful to writers in all genres."
Though the SIWC is still in the planning stages for this year, it has alreadr confirmed Diana Gabaldon,Jack \Vhyte, _-\nne Perry, and i\rary Balogh in the way of historical fiction representation for the conference. There are also several editors and agents representing historical fiction who will be in attendance.
If your tastes rw1 to smaller venues, perhaps the \VL~ti..ng the Historical Novel Workshop is for you. This event, which allows an average of about fifteen participants per class, is not just a workshop -it's also a weekend getaway. The workshop is held in Liverpool, ova Scotia
popular 'Beyond the First Draft Editing and Revising' \\·orkshop. \'C'e received enquiries as to ,,·hetherwe could present a workshop on \Vriting the Historical Nm·el. Russ Barton was so \\·ell recei,·ed b1· the students that we decided to re-offer the course this year to coincide with Pri,·ateer Days in Li,-crpool. This is so that participants can, if they wish, enjoy the festi1·,il and historical re-enactments of Liverpool's notorious past. .-\n additional bonus, this year, is a ticket to the Port Medway Readers Festival where i\[argaret .·\twood will be reading from The Tent and The Pene!opiad and socializing afterwards." \X11en questioned about the topics instructor Russ Barton \\·ill cover, Borgersen had this to say, "Russ consulted with a noted historical author and also learned from prospective students what it was they would like to work on.} Te found interest in the following:
1. Exploring how authors can create authentic, historical settings and ho,,· to blend the historical with the fictional
2. Research of historical events and how to use them with your fiction
3. Use of dialogue and attitudes from an historical era in modern historical fiction
Blending your historical fictional characters with trne historical characters and events
5. Exploring different genres in historical fiction, such as historical romance, tales of adventure, plague, famine, war (conquest and defeat), religion, seafaring, revolution (social and uprising), detective, invention, and royal or historical figures
6. Developing and placing characters within the historical context of your fiction
7. Finallr, a discussion on preparations needed to approach publishers
Issues arise during discussions on questions such as, what it was like to be a domestic servant in a medieval household, how skilful surgeons were on battleships, what household interiors were like duL~ng the i\ fiddle "\ges, and fashion in music and dress during rour novel's historical time frame. Discussions on food and its preparation, and attitudes to religion and education were also grist for the mill during the last workshop."
East of Eden Writers Conference 8-10 September 2006 Salinas, California, US.-\ \'('ebsite: http:/ /www.southbarwri ters com/ conference2006/ index.html
The East o f Eden Writers Conference, w hi ch is held every other year in Salina s, California, is sponsored by the South Bay branch of the California \'\'rite rs Club Like the SIWC, the East of Eden conference provides oppo rtunities for writers to sit down with agents and publishers. One suc h opportunity is the Pitch-to-a-Pro session. Registrants sign up for an appointment with one agent or publisher and are given a fi,,e minute "pitc h " session to se ll their books. Registrants can also sign up for a one-on-one, fifteen-minute, advice session with an author or have professional editors critique up to fifteen pages of the registrant's manuscript. -\ selection of the \\·orkshops for this year includes the "Scene Tracker Plot Y< 'o rkshop" and "Editin g for \\'inners: How to i\ [ake Your \'\ 'riti.ng Sharp, Sharper, Sh arpes t."
Though these conference sessions and work sh ops are general and would be u se ful to writers of many different genres, the Conference also ha s strong histotical fiction aspects. TI1e special guest and keynote speaker for the 2006 conference is .Jean i\L -\uel, author of the stoneage Earth's Children saga. Edie i\Catthews, Program Director for East of Eden, commented on i\ [s. _-\ue l's choice of historical subject by saying, "Peop le are drawn to hi storical periods for a , -arie ty of rea so ns. Primarih·, it's a period of ti.me that they are fascinated with, and they enjoy reading about. f e;m i\L -\uel re searc hed the Ice _-\ge so thoroughlr that many college professors lul\-e recommended her books to their students for their authenticity." Historical fiction aut h or i\[artha Stockton _-\lderson is also sl ated to speak.
i\[atthews also discussed the Conference's historical aspects by saying, "i\Cany \VLiters are interested in setting their novels in a specific hi storic al time or are writing a memoir that covers the last forty-plus years Conseque ntly, history, like setting, plotting, orcharactetization, pla ys a oitical element in tl1eir story. But how do rou include it witl10ut turning your book into a history lesson? .-\ workshop on how to blend these elements without bogging down your story is the solution, which is why we've included the workshop at our conference."
TI1e l\[urder in the Grove Confere n ce is held annually in Boise, Idal10 and is sponsored by tl1e Popular Fiction .-\ssociation of Idal10 and Partners in Ctime, Boise. TI1e Conference caters to botl1 m) 'S tery fans and writers of mysteries, thrillers, and romantic suspense fiction. Like the otl1er workshops and co nferences mentioned, i\[urder in tl1e Grove offers opportunities for o n e-on-o n e appointments witl1 agents and editors, as well as manuscript evaluations. In addition to the writing workshops and featured speakers, tl1ere are also autl10r panel programs, receptions, and oth er entertainment.
Of interest to historical fiction fans and w1iters at tlus year's program is special guest ,-\nne Perry, autl1or of two historical mystery series, wluch are set in Victorian England, and also a series set during World
\Var I. .Jo : \.nne Pence, a participating mystery autl10r and program pla.imer, states, "i\ [urder in tl1e Grove is a conference tlrnt meets tl1e needs of botl1 readers of mystery fiction and writers interested in learning how to craft tl1e book s As such, we attempt to have pa.i1els and workshops involving all 'types' of mysteries. HistOLical mysteries have been exceedingly popular for man y years, so there is much interest in tl1is area."
Pence also explained tlrnt i\[urder in tl1e Grove has featured histotical mystery and tl1riller writers in tl1e past, and this year special guest -\1rne Perry will be giving a workshop on h ow to write historical mystery fiction. "Since she has tw o incredibl y popular mystery series set in \'ictoria.t1 Engla.t1d a.t1d one in \'\'\VI Engla.i1d , she has a wealth of information for would-be writers on how one goes about capturing tl10 se eras and ma.king tl1em truly come alive for the reader," said Pence. "She is tops in her class."
Pence feels tlrnt "TI1e be s t part about i\[urder in tl1e Grove is its size. It's a small, very foendly conference (about 150 people), which mea.i1s tl1at attendees, autl1ors, a.i1d forensic experts have ample opportunity to meet and talk witl1 each other. It's held in downtown Boise, a clea.i1 a.i1d safe environment, tl1at isn't very expensive. Lunch a.i1d ;u1 after-conference reception witl1 ample h ors d'oeurves are also included in tl1e price, so it is quite reas onab le, for a fabulous two dap spent with m any favorite a.i1d new autl10rs."
Betha,!Y Skaggs is the l\la11aging Editor for Historical Novels Review and an Assistant Prefessor and Electronic Reso11rces/ Documents Librarian at ]acksomi!!e State U11frersity i11 Alabama. She hasp11b!ished library sde11ce related articles in zan·o11s sd1olar!Jjo11ma!s and cumnt!J re1ie111sfor Historical Nove ls Review and Reference Reviews.
Teaching the Historical Novel: Part T w o
1 EIL H. \RGR:\\'ES ivmpfetes his dismssio11 of hoiv be derefoped a course 011 the histon·caf 11oref.
\'('e all tell o ur se lve s stor ies from the past. -\JI ficti o n (including futuristic fantasy) is about hi story, to a greater o r le sser extent. This may explain why there have been so few scholarly attempts to define or address the historical novel as it exists today. l\[ai1r critics see m to sec it as a merelrexaggerated ai1d artific ial case of what fiction already does: strive to make se n se of the past.
The greatest difficulty in fra.111ing my course was a.11 abse nce o f any comparati,·e ,·iew of exactly ,, hat a hi storical nO\ ·el is or does. ·n1is pro,·ided both limitati o n s ai1d oppo rtunities It could be self-defining ai1d elaborate its specific thematic content as it progressed. I took as my starting point a series of n o , ·el s which, while n o t fully rcpresentati,·e of the diversity of the form, n o nethel ess illustrated interesting aspects of the ge nre wd its unique potential. The course showed the divergent ways in which hi s to ri ca l n ovel ists h ave investigated simi lar themes ai1d s ubjects l\[y emphasis was on the intentions of the au tl 10rs, ai1d o n the technique s histor ical n ove li s ts used to ac hi eve their "reality effect.".\ third e lement was introduced in a tentati,·e form: the radically w1explored que stio n o f why- for what complex of r easo n speople r ead hi storica l nO\·els.
.\ min l\[aalouf's Leo the Aj,fra11 (1986) introduced the question of identity ai1d the way in which the hi s tor ical n ove l is used to exainine the formation wd mutabilit y o f multiple identities ..\t o ne Ie,·el it s appeal lie s in the lure of tl1e exotic. The lu s hnes s of l\Caalouf's prose and his immersi o n in the dyin g world of I slaini c Grairnda appear to justify this lineage Yet l\Caalouf's book is far m o re than a.11 exercise in sentimenta l nostalgia, as might be expec ted fr o m a Lebai1ese .\ra b Christia.11 rooted in the intractable proulems of tl1e l\[iddle East. Based on the tme story of the 16"'-century geographer, the opening discloses its cmcial theme: " I, Hasa.11 the son of l\[uhainmad the weigh-master, I,Jea.11-Leon de l\[edici circumcised at the hwd of a barber ai1d baptised at the hand o f a pope, I am n ow called the \frica.11, but I am not from .\frica, n or from Europe, nor from •\rabia I come from no country, n o city, no tribe."' His torr causes Leo's displacement wd confusion, and l\Caalouf's novel attempts to explain how Leo becomes what h e is - ai1d what he is not - by the imp ositions of forces greater tha.11 him self. It is a fable o f victimhood ai1d resilience, adaptation ai1d survival. l\[aalouf illustrates well the overlapping concerns of journalist, hi storian, ai1d novelist. Leo the African is about the individual's response to historical change ai1d cultural stress; it displays vivid!)' wd imaginatively a kind of enforced
Part l, titled " In Search of the Historical Ko,·cl," appeared in Soiande1· 18 (No,,cmber 2005), p.2.
cultural vagabondism \ meditation on the power of history and the weakness of the individual to resist it, it testifies to the need to und erstand the victims of history. In a sense there can be no more relevai1t message. l\ [aalouf secs his ro le as that of a "mythmakcr," and hi s use of hi story h as a purpose beyond mere reconstruction in comprehending the forces that shape us and dri,·e us from each other (ai1d ourseh-es). Here, the historical novel owes its strength to its lack of d ogmati s m, its flexibility, a11d its ability to go beyond the kn ow n int o the inn er mc aning of events. The dramatic trai1Splai1t atio n of a m odern reader into the conflicted persona of Leo is a powerful tool for reconciliation and awakened insight.
l\Caalouf's novel was written in the first person. The question of narrative voice ai1d h ow it is constructed is raised more contrO\·crsially br Willia.111 Styro n 's The Conjmio11s of l\'at T11mer (196 7). By looking at extracts from S tyro n 's dense, poetic text and at the storm that raged around the supposed "appropriation" of a 19 "' -century black man's authentic , ·oice by a 20 ':' .ccnturr, white, southern writer, we explored the difficult topic of what is permitted to the historical n ove li s t. While l\ [aal ouf's sim il ar appropriation of Leo \\'ent unchallenged because of hi s sympat h et ic background, the accusation \\'as that Styro n "stole" a historical character that did not 111 truth befo11g to him; that is, someo n e who had been assimilated into black hi sto ry ai1d was therefore off. limit s to a (presumedly) unsympathetic authorial intervention 2
This d ebate, while very much of its time (its context is the I 960s' c ivil ri g ht s struggle), remains valid since it addresses both the purposes of hi story and the limits of the historical novelist's imaginative reach. Ca.11 a white author imaginatively trai1s form Nat Turner's sto ry? If n ot, why not? From a strict historical point of view, what Styron has done is little different from the practices of all serious hi sto rical novelists, and not markedly more biased or inaccurate than mai1y. But it is the fact that he did it that offends a particular idea of hi story as a storehouse of identity. It is the entry into the seemi ng lr inaccessible that gives the historical novel its ju stificatio n; those who feel that Nat Turner is alreaclr accessible to them - because he h as become a.11 icon of their collective struggleob ject at this attempt to recreate Turner's inner ,,·oriel in a way that mi g ht "falsify" this image.
History as a source of identity is close to the concerns of two novelists whose task was the airnlysis of the process of nation-building: Gore Vidal ai1cl Vikrain Seth. Seth's A Suitable Bqy (1993) is less easilr classifiable as a hi sto rical nQ\·el partly because it contains fewer genuine hi storical figure s -altl1 o u gh Ne hru is a n otable presence -ai1d partly becau se it takes the form of a family saga. One of Seth's principal concerns is, h owever, to illustrate tl1e origins and formation of the Inclia.11 nation-state. It is set in a fictional city, but one \\·hich enables Seth to draw in all tl1e major elements impacting on India in tl1e late 19-Ws. Hi s u se of ficti o n al but representative figures, such as the Nawab Sal1ib (w h o embodies the o ld order, now passing awar), enables him to enco mpa ss the different levels of society ai1cl their responses to tl1e great events of ind ependence ai1cl partition. I Iis depiction of the partition riots has a didactic purpose: to deplore the
religious communalism th at tore India apart in its early years, and to trace their effect on India's subsequent deve lopment. Seth's canvas is Tolstoyan, and so are some of his preoccupations, dealing as he does with the impact of m odernisatio n and westernisation, and the gulf between the political elite and the unknowable, ungraspable "people." The charac ter of Ne hru is fundamental: he is Seth's ideal, mid his placement in the novel is deliberate and mi essential part of its argument, the need for India to return to the secular progressive ideals of its founders.
Seth uses the novel not ju st to explore the "universal" themes of his centra l story of relationships, but also to re Becton the historical process by which a new social and political identity is formed. One interesting aspect of this treatment is the way Set h uses an estab li shed, mainstream genre to "historicise" it by connecting his individual characters \\·ith the larger forces surrounding them. The historical nQ\·el is a greedy genre, lapping up and absorbing other genres into its project.
Gore \'idal's political novels dealing with _-\.tneLica exp lore a parallel theme, the birth of \.merica as a political idea mid its gradual corrosion into mi empire. The nO\·els do not fit seam lessly into a ser ie s: Li11cof11 (198~), in many ways the masterpiece of the cycle, is strikingly different from the other novels in its greater concentration on a single, if disputed and ambiguous, character. Bmr(l 9N) establishes \'idal's 111od11sopera11di: the partial, mischievous rehabilitation of a despised figure, co ntra sted with the uncovering of the founding fathers' clay feet. \'idal is fond of stirring things up, ;u,d his novels are subversive incursions into historians' territory, with a lively and delighted sense of his transgression.
Vidal's tone is e legiac, as he depicts the lingering disappearance of the political world created in 1776. Vidal is also a self-conscious debunker. His focus on little recurring details, such as tlie squalor, pettiness, m1d '~-\fricm1" heat of \Vashingon, DC, or tl1e physical inadequacies of great men of -\.tnerican history (from George \Vashington's bulbous backside to the flabby belly of tlie he-mmi Theodore Roosevelt), fit tl1e essential tl1eme of discrepwcy between the ideals m1d realities of -\.tnericm1 experience. \'ida l also provides mm1y telling images tliat uncover tl1e nature of chm1ge in -\.tne1ica. In 1876 (1976), Charles Schuyler returns from decades in Europe (t h e Jamesian theme of old Europe m1d new -\merica recurs through the novels) to find that the slim, sinuous -\mericans of his youth have disappeared: tl1ey have become heavy, fat, and ponderous. The dying
V I I) l\ I~
Ht fl(fitl•
-\I though his nQ\·els are set looselr within the frmnework of a f;U11ily saga-the Scherrnerhom Schuylers and the Sand fords form a complex pattem of family relationships that interlink with the leading historical figures - \'idal contrasts markedly witl1 Setl1 in his almost total concentration on a tightly circumscribed political elite. _-\!most all of the action takes place in the drawing room or ante-chmnber; even tl1e _-\.mericm1 Civi l War is largely exp lored from tl1e point of view of Lincoln's office-bow1d private secretary,_lo lm Hay. Vidal's real strengtl1 as a historical nO\·elist is hi s gift for the depiction of penetrating, realistic, and multi-levelled conversations, the crux of \'idal's reimagined political world. Through this medium the c hara cters are WhJ is the realershifi aftractel to hisforica(noveG,
engaged in detailed examinations of each other, testing each other, reading each otl1er's slighte st motion for signs of tl1e real character underneath. Vidal is also a polemicist, but the no\·els are strikingly w1sensational, measured, m1d urbane, m1d in their reconstrncted detail almost constitute m1 anthropological study.
Charlie wanders around this trm1sformed -\.tnerica like a Rip \'m1 \'( 'inkle, a last slender link with the world of -\aron Burr. The titles of the later nO\·elsEmpire m1d Hof!Jwood- reveal their message: tl1e undermining of tl1e republic by a combination of technology
and ad\ enturism.
The "imperial" motif of \'idal's
_-\.tnerican saga om be linked with one of tl1e enduring fascinations ofhistmical novelists: m1cient Rome. The /oms dassims for this modern Roman entl1usiasm is Robert Gra\·es's I Cfa11di11s. -\ \ ' idalian elitism can run tl1rough tl1is strain of writing, with its focus on n.tlers and the aristocracy, although Lewis Grassie Gibbon's Spa11amsconcentrates, fan1ously and democratically, on sla\ es and rebellion. Rome has become the site of a whole se1ies of genre novels, which have caught and trapped mm1y of our culture's obsessions with Rome and its curious legacies. Such novels - witl1 tl1eir characters positioned between the elite m1d the Roman underworld - have tl1e effect of deepening our sense of the cultural m1d social life of Rome, drawing on the attempt by modern historim1s to restore a more rounded view of its society tl1m1 tliat provided by ancient historim1s. Yet tl1is is achieved sometimes at tl1e expense of importing modern attitudes m1d narrative voice, tl1erebr c0\·e1ing over some sense of the differen ce of Romm1 society. Lm1guage is crucial here since the languages of ancient Rome are inaccessible to most of us. The question of trm1slation, of finding a convincing voice for characters of extreme remoteness from us, is essential.
The Roman novels on which the course focused take the form of the discovered memoir: i\[arguerite Yourcenar's J\Iemoirsef Hadrian (1951) and -\]Jan l\[assie's Tiben 11s (1991 ) -\ traditional novelist, l\[assie's interest confines itself principally to the staples of the Roman story: Caesar, .-\ugustus, Antony, m1d Tiberius .•-\.ticient History was tl1e tmmaskingof amma inpeni (the secrets of the state): botl1 Tiberi11s mid 1Uemoirs ef Hadrian strive to bring rulers out of tl1e segues tered palace m1d give them m1 i.nt:imate voice. \'(11ile Vidal's Lincoln is seen entirely from tl1e outside, m1 enigma constm1tly puzzled over, TibeLius m1d Hadrim1 are fully penetrated m1d related from the inside. l\[assie
attempts to address the demonisation of Tiberius deriving from the Roman historian Tacitus' hatchet-job. Taking his cue from modern sc h o lar ship, i\lassie depicts Tiberius as a reluctant monarch, forced into a p os ition that revolts him because of the moral failings of the Roman people. Tiberius is reconfigured as a credible, tortured figure.
Yourcenar's nove l illuminates a , ·ery different man. It is a subtle and reflective work exploring the nature of freed o m and po"·e r, written in a sinuous style. While the conuptions of Rome fmstrnte and eventually denature Tiberius, a man of action, Yourcenar's Hadrian is a paragon, who controls and disciplines himself e,·en m o re tlrnn h is empire. It is an image o f eartl1ly and s piritu al perfection, o ne that ob,·ious ly answers the bleak times in which it was written. It is also abo ut love and loss, and patient, if ago ni se d , endurance of that loss. TI1e differences of tl1e nove ls reflect the contrast of the two characters they seek to elucidate. Several s tud e nt s s uggeste d at least part of tl1c difference may arise from ge nd e r: ;..lassie's style and approa c h " ·ere identified as m o re dire c t and ma sc uline , matter -o f-fact and plain; tl1e more personal, poetic, and involutcd style of Yourccnar as contrastingly feminine.
Yourccnar's n o vel is a high wa termark of serious intellectual engagement. One of tl1e mo s t important u ses of tl1e histo Lical nO\·cl , h o wever, is for comic effect. One example is George i\IacDonald Fraser's Ffashma11 Papers. Flashman is, on tl1e face of it, a romping spoof of \'ictorian heroism. Fraser's simple concept was to borrow from tl1e cla ss ic work of mid-\ ' ictoLian piety- Tom Broivn's S ,hoofdqys - its presiding dem o n, tl1e archetype of e,·erything a \'ictorian ge ntl e man should not be. Fraser's principal targets are religion, cxcessi,·e morali s m, fatuous idealism, 1111d hrpocrisy. Flashman is a more complex figure than might be expected and a brilliant commentator on the world around him ot straightforwardly an establishment figure, he inhabits tl1e establishment: he is caustic as both o utsider and insider Fraser's triumph li es undoubted ly in Flashman's language - rich , utterly natural, employed with little st rainin g for effect, and concocted of a multilingual stew from lowlife , imperial , and army sources. Fraser exploits tl1e gaps in the hi stOLi cal rec o rd, in se rting his u1,·ented character u1to those gaps and playing with the popular folklore of the tune. He also employs great in ge nuity in getting his shapeshifting anti-hero in and out of key events of, for u1 stance, tl1e Indian mutiny As an exerc ise in comic reconstmction and as an analysis of the workings, assumptions, and justifications of empire, Ffashma11 in th e Great Game (1975) is a tremend o u s evocation of a peri o d about which tl1e British have a woeful knowledge. Flashman almost single-handedly redresses tl1at ignorance.
Laurence No rfolk 's b aroq ue , postmodern, historical f;mtasies also emp loy co mic effect mThe Pope's Rhinoceros (1997) witl1 its absurdist central sce nari o No rfolk is a writer of vast, complex works tlrnt cover man y different, apparently disconnected periods and events, co mbinin g impre ss ive, metl10dic al research witl1 a wild playfulness
and improbable conjunctions th a t challenge the reader's sense of historr and reality. orfolk ha s hi s detractors, and some stude nt s echoed this . 111ere is a sense in which the erudition is simpl y excessive, too whimsical, and forced, the langua ge artificial and alienating. T he allegory that Luns tluou g h tl1e n ovel - tl1e parallel between the microcosmic battles of rats in the sewe rs of the Papa.I palace and th e macrocosmic conflicts of renaissance E urope -is nonetheless striking and effective. Norfolk's wo rk is certai nh- difficult to teach; small samples hardly d o justice to th e range of hi s styles and th e comp lexity of his plots and subplots. It co uld be argued th at his revelling in the absurd and the irrati o nal , the O\·erblO\rn and the anti-realistic, is the imposition of an idiosyncrati c personality o n the past, which does
7he hisforicaf nove( is a 3reec§.3enre, fa(!(lirJJ up anla6sorhirJJ other3enres info ifs pr1ect
damage to its real, iflcss exuberant, s tran ge ness \\'ith its emp h asis on hidden connections and secret link s, The PopeJ· Rhinoceroshowe , ·cr vi, idlr created - mm · ha, ·e m ore 111 common \\·ith the flat two-dimen s ion-al irration ali sn~ of Dan Brown's The Da Vind Code than it would care to admit.
No rfolk has been compared with Umb e rto Eco, although he lacks the restraint and focus Eco achieved in hi s m os t famous work, The Name of the Rose (1980). \'Z'ith Eco we h a,·e hi story reclaimed by the academic, but a different type of ac~clcmic from tl1e typical hist0Li,u1. Eco is a semioticiru1, and it is th e clccocling of obscure signs that fonns the basis of thi s novel. It is no accident that Eco tumecl to the sub-genre of tl1e histo rical crime no,·el, transforming it into an intellectual puzzle. Th e Name of the Rose was a popular work, for al lits forbidding layer s of meru1in g. It is explaining this popularity that is in some ways the m os t int eresti n g task of all. Eco's combination of pertinent detail, a se n se of mystery, credible ru1d accessible characters, ru1d the penetrati o n of a closed ru1cl a.lien culture acid to the appeal. In such a work, perhap s it is m ere ly this sense of difference that matter s - the a.lienness, whi c h cru1 be achieved in other ways than through the return to the di s tant past. Yet Eco also had something to sa)' about the nature of medi eval Europe, it s intellectual history, its reh1tion to the classical world: hi s invocation of it is more tl1an just a cipher for some other, deeper meaning. Eco is a master games-pla)'er, but he proved hi s ability to combine tl1 e high !)' specific historical setting with the philosophical to a n extraorclmary degree
.·\s I prepare tl1e course for presentati o n again, there arc questions I be lieve could be explored in m ore depth. \'\'h r is tl1e readership attracted to histo rical n ove l s, especially given the diversity of expeLiences on offer? In this context, the spectre of the extraordinary success of Dan Brown gives pause for tl1 o ug ht (especial!)' tcachu1g as I do in the shadow of Rosslyn C hapel) It is ru1 exrunple of wh at I call a 11ouf-abo11t-history, in thi s case the manipul ation of a particular on{inuelan ta:Je 40
Under the Influence of the Jacket
ELIZA.BETH CH;:\D\,'IC!, e.\j!ores the book corer i11 the 1/}or!d of commerda! historical jiaion.
The clic h e goes that you sh ou ld n ever judge a book by its cover, but peop le being people, they do Even more do they pick up, browse, and buy books under the influence of the jacket, a fact acknowledged and used to its full measure by publishingcompwies as a marketing tool. Long gone are the days of the plain dust jackets designed to do as the name suggests and protect the book from the ngar ies of the em·ironmcnt. Penguin's iconic horizontally striped jackets may have seen a re,·i,·al but on ly as mug decorations, a,·ailablc from museums and the British Library. Howe,·er, the publisher is re-issuing a se lect number of their classic publications ,,·ith quirky ne,,· cm·ers under their "Red C lassics" imprint including a "chick-lit" Lolita and a " hal fhead" IVi,the,ing Heights.
Today the jacket is the first point of "se ll " in the mainstream book trade and lik e any other co n sumer product, it must hit the target or fail._-\ book co,·cr on a front-of-store table has a second and a half to catch a pote nti al reader's ei·e. If a consumer pauses to pick it up from that first contact, the following four seconds are crucial to ,,·hcthcr or not the book becomes a sale.
The power of the book co,·er to influence the buyer was brought home to me many ,·cars ago In· the jacket of Bernard Conrn·ell's novel The 1/1/inter King. The book features a close- up of the Sutton Hoo helmet set against a stark, snowy background. i\[y husband, who ,,·orks in a factory env i ronme nt in the engineering industry, brought the book h ome, informing me that one of the shop-floor workers h ad asked him to read it and tell him ,,·hat it was about. "Can't he read it him self?" I asked, rather mystified.
"Oh, he doesn't read books," my hu sband answered . "But he had to buy this one because h e couldn't resist the co,·er."
That to me was a,,·esome. Someone who wasn't c,·en a reader had bought a book for the cover art alone. Of course there is more to a nm·el than the cm·er art and readers ,,·i ll ,·err quickly sort wheat from chaff when it comes to content, but one cannot escape the fact that the cover is the single most important factor in turning a passerby or casual browser int o a buyer, and then hopefully a long-term fan.
From my own expetience with the UI...:. stat ionery and book chain WH. Smiths, I know that publishers are ofte n invited to alter an cxis ting book cover to get the look that will
attract more cus tomers. If the publisher doesn't jump through the h oops, th e n Sm ith s ,,·ill decline to promote that title and give it
and paperback after such a particular ultimatum from Smiths The hard-co,·er illustration ,ms a trifle dark and feature space. 1l1e cm·er of mr novel The i\larsh King's Da11ghter underwent a makem·er between hardcover
indistinct and when reduced in size for the paperback, that darkn ess closed in more, adding increased gloom rather tl11m atmosphere. The paperback was re-designed to show a figure walking a horse along a beach at either sunrise or sunset, thus retaining the brooding quality whilst holding a better quality of light.
-\s in the above case, what looks great on a hardcover doesn't n ecessat~)" work on a paperback. -\.lternati,·ely, if the reader response concerning the hardback cm er is ambi,-alent, the publishers will try to come up with a stronger illustration for tl1e publication of the paperback -\gain, this has happened to me, most noticeably with the jacket of Shadows and Strongholds. The hardcover has a typical historical cover of the kind that ,,·as popular throughout the 1990s, showing a conventional illustration of the novel's protagonists in a standard pose. "Old-fashioned," a librarian friend said to me. The branding image for the paperback was totally re-thought and the illustration and format changed to reflect current trends. Sales so far h ave been abso lu tely phenomenal and if! am being realistic, it is as much down to the re-think of cover design as to the content (a lth ough one hopes to hook the reader once the book is bought!).
So what is the tight look? To a great extent it will depend on current trends. During the 1990s the white backgrounds and magazine-style covers of smiling young women on the chick-lit and lighter section of women's fiction gave way to lULid background colours and photos of similarly luri d items of funky furniture. In its turn this has been superseded by pastel backgrounds and elongated cartoon characters. (Incidental l y, Jane _-\us ten has been given a chick-lit cartoon effect makeover. It remains to be seen how successful tl1is is going to be with the punters!)
Shadows Strongho
Everr genre has its fad. ,-\ few rears ago, historical fiction was rife with paintings from the period in which the novel was set, or pastiche imitations. Prior to that there was a spate of white backgrounds with gold lettering and before that the trend ,,·as for watercolour paintings, first on black backgrounds, then on white. Looking back through my own collection of historical fiction I om track these changes with successi,-c covers in the nO\·els of .\nya Seton, Dorotl11· Dunnett and.Jane .\iken I lodge. l\ly Setons for example - Green Darkness, Katherine, Arn/on, published by Coronet in the early 1970s, have black backgrounds ,,·1th rich ,vatcrcolour paintings of the characters in bold flame-oranges, pinks
and purples. The same goes for Jane \iken Hodge's !Vatch The IVa!! J\[y Darling and Marry In Haste. Then ha,·ing discovered Dorothy Dum1ctt, I was just in time for the switch to white backgrounds and softer, more understated colours. I ha,-c a 1973 Sphere copy of Pawn in Frankinscen,-e with this colour scheme and theme.
Currently the historical fiction genre is 1ife with images of characters in period costume tumed in coy profile from the reader, eyes lowered, or half lacking their heads \lternativcly it's a close up of a body part, hands and feet being particular favoULites. Great attention is paid to the portrayal of costume. l11is particular style appears to cross all facets of the genre from literary to commercial. Philippa Gregory's iconic jacket for The Other Bo0n Girl was probably the start of this trend and since then the phenomenon has exploded across the publishing world and historical fiction in particular. There is no doubting its success. \'\11ile some readers dislike not being able to see the entire character, it appeals hugely to the majority. \'\11en discussing this with a friend in relation to my own \\'Ork and those of similar authors who have had the "headless bodice" makeover and done very well out of it, she suggested that in part, the success of the novels is down to matters of neuro-linguistic programming. You identify what it is that your core readership gets out of your novels and then you translate it into cover art. For example, if a wtiter's audience reads his or her novels because they want to get up close and face to face with the history, then the key word regarding branding might be "feel." In that case the cover art would need to pull in close so that it was either a head-and-shoulders shot of the main character, or an object seen from that sort of head-and-shoulders closeness. It would need to be realistic with plenty of texture -
if it's a person the reader would expect to sec the weave on the cloth or the filaments of their hair. There should be a dominant colour, such as blue or red, but with a touch of another colour to enrich it, and again the thinking should be rich and textural. TI1c lettering should be solid and bold ,,·ithout being overpowering. The illustration should draw the reader in and make him or her feel as if they are actually present in the moment of the co,-cr because it ,, ill reflect the \\'ay they are going to feel about the storr
Cultural choice also makes a difference to the appeanu1ec of historical fiction. The US as a whole is more tolerant of hero/heroine clinch covers and sugariness than the more conserntive UK market. Some years ago I wrote a gritt)· no,·el about the Cathars, co, ering the same ground as The Da Vind Corle but set in the l\liddle \gcs. The Ul--:: co, er was a co1ffentional painting, sho,,·ing a backdrop of the mountain of l\lontscgur ,,·here the Cathars were besieged ;me! e,·e11tually killed. 111c Balhmtinc _\me1ican cover \\'Cnt for a pink wateredsilk background and a wom ;u1 clad in a pink nightie, riding a pink horse. The Estonians preferred a scene from ;m original illuminated manuscript of the period. Russia still appears to be enjoying the clinch cover and
fantastical costume for its historicals with accuracy not of the slightest concern. Readers in the Czech Republic arc more than happy with paintings of abstract articles such as vases of flowers or items of jewellery that bear no relation to the subject matter of the novel whatsoever. One has to wonder if some countries have not reached the level of visual neediness that seems to be the case in the UK, Canada, the US and .\ustralia.
I may be an author contracted to a •mainstream commercial publisher, but nevertheless I work on the periphery of the industry and don't see the day-tocb1) · running of the business of a publishin g house. I may write what goes bet,,·ee n the covers, but until I undertook this article, I had only the n1guest noti o n of the co,·er production process. Deciding to fill in some gaps in that ignorance I asked some pertinent questions of my Lil, publishers at Time \'\ 'arner and they were kind (and candid) enough to give me their wisdom on the matter.
lnitially I approached Barbara Daniel, former Commissioning Editor and now Group \dministration Director " ith the compa.i1'.·- I also spoke to Peter Cotto n, the comp;ui'.·'s -\rt Director, a.iKI designer Rachael Ludbrock, " ho is resp o nsible for my recent covers, including Shadows and Strongholds and The Creates/ Knight.
In the Lil,, Time \'\ 'arner employs about 150 staff of whom six are designers. TI1ere are also two frecla.iice designers a.i1d between them, they are responsib le for about th irty-five book titles a month, including historical fiction. 111e design department is always working a year ahead of schedule, so what they are working upon now \\·ill not appear on the bookshelves until June 2007. l's lost of the designers " ·ill " ·o rk on all genres as part of their brief, but they do ha,·e one designer who specialises in contemporary women's fiction and another \\ ho specialises in ctime fiction.
\s well as tl1eir in-house designers, Time \'\ 'arner will occasionally bring in a.i1 extemal designer for a specific project.1l1ey also e.,tensi,·cly employ freelance ill ustrators wcl photographers to work with the design team a.i1d are always on the lookout for new talent. Rather like " ·oulcl-be pub lished writers themselves, the competition is fierce, the ocean huge, a.i1d the design team ca.ii afford to pick a.i1cl choose.
1l1e process begins with a monthly btiefing meeting where the design department gets together with the editorial team to discuss commissioned novels a.i1d their requirements. Synopses, storylines and sample chapters are ha.i1cled to the design staff and ideas are discussed -\clclitional to this, there are weekly cover btiefing meetings. These involve a committee representing different departments a.i1cl areas of the publishing process and include marketing a.i1d publicity staff, sales representatives, editorial directors a.i1d members of the design team -\t these meetings the designers will show printouts, co,·er mockups and illustrations of work-in-progress for discussion and fine tuning. .-\t the encl of each montl1 there is also a.ii internal
design department meeting to check near-completed designs for llll}' alterations or omissions in the text that will go on the finished jacket. [t's a failsafe meeting to ensure that e,·ery detail is correct before the finished cover goes for production. Design is also involved in a scheduling meeting about six months before publication This is mainly concerned witl1 the sales ;uid marketing cli,·ision who will take those co,·ers into the bookshops, hoping to gain significant aclva.i1ee orders.
I was interested to know how the design tea.in cleciclecl in which direction to go ,vhen given their first brief for a novel, taking into account they are going to be working a year al1ead of schedule and that each genre has its trends. Peter Cotton was of the opinion tl1at a lot was clown to experience and a knowledge of what has gone before. The jackets of comparable authors are studied a.i1d the styles surrounding that particular type of fiction . .-\s with much in life , the philosophy seems to be "the sa.ine but different," which is why headless figures a.i1cl costumed body parts are so popular in historical fiction just now. It's working in terms of sales for the bookseller s a.i1cl the readers, a.i1cl publishers are looking to produce tl1at same kind of look but witl1 llll original or signature twist of their own.
There is a huge risk involved in going out on a limb a.i1cl trying something entirely new and original. If it works, the rewards ca.i1 be enormous, but if it doesn't, then it's wasted time, effort a.i1cl money on behalf of e , ·eryone at tl1e publishing house, and it can sink a.ii author's career. Understa.i1clably publishers of mainstrea.in fiction are cautious Mimals when it comes to innovation beyond a certain le,·el. .-\ definite bra.i1d look helps booksellers know where tl1ey ca.i1 place a novel in the shop Mel if a cover doesn't fall within the parameters of that perceived "brand" image then they can
"Oh, he loesn 't reacf6ooh·. 13ut he hacfto 6uy this one 6ecause he coukfn 't resist the cover. "
have a tough time selling it. Obviously guessing al1ead to the next big thing is extremely useful - it's also easier said tha.i1 clone
Historical covers do tend to be more difficult to design as
Couer 0Yo1:j
opposed to m o dern novels because of costume settings and backdrop. It's usually d01n1 to the illustrator to d o the research and co m e up with something that is workable and then present it to the de sig n team .-\uth ors are asked for their input a t draft stage so that they can at least have their say but it is often a case of compromise. \.n author may carry the image o f what they ,1 ·ould like to see on the cove r of th e ir n o , ·el, but this ha s to be balanced on the publisher's s ide b y considerations of market trends, costs of printing and what actually wo rks in graphic de s ig n. \'\11at is wonderful in the mind d oes n ' t ahrnys work o n the jacket of a novel.
Printi.ngcosts them se lve s boil d o wn to how many frills and furbelows there arc on the jacket. The publisher pays a set cost for the four primary colours -cyan, magenta , ycllo\\· and black, plus a standard ,·anush. C:ach add1t1onal colour cos ts more as d ocs each special effect, 1d1cther that be s p o t nrnish, matte laminati o n, foil or embossing. So me foils tend to be more expcnsi1·e than others, so holographic fo il is n ot o ne to h a, ·c if you're \\ ·o rkin g to a ,·cry tight budget.
\\ 'ith the s upermarket chains becoming rn o rc inv o ked in boo kselling, the loo k of the cover ha s taken yet another hike in importance. Herc, m ore than c,·er, the o ne -a nd -a- half-seco nd rule applies as shoppers browse for their fiction at the same time as picking up their grocctics.
Peter Co tto n to ld me with a twinkle in hi s eye that one of the initiati,·cs of the design team at Time \\ 'arner is to take prototy pe books into what he calls "T he Bristol Tri,mglc." This, as it suggests, is based in the Bristol area and im·olves maj o r s upermarkets and hi g h -stree t book c hain s ,1·ithin a gi1·en local.i ty. i\ [embers of the de sign team 1nll s neak their co 1·ers o nto the s hell-e s among the boo k s that a rc already o n sal e, then s tand back and peru se to see if th e embryo cove rs st;md o ut among the mas ses. If they d o n ' t then it's back to the dra\1 ing board -or more correctly the .-\pp le i\ [a c for a re-think. Tl1c store managers don't particularly appro,·e of the desi gners d o ing this, but there ha s n't been an o utri g ht ban yet a nd other publi shing h o u ses employ similar meth ods - although n o t nece ssa rily in the Bristol area!
T11ere is a sales manager respon sible for the supetmarket sec tor. One of the tasks of his department is to present tl1e book to the buyers or wholesalers re s ponsible for supplying the supermarket. Books are specifically selected tlrnt the publisher tl1ink s will appeal to tl1is sector. It's a matter of fine targetin g rather than u sing the scattergun approach and titles are cherry-picked. The s upermarket s generally have two range changes a month with a s mall number of b oo k s being selected. They also stock a small backli s t of bestsellers.
i\[ostly the contact between the publisher's sale s rcpre se ntati, ·e and the supermarket buyer is a one-to-one relati o n s hip and it is th e buyer's yes or no that 11 ill make or break a n01 ·cl. Us ually the supetmarket buyer will make hi s or her deci sio n on a b oo k c01·er and an information s heet It's fair to say that mo s t of the n01·els se lected by the supermarket book buyer d o n ' t ge t read, so the cover and th e blurb are 1·italh- import imt. So great is the impact of the supermarket on potential sales that a publi s her will m o,·e a 11 01·el's publication date if it means a no1·el being selected as one of the m o nthl y titl es.
i\ [y perspecti,·e in thi s article has been aimed at co mmercial main s tream fiction ratl1er than offshoots such as e-publishing, s mall presses and library market s and there remain s plenty more to be said o n the subject of cover art in these area s - perhaps for another ar ticle and another writer. \'(1rnt has been made clear to me in re sea rchin g thi s piece is tlrnt todar, m o re than at any time in the publishing of mainstream fiction, the c01·er art is absolutely , ital to the pa c ka ge. For the moment that trend is here to stay and likely to in c rea se in importance as publishers fight for a market share in ru1 indu s tr y that is m o re compctiti1·e now tl1ru1 it has ever been. C urre ntl y the headl ess b o dice rule s, but who knows what the c01·er de signer s have in s tore for the future of the past!
Urls of interest con nectecl ro lhis article i.nclnde: • http://www.iwauloueo[those.com/ seacch clo;,prod11ctCode=PE:\'i\[UG\:,\R
• htrp:/ /www.peuguinclassics.eo.uk/ stat.ic/cs/nk/ I0/mi.11.i.sites/ pcugumreds / iuclex. html
T11ere is also au interesting a.rliclc by Jemuc Cmsie at http://jemiycrusie.blogspot.com/2006/ 0 3 / cmsie-theory-of-cove r-clesign- lecn I re Ii t.ml, com1ectcd with the kuotty problem of bookcoi-e r desigu, although uot in the context of the historical.
Ek:;_abeth Chadnick is the a11thor offifteen historical ltol'eLi; !en of them wrille11 for her mrre11t p11b!isher Tim e uYamer. H er 110/'e! abo11/ 117 i!!iam 11Iarsha4 The Greatest Knight, inl! be p11b!ished in paperback ~y Time l/ 7amer 011 ]11!J 1, 2006. Th e co/'ers of her 11oreLi· ca11 he see11 i11 1'a1io11s i11camatio11s andJoreig11 editions at her n•ebJite. www.elizabethchadwick.com/ covergalle ry. html
The History Behind the Writing
In this spetialfeat11re, historical 11orelists l\L\RG.-\RET_j.-\l\IES, C.\'( ' GORTNER,.JOHN B.-\RLOW a11d i\ [I CH ELLE STYLES share bow their 110/'e/..r came to be.
Margaret James: The Mo r ning P romise -\b out ten years ago, I read a wonderful non-fiction boo k called The Roses OJ 1"\.'o 11Ia11's La11d, by Lyn l\lacdonald. It was about the army nurses \\ ho sen-ed during \'\ 'o rld \Var I, and it in sp ired me to start researching a n ove l about the girls who worked for the \'oluntarr .-\i d Detachment
- the \ '. \D.
I began planning the book, wrote the first chapter and entered it for the Romantic Nm ·elists' .-\ssoc iation's Elizabeth Goudge .-\ward. It didn't win, but it was runner-up, and I INS founder and competition judge Richard Lee's kind remarks about this opening chapter encouraged me to get on with the book. In between doing lots of other things like going out to ,,·ork, mm ing house twice and ,,·riting other nm·els, e,·entualh · I did.
I\-c ahnn-s lm·ed reading, and I enjm· the research for a nove l as much as writing the novel itself. l\ lay be I enjo)· the research slightly more, because I can do this lolling in the back garden, not inside with the curtains drawn as I type a,rny on a sunny afternoon.
characters around without having to tie them to what actual battalions (or ,,·hatever) actuallr did.
THE
Morning Protni ..e MARGARET JAMES
The first draft of The Momi11g Promise came ou t much too lo n g, and even I had to 11dmit that the research w11s sho,,·ing! \nyone ,,·ho read that draft ,,·ould have learned a lot about the ,rnr it se lf, but would have complained that th ere wasn't much of a story.1l1en vanous home and family circumstances meant I had to stop working on the book, and I didn't take it up again until I moved to De,·on, three years ago. I'm a slow writer at the best of times - a novel every two years is good going for me - and now I was faced with dismantling and (possibly) rebuilding a hu ge, un\\ ·ieldy structure, inside which were a hero and heroine struggling to get out.
I read the usual no, -e lists ' sources for \\ 'odd \'( 'ar I, s uc h as \'era Brittain's war diaries , Siegfried Sassoon's prose and poetry, Lrn rdacdonald's other books about \X'orld War I (I was particularly mm·ed by Thry Called It Passcbe11daele, a title which many readers will rec ogni se as a line from one of Sassoon's poems), and Robert Graves's harro,,·ing memoir, Goodf?ye To All That. The wonderful public library sen-ice, much derided these d11ys for buying in so many CDs and D\'Ds, provided me with rarer books such as Ernest Shephard's A Sergea11t Mqjor's lv'm~ .-\nn Clayton's Chamsse - Do11ble VC and Tan Hay's A H1111dred Years of Army I'\'11rsi11g. I filled in some of the great chasms of my general ignorance of the period by reading \\ 'alter Southgate's That's The lv'l!Y It lv'as and \'enetia l\furrar's Ed1oes of the EaJl E11d.
But I also re11d more private and personal sources such as w1published diaries and fanuly letters. l\ly own grandfather was badly wow1ded at the Battle of tl1e Somme, dying of the results of tl1ese ,,·ounds when my fatl1er was a small child. Over and over again, it was brought h ome to me what a huge hole all tl1is carnage left in social and family life after tl1e war, as hundreds of tl1ousands of widows struggled to bring up children on their own.
I tried very hard to be faitl1ful to my sources, and to respect tl1e memory of real people. But I also invented t11ings such as place names and regiments, because I wanted the freedom to move my
i\ly heroin e, Rose, came to my rescue and suggested tliat the book should be he r story, rather tlrnn tl1ree or four people's stories, all told in bits and pieces. I decided tlrnt Rose was nght, and when I did t11e rewrite, she was the main viewpoint character. .-\!though there is a sub-plot, t11is is linked very closely with what happens to Rose.
I came to love and admire Rose very much, even tl1ough she is a very wayward girl who ends up breaking her mother's he11rt \ s a mother mpelf, I found it hard to forgive her for tlrnt, but Rose is misguided, nai\·e and wilful rather than cruel or wicked. She grows up, she suffers for what she has done, and she ends up a better person. Basicallr, Rose wants what most of us want out of life - to make the most of our opportunities, to discover and use our talents, to love and to be loved.
Today, I suppose a girl like mr Rose would probablr be working for a famine relief agencr, backpacking round tl1e world, working on an organic farm or for Greenpeace, or generally saving the planet. She wouldn't be so trammelled and circumscribed by early 20 tl' century conventions and assumptions about a woman's place in society, and she would hopefullr be kinder to her poor motl1er. She'd certainly display tl1e idealism and entlmsiasm that young people have always done, and hopefull y always will.
By I ovember 200-l I had what I hoped was a publishable version of Rose's storr It was n ow 80,000 words long, and fortunatelr the
hardba c k publisher Robert Hale offered to publish it. The b oo k came out in 2005 and is publi sh ed in large -print hardba c k this year. I h ope th e re will be cop ie s in m ost public librarie s.
I h ave hu ge ad mirati o n and respec t for th ose girls who jo ined the \ '_ \D a nd se rved ove rseas. They were o ften from pri\ ile ge d backgrounds, had n eve r h ad to work o r t ake o n an y kind o f responsibility, and m a n y of them h ad probabl y n eve r washed themselves, let alo n e a \\·ounded so ldier. But the o utbreak of war presented all th ese ge ntl e m en's daughters \\ ith th e o pp o rtunity fo r an adre11/11re, and th ey jumped a t th e chance.
T h e \ '.-\D gi rl s weren't all saint s or superwomen, although so m e of them were definitely su p erhu m an, goi ng \\ ·i th o ut pro per slee p for weeks o n e nd, livin g o n toas t and b ad coffee, d o in g tweh-e h o ur s hift s with hardly any resp ite between shift s and , when the Germam finally in nded Flanders in 19 18, h e lpin g to encuate field army h ospitals \\ hi c h \\ ·ere marooned in a sea o f s tinkin g mud But some gi rl s fell in love with the \\To n g men and \\ ·ere re s p o n sibl e for a few mteresting sca nd als. So me go t pregnant, so me went right off th e rai ls, so m e h ad to ad mit d e feat and go h o m e. But th e mo re I re ad about them, the more I admired th e m all.
The nO\·el is abo ut different kinds of braver)· - that o f th e so ldi ers, obvious l y, and of the army nur ses wh o sa \·ed so m an y o f their li\·cs But it's also abo ut the quiet courage o f the pe o ple left at h o m e, wh o h ad to co p e with dramatic socia l change and wh o sometimes displa)·ed hu ge ge n eros ity of s pirit
I h ope the n ove l offers readers a faithful p o rtrait o f the peri o d, while also offering the excite ment of a goo d s to ry and the c han ce to id e ntify with a fl awed but (in m y view) attractive h ero in e.
1\Jargare/ James ll'as born a11dgrell' up i11 Hereford, s111died English Li1era/11re and A11g!o-Sa:,;011 Anhaeo!ogy al the U11il'ersi(y of Lo11do11, then worked as a d1i! sen·a111 i11 Oxford, 1vhere she me! her b11sband. She 110w !ires i11 Del'On. She works as a freelance jo11ma!isl for \'( 'ritin g i\Iagazinc, is a founder partner of S lorylracks, a literary appraisal agenry, and is a longterm member of the Romantic Nore!isrs' Assotiario11. IF/Jen 1101 writing, she likes gelling her hands dir(Y, so she e,yqys gardening and is c11rre11r!J l'ery happily om,pied in trying to bring order 011! of the ,haos of a former b11tlding sire She also makes rime for pollery dasses, and she lores lral'l!f!i11g, espetia!!J in Ira!Jll'hid1, after De/'011, is her fal'Omire place
C.W. Gortn e r: D a rk D ee d s (T h e History Behind Th e Secret L ion)
The see d s of a sto ry 111e 16 th ce ntury \\·as a vivid and c h ao ti c cm, when men and wome n celebrated their individualism after the feudal hierarchies of the i\ liddle -\ ges. It is an em th a t displays it s gra nd eur, it s cast of characters headed b)· so m e o f th e most dynamic personalities and dynasties hi s to r) · ha s ever see n. Few of these dynasties h ,l\"C e nge nd ered more fascination for me, and man y ot her s, than th e Tudors - that charismatic and hi g hl y d) ·s fun ct io n al clan whose appeal has n ot diminished even a fter fiv e hundred years. T h is lifelo ng fascination yielded th e see d for TheSem!I Lion, a no,·el of suspense and acke ntu re se t in Tud o r E ng land durin g th e final days of Edward \Ts reign.
The idea came to me quite un ex p ected l y, as I was \\·orking toward a d egree in Renai ssanc e S tudie s. O ne nig ht whil e poring over old state p aper s fr o m the Spani sh arcl1 i\·es of Simancas, I came across an o b sc ure pa ssage in an amba ssa d o ri al dispatch sent to C h arles \ '. It s tated: " It is almo s t certain that No rthumb e rl and [h as] h ad the 1--:.ing [Ed\nrd \ ' I) p o iso ned to d eath. '' I h ad n ever read this before. i\[ost sc h o lars bhune complications from measles and/ or latent tuberculosis for E d\\ ·a rd 's untim e l) · d ea th ; and that o n e anonymous phrase plunge d me into a fen-id co n sideratio n of all th e reasons why_lohn Dudley, Duke of No rthumb e rl and , might h ave gone so far as to ha\·e hi s royal charge murd ere d. Before I knew it, I'd se t aside m\ · s tudie s to draft a skeleton outli n e for a mystery 110\·el inspired by the myste ri o u s circumstances s urro undin g Edward \Ts death. I had no id ea that thi s initial brain s to rmin g would e\·entually, after much trial and error, and years o f re-\\·riting, become a published book; n or that my re sea rch would lead m e o n a bewildering, ultimately enthralling jo urney into o n e of th e darkest episodes in Tudor history.
A m ys te ri o u s ro ya l d eat h
It is a challenge, indeed , to tr r and capture th e sights and s m ells, scents and se n sibilitie s o f a time that, for all its resonant familiarity, remain s tinted by our mo dem eyes. Like perhaps m any writers before me, I w o nd e red whether I could venture into such an inscrntable world and s tay trne to it , and if th ere was a story to be told among the hundreds already wt1tten i\[y guide th ro ugh th e maze was finding out what had happened to E dward \ ' I, and this became my o bses sio n To my di sco n ce rti o n , h owc \·cr, I soon learned that I didn't have much to work with.
-\ s far as hi s to t1cal accounts are co nce rn ed , Ed,\·ard 's personal li fe h as suffered somewhat in comparison with th a t of hi s father, hi s c id er sister i\Iary, and certainly, th e most infan1ous of the Tudors, Elizabeth I. Ed\nrd never \\ ·ed or h ad children; he died a few \\·eeks short of hi s sixteenth birthda y, and is therefore m ost ofte n assessed in terms of the contributions hi s reign m ade to the E ng li s h Reformation, as well as the events th at tran s pired after him , n ot the leas t of which are the per sec uti o n of i\[ary I and E li zabet h 's long reign. Yet Edward left something n o ne of hi s predecessors did: a journal he wrote during hi s short life. This jo urn al provides fascinating insight into his perso nality and kee n powers o f observation (His diary has recently been reis s ued by Ra\ ·enh all Books as E11g!a11d's Bqy King: The Dimy of Ed,vard VT, 15-/.7-1553). \Vi thin it s rem a rkabl e pages, we discover a de c isiv e, opi ni o nate d , and rather precocious ado lescent primed by the O l ympi an educational sc h edule of a Renaissance prince, whose affection for hi s d ogs and un shak eab le belief in hi s divine right to
nile ,·ies with his distaste for various people. One of these people is his self-appointed protector, the Duke of Northumberland The other is his eldest Catholic half-sister, i\fary- both of whom were destined to plar pirntal roles in the days following his death.
_·\s a writer, I am always intrigued by untold secrets in history. \\'hile investigating the circumstances surrounding Edward's death, I found just such a prize. It has been well estab lished that I orthumberland and i\[ary became opposing forces in the spring of 1553, clashing \\'ith spectacular brevity over the Crown. E,·en the reason for their antipathy appears clear enough: t orthumberland had persecuted i\[ary for her faith, and cajoled a dying Ed,rnrd to cast aside the established succession in order to set .fane Grey and Guilford Dudley on the throne in i\[ary's place. That i\[ary managed to elude capture and triumph is as much a testament to her 0\\'n tenacity as it is to the widespread hatred orthumberland had engendered among his contemporaries. This is the accepted version most historians ha,·e adopted. But Edward's journal ends before his death and much about his final dm·s remains contrm·ersial. Historians do not agree on key issues, such as ,,·hether Ed\\'ard ,·oluntarily disinherited i\fary (and also, presumably, Elizabeth) or if Northumberland forced the king to it. _-\nd as I deked further, disquieting intimations began to surface. Several contemporary accounts make mention of Northumberland dismissing the ropl physicians attending the king in favor of a "quack" in the days before Edward died. ~ No one has verified these accounts, or indeed identified this person, ,,·ho might \\'ell have been an apothecary. The "quack" vanished shortly before or after the king's death, and rumors persisted for years afterwards that orthumberland had had the quack killed, after ha,·ing employed him or her to poison the king. It was even said tl1at Ed\\'ard's bodi· had been replaced with that of a "squire" who resembled tl1e king, while Edward himself was blllied in an unmarked grave in Greenwich Park. 3 Could such rumors have held a kernel of trutl1? Had Northumberland deliberately kept those most familiar witl1 Edward at bay, because he sought to hide what he was doing to the king? If so, why did he feel it necessary to poison someone who was presumab ly alreadr dying of a terminal disease? \\l1at did he seek to gain? Or forestall? If Edward had complied with Northumberland's plot - that is, disinherit i\fary in favor of Jane Grey - why tl1e need for secrecy surrounding the king's final days?
\II the annals, the volumes of state papers and accounts of ambassadors, tl1e tomes of scholarly accounts and historical opinion pieces I had plowed tl1rough in my quest to uncover the truth had led me straight into a labyrinth. Yet it is within such chaos that historical fiction most often works its magic. Only one detail stood out in all its horrid conviction: whichever the cause, tl1e fifteen-yearold king, only son of Henry \'III, had died "a terrible death"
sometime between .July -+ and .July 6, 1553, at Greenwich Palace, and no one reports having seen his corpse. I knew that 16 '11century accounts were often altered; censorship, after all, is not a modern weapon. In the Tudor em, it was one of many tools ambassadors and others used to manipulate a given situation. Still, if many of the contemporary accounts from this period are not without bias, what happened in those dark days in 1553 carries a scythe of treachery, of shadowy coun te r-plo ts and secret machinations, when a desperate man at the height of his hard-earned power saw everything lipping away from him, and did anything he could to retain it. Ever since I Ienry \'ITT ordered NorthLUnbeda.nd's fatl1er executed in an act of blatant popular appeasement, the Dudleys had been deemed of treacherous stock, a curse e,·en proud Robert Dudle,· could not escape. It seemed ea y indeed to cast Northumberland as the villa.in - almost too easy.
\\1rnt if tl1ere was anotl1er, less ob,·ious hypotl1esis? Edward's journru shows evidence that he was a strong-willed monarch with a definite agenda, and no one can argue that the political climate at the time was inextricably entwined \\'ith religion, a subject Edward was passionate about. His had been a truly Protestant reign; educated by such renowned Reformist thinkers as Archbishop Cranmer himself (who'd wed -\nne Boleyn to Henry \ ' III), Ed\\'ard was a child of tJ1e Reformation, who had finally achieYed a break witJ1 the religious past. 4 Ta.king into account his belief in divine kingship, which he mentions various times in his w1itings, coupled witl1 his documented dislike of Nortl1Umberla.nd's stranglehold on England, and his sister i\la.ry's umvillingness to relinquish her faitJ1, I came to a ratl1er startling and unexpected possibility - one that centered on none otJ1er than Edward's other sister, Elizabeth.
I had finally discovered the untold secret I'd sought, the warp in established fact from which to weave my tale. I started out investigating a mysterious royal deatJ1; instead, I had come upon a plausible, and ratJ1er terrifying, alternate conspiracy. Inspired by my discoveries, I realized mr story had transcended tJ1e boundaries of a traditional mystery. There was intrigue, betrayal, and unspeakable
~pecittf ~eafure
evil; such a story required a fictional protagonist to experience the sensatio n o f bein g alive at this crucial and tumultuous time; someone to bear witness to the conuption that characterized life at court. i\Iy protagonist would fmd himself trapped in the labyrinth , at the center of a lethal power-game: he had to be guileless yet astute, and n1lnerable in hi s ow n right. He had to unknowin g ly h arbo r hi s own secret. _-\ squire seemed the perfect foil. Squires ,,·ere often in close proximity to th e ir ma ste rs, and thu s became privy to private matte rs. i\ Ioreove r , squire s were used to convey personal correspondence, a key ingredient to my pl o t. Squire s could come fr o m all walks o flife: I decided mine would be a young man without a pa s t, a foundling, like th o u sands o f abandoned children in those d ays, who rises within the ranks of a noble h o u se h o ld. TI1rough him, I could blend three distinct storyline s: the histOLical tale of a c1isis in th e Tudor succession, spur red b y Edward's prem a ture demise; the fictional tale o f a youth lured into becoming a spy; and the semi-fictional tal e o f "\,1rnt if...?" Tims was born Brendan Prescott, the squire brou ght to court to se rve Robert Dudley, wh o is lured into spying o n hi s ma s ter to save th e Prince ss E liz abeth fr o m a vengeful opponent, and in the process unravels the my ste ry of his own secret past.
Depicting legends
It is n o t s urpri si n g that man y of my readers ask me about my interpretation of E lizabeth. She exerts an appeal that continues to mesmerize u s even after four hundred years. Nevertheless, I h ad n o t inte nded to write about her. Given the Tudors' r elativel y sh o rt time on the throne - from I Ie nr y \ ' II to Elizabeth, a m e re 118 years - it is E li zabeth who dominates, the s ubject of countless d ocu mentari es an d dramatizations in film and literature. She h o ld s mytl1i cal s tatu s in tl1e public eye; and for tl1i s reason alone I have always felt she s h o uld be approached witl1 a great deal of trepid a ti o n , res pect , and kn ow le d ge Qui te, I would im agi ne, as we would h ave approached her in p erso n.
Yet as m ost writers di scove r, there comes a time when a b oo k and its characters devel o p minds of tl1 e ir ow n , and as I worked o n tl1e fir s t draft of The Se.rel Lion, I realized I could n ot avoid tl1e daunting task of bringing E lizabetl1 to life. She is pivotal to tl1e book , tl10u g h m os t hi s to rian s believe she never a ttended tl1e court at tl1is particular time. I wrestled witl1 tl1is o b s tacle for quite some time before I s ubmitted to tl1e demands of m y s torr, The trutl1 is, Elizabetl1 could have co m e to court, if s he h ad d o ne so in secret. Sh e co uld have co me to find out what was happening to her brotl1er, from whom she'd been deliberately estranged by, many believe, Nor thumberl and him se lf. i\Ioreover, her determin a ti o n t o help Edward inspires Brendan to sacrifice hi s ow n allegiances; and, with her arrival, tl1e n ove l adopts an entirely d ee per hue Looking back, I marvel at my reluctance TI1e bo o k simply could not have worked ivithont her.
In o rd e r to depict E lizabetl1 , I consulted primary so urce s, includin g h er marvelous collection o f letters. TI1e facts are alwa ys necessary, for o nl y tllro u g h tl1e se was I able to di s tinguish between tl1e twenty-
year-old prince ss whom Brendan befri end s, and h er much-later incamation as an alabaster titian. I sought to bting to life the promised child o f a love affair th a t s h ook tl1 e very fou nd atio n s of Europe, who had failed her parents because of h er gender, and whose childhood was s ti gmati zed b y accusatio n s of ill egitimacy. I also wanted to explore, and re-define, tl1 e dynamics of her ro1rnmtic liaison with I orthumberland's so n , Robert Dudley, who was t\\'enty-one and already wed in 1553 TI1e Robert Dudley we meet in the nm·el is a brash, over-privileged youth, sec ure in hi s ow n se lf-importance. In contrast, Elizabeth is alr eady a sage sun·ivor, ,,·ho has struggled against the whispered nig htmare of her mother's fal l. She has learned while still painfully young tl1 e p1i ce a woman can pa)· for surrende1ing her bodr The art o f co nni1 ·ance runs s t ro ng in her ve in s, yet s h e s uffer s tl1e denial o f that 'sp irit of e n c h antm e nt ' 5 so many of h er contemporaries say s he possessed. The E li zabet h of my book is an elusive spirit , wh ose 11·ill to liv e and thrive forces her to dwell in certain lo neline ss.
The p syc h o logic al impact o f life's circu m stances, often a mere sampling o f b o ne s amo n gs t a pile of elates, is the flesh of characterization, and, for m e, co n s titut es the most difficult yet rewarding part of hi sto rical re sea rch Behind tl1e jigsaw of facts and figure s, tl1e collision o f events, are peop le \\ h o are n ot so different fr o m us in many respects - boys lo nging for ind epe nd ence; \\'Omen seizing a lon g-awai te d chance at grea b1 ess; and men sacrifici ng their scruples o n tl1e altar of ambiti o n \Ve can sti ll e n counter them today, o n o ur s tree ts going to and fro m work; and in our hearts, reincarnated throu g h the man-el and painstaking exp lorat ion of the past tlrnt is hi s to1ic al ficti o n.
Notes
l. Calendar of Letters, Dispatd1es, and State Pc,pers Relating to Negotiations betll'een E11gla11d a11d Spai11, presen·ed i11 the ArchiL-es of Sima11cas and Elsell'here. (e d G.A. Bergenroth, P. d e Goyangos, G. l\Iatt iH g ly, R Tyler, and others, H J\ ISO, 1862-1965).
2. Alison Weir, The Children of Henry f /JIT (Ballantine Books, 1996).
3. Chronicle of the Reign of Queen Jane and Tll'o )ears of Quew Mary (ed. JG. N ichols. Camde11 J\lisrellany, Camde n Society. XL\'III, 1850). -1- Dimnaid l\IacCulloch, Tudor Chur,-h Militant: Edll'ard T/] and the Protestant Rejormatio11 (Allen La ne, 2000).
5. Alison Plowden, The 10111(g Eli::;:_abeth (i\ lc millan and Co., Ltd, 1971).
C. U7. Gort11er holds a Masters i11 Fine Arts i11 Writing, 1iith all emphasis ill Renaissance Stndies. Bom i11 the United States and raised i11 Spain, he now makes his home i11 Sa11 Framisco. H e is th e anthor of the m'ticai!J acdaimed 11orei TI1e Secret Lion alld oftheforthcomi11g Queen of Shad ows. Visit him at: 1v1vn•.ieo11ib11s.com.
John Barlow: Drugs and the Victorians
Great Britain fought two wars with China to protect its hugely lucrative trade in opium. Indeed, it is hard to overestimate the significance of this substance to the healthy state of the Victorian economy, imd on the home market opium became increasingly popular throughout the.: 19"' century. One's first taste would often come in the form of a throat lozenge or syrup, and from cough sweets people graduated onto small nuggets of the pure drug, or more frequently to laudanum - opium mixed with alcohol. _-\ddiction in England's industrial cities was widespread. "Dmnk for a penny; dead drunk for n1ppence" \\·as the err Laudanum provided a cheap, fast-acting palliati\·e to phi·sical exhaustio n, and staved off hunger. It also helped to get your children to sleep , and for this reason was known as "111other's mercy."
Opium experienced a comparable tise i.n popula1ity i.n Nortl1 _-\merica, where it \\·as the active ingredient in both Godfrey's Cordial and Bateman's Drops. The drug's pleasurable side-effects were also wildly
acknowledged. In Domestic 1\Iedid11e, or Poor 1\fa11J· Friend,' Dr John Gunn claimed that "it would be next to impossible for a Physician to practice his profession with any considerable degree of success" without it, referring to opium as "the soothing angel of moral ru1d physical pain." He also claimed that as a recreational dmg it was preferable to alcohol, providing a "steady, agreeable, and permru1ent glow of pleasure, [both] physical and intellecn1al," and went so far as to compose hi s ow n verses in praise of the stuff:
Charmed Jtith this potent dmg, the exalted mind
All sense of woe deliz-ers to the 1ni1d It clears the doucfy Jo11t of wri11kled care
And soothes the bosom of despair.'
-\s familiarity with tl1e drug grew, so it became a commonplace in literan1re. In Mary Barton (18-18), for example, l\Iary's fatl1er descends gradual l y into addiction as hi s d espair escalates Gaskell associates tl1is "craving" witl1 tl1e desperate eco n om ic circumstru1ees of tl1e urbru1 unemployed, ru1d tl1e n ovel takes on ru1 extraordinary liberal and compassionate tone:
It is tme mmh of their morbid po,ver might be asm·bed to the 11se of opium. But before you blame too harsh!J this 11se, or rather abuse, try a hopeless life, Jtith dai!J ,ratings of the bocfy for food lF'o11ldyo11 not be glad to forget life, a11d its burdens? A11d opium gil'esforgetf11lness for a time. 2
For many writers, the visit to the den became sometl1ing of a stock i.n trade, just as i.n contemporary fiction we h ave our own conventions, tl1e covens of heroin addicts that crowd tl1e derelict comers of modem urbru1 wastelands, for examp le. There is something alluring in tl1e
exotic, illicit world of tl1e lotus-eaters, botl1 tl1en and now, sometli.ing fascinating about crossing tl1e line beyond which bodily pleasure is suffused witl1 perdition, where a heightened sense of perception and tl1e opening up of new realms of experience is coupled witl1 se lf-destruction. Poe's "Ligeia" (1838) and Collins's The Moonstone (1868) spring to mind; in both cases tl1e drug's close relationship witl1 a sinful netherworld is taken for granted. Then tl1ere is Dickens's spectacu lar open ing to The .Mystery of Ednin Drood
A11 a11dent English Cathedral Tower? Ho1v can the a11de11t English Cathedral Tower be here.' The 1n!!-k11ow11 masJire grry square tower of its old Cathedral? HoJt • ca11 that be here.' There is 110 Jpike of ms(Y iron in the ai1; between the qe and it, from a19 point of the real pmspett. [l7hat is the spike that inten·enes, a11d 1vho has set it 11p? Mqybe it is set 11p by the S11lta11's ordersfor the impali11g of a horde of Turkish mbbe1T, one by 011e. It is so,Jor ':)'mba!s dash, a11d the S11lta11 goes by to his palace i11 lo11gprocessio11. Te11 tho11sa11d sdmitars flash i11 the s11nlight, and th,ice te11 thousand da11d11g-gir!.r strewjloll'ers. Then, Jo!!oJIJ white elephants capariso11ed in co1111tless gorgeous colours 3
111e literary heiitage of opiwn-taking is well-known; Coleridge fought against addiction for much of his life, whilst Keats, Shelley, Byron ru1d (needless to say) de Quincy were all users. So, i.n fact, was \'( 'illian1 \Vilberforce. But opium and its derivate laudrumm \\·ere not "dmgs" i.n tl1e modem sense. l\[rs Beeton recommends having some at home, ru1d indeed opiates were a most effective form of pain-relief. 111eir u se was widespread, varied, ru1d generally uncontroversial (altl10ugh l\[rs Beeton is particularly scornfu l of motl1ers who give tl1cir young children opiates) : \nd herein li es tl1e potential for a problem, because for our contemporary readership, tl1e issue - tl1e very mention -of "drugs" carries witl1 it a great deal of baggage which si.mplr did not co lour tl1e 19th-century sensibility.
If we consider historical fiction set in tl1e early years of tl1e 19 tl' century, for examp le, we see that laudanum appears infrequently ru1cl witl10ut fanfare or excessive significru1ce. In Kate _-\llru1's Peificfy a11d Perfection (2006) it is seen simp l)' as a painkiller, tl1e aspirin of tl1e day, altl10ugh "-\l lan nuru1Ces tl1is by making her hero somewhat sceptical of tl1e drug, which he describes it as "tl1e Devil's tincture." In Patrick O'B1-iru1's Aubrey-l\[aturin series, set at roughly the srune ti.me, tl1e It-ish-Catalan naturalist-spy-phpiciru1 Stephen l\[anirin uses opiates on-board ship as a painkiller, yet also battles a personal addiction to tl1e very san1e drugs. In The Letter of Marque (1988) we witness his gradual weaning from the addiction.
111e medicinal and tile personal, tl1e commonplace . .. tl1ese are what mark tl1e use of opiates at tl1e time. l\ lichel Faber catches tl1e essence of this in his monumental The Crimson Petal and the lf7hile (2002), a novel which offers a pru10ramic vision of Victorian London. \v'e get some references to opium, but they are references which lie unobtrusively witl1in tl1e text, just as tl1e dmg lay uncontroversially
~/1 eciaf ~eature
within the fabric of society, attracting no more attention than the use/abuse of alcohol or any other intoxicant. In Faber's forthcoming collection of Petal-related stories, The Apple (2006), we will see narcotics once more, in the pseudo-medicinal drug-taking of selfprescribing \'ictorians, again as a normal and unremarkable part of life
1l1e unremarkable nature of drug-taking at the time is reflected in Peter Carey's ' Oscar and L11ti11da (1988). Oscar uses laudanum to conquer his fear of water on his Yoyage to . \ustralia, but there is no suggestion that he might fall under its spell, and gambling rather than drugs is the addiction of interest here. \'('e might also mention Susanna i\loore's One LaJ·t Look in which the heroine Eleanor suffives a nightmarish stay in colonial India partly through the respite which opium offers, and it is through a sort of drug-induced clarity of perception that the true horrors of British rule become apparent in her journal entries. This is not, though, a morally dubious vision, at least not because of the nature of its stimulus.
So much for opiates. \'( 'hen I began work on foto.,icated (2006), a nO\·el set in 1869, I discoYered something surprising. -\nother drug was being taken widely in tl1e second half of the 19 'h century - cocaine - and would lead, curiously, to the world's favourite soft drink. \'(l1ereas we all know that Coca-Cola originally contained cocame, tl1e way in which a taste for tlus, the headiest and most addictive of stimulants, gave its name to tl1e world's favourite soft drink is a surprising one. By the 1870s the middle classes of the \'\'esrern world were racked with anxiety o, er tl1e problem of alcoholism and laudanum abuse. Yet these same people were quickly acquiring a taste for another intoxicant. Cocaine at tl1e time was not considered a narcotic so much as as what, exactly? The answer, it seems, is that its meaning was constructed socially rather tlrnn chemically. For the relati,·ely brief period of its popularity, cocaine was hardly considered a drug, and tlus squarely because it was taken by respectable people, the kind of people who would never find solace in cheap gin or the laudanum bottle. i\loreover, the story of tl1e Victorians' love of cocaine is not about mad, rabid addiction, but about how it engendered a temperance drink that would become the most successful be,·erage in tl1e world.
_-\ngelo i\lariani a Corsican pharmacist, was interested in tl1e ancient Inca practice of chewing coca leaves, from which tl1ey derived strengtl1 and stamina. He set to work macerating coca leaves in Bordeaux wine -\t tl1is time tl1e curatiYe properties of all manner of aromatic plants were being explored, and the taste for medicinal wines was growing. The most notorious of tl1ese was probably Absintl1e, containing aniseed, coriander and wormwood. i\Iany of these new experimental liquors used alcohol as a base, just like i\faria.iu's cocaine wine, wluch was found to be of great help to tl1ose suffering from bad nerves. And no wonder; whereas tl1e hit of a lauda.imm dose is due to a opiate-alcohol mixture, Vin i\latiani simply replaced opium with cocaine. This, then, was a respectable alternative to lauda.imm, sold in equally respectable French wine bottles.
By the early 1870s, singers and actors were drinking Vin i\laria.t1i before performances, botl1 to sootl1 the throat a.i1d steady tl1e nerves.
Sarah Bernhardt, it was said, took a glassful each e,·e1ung before tl1e show. The wine's fans included Queen \'ictoria, 1-.:ing \lphonse XIII of Spain, the Shal1 of Persia, Ulysses S. Grant, \'< 'illian1 i\[cl-.:in.ley, Zola, Ibsen, \'erne, RLS, Dumas and Faure . \dd to these the names of Popes Pius X and Leo XIII (,,·ho awarded i\[ariani a gold medal) , plus the endorsement of Zadoc !,aim, Grand Rabbi of France, whose approval he expressed ,1 ith almost religious zeal: " i\ly conversion is complete. Praise be to i\lariani's wine!", and ,1 e see how far the fame of \'in i\Iariani reached in the second half of the 19 ' h century
,\lari ;mi becan1e the world's first cocaine milli o naire, with disttibution centres as farflung as i\lontreal and Saigo n. I le pioneered the emerging techniques of marketing, his wine becoming one of the world's first internationally branded products, and amongst the first to carry personal testimonials on its ads; endorsements came from a dizzying list of clients, amongst them Queen \ ' 1ctona, Thomas Edison, Zola,\X ' illiam :\lcl,inley, Buffalo Bill Cody, and at lea s t t,,·o popes, ,1·ho gaze benignlr out from the posters. The wine contained 0.12 grains of cocaine per fluid ounce. \X "itl1 a recommended dose of one full claret glass before or after e, ery meal Q1al fa glass for children!) it was not merely pick-me-up witl1 a slight kick, but a goodly slug of two different intoxicants \de! to this the fact that ma.i1y ad11erents would probably exceed the stipulated dosage, drinking it like normal wine, a.i1d one ca.11 easily imagine parlourfuls ofhigh-spitited a.i1d yet cULiously happy Victorians. o wonder they loved it; ther were shit-faced.
.-\s the taste for tonic wine swept \merica, competition spra.i1g up. 'Coca-Bola' a.i1d a n1riety of other 'coca coffees' entered the market .i\Iea.i1while in -\tla.i1ta, a patent medicine ma.11 d0\n1 on his luck produced a syrup tlrnt could be diluted in water, basing his 'French \Vine Cola' on an admixture of alcohol, coca leaves and cola nuts (adding a caffeine rush). John Smith Pemberton launched his beverage in .i\lay 1886, a.i1d a montl1 later _-\tlanta beca.ine the first city in .-\merica to adopt prohibition. Coca-Cola's alcohol content was duly removed, and from then on tl1e emphasis was on the wholesome catchwords "refreshing" a.i1d "delicious." There is still debate as to exactly how "stimulating" tl1e miginal Coke ,1·as. \X1rntever the truth, Coca-Cola was simply tl1e most successful of many cocaine-based tonic products of the time, a.i1d boasted tl1e fact in its name.
In addition to tonic wine, the pure powder was itself sold over the cow1ter, a.i1d cocaine would have been a familiar substance to millions. Yet despite this, cocaine-taking is not a commonplace in \'ictoria.11 fiction. Perhaps the best known scene was written at what might be termed the beginning of the end for coke. Conan-Doyle's The Sign
of Fo11r (1890), the work in which he introduces the character of Sherlock Holmes, opens with a vivid and uncompromi s ing description of the detective injecting himself with cocaine; only in this war can the grea t detective escape " the dull routine of existence."
\'( 'atson disapproves, describing the damage to the brain that such a substance causes. Cocaine had inveigled it s way into miclclle-class because it s original use was m edi cinal. TI1rough the 1870s and 1880s, medical science in Bt~tain had become in creasinglr enthusiastic about the numerous clinical uses of cocai n e, especiallr as a local anaesthetic. Howe,·er, e,·en as Co nan Do)·le was writing The Sign of Fo11r, the preferred clnJg of its main character was undergoing a re-evaluation Cocaine begrui to be associated with "orie ntal " drugs suc h as opium, now thoroughly established as the drug of "de n s" and the murky world of the low-clown foreigner. Interest in medical applications for the drug diminished as its potential acldicti,·e qualities were better understood, ru1cl as ea rl y as 1888 o n e of those who had c h ampioned it s clinical use, Dr. -\lbrecht E rl e nm eye r , w as calling the drug "the third scourge of mru1kind." "
Thus cocaine remains the great conundrum of\'ictoriru1 narcotics: drug of choice for millions of people, findi ng its way into wine ru1d fizzy drinks, yet soon to be disparaged ru1d feared as highl y addicti,·c, "the scourge of mankind " Perhaps n ovelists simp ly did not have time to percei,·e its signifi cru1Ce before its demise set in -\.nd the demise was rapid; in th e US anti- cocai n e ordinances begru1 to be passed at the end of the 19 tl' century, ru1d by 1903 the Coca-Cola Compan1·, worried about the effect on its reputation as a l\[ethodist compru1y, remm·ed all traces of coca from its increasinglr popular be,·erage, ru1d later would deny that cocaiJ1e h ad ever been part of the recipe. l\[onsieur l\[ariru1i was left with hi s passion for coca, and de,·elopecl a range of throat sweets ru1cl teas based on the drug. His wine, though, was de-cocaiJused in 1910, and as a non-narcotic product "Tonique J\[ariru1i" remained on the s heh·es of pharmacies until 1963, but always with dwindling sale s.
\'(11en it comes to hi stor ical fiction set in the late 19 tl' century, it is remarkably difficult to fmd wy references to cocaine-taking. Opiumtaking is far more common, ru1d this perhaps because pure opium ru1d laudrurnm are, large l y speaki n g, "historical" drugs, vestiges of the past which e,·oke that past without comp lication. Opium is also associated with a descent into desolation ru1d despair, a convenient stock-in-trade for the nove li st. TI1e taking of cocaiJ1e was never about a descent; it was, conversely, a very gentee l habit, ru1d as such, perhaps, ru1 unremarkable one, a habit without ru1y ,·ery obvio u s role in Victot~ru1 narrative.
\'(11en it comes to modern lustorical ficti on set in the pet~od, cocaine poses different problems . It brings with it so much contemporary baggage that it is h ardly possible to p lace it in a 19 th -century context without resonru1Ces of the late 20 tl' ce n tury creeping into the reader's mind. The rise of the drug's popularity in the l ast three decades in particular has touched all soc ial classes, from crack-smoking in the ghetto to coke-s niffin g in the highest echelons of society. The great diversity of images which the very word "cocai ne" conjures in our imaginations makes ru1y faithful hi storical account difficult. Cocai ne was, in the 19 th century, a gentee l drug in a time when the very notion of "drugs" was uncontroversial. Yet for u s it is much more, too much, perhaps, to make its inclusion in historical fiction credible.
Notes
1. Dr John Gunn, Domestic Medicine, or Poor Man's Friend (1830)
2. Elizabeth Gaskell, i\Iary Barton (18-+8)
3. Cha rl es Dickens, The Mystery of Edll'i11 Drood (1870)
D.F. Allen, "The History of Cocaine" i.J1 The Cocaine Crisis, ed. D.F. -\lieu, (Plenum Press, New York), p 7-13.
John Barlo111j· Intoxicated: .-\ Novel of l\[oney, l\[adness, ru1d the Im·ention of the \'( 'o rld's Favorite Soft Drink is published l?J llYilliam Mon-01v/ HarperColli11s
Michelle St y les: Researching Antiquit y Researching .-\.Jitiquity for fiction, in particu lar historical romrulCe, prm·ides a certain runount of challenge for the author. Iris l\[urdoch's comment about early Greek history: "it sets a special challenge to the disciplined mind. It is a grune with ,·ery few pieces, where the skill of the player lies in complicating the rules." ' holds tme for most of ru1C ient history. Howe,·erwt1ters who specialise u1 the 1" -century BC have rather more pieces to play with. One of the major problems for a writer of historical romru1Ce fiction is h ow did ordinary people , in particular women , li ve ru1d h ow does one go about making educated guesses when the Yas t majority of liYes arc not even a ripple on the fabric of time Howe,·er, I felt ruid sti ll feel the period has a ri c h potential for those authors willing to take up the challenge.
_-\s [ had taken a cou r se in Romru1 his torr at university, [ was ,1 cll aware of the problems any historiru1 faces when trying to piece together a semb lru1 ce of Romru1 life -\.t some point, one ha s to start thinking beyond the primary documentation ru1d start investi gati ng other sources -\lso, whenever one reads ru1ything, one has to lo ok critically ruid ask is this the author's interpretation or are the facts
Custom ancfmores mCIJ have Cha»Jeahut human emofion remains the same. - Micheffe
born out in the archaeological record -\.s there are mru1y ongoing archaeological digs, ru1d new teclrnology meru1s the charred texts fr om places like the house of the Papyrii are being translated, new information is constantly coming to light.
To refresh my memory for tl1e time period, I read Tom Hollru1d's excellent n on-fiction narrative R11bicoll2 as well as Carcopino's Dai!J Life in Amient Rome. 3 Tiurd person sources are very useful, particularly to someo n e whose Latin is li.nuted. However, you are always looking tlu-ough tl1e lens of someone else. For exru11ple Hollru1d's desct1ption cru1 be at variru1ce witl1 sar Robu1 Lru1e Fox's description of the srune events in !us work, The Classical LIYorld.
Gladiators
-\s my novel, The Gladiator's Ho11011r (J\lills and Boon 2006) has a gladiator as a hero, I wanted to discover as much as possible about what we know about gladiators, the gladiatorial experience and what it would like to attend one of the bouts. Luckily, when I was a student, I spent an Easter in .-\rles which boasts one of the bestpreserved amphitheatres in the world; indeed it is still used today for beast fights, in other words bullfighting. _-\ Spanish bullfight such as I witnessed back in 1985, perched high atop one of the arches in a cheap seat, is a \·err close modern-day equiva le nt to the beast fights that the Romans experienced. It was a hi gh ly choreographed and s tnictured experience and is totally different to the c ha os and confusion that \\·as depicted in such films as Gladiator. In fact recent archaeological investigation into a gladiatorial graveyard in Turkey has shown this to be the case . The vast majority of bodies examined died witl1 a blow to the back of the head. This coincides with certain ancient reports about g l adiators being killed if their wounds were too bad -\II g ladi ators except for the Renta.rii, the ones who fought with the fishnet and trident lik e !,irk Douglas in Sparrams, wore helmets and thus would h ave had to have their helmets removed before the fatal blow, an w1likely circumstance to occur voluntarilr when one is engaged in mortal co mbat s.
The whole question of souvenirs and gladiatorial combats is again something that is alluded to in ancient texts, but recent digs in and around the Chester amphitheatre confirm the existence of stall s selling cheap pottery bowls and figurines inscribed with the fighters' name. Small bronze gladiatorial figurines have been found at other sites as well.
Once I had examined some of the archaeological evide nce I turned again to Carcopino as well as l\[ic h ae l Grant's book on gladiators. 4 These two accatmts expanded on the archaeo logical record as \veil as adding some intriguing little details. For examp le,Juliu s Caesar was the first to equip his gladiators in silver armour. Grant also details tl1e gladiatorial oatl1 and why it was designed to deter people from becoming gladiators. It was not tl1e possibility of being killed, but the certainty of being branded or tattooed. Being branded was the mark of a slave ratl1er than a Roman citizen.
Roman women
Simply learning about gladiators was not go in g to give me enough information to write a historical romance novel. I needed to learn also about Roman women It is difficult to glean firm facts about
Roman women from tl1e majority of tl1e primary sources simply because tl1ey were general l y writing about politics and women were barred from directly participating. Those women who were even overt in their participation such as Clodia l\Iettali or Fulvia, who married botl1 Clodius and l\Iarc \nthonr, risked being labelled at best as whores and at worst as vampires . -\ugustus's second wife Livia was at great pains to portray herself as different from Clodia l\lettali and therefore a keeper of traditional Roman womanly virtue.
O n e of the main occupations of women until the Industrial Revolution was sp innin g. In the Roman era, tl1is meant the dropped spindle Because much of women's time was ta.ken up with this acti\·ity, I took lessons and learnt how to spin The oddest thing is that spuming is a bit like a folk memory. It comes reasonably naturally and can be an incredibl)' relaxing activity if one is in the right mood. But I can also readily understand whr women would often prefer sla\·es to do th e job, ha\·ing sent my own spindle bouncing a.cross the floor on numerous occasions By learning to spin, I was able to see what might happen when a woman was spinning.
\Vomen's education and tl1e changes to tl1e institution of marriage were also co,·ered extens i\·ely in Carcopino's book. I fow1d it intriguing tl1.at as tl1e Roman ciYilisation became more prosperous and educated slaves were more readily available, the need for educa.ti.i1.g upper-class women appeared to decrease. Equallr, .-\ugustus's law on not marq·ing b efore tl1e age of twelve has to be understood witl1in the context of gravesto n es, as the biggest cause of death in yow1.gwomen was childbirtl1. i\Iost Roman \\·omen died around the ages of eighteen or nin eteen and tl1e fact was tlrnt he had enacted anotl1.er law forcing everyone to be betrotl1.ed or married. Some had sought to circumvent the law by becoming betrotl1ed to babies. l\ [edical advice was for women to wait to marry until at least fifteen. Opinion is divided on how long betrotl1.als actually were and whether or not women were brought up in tl1.eir future husband's households.
There was anotl1.er issue of dress. It is tempting to tlunk tlrnt Roman clotl1.ing did not change because how many ways can you drape a toga, but tl1e lengtl1 of tl1e Roman period spans over a thousand years and tl1ere were definite changes in botl1 men's and women's sty le of dress, choice of colour and hairstyle. E, en tl1.e style of toga changed from a simple piece of cloth to a much longer, more elaborate piece which tl1e wearer h ad to have help to put on, tlrns emphasizing tl1 e status of tl1e wearer. Roman Clothing andFashio,r was an excellent resource. I also spoke witl1 tl1.e a.utl1.or at lengtl1 duri.J1g tl1e Roman History Festival in .-\ugust 2003, when it was held at tl1e Chesters Roman site, and was able to expand my knowledge of what and whr Romans from the encl of the Republic would have been wearing. For example, status mattered. The colour and richness of tl1e dyes mattered. Purple, as it was tl1e most expensive, also became tl1.e most sought-after colour. Plinr makes distinction between shellfish purple (co11chylia) and purple for everyday use (p11rp11ra). He recommends ga.rbi.i1g slaves in whortleberry purple if tl1.e owner can afford it. This is a very different vision to tl1.e unchanging white-onwhite image tl1at is often port.rared.
Interior Decoration, Buildings and Food \Vhil e it is possible to get an idea of clotl1.ing from books, I found it much more difficult to get an idea of interior decoration until I visited Rome, and in particular tl1.e top floor of tl1.e ~Iuseo Nazionale
Roman o Termini. There, they have a collection of mosaics and fre scoes dating back to the end of the Roman Republic , conserved to the hi g hest standards and displared with a clear low light. Ph otogra ph s exist of Livia's dining room, but the real-life experience o f be in g s urrounded br all the blues and greens of her id e alized gar d e n brou g ht home to me how human these people were. The conserved h allway had painted marbled pillars. E,·en back then , people were seeking to use trompe l'oieL and appear much wealthier. The m osa ics shone with colour and could have been laid yesterday. If i·ou compare them with the mosaics of today arnilable fr o m Fired Ea rth , the Ro man depth of colour and intricacy of design become s immediately apparent.
From th e Forum and Palatine Hill to the lesser-kn o wn sites such as th e Ristom11te Pi,wla C11ccag11a with its Roman arches in its basement, an cie nt Rome is visible \.!though I had spent a great deal of time tramping around Romano-British sites on Hadrian 's wall, wh e re sto ne was very plentiful, in Rome, the majority of survi,·ing sites h ave s mall reel brick. The size of the rooms are different and even the o d o ur o f the di s u se d rooms is different. Obviously the statues found in Rome arc of a far finer quality. Being able to make the comparison made me realise how great the gulf wa s between Ro me and its colonies - in many ways similar to the gulf between Britain o r the US and a developing country. The scale om1e as a s urpri se. I have visited London, Paris and \Vashington D C and expected the Forum to b e si milar , in s tead of the narrow street and the chaotic jumbl e o f buildin gs. The Forum in the early m o rning sunlight reminded m e , cf\' mu ch o f the d e pi c ti o n s o f \'\ 'ashington D C in apocaly pti c m ov ies s uch as Loga11j· R1111- here was once the pi1rnacle of ci , ili sa ti o n.
Food is another p o tential problem for the nm eli s t. \'i/riters often use Petronius' sa tire o n Roman life , Saryn'ivn, with Trimalchio's o,·erthe-top feast as a s tarting po int, and emphasise the difference s or the swmge and bi za rre eating practices. Howc,·er, if one examines other texts and indeed modern Italian peasant cuisine, it becomes quite clear that the Ro man s ate a va1ied diet. Polen ta and bitter greens was a popular di s h and, contrary to legend, pasta existed in ancient times - although it was more likely to be baked. In some rural areas, the n am es o f dishes are clo se r to Roman Latin than to present-da y Itali an. 6 No bo d y kn ows the age oflentil stew or the Egyptian chickpea rissole. The herb puree with pine nuts and cheese is a forerunner to m o d e rn -da y pe s to.
Conclusion
.-\!tho ug h resea rching the ancient world is a challenge, it is one th a t brings hu ge sa ti s faction to the author who is willing to go be yo nd co m ·enti o nal so urce s and dig deep. Br comparing and contra s ting to m o d e m -da r life, it is possible to add detail and shading to the outline sk e tc he s left br the ancients. Custom and mores mar have changed but human emotion remains the same.
1 '\ fi chelle S ryles is the author of The G ladiat o r's Honour (i\ Iills and B0011 Histo,ical Mqy 2006 a11d Harleq11i11 Hisrorical September 2006). Her second historical romance set in the Roman Rep11blic ,vzll be p11blished l!J Harleq11i11 M ills and B0011 in Ja1111a9 · 2007. Sh e m-a11thoredT h c Lad) · So ldi er (T Tale 2005) nith Kate Allan
Notes
1. Iri s ]\[mdoch, The Nit-e and The Good, London (1968) p 171.
2. To m H o lbnd , R.t,biton : The Tn'umph and Tragufy of the Roman Republic, Lo nd o n (2003).
3. J ero m e Ca rc o pin o, Daily Life in Ancient Rome - The P eople and the Ci!J at the Height of the Empire, London (19-H).
-t Michael Grnnt, Gladiators - The Bloocjy Tmth, Lo nd o n ( l 967).
5 .A.TCroom, Roman Clothing and Fashion Gloucestershire, (2000).
6 . l\fary Co ntini , Dear Franceua: An Italian Jounuy of Redpes Retounted 11 ith Lol'e, London (2002)
A Reflection on the Potential of th e Pa s t to Play an Ongoing Role in the Present
i\[I~H_-\EL W\'.-\IT profiles Jane Stm11son
-\s a professional historian and philologist,Jane Stevenson is a rare creature in the world of the hi storical no\·el. .-\nglo-Saxo n and Ce lti c philology, though super fi cial l y about as i\·ory-tower as one can get, has given a significant push to mega-sellers who include C.S. Lewis, JR. R. Tolk ien, and Dr. Seuss -\s a literaf\' n ove li s t h owe\·er Stevenson is an unusual product of this training. He: trilogy of novels -Astraea (2001), The Pretender (2002), and The Empress of the Lm·t Dqys (2003) - propose a star tlin g twist in the hi story of the English royal successio n , and the complex web Stevenso n spins to establish its credibility owes as much to her historical training as it doe s to her richly textured imagination.
Ste\'enson holds i\L-\ and PhD degrees from Cam bridge in .-\ngloSa.'i:on, Norse & Celtic, and English. Ha\·i.ng taught at tl1e U ni versity of \'\ 'a rwick i..t1 tl1e 1990s, Steve n son is current!,· Professor of Latin at the University of .-\berdee n where she teache~ courses dealing witl1 tl1e earlr modern literatures of tl1e British I sles, post-classical Lati..tuty, the history and diverse forms of publication, and women's literary cu l ture. Her most recent scho la rl y publication is a ground-breaking s rudr of women and Latin literacy, [/!'omen Lalin Poets: La11g11r.1ge, Gender, and Anthori(y from Antiq11i(Y to the Eighteenth Centnry (Oxford U1uversity Press, 2005). Stevenson is currently working on a biography of Edward Burm, tl1e flamb op nt Engli sh artist (E F. Benson's model for Quaint Irene in tl1e Mapp and Lnda novels) and theatrical designer acti\·e between tl1e world wars whose work outside England encompassed Paris in tl1e 1920s, Harlem and i\[exico in tl1e 1930s and tl1e Spanis h Ci\·il \'( 'a r. '
I recently caught up witl1 Stevenson by phone, where she was worki..t1g 111 tl1e comfortably rambling home in rural "-\berdeenshire she and her husband, tl1e literary lustorian Peter Davidson, have over tl1e l ast six years lovinglr reclaimed from decades of neglect. 1 Having visited Burnside House 1u111ually for tl1e past several years, it was easy for me to visualize Stevenso n 's boundless energy as we spoke, moving as she did between her enormous ground-floor study teem ing witl1 books and papers, tl1e extraordi..t1ary Babylonic garden she ha s created just outside tl1e windows i.n front of her desk, and tl1e kitchen where among otl1er delights she bakes bread each day. Our conversation ranged widely over topics related to botl1 Stevenso n 's scho l ars hip ru1d her fiction writing.
Readers are al11 1qys mrious about ho1v a11thors am·l'e at their subjects, and in the case ofyo11r lnlogy the question is partimlar!J re!erant. [17here did the idea ongi11ate for a series of 110/'els spanning Jo11r centun·es in 1vhich it is rerea!ed that the legitimate q11een of England is ac/11al!J a bla.k botanist l.iting in Barbados?
I actually started witl1 this conclusion. I had been studying 17 thcentury alcl1emi•, which tl10ugh a precursor to what we know as chemistry, used a highly mystical vocabu lar y to describe the combination of physical elements. The "chemical wedding" - tl1e creation of an entirely new substru1ce resulting from the fusion of previously disparate elements -is a fundrunental principle in
alchemical scie n ce, ru1d in my research I came across a phrase that haunted me: tl1e marriage of tl1e black king and tl1e white queen. This idea sparked a sort of creative symbiosis, since I was at tl1e time significru1tl y en gaged in m y teac hi..t1gwitl1 tl1e English 17 "' centurr, a moment when th e question of who cou ld legitimately mle Engl~1d was a very hot potato. \'\'hat if - I asked m, ·self - ru1 actual black ki..t1g ru1d a real white queen were presented ~s resoh·ing tl1e yagaries of the Engli sh royal succession?
From this premise, ho,v did )'OIi the11 connect E!i::::_abetb S t11art, the da11ghter of James VT/I and Anne of De11mark, 1ii1h the Africa11-bom mo11anhbecome-slare-1he11-Protesta11t scholar Pelagi11s?
Elizabeth, tl1e " \Vinter Queen" tluough her marriage to Frederick\: tl1e German Elector Palatine (and, briefly, l...:ing Frederick I of Bohemia), was widowed at the age of tl1irty-six but lived on, in The Hague, for ru1otl1er tlurty years. Her brotl1er, Charles I, was executed at tl1e time of the English Civil \Var. The restoration of tl1e monarclw witl1 Charles II, h owever, failed to resolYe tl1e issue of successio1; for C harl es was a weak ruler and remained c hildl ess; his younge; brotl1er,.J ru11es II, was rejected by the English for his Catl1olic religion. Jrunes ru1d his first wife, Lady .-\nne Hyde, had man1ed secretly i..t1 tl1e Netl1erlru1ds prior to the Restoration (tl1ey were officially wed in London afterwa rd s), ru1d tl1er subsequentlr produced a son who died in his infancy and two daughters, l\[ary ru1d "-\.irne, botl1 of whom, as Protestants, would come to reign in tl1eir fatJ1er's stead. Here, in the actual parameters of tl1e English royal succession i..t1 tl1e 17"' centurr, I found the coordinates witl1in which to situate tl1e protagonists of my alternate history: Prote s tru1t in faitl1, legitimate bearers of ropl blood, bound togetl1er i..t1 a secret mar11age contracted in tl1e Netherlands
Elizabeth never reman1ed after Frede11ck's premature deatl1, ru1d she enjoyed ru1 unusual degree of freedom to live as she chose to in The Hague, a city that was in legal terms tl1e admirus trative center but not the capital of tl1e Netl1erlru1d s (and tlms somethi..t1g of a space apart) She was a gl runorous womru1, attractive, charming, savvy, ru1d highly intelligent. ,-\ great deal of her correspondence survives, written in a vividly distinct voice, ru1d I was tlms able to fashion my character's dialogue ir1 the very style of tl1e actual "Winter Queen."
Pelagius is perhaps somewhat more difficult for readers to imagine in historical terms, but a refmed and superblr educated black man in 17tl'- century Holland is by no means a wild stretch of the imagination. I spent a huge amount of time researching Pelagius's kingdom, O)'o, in what is now Nigeria, and discovered a sophisticated, technologically advanced civilization. It stmck me that someone coming from Oyo wou ld not necessarily be unduly impressed br contemporary European culture. In the course of further research on educated black men in early modem Europe, I ca.me across a letter from an Ethiopian king to Pope Clement \'II in 1533: he writes that his people had been Christian longer than the Romans and were in no need of white missionat~es, and something of his attitude went into Pelagius. I found two other models for Pelagius: the first an exslave scholar by the name of.Juan Latino in 16 tl' -century Grenada who composed an 800-line epic poem in Latin and married a lady of the Spiu1ish nobility; and the second a Dutch ex-slave,_lacob Capitein, who became a Calvinist preacher in the 18 th centur)', wrote a Latin theological treatise, and returned to \frica as a missionary to his own people. Pelagius's dreams about his future are based on what Capitein actually accomplished. TI1ere were stubbom, proud, educated black men in Europe at this time, though you ha, ·e to dig deep to find them. It helps to be able to read Latin
Tl1ere was, in fact, a further model for Pelagiu s \\ 'hen I ,,·as in my teens I was interested in the early Flemish painter Hieronymus Bosch, and I found his painting of the J\[agi Yi s iting the ne,,·born Christ particularly enthralling. It ,,·as customary to depict one of the three kings as black, but in Bosch's version of the scene the black man is obviously the portrait of an individual, dignified, but marked br grief. I found mpelf wondering who could th.is man have been in early 16 tl, _ century Brabant? \Vhat kind of life had he led there? \'(1rnt ,,·as the source of his grief? For my purposes, Pelagius had to have been born in the 1590s - far too late to have been painted by Bosch- but my sense of him as a character certainly began with these earlr impressions.
Yo11r rel'ie111ers 011 both sides of the At/antic ham consistent!J praised the depth effield in your presentation ef the histon'ca! detail i11 As traea and The Pretender. Couldyou desm·be ho,vyou go about your research?
The problem with writing historical fiction is that you have to do a massive an10unt of work before you even let someone open the door and walk into a room do they bow? Do they wait to be asked before they sit down? To say nothing of more momentous issues! J\[y trilogy is in a certain sense about the uses of history, and I have sought in all three books to represent what the characters in each believe to be right, for motives which accord with the assumptions, knowledge, a.net creeds of three discrete historical moments. In order to do this convincing!)', one has to absorb as much about place as about ideas. I spent time in archives and
museums in The Hague, Leiden, and ]\[iddleburg; I traveled to Barbados and immersed myself in the modern literature of the \Vest Indies. Everywhere I went I walked a great deal, and I listened The Dutch made extraordinarily detailed town maps in the 17 tl' century, literally showing indi, idual houses and gardens, and I had these maps on my desk as I walked Pelagius through his various journers. Elizabeth's life is verr well documented: besides her own letters there is a great deal written about her in the pe6od (and since: she is the protagonist of two 20 th -century novels and figures in two others) \s I was ,,·riting Astraea Pclagius began to be concerned about theology, and I simply went and read what he would have read. I spent a lot of time in the British Library. Besides reacting early modern botanical treatises, I also spent time at the research institute of the Botanical Gardens at J--:.ew in order to leam something handson about the subject. Just about everything I describe is something I have actuallr seen, or something T have seen an account of.
U.7ith The Empress of the Last Days yo11r 11arratil'e mol'es s11dde11(y illto the ear(y 21 " ce11t11ry a11d at first i11to a 1vorLd that yo11 know q11ite i11timate(y, the British tmil'ersi(y. B11t th e de11011eme11t ef the entire trilogy takes place i11 Barbados, an e.Yotic setting n•here Balthasar, the iss11e ef the secret mam·age ef Eli:::_abeth a11d Pe/agi11s, th e "Pretellder" ef the second 11ol'ef, had gone i11 011 i/1-adzised attempt to improl'e his fart111zes; there, three ce1zt11n·es later, 011 O ,;bridge don tracks do/I'll Ba!thasar's one remaining desce11da11!, setting into motion a challenge to the legitimary ef the IVindsors 1vhich 110/ em, that royal fami(y's 01v11 real foibles can match in audadty. 1Ua1ry rezi'en ·ers remained 1111pers11aded ry yo11r sol11tion to the p11:::_:::_!e yo11 set 11p in .\straea a11c/Tl1e Pretender, but it seems to me that yo11 are doing something more i11 thisji11al 11ol'el ef the sen·es than dez-er(y ryi11g 11p loose ends.
\'(/e ll, I certainly hope so! There were, of course, a number of threads to pull together in Empress, but as I mentioned earlier I wanted to explore in these novels wa)'S in which history is employed, and in so doing I sought to offer a reflection on the potential of the past to play an ongoing role in the present. If we consider the question of class in Britain - as J\[ike Nichols' devas ta.tingly b6lliant film Goiford Park does -or slavery in the United States, the dismantling of systemic repression leaves in its wake consequences which endure and which can only be understood tl1rough an exan1ination of tl1eir origins. There is also a question about history in tl1is tl1ird novel: every guess which is made i.n Empress about the events covered in Astraea and Pretender is wrong; the guesses are made on tl1e base of a cautious averaging of possible experience, while tl1e actual people in Astraea are beyond that.
\'(11en history becomes a commodity-as in B11tish "Heritage" and all of its ghastly offspring, or in the tl1eme-park effect which one encounters in visiting Florence or Venice today - its capacity to inform or challenge our understanding of the present is seriously circumsct1bed. TI1e pet1od of the English Restoration is, for example, packaged by British purveyors of history as a walloping good time, on{inuerfon (i".Je35
Fleshing Out the Emperor
S.-\.R.:\H CUTHBERTSON dismsses]11!111s Caesar and nn/i11g ll'ith Co1111 Igg11lde11.
Conn Iggulden is the auth or of the bestselling Emperor quartet of adventure n ove ls about Julius Caesar, telling the story from Caesa r 's boyhood to his assassination in -1-IB C. T h e final book in the ser ies, The Gods of War, was published in J a nuar y 2006.
The Emperor no\·els a r e hi s first published no\ cls although, h e says, "I've written a book a year from the age of thirteen to n0\\·, except fo r a period of around three years when I tried to stream line the process of rejection and just wrote beginnings. I cou ld manage four or five of those in a year and the postage was cheaper. I think the publishers ap prec iate d being able to turn m e clown faster."
Fortunate ly they didn't turn dO\nl hi s first Caesar n ove l, The Gates of Rome, \\·hich he wrote while still teaching E n glis h at a London comprehensive school. Now he is able to write full-time.
Being a child of teachers, tl1ere were always books in his house. "Perhaps crucially," he notes, "my fa tl1 er reads constantly and enjoys cla ss ic poetry. l'-[y motl1er taught History and Engli sh to hi s Maths and Physics, so I had a fair o ld gro unding."
He was attracted to Julius Caesar by th e s tories tl1at surround tl1e man. "\V ith just a dip into tl1 e researc h , I realised tlrnt mo s t people onl r knew tl1e famous end to hi s life and Shak espeare's play. Finding out tl1at h e was captured br pirates, tlrnt h e had a long affair with Brutus' motl1er, tlrnt Brutus betrayed him twice, not once, and was forgiven ·tl1e first time, suddenly I began to see tlrnt tl1ere was a h e ll of a story there."
Of tl1 e characters in tl1 e n ove ls, he found him se lf admiring Caesar overall "for his c h aris ma, tl10ugh I lik ed Brutus ri g ht to tl1e end for his das h and \·erve."
But despite all tl1e research, Conn h as been criticised for inaccuracies such as making Caesar and Brutus exact co ntemp oraries . " \Vr itin g historical fiction is abou t making c h oices," h e says in r esponse to tl1ese criticisms "1l1ere are always gaps in tl1e material tl1at allow interpretation, if tlrnt's the right word Even in Julius Caesar's ow n commentaries, tl1ere are bits missing because he simp l y didn't feel they were important enough to includ e. \Vriting tl1e whole story requires the write r to fill tl10 se gaps \Ve d on' t know, for example, how Caesar co ll ected m en and arms e n o ug h to take ship and hunt for the pirates who had held him for ransom. \Ve also d o n't know his exact date of birth. It's usually assumed to be around 100BC as Suetonius gives hi s age at fifty-five in -1-IBC, but Suetonius was writing al.most two centuries later. 1l1ere is no record of Julius Caesar's
you n g life before sixteen, so that to write it, I had to work backwards fr o m hi s later achievements. \Ve know he could swim, for examp le, because he is recorded as having swum in _-\lexandria late r o n \, 'e (fl v '-' kn ow h e had to ha ve been taught l og ic, rhet o ric and the l a\\. because he defended law cases and even when h e lost, as with the Dolabella trial , Cicero praised hi s s kill s in oratory, a lb eit rel UC tim ti r
" I kn ew fro m tl1e b eginning that tl1e relation ship witl1 Brutus was the core o f th e books. To und ers tand tl10se final moments in P o mp ey's Theatre, you ha\ ·e to kn ow a b o ut tl1 e first betrayal and Brutus being forgiven on the battlefi e ld a t Pharsalus. I wanted to h ave them togetl1er as early as possible and l knew no o ne could say for certain when th ey m e t - so I made the choice and put th e m toge tl1 er as chi ldren. That said , there are s till so m e pe op le who cannot te ll you who s h ot J F l...:. forty )·ears ago, but will say with abso lute certainty \\·hat happened two th o u sand years before th a t You can' t please everyone and you sho uldn 't tr y.
"That so rt of choice is what brought my 'Histor ical Notes' into b eing. There would be p o int s in th e s to r y when I h ad to make changes for the sake of tl1e ta.le, as when l'- [ariu s and Corne liu s Sulla invaded R o me back and forth, ba ck and fortl 1. It wou ld have been mor e accurate to describe eac h p o int o f the civil war, but it would have been dull , so I condensed it d ow n to one major battle for the city
"T h ese aren't hi s tory textbo oks, but hi storical fiction. \'( ' ith m y hi storical note s, I've tried to have it botl1 ways and I think the fonnat works pretty well."
Did he find it easy to think him self into tl1 e period? "It was important to go to Rome and to Pompeii, th o ug h o f course that town was d es tro re d at a later period. Remnant s o f Roman Britain were not much u se to me. It helped to ha ve a gladi11s to wave around occasio nall r, but I never felt it was difficult to ' think myself int o the period.' The difficulty is in thinking m yse lf into the 21 st century."
The Emperor se rie s seems eminently filmworthy. \Vill there be a film, I wonder? "Perhap s. 1l1e optio n ha s been bought and the first script written. S till, it took Spartacus twenty years to make it to the screen, so I'm n ot h o ldin g m y breath. "
So what's next? " I did one of the Qui.ck Reads [publi sh ed as part of a new initi a tive from leadin g publishers, b oo k se ll ers and writers bringin g short, fast-paced bo o k s b y to p authors to emergent or infrequent reader s]. !'-Ir contribution is called Blaikn1ater, and it came o ut in March. In June thi s year, a book I wrote with my brother will be published: The Dangerous Book for Bqys is my first non-fiction
book, with everything from how to make a bow and arrow with a flint head, to Scott of the _-\.ntarctic, Robett th e Bruce and about eighty other chapters. It wa s a lo t of fun to write. It's ju s t been so ld to a Brazilian publisher , thou g h some chapters will be different. I don't think Brazilians will be too interested in Briti sh trees, so there will ha\-e to be different \-er sio ns. In Jurnary 20 07, the first of a series on Genghi s and 1,ub lai 1,han will come out. I've written the first of four."
Historical fiction, unsurprisingly, is hi s f,n-o uritc genre to read. "I love C. S. Forester's b oo ks, George i\[acDonald Fraser's Flashma11, Jrn1cs Cla\·cll's Tai-Pa11, Patrick O'Brian's series set in Nelson's na\"f They are all a joy. I also enjoy a bit of heroic fanta sy when done well, as \\·ith David Ge mm e ll o r Raymond E. Feist. In addition, I like books that make me lau gh , like Sue Townsend 's _-\drian i\[ole books, or my favourite of all time, Th ree 1\Ie11 i11 a Boat by Jerome I,. Jerome ."
_ \II these aut h ors ha\ ·e mfluenccd him, he acknowledges, " but I try to forget abo ut F!ashma11 before I write, as it's intimidatingly good."
Next I ask Co nn abo ut hi s writing. I s he di sc iplined as an author? " I am complete l y un ab le to d etac h myself from writing. The question should alm ost be '_-\re you a di sc iplined father and hu s band?' For me, it takes more effo rt to live n or mally, talk to the children and walk the dog than it d ocs to write sce ne s with .Juliu s Caesar. There is an obsessive quality to m os t writers I've met and it's not always healthr"
I le thinks aut h ors are about 80 percent born and 20 percent made. "I Tu mans are peculiar in that ther can do almost anything well if the dri\·e and obsess ion is there. If I had given five hours a day to l,arate for the last decade, I would be a black belt. There is such a thing as natural talent of course, and not everyone can be a 1\[ozart or a Stephen I Iawking, but hard work and dri\·e will take you a long, long way." He didn't attend any writing courses, "though teaching English fo r seven years was o ne , in a se n se."
oon{inuetf(rom ('a.JC 33
but I trust that my readers wi ll see a very different picture in Th e Pretender. a world deeply marked by cynicism, suffering from tl1e effects of botl1 a protracted civil war and a dangerously vacuous monarchr, hence a cris is of faith, both political and religious.
_-\s I sec it, the value of hi sto ri ca l fiction is that it affords an opportu111ty to focus on the past from a vantage point unavailable to those whose history is re-i magined in the present. Good (and responsible) historical fiction performs a kind of divul ga tive role for a larger reacting public than the one which is catered to by professional historians, but tl1e work underlring both must effectively be the same; when it isn't, as is the case with Th e Da Vind Code, th e result can be entertaining but bear s n o relationship whatsoever to history
\, that advice would he offer to an aspiring novelist? "Plan your novel thoroughly, so that yo u know the ending before you begin. '1\[ urder your darlings' when it comes to overuse of adjectives and adverbs and be prepared to re-read it anrthing up to a hundred tim es before you send it to anyone. I'd advise anyone who wants to write to get the essay ' \'\~1r I Write ' by George Orwe ll , and 011 f/ 1/niing by Stephen 1,ing. Both are excellent.
" Don't try too hard to be n o ticed i\[y nom de pl11me of 'Oliver Brian Kenobee' did not go d0\n1 well. Keep your covering letter as simpl e and brief as po ss ible. Finally, I can't put it better th an Robert Heinlein, who said 'Read a lot, write a lot and send away w hat rou write.' It sounds o bviou s, but there are tho se who claim to want to write and they d o n ' t."
On getting publi shed, he wouldn't recommend se nding manuscripts directly to publisher s " I tried thi s for years," he says, "even putting hairs from my head between the pa ges to see if an yone would disl o d ge them. Too o ft e n they \, ·ere returned to me with the hairs still in place The fir s t page reallr is imp or tant! Don't send it to anyone who requires a fee to read it and comment. If it's good enough, they will take a percenta ge."
Literary agents are the right pe o pl e to send your work to. "One benefit of havin g an agent tlrnt I hadn't foreseen is that a) they can place it witl1 more tlrnn one publisher and negotiate a b etter advance, and b) they can sell tl1e book to foreign countries. Yes, they take a percentage, but tl1e y also create earnings in tlrnt way. "
Conn has a comprehcn si\·e website witl1 information about hi s books and an interactive forum for hi s readers. He doe sn't think it's essentia l for a writer to have a web site , "though it's nice to h a,·e an email address where people can p o int out I wrote 'co rn ' in a book and the Romans didn ' t have corn. Se ri o u sly, it is a g reat pleasure to h ear fr o m people who have enjoyed the b oo ks ."
as a serious reflection upon human achievement and failure. The past is not a theme park , and it is not an action film _-\s I've said elsewhere,2 "it's a minefield, and from time to time somethin g explodes."
Notes
l. See tl1eir entertaining blog, Th e Deep North, at http :// rereviewccLcom/ thcdeepnorth
2 In an interview with Je ss ica J e rni gan for Borders, sec http-// www.borderssLores.com/ fea 1~1 re s/ fea ture j s p ?fi l e= s te,·enson
lilid;aef ll )att is a11 independent sd1ofar ,vbo diiides bis time between Stanford, California and Florence. His book, The Italian Encounter with Tudor England : _-\ Cultural Politics of Tran slation wasp11b/isbed l!J Cambndge Unizoersity Press i 11 2005.
Rasputin: a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an E nigma
\'ICKI I,O DELI!, intmie,i~· Robert A!e.,m,der.
The murder of the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his family has lo ng prm·en a fascinating subject for historical nm ·elists. \'\1rnt realli· happened that night in Yekaterinburg in 1918, when the Bolshe\·iks massacred the Russian royal family, will probably always remain a mystery, si nce, after the Romano\· grave was opened in 1991, two bodies - the Tsarevich -\lexei and one of his sisters, probably i\laria or ...-\na s tasia - were not found. In his best-selling nm cl The Kitchen Bqy (2003), Robert \lexandcr dealt \\·ith the last days of the Romanon in a unique way, by telling the story from the point of \·iew of Leonid ("Leo nka" ) Sednyo\·, the kitchen boy who shared the Romanm·s' captivity at the I louse of Special Purpose \s an old man look ing back on his life with the tsar and his famil)·, Leonkan ow n ame d i\lisha Semyono\· - prm ides an insider's perspecti\·e on the family's imprisonment and execution \nd - not to gi\·e too much away- there is a n1·ist at the end which I never guessed until the la st chapter. The Kit.he11 Bqyis one of my all-time farnrite historical nm ·els
\lexander's latest novel, R(/jp11tin's Da11ghter (2006) turns to a fascinating and enigmatic figure who plared an important part in the fall of the Russian Empire: Grigori Rasputin, the " mad monk," sometimes vilified as a monster, sometimes revered as a saint, who had the pO\\ cr to heal, at lea s t tempora rily, the tsare\ ·ich 's hem o philia. O ne fact that is not well known about Rasputin is that he had three children, and it is his older daughter, i\laria, who narrates the novel, which presents Rasputin as a complex person, neither a saint nor a villain, and challenges mai1i · of the myths that ha\·e grown up ,iround him: for example, he was not the Empress -\lexandra's lover, ai1d he did not die in quite the way that legend has it.
Robert \lexai1der kindly agreed to answer my questions about his writing, his latest nm ·el, and Rasputin himself
1011 st11d1ed al Leningrad Stale Unirersi(Y, a11dyo11 hal'e !ired and 1i•orked i11 fumia for mmryyears. IF'hal first attractedyo11 to Ri1SJia? And to th eperiod of the fu1ssia11 Rernl11tio11 a11d the fall of the Roma11ors i11 pa11im!ar?
l first became interested in the Russian Revolution upon reading Robert i\lassie's 1"\1icho!as c.,~ Alexandra. 1 was in high school at the time and was so fascinated that I started studring Russian, and e\ entuallr majored in Ru ss ian in college, studied at Leningrad Uni\·ersit:y, ai1d worked in the USSR
To paraphra se Shakespeare, the fall of royalty is but fodder for the entertainments. But the fall of the Romano\·s is far m ore than entertaining, of course, because in the collapse of the dyna s ty are so many of life's great lessons wrapped up in one tragedy. \nd it \vas a tragedy that not on! r eliminated icholas ai1d . \lexwd ra, but milli o n s of innocent people, from peasant to aristocrat. It's imp or tant to note that while mai1y kings ai1d queens have lost their heads over the course of history, the murders of Nicholas ai1d \lexandra and their children are fundai11entally different. There wa s n o public trial, there \\·as no public execution, and ther were secretly buried. ln other words, they were liquidated, \1 hich set up the core of the conflict bct\\·een the US ai1d the USSR: the \ alue of the indi\·idual versus th e collecri1·e.
lf 1/ha! zs ii abo11/ Rmp11tin that conti1111es to fasdnat e readers?
Russia's biggest .\chilies I Teel has for centuries been the control of information, not onli· for the Romanov tsars but the Red tsars who were e1·en more st1ict in their censorship. \'\ 'ith no reliable free source of information, Russiai1s have long depended on gossip - \\ hich by its 1·e ry nature isn't very reliable, of course. So who couldn't be fascinated about this rumored giaiit of a de\·il who emerged o ut of Siberia, a supposed holr 1mu1 \\ h o \1 as said to be sleep in g \1 ith the empress, drugging the tsar, selling secrets to the Germans, ai1d \\ h o was, they claimed, all but impossible to kill? No ne of thi s wa s true , of course, but the gossip was heard so many time s that it became fact which in turn has become legend, a juicy o ne at that. I,erensky said that without Rasputin there would have been no Lenin, and Lenin said that without Rasputin there would ha\ ·e been 11 0 re1 olution \.nd I agree with that, with one small but di s tinct caveat: that Russian society could not have been overturned without the creation of the bizarre legend of Rasputin.
U1//;ry did yo11 ,hoose RaJp11tin 's da11ghter, Maria, to tell the story?
\'( 'hen a writer starts a book he must ask him se lf t\vo questions: \'( 'hose story is this? \nd: \Vho's telling the story? In terms of my book, I chose i\laria as the lens through which the reader wo uld sec ai1d come to understand Rasputin because I wanted an intimate portrait of the mai1. ~lore important, I wai1ted to tell the story from the vie,\·point of someone who both loved ai1d was conflicted by Rasputin, as his daughter was, ai1d who was compelled to bring the t\vo into rational focus ai1d understanding.
In nry opinio11, one of the most mori11g scenes i11 th e book is th e 011e i11 1d1i,h 1\Ian·a 11Jitnesses herfather's healing of the tsare1 i,h Do yo11 think R(/jp11ti11 reaf!y did hal'e speda! heali11gpowers?
The big questio n of course is this: How do pe op le h ea l? Russia is primarily ai1 eastern country, so eastern medicine dominated Russia w1til the late 19 ci' century, when western medicin e wa s introduced So what we now refer to as altemative healings were o nce widely practiced ai1d accepted throughout Russia For example , not many people realize that shamai1ism is a Russian word and practice that comes from a Northern Siberiai1 tribe of people who were revered for the ability to traverse benvcen the spiritual ai1d phy sical worlds.
Not long ago I was reading about a fellow named George, who was able to get stroke victims to talk, move their hands, and even walk when all other therapies had failed. And yet George was a dog. So if a therapy dog can have that kind of effect on a person, why not Rasputin? No one was more in need of a miracle that the tsarevich, who suffered from hemophilia. \Vestern medicine could not help the boy, of course, but this fellow named Rasputin could do so by, I believe, calming and soothing and giving hope not only to him but, perhaps just as important, to his parents as well. Such is the p ower of the mind.
Co11ldyou tell 11s some more about the sem1t file 011 RaJp11ti11 that was sold al S othef?yhtt 1995? Ho111 did it change our co11ceptio11s about him? r
_-\ fter the Februarr Revolution a special commission, the Thirteenth Section, was set up to interrogate all who personallr knew and had contact with Rasputin. The goal was to find the truths behind all the rumors about Rasp utin fil1d detem1ine just what role he played in the d ow nfall of the d r nasty. The document that was created from these testimonies, some 500 pages in length, was never publicly released, in large part because it couldn't substfil1tiate the charges against Rasputin and the Imperial Ffilnily. ·\.nd so it was buried and eventually \·anished and was thought lost to history until it turned up at Sotheby's. It's now in th e possession of author Edvard Radzi.nsky, who's written fill excellent book about it, The File 011 RaJputi11.
Ye s, of course, what Cfilne out in this file greatlr influenced me because , simply, it humanized Rasputin. There appeared not a gim1t of a holy de\·il, for exfilnple, but a Russifil1 peasfil1t ofless thfil1 medium height who was guilty of o nlr one thing: overstepping his place in Russifil1 society.
I hare read that the real ll1an·a Rasputin J1Jrole three books abo11t herfather Did her aii-01111ts ef Rmputi11 differ from book to book? To J1Jhat e,,lent did her ow11 writitigs i11jl11ence yo11r portrait ef her?
!\[aria wrote one memoir on her own, My Father, which was a compassionate fil1d soft portrait of her father. Much later she coauthored a much more muck-raking memoir. ,-\nd at the time of her d ea th she was working on a cookbook which a friend of hers completed and later published , From Peasant to Palace.
In all of tl1ese I looked for inti.mate details of that time and place l\[r goal, of course, was to write the novel witl1 all the autl1ority of an eyewitness, so from l\Iaria's books I pulled little descriptions (the shoes she was wearing, tl1e food she ate, who sat next to her fatl1er, etc). _-\nd sorting through l\Iaria's own words on her fatl1er was one o f th e greater challenges because she said a number of conflicting things.
In the 11oi·el, Man·a has 011!J 011e loz-e i11teresl, a mysteriol!Syo111ig man named Sasha. lf:1/as he a real person? Wiry does NI.aria continue to trust him, i11 spite ef his i11z-o!t-eme11/ in the first af!empt 011 herfather's hje, a11d her 011111 do11bts abottt his motirntio11s? Is it on!J because she loi·es him, or is it more complex than that?
No, Sasha was not a real person but a character I developed to dramatize l\Iaria's own growth as a young woman. In stepping away from her father fil1d to Sasha her father's foibles become all the m ore clear fil1d shocking. .-\nd why does she trust Sasha? Because she wfil1ts to after all, what is more complex thfil1 love?
Do you think that readers need lo bn"tig a certain amo1111t ef k110J1Jledge ef this histo,ical pm·od to yo11r books? For e;,:ample, ho111 do readers 111ho k11011J 11othi1ig about the fall ef the Roma1101:r respond to The Kitchen Boy?
I love historical fiction because it brings to life all the characters we've read about in our history books, fil1d in that way make s hi s to rr more comprehensible. Understanding the people of
a time helps u s understand how ther mad e th e decisions that becfilne the facts.
\Vriting fill historical novel that appeals to b oth the nO\·ice fil1d the seaso ned devotee is a tri ck: rou wfil1t to include enough ba sic informati o n for the new reader while not adding too much basic infomrntion for the experienced o n e -\JI in all, the re sponse from readers has been wonderful. The Kitchen Bl!)I is now in it s fourteenth printing, filld Rasputin's Da1ighter appears to be following the sfil11e trajectorr \Vhen it comes ri g ht down to it, however , I recognize that m y b oo k s are pieces of entertainment - I simpl)' h ope ther will spur the reader to see k o ut more i.nfom, ation o n the Russian Re\·olution.
Ho111 do you research yo11r 110/'el.s? Holl! m11d1 time do you dez-ote to research, and ho11J mmh to the actual 1vn"ti11g?
I read as mfil1 y mem o irs as I Cfil1 find, read all the hi storical accounts I Cfil1 locate, fil1d \ isit tl1e sights in Russia when filld where I filll able. Fi.nallr I hire a Russian to help wi.tl1 tl1e re sea rch, fil1d when the book is completed I hire fil1otl1er Russifil1 to weed out fillY _-\meri.canisms
I spend montl1S, if not rears, re searc hin g, and month s, if n o t years, writing I wish I could say it was easr, but it's not. It's all very tedious filld time consuming actually!
Do yo11 jollo11J a strict ro11ti11e 111he11 you write? Ho111 matry hours a dqy do you spend 1vn"ti11g?
I work fo ·e or six dars a week, fr o m about 9 to 5 or 6 . •-\nd tl1 e n of course I'm thinking about tl1e book when I'm out walking or visiting friends or whatever. It's all verr consuming. Publicity filld promotion take up fill incredible runount of time as well, particularly when a book just comes out fil1d rou're sent o n tour.
Are yo11 111orki11g on another histon'cal not-el? If so, is it also set in fumia?
Yes, I\·e just started work on a tliird historical set in Russia. ringers crossed that I Cfil1 pull it all toge ther!
Vicki Ko11delik is a book reiie111er and libran·a11 from Ann Arbor, l\Iid1iga11. She has published articles i11 Opera Quarterly and otherjoumals.
I<OBErH ALEXANDER
Dau~hter
Do the Characters Breathe?
LUCIND.-\ BY.-\TI talks to]amie Byng about Canongate and historical fiction.
Cano,,gate is one of the most i1111oratire and s11ccessfl,! independent p11b!ishers in the U11ited Kingdom. It's a 11ame that Ml! be familiar to ma11y readm~ b11t I approached .Jamie Byng, its d1arismatic ma11agi1,g dtmtor, to ask him abo11t its backgro1111d, his ow11 i11wkement in the company, and, of co11rse, the compa1ryj· interest in historical fiction.
Canongate was founded in Edinburgh in 1973 by Stephanie \'('olfe l\[urrar and her husband. \ngus \\'olfe i\[urray. It rapidly established itself as one of the most interesting houses in Scotland, publishing a combination of literary fiction, travel, biography, poetry, classics and history. It eclectic list is \\·hat came to define it and whilst there was a distinctly Scottish hue to much of the publishing at Canongate, Stephanie (who rapidly becmne the primary driving force behind tl1e company) embraced writing and ideas from all over tl1e world.
TI1e first book I ever worked on at Cm1ongate was a sh.uming edition of the Complete Poems of .-\nna .-\khmatova, newly trm1slated by .Judith Hemschmeyer, tlrnt we published in February 1993 m1d which I would still rilllk with anything we have ever published in terms of quality and importance. Highlights from the first phase of Cm10ngate's life include .-\lasdair Gray's magnum opus Lanark (1981) which I tl1ink is one of tl1e masterpieces of20tl'-cenh.1ry literature -a genre-defying, wildlr imaginative, structurally ingenious and beautifully written bomb of a book .-\nother major novel that Canongate published before I arri\·ed tl1ere m1d which took the international literary world by storm was Charles Palliser's The Q11i11m11x, a historical no\·el tl1at I imagine many of your readers know m1d lm·e.
I first walked tluough Canongate's doors in November 1992 ha\·ing recently completed a degree in English Literature at Edinburgh University. I knew next to notl1ing about publishing but immediatelr was drawn to what I saw and tlrnnkfullr was offered a position as a voluntarpvorker by Stephanie. In October 199-l Canongate's Scottish sales rep, Hugh .-\ndrew (who is no longer involved but now owns and nms tl1e publishing houses Birlinn and Polygon), m1d I were involved in a management buyout of tl1e compm1y from tl1e receivers who had been appointed by tl1e previous owners, .-\lbany Book Company, who had bought Cm10ngate off Stephm1ie not long after I joined. They had quite a lot of money but very little publishing savvy and witl10ut tl1e latter you run out of tl1e former very quicklr .-\nyway it meant that I was suddenly running a compm1y having only joined eighteen months earlier m1d having had zero experience in publishing outside of Canongate.
To say tl1e learning curve was steep is an understatement. But twelve years on we are still here so we must have got some tl1ings right., \.nd there were some excellent people at Canongate at that time who helped guide tl1e company, not least Stephm1ie who remains a dear friend and was my first real mentor in publishing.
It's abVC!JS interesti,,g to get a fresh insight 011 a particular genre, eJpeda!!J from a publisher. Ho,v wouldyou define historicalfiction, if indeedyou think it needs to be defined at a!!?
I certainlr don't tl1ink it needs to be defined and I find book categorising in general pretty restrictive and fairly pointless. I ha\·e always liked tlrnt E.L. Doctorow statement, "TI1ere is no fact. TI1ere is no fiction. There is only narrative." I wmlt to be trm1sported when I read and a great novel, whether it be set ostensibly in tl1e past, present or future, has to take me somewhere tliat I believe in - both physically and emotionally. I'm not especiallr bothered whether I ;un spending time witl1 a prostitute in \'ictorian London or an emperor in .-\ncient Rome or a schoolteacher in what seems like contemporarr Britain.
One of my favourite writers on tl1e plilllet is i\[ichel Faber (who I also feel tremendouslr forn111ate to publish). I remember i\[ichel remarking that a!! fiction is historical in tliat it sets out to caph.tre a particular time or place. Isn't this what creates a sense of history? Furthermore as soon as m1ything is written down it is, in one sense, set in stone. i\[ichel's most widely read nm·el, The Cn1nso11 Peta! and the ll7hite, is a book tlrnt most people would describe as "historical" and in a sense it is more historical tl1m1 say Under the Skin in that it is set in a more recognisable past (1870s London), m1 "otl1er" that we feel a greater distance from tlian tl1e Highlands of the 1990s. But all his books explore histories and have a conscious sense of history mid time passing.
\Ve recently published The S11mmor br Ismail Kadare, and in his fiction history is a dark, obfuscated place where characters and time are nebulous entities. I heard him recentlr compare his writing to the monumentality of tl1e tombstone, which I think really signifies tl1e gravity m1d significance of tl1e historical narrative. \'( 'e are going to publish his next book, Agamem11011j· Da11ghter, and one of his first, Chronicle In Stone, next year, and what they have in common is that tl1ey botl1 act as monuments of his writing, which is inherently about his life mid .-\lbania's history. Perhaps one possible m1swer is tlrnt all fiction is historical but tliat ome novels are more historical than others!
Ca11ongate has a 1111mber of classic authors 011 its list, ind11di11g famous histon"ca! 11orelists s11ch as Robe11 Lo11is Ste!'enson, Arth11r Conan D(!Y!e, ]ohn B11chan and Naomi l\Iitchiso11, and less 1veU-k110JJ'/l ones like Harry Hopkins. Is the demand for these historical 11ore!s still strong?
Stevenson, Buchan and Conan Doyle sell steadily but in relatively small quantities. It's strange how writers fall in and out of fashion, but I am certain that " classics" will always form a key part of the Canongate list even if the sales are modest. I think it is part of your duty as a publisher to keep great books in print and our reprint programme has seen writers as diverse as Rebecca \v'est, Charles l\[ingus, Chester Himes, Nelson -\lgren, Knut Hamsun, Nan Shepherd, C harles Bukowski,.Jack London, \Vill l\Iuir,John Fa.nte, Richard Brautigan and Iceberg Slim "join" Canongate. They have enriched the list and have provided what I regard as a crucial element -context.
Amo1ig your mmmt authors, T can think of at least a do::;:_e11 JJJho can be regarded as historical 110/'elists. It 1vould be a iiild ocer-simp!ificatio11 to ask 1vhetheryou deliberate!J look for "historicalfiction" as a genre, since ob1io11s!J the first requisite is for "outsta11di11gfictio11," 1vhatet'er the category. B11t are you looking for ne,v l'Oices i11 histon·cal fi,tio11 and if so, 1vhat is it about these z-oi,-es a11d/ or suf?)e,ts that would attract Ca1101igate?
TI1e first novel that I ever bought at Canongate was called Ha11nibal. Narrated by Hannibal Barca, the Catharginian general who most famously led his army, elephants and all, OYer the .-\lps in mid-winter, Ross Leckie's debut fiction did extremely well both critically and commercially and we also sold the rights widelr around the world. Perhaps subconsciously its success drew me to acquiring more historical fiction, but the fact is I Joye publishing fiction more than anrthing and inevitably a sizeable chunk of the fiction written is set back in time. Therefore Canongate has published a lot of historical novels over the years and I'm sure we will continue to do so. I do also think we publish historical fiction well but that is partly because we pick great books to publish. It's not easy to publish a bad book well. But if a historical novel is original, well-written, and compelling tl1en I tl1ink it stands a better chance of selling tl1en a contemporary novel of a similar quality. TI1e period provides a hook and a.nytli.ing tlrnt distinguishes a book from what else is out tl1ere is helpful.
Leading 011 from the last question, do yo11 feel there are at1y spetial challe,iges im-olz·ed it1 marketi1ig historical fiction?
Publishing any fiction successfully is a real challenge as tl1ere is so much new fiction each year. As mentioned above I think tl1at li.istorical fiction can provide hooks tlrnt enable readers to engage witl1. tl1e work. TI1erefore Louise \Velsh's novella, Tamb11rlaine Must Die, wli.icl1 is narrated by Christopher l\Ca.rlowe is not only of interest to anyone who enjoys great fiction but will be of particular interest to tl1ose who are fascinated by Elizabetl1a.n li.istory and literature.
Mozi,ig onto the Myths series JJJhich Cano1igate embarked 011 lastyear, this is aparticttfar!J ambitio11s projett inl'O!ti1ig a JJJide ra1ige ofa11thors andpublishers in different co1111tries. T haz·e read that the sen·es JJJli! not be complete 1111til 2038, is this comet?
No. When I first started working on tl1is series back in 1999 I had a written summary of tl-1.e whole enterprise di.at I titled "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction" after Wallace Stevens' great poem. I joked in di.is
document tlrnt tl1.e hundredtl1. mytl1 would be published in 2038 but obviously some people took tl1is to mean tlrnt I had envisaged a hundred mytl1.s being published in tl1.e series - my dream is tlrnt tl1is series will still be going long after rou or I have become food for worms.
Couldyou tell us hoJJJ the i\1yths series came about? !i1yths hare been reivritten throughout history, bur 1vhat ,vas it about this moment that str11tk yo11 as being ripe for another i·ersio11?
TI1e idea for tl1e series came when I was di.inking about tl1e Bible and tl1.e war we republished it back in 1998 which was to break it up into its component parts and get a range of writers to introduce tl1ese individual volumes. TI1e Pocket Canons featured introducers as diverse as Doris Lessing, Will Self, tl1e Dalai Lama, Rutl1 Rendell, Nick Cave, 1--::aren -\rmstrong and Bono. It was onlr after we had comni.issioned tl1e second series of introducers tlrnt I began to di.ink how interesting it would be to approach writers to retell mrths -\s you say writers have been doing di.is for centuries but as a publishing idea I felt it had real potential because it gives writers tl1.e broadest brief possible and mytl1s provide inspiration ratl1.er than limitation. TI1e fact di.at we managed to sell tl1e seLies to publishers all over tl1e world (tl1irty-seven copublishers and counting) onlr added to tl1e appeal for autl1.ors as it became a truly internati o nal project. I love tl1e international dimensions of tl1.e series.
Apartfrom Margaret AtwoodsThe Penelopiad, \'</ei g ht l!J Jeanette LVi11terson and the forthcoming titles l!J Dazid Grossman and Victor Pelezi11, couldyo11 tell 11s JJJbid1 other a11thors JJJi!l be inl'Oked and 1vhat myths thry haz ·e chosen to re-tell?
Si..,teen autl10rs are already contracted and di.ere are at least anotl1er ten or so who haYe expressed serious interest in joining tl1e project. TI1ose already committed include a wonderful Chinese writer called Su Tong who has just delivered his re-telling of tl1e mytl1 of l\[eng (an ancient Chinese mytl1. in which a woman called l\[eng weeps down tl1e great wall of China), ,-\Ji Smitl1 (who is tackling tl1.e Greek mytl1 of lphis), -\lexander l\CcCall Smitl1 01e's gone for tl1is beautiful Celtic myth surrounding tl1e figure of Dream .-\ngus), Dubravka Ugresic (who is retelling tl1e Slavic mytl1. of Baba Yaga), Cli.inua ,-\chebe (who is retelling an African mytl1), Donna Tartt (Daedalus and Icarus), Tomas Eloy l\Cartinez (l\[ytl1 of tl1e Patago1i.ian King), Antonia Byatt (Norse myth of Ragnarok) and Salley Vickers (Oedipus). It's a heady mi.....-: and like I say tl1ere are some otl1er major writers who are poised to join. I've never been involved in anytl1ing like it.
Much has been 1vritte11 about th e importance of mai11taini1ig an independent pubfishi1ig industry to ens11re greater choice for readers. What role do you see for independent p11blishers in the J11ture and ho1JJ 1vifl thry be i1ifl11enced I!] th e co11ce11tratio11 of po,ver in book retailing, potential!J in the hands of distribution giants like L/1/'aterstones? Might this effect the commissio11i1ig of new books, espetiaf!Y in genres like historical fi,tion?
I di.ink independent publishers will continue to play a key role in tl1e future, but tl1e fact is we have moved into a new world order, one wli.ich is dominated by multimedia conglomerates. In certain respects we cannot compete witl1 them. In otl1er respects tl1ey cannot compete witl1 us. Publisli.ing is not easy whetl1er you are big or small and all
publishers are being affected by the changes which has led to fewer and fewer retailers controlling more of the market. I th.ink that if you are smart and nimble and continue to choose books that people want to read then you can survive. Opportunities appear the whole time a.nd one has to adapt to the market, be entrepreneurial, be lucky and hold your nerve.
011 a st1miar note, do yo11 thi11k rhar a11 increasing percenlage of aH!horsabore all, !hose ll'riti11g in genres like bisto,ica! jicrio11 - 11-i!! resort to self p11b!ishi11g or forms of e-p11b!ishi11g?
The new technologies have made a lot of things possible that were inconceivable twenty years ago. _\nd the idea of writers self-publishing is more viable than ever before because the means of deli\·ery are so n1.uch cheaper. So yes, I am sure that an increasing number of authors will try to find readers th.is way (they already arc) even if self-publishing presents its own series of challenges and difficulties
.\s I've been writing this I've been thinking more about the very idea of what a histo6cal novel might be and whether novels become historical (Take Dickens as an example -I think of him as a historical novelist although in his day he could not have been more contemporary) \nd if this is the case, then is the "most historical" fiction that which is set furthest back in time?
E.L Doctorow's Ragrime was a book that enraptured me as a teenager. I also 10\·e r-Lichael Ondaatje's two early novels, Coming Through Slaugh/er and In the Ski!I of a Lion but as with Ragrime l don't really think of them as historical because they arc 20 th century (albeit early). Graves's I C!audi11s was a book that I remember reading with amazement partly because the world it transported me back to was so far remo\·ed from any world I knew. It seemed more histoLical. But as with all great fiction it stL½es a chord in the same way that myths st1½e chords
".1{s fon_J as 9 can hear the characters breathe then 9 five with the 600~ 11
LaJ·t!J, co11!d yo11 tell 11s whetheryo11 e11jqy historical fiction yo11ne?f and, if so, co11!dyo11 tell 11s abo11t your faro mite a11thors or pen·ods?
I could write rean1S about my favourite "historical" fiction but I need to keep this brief so let me start with The lilaslera11d i'llargarita, r-likhail Bulgakov's astonishing nO\·el that is, amongst many other things, about the writing of historical fiction. This strange genredefying nO\·el is set partly in the Holr Land at tl1.e time of Christ and partly in r-Ioscow in tl1e 1930s and it is only when you are halfway tl1[ough tl1e book di.at you realise tlrnt the chapters staningJesus (or Yeshua as he is known) are in fact written by tl1e Master (a tlunly veiled Bulgakov) in tl1e 20 ct' century. I don't tl1ink you could find a better example ofl10\\. tl1e lustorical novel has been played witl1 as a form.
rxm{inueJ(rom /¼'J' rs
set of mytl1s and folklore about tl1e past (aptly termed pseudohistory) for tl1e sake of effect, but also claiming a striking factual basis for its story. The historical novel has tl1e potential to be an extraordinary educative force, but like Herodotus - botl1 Fatl1er of History and Fatl1er of Lies -it can prove to be a powerful vehicle for deception and delusion. The task of my course is to help understand the role tl1e historical novel can have in granting us a different perspective on tl1e past, witl1.out obliterating the trutl1 that the past still has to impart to us.
because human nature doesn't change and e\·ery se1ious work of art is an exploration in one way or another of what it means to be human.
Back to your quest.ion -I don't really care what period a novel is set in because it almost seems incidental. Or put it tl1is way - as long as I can hear the characters breatl1e tl1en I live witl1 the book. So I've got as much pleasure out of r-[arilynne Robinson's Gilead as I did out of James r-Ieek's The People's Act of Lol'I!. I adored
.-\ndrew Sean Greer's The Co11fessio11s of 11fa....- Til'Oli, Kate Grenville's The Setret Ril'er (which deservedly just won the Commonwealtl1 \Vriters' Prize), Jane Harris's The Obsermtio!ls, Richard Flanagan's Con/d's Book of Fish, Sten Nadolny's The Discol'ery of S!o11Jness, Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shado,v of the Wind, Peter Carey's Tme Story of !he Ke!(y Ga11g and Jeanette Winterson's The Passion. But I felt an especially strong connection to David r- utchell's brilliant new novel, B!atk Sivan Green, because like me tl1e narrator was born in 1969 (as was David) and so he Illas me in certain respects And although its setting is relatively recent (England in the early 1980s) B!a,k S1va11 Green seems to 1'1.c to be unquestionably a great "historical" novel.
,\11 books mentioned in tlus article can be found at www.canongate.net.
Lud11da Byatt is a translator and book reiie1ver !iting i11 Edinburgh.
Notes
1. .Amii, r-Iaalouf, Leo the Afrimn, trnns. Peter Sluglett (London: .Abacus, 1988), p. 1.
2. On th.is issue, see Jolu1 Henrik Clarke, lf'' illiam Styron's Nat Turner: ten black writers respond (Boston: Beacon Press, 1968).
Neil Hargrat'l!S studied History and Literat11re at the U11itmity of Edinburgh, a11dgai11ed a PhD there. He has published articles inJournal of tl1e History of Ideas, Eighteentl1-Ccntury Life, History of European Ideas, and The ,\dam Snutl1 Review. He is m"entjy Lett11reri11 Arts and Humanities at Ne,vbatt!e Abbry College, Scotland, and is 11Jorki11g 011 a book-le11grb st11dy of 181h -t'l!11t11ry historical tho11ght.
,rYo u cann o t be in five countri es a t the s am e tim e ," l\ [arg are t "-\t:w oo d said wh e n as ked wh y she initiated d e \ el o pm e nt o f The Long Pen, the co ntrapti o n th a t all o ws h e r to autog raph b oo k s rem o tel r, .-\ pra c ti c al inventi o n a.nd a pra c ti c al re sp o n se fo r o f co ur se author s can't b e in fi ve pl aces at o nce. But wh en I watch e d n e ws re p o rts o f -\twoo d wwe ilin g Th e Lo ng Pe n at the Lo nd o n Boo k Fair in l\ farch, I felt a little une asy. .-\ s an av id rea d e r o f hi s to ri c al fi c ti o n , I loo k forw a rd to tl10 se all - too -infre qu e nt o pp o rtuniti es wh e n I mi g ht breatl1e tl1e sam e air as th e a utl1 o rs I admire -\nd , d o n ' t auth o rs h ave a duty to be acc e ss ibl e to th e ir rea d e rs? I s n ' t it, as a c o mm e nt a to r o n th e re viled-b y-ce le briti es ga ,1 ke r. co m rece ntl y n o te d, th e b aggage tlrnt co m es witl1 s tard o m ? .-\ fe ,1· wee k s ago, I a tte nd ed a lec n1re b y p syc h o logis t S tartl e ~· Co re n , re n o ,1·n e d fo r hi s witty b oo k s o n d og b e h avio ur. \, 'h e n eve r r se a t in tl1 e h all w as occ upi e d , p eo pl e b ega n cro wdin g tl1 e ais les, o nly to be to ld th a t, du e to fir e haz ard , tl1 ey mu s t m o ve to a n ea rb y ro o m wh e re tl1 ey wo uld h ave th e o pp o rnmit:y to wa tc h Dr. Co re n via vid eo feed. No o ne bud ge d , and why w as th a t? Beca u se tl1 e y c ra\·ed tlrnt in-tl1 e- fl es h exp e n e nce
\\11at d o So!a11der re ad e r s tl1ink ? S h o uld autl10r s b e ph ys icall y pr ese nt for th e ir fan s? O r is Th e Lo n g P e n and it s in e vit a ble derivati o n s a n a tural p rogress io n in a wo rld wh e re we m ay b e m o re c o nn ec te d but are in c reas in g ly iso la ted?
\'\'itl1 So!ande,; o n e o f o ur m ai n go al s is to fa c ilitate co nn ecti o n s b e tw e en hi s to ri c al fi c ti o n auth o rs and rea d e r s \, 'e s t1-i, e to intro du ce yo u to hi s to ri cal n ove li s ts yo u\·e n o t ye t e nco unte red , and to kee p yo u up - to- d a te o n so m e yo u alrea d r kn o w and e nj or- Res p o n se s fr o m las t ye a r's surver o f H t S m e mb e rs indi ca ted tlrnt rea de rs o f thi s magaz ine \, ·ould b e int e re s ted in a rticl es o n h o w a uth o rs inte rpre t hi s to r r and ca rr y o ut tl1 e resea rc h n ecessa ry to t ra ns fo rm the so m e tim es- nebul o u s fa c ts into fi c ti o n -\nd so we as ke d fo ur hi s to ri cal nove li s ts writin g in very diffe re nt s ubj ec t areas to s h are h o w tl1 e ir rece ntl i· publi sh ed nove ls cam e into b e in g (o ur sp ec ial fea n1re o n p age 2 3: " TI1 e Hi s to ry Be hind th e \'\ 'ri tin g").
Sin ce tl1 e H NS co mmunity is s prea d ac ro ss tl1 e plan e t, makin g fa ce -to -fa ce co nn ec ti o n s a rat-ity, witl1 tl1i s iss ue o f S o!ander we ha ve intro du ced a regul a r co lumn th a t will p ro fil e H NS m e mb e rs \l so n ew thi s iss u e is o ur fi c ti o n gues t edito r - a hi s to ri cal n O\·eli s t ,,·ho will h e lp u s se lec t tl1 e s to ri es \\·e publi sh. T hi s spt-in g, E mm a D arwin ve ry kindl y se ff e d as o ur fir s t gu es t edito r, rea ding se ve ral sh o rt-li s ted pi ec e s o f hi s to ri c al fi c ti o n and se lec tin g B. l...:. . Bir ch 's "Ca ug ht in th e l\ [iddl e ," a g ritty tale o f a b oy s we pt up b y th e "-\m e ri can C ivil Wa r. If yo u have n ' t b ee n rea din g So/anded· hi s to ri cal fi c ti o n, wh y no t s ta rt n o w? .-\uth o rs o f th ese s to ri es will lik el y b e a utog raphin g th e ir n o ve ls for rea d e r s soo n e n o ug h , if tl1 ey h il\"e n ' t alre ad y d o n e so. I ju s t h o p e th ey esc h e 11· Th e Lo n g P e n!
