HISTORICAL FICTION IS EASY?
Historical fiction sounds relatively easy, right? You take an event from history, do a little research to get the appropriate costumes and setting, then add dialogue. Voila! You’ve got historical fiction.
Not so fast.
I recently wrote a book of historical fiction and I can say honestly that not a single step was easy. My book called LONDON SPIES occurred at the end of WWII at the American Embassy in London. I spent months learning what kind of clothing people wore, how Americans behaved, what sort of expressions were spoken, English and American, and what life was like for the ordinary English person during wartime.
But there was also the military aspect: the U.S. Army staffed American Embassies, so I learned how officers dressed, spoke and behaved. Military protocol. I researched what Military Attaches did in overseas assignments, what duties my character, Phyllis Bowden, a secretary at the Embassy, would have and her difficulties as a civilian working for the Army. Nothing was easy.
My second book in the series is more problematic than the first. The wartime experiences of Phyllis are taking her to Oslo, Norway, just after German occupation ended. I want to include the issues of the Quisling girls, women who followed the leadership of Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Nazi Party in Norway, and the Lebensborn children.
The Lebensborn project, particularly in Norway, was a pet project of Heinrich Himmler, Reich leader of the SS for the Nazis. The goal of this secret Nazi project was to increase the Germanic/Nordic population of Germany. Himmler encouraged SS and Wermacht officers to have children with Aryan women in the belief that Lebensborn children would grow up to lead a Nazi-Aryan nation. Norwegians viewed the project most unfavorably and local women who participated were sent to labor camps after the war. Many children were sent to mental institutions. Phyllis Bowden enters this world after the victory in Europe.
As I see it, nothing is easy about historical fiction. What my character does, sees and says becomes so important because of the tremendous events swirling around her. As a writer, do I tread softly around the obvious political landmines? Will Norwegians be upset that I’m writing about a dark chapter in their history? The fates of both Quisling girls and Lebensborn children were very dark indeed, but my character was there, amidst the events as they were evolving. She would have been caught up in the danger of being an American and offering sympathy.
Not an easy subject, so why write it? Because I’m a writer and storyteller, and this is one interesting story.
jeanneharrell.com
https://www.amazon.com/SJ-Slagle/e/B00U33WYZI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1504363339&sr=8-1-spell
Ms, Harrell,
ReplyDeleteIndeed I do find historical fiction very difficult to write. Particularly when there is living memory to contend with.
Even trying to write about history I lived through! I researched the events and find that, as history is recorded, it contradicts my recollections!
By the by, Himmler's name was Heinrich Luitpold Himmler. He was Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel, known as the SS, and the police.
All the best, sounds exceedingly interesting!
Thanks for the correction. I have more research to do...
ReplyDeleteResearching for a historical novel is time consuming and most of us get way deep into it while we're at it, but that's okay. Locking in characters with what they wear and eat, what the social norms are for the time period, and getting the events operating around the lives of our characters is hard work like putting together the pieces of a puzzle to create a picture and tell that story. But on the other hand, most of love getting into history and digging into research.
ReplyDeleteGood blog, Jeanne. I apologize for getting here late.