In a recent discussion on Goodreads, we laudedthe few authors who go out of their way to make certain their historicaldetails are accurate, but slammed the ones who didn’t bother. In today’s mass-mediaworld, research is too easy and you shouldn’t slip up on whether your female characterin the mid eighteenth century wore drawers or nothing at all. It turns out,that depends on the country she lived in. French women wore drawers, but inEngland, apparently, the women did not wear any underpants.
I once reviewed a novelset on an eighteenth century sailing ship where everyone was cooking in theircabins as if they had hot plates. On wooden ships, fire was a huge threat.Cooking was done in the galley, not in separate cabins. This was an easily researchedfact.
My current pet peeve isa popular author whose recent novel is about Marie Louise of Austria, and then France.The author shows her as a strong, independent woman,mistreated by, and never in love with, her husband Napoleon. She’s portrayed ashaving had a lover before she even meets her future husband. All this isuntrue, but the author bragged about her extensive research of the period. If you’re playing with the facts, put this inan Author’s Note. People I spoke with had taken this “faction” as fact afterreading the book. I’ve spent years at the Library of Congress researching thisera, reading memoires from servants, valets, and members of Napoleon’s staff. Theauthor’s depiction is far from the truth. Sadly, many will believe otherwise.I’ve played with writing “Alternate” fiction, which does change history. I based it on “what could have happened” not a complete fantasy.
My novel Elysium depicts what might have happenedif Napoleon had the means to escape his final exile. Seton the remote island of St. Helena, the story follows a servant girl who joinsNapoleon in a dangerous plan to flee the island.
To see my meticulousresearch into the eighteenth century, read The False Light: when a ruined countess flees to England from France during the FrenchRevolution, she discovers betrayal, cruel family secrets and a passion that maydestroy her.
And the sequel, Without Refuge, completes the story in sultry New Orleans and a France still tornapart by war. Will my heroine find the man she loved and lost without sacrificingher life?
Diane Scott Lewis
Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) writesbook reviews for the Historical NovelsReview and worked at The Wild Rose Press from 2007 to 2010 as a historicaleditor. She has three published historical novels: Elysium and The False Light.Her sequel to The False Light, Without Refuge, was released in March2012.Visit Diane's website to read excerpts and find out more about her historical novels: http://www.dianescottlewis.org
Check out her books at Amazon.com
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