Historical

Your story is set in the past, with your plot and the actions of your characters in keeping with the time period you have chosen. Works of historical fiction may or may not feature real historical figures. Umberto Eco, Hilary Mantel, Ken Follett and Philippa Gregory have written popular titles in this genre.

Article

11 min read

Translating History

Natasha Pulley

24th June 2015

Edited

16th September 2020

History is a foreign country. Digressing a bit, so is Japan. Haruki Murakami is one of the best-selling writers worldwide – translated. Nobody...

Article

6 min read

Language and Idiom in Historical Fiction

Simon Turney

19th June 2015

Edited

16th September 2020

I’m sure that since you’re planning to write a work of historical fiction, you’ll have read plenty too. If not, then that’s clearly your starting...

Article

5 min read

Writing Women in Historical Fiction

Joanna Courtney

15th June 2015

Edited

16th September 2020

Women are something of a rarity in history – shy, domestic creatures who peep out between the cracks of their husband’s ‘greater’ deeds. If we...

Article

6 min read

Unknown History: Bridging the Gaps with Imagination

Simon Turney

28th May 2015

Edited

16th September 2020

Writing in a real historical setting is problematic at best, and some settings are more troublesome than others. Even the most documented historical...

Article

6 min read

Historical Fiction Isn’t History, It’s Better

Helen Watts

11th March 2015

Edited

8th October 2020

Author Helen Watts and her quest to make children love historical fiction. Far from being dull or turgid, historical fiction is exciting and full of...

Article

5 min read

How Setting Can Create Tension

Kate Riordan

9th February 2015

Edited

15th September 2020

Perhaps the most obvious way of doing this is by positioning characters in opposition to nature, usually in a place unfamiliar to them. The wind...