I know exactly what you mean. I think I enjoy writing historical fiction because it gives you a real opportunity to get behind the buildings and the artefacts, and find the people.
When I was researching my 15th century novels, I was having to recreate the minor nobility from very few contemporary documents - a big part of it was trying to find their 'shadows' in the momentous events at the time, and juxtapose this with local history. You tend to find that the big nefarious atrocities recorded locally are a result of genuine grievances at the national level - but the two sources of information aren't usually drawn together. That's why I love doing the fiction - you can go beyond the normal parameters of historical enquiry.
I've been known to check the Registers of the Great Seal for witnesses to documents, just to find out who was where at what time. Minor discrepanies I can cope with, though I still try very hard to avoid them. I bend and stretch the spaces in the history, but I won't distort the known facts!
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Re: ::steps on soapbox::
Date: 2011-01-03 04:47 pm (UTC)When I was researching my 15th century novels, I was having to recreate the minor nobility from very few contemporary documents - a big part of it was trying to find their 'shadows' in the momentous events at the time, and juxtapose this with local history. You tend to find that the big nefarious atrocities recorded locally are a result of genuine grievances at the national level - but the two sources of information aren't usually drawn together. That's why I love doing the fiction - you can go beyond the normal parameters of historical enquiry.
I've been known to check the Registers of the Great Seal for witnesses to documents, just to find out who was where at what time. Minor discrepanies I can cope with, though I still try very hard to avoid them. I bend and stretch the spaces in the history, but I won't distort the known facts!