Historical Fiction from a Different Perspective

It occurred to me as I was writing this post, and thinking about what graphic I could include, that a very appropriate illustration would be one typically assigned to fairy tales: Once upon a time . . .

That’s what we try to do. Write realistically about a very long time ago. Separating mystery from history. Usually that means picking a major person, event, and/or era to capture with our words. But there are alternatives to the major-person pick.

A very successful historical fiction strategy is to pick a minor or secondary character who was around a great person or an historic event, or better still, both! Then expand that story by creating a what-might-have been story as historically accurately as possible.

America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is one example. Thomas Jefferson’s daughter is known about but not known by most of us. Perfect for showing Jefferson and creating a fascinating peek into his world from someone close to him. Based on thousands of letters, they recreated the Jeffersonian world.

Another example is Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker (Jennifer Chiaverini), an actual personage that we know something about, who shares her thoughts about the President, his wife, and their marriage. This black woman wrote about Mrs. Lincoln but she was ridiculed and marginalized and discounted. Chiaverini took that tidbit and spun her engrossing tale.

Dava Sobol had little to work with when she researched and created Galileo’s Daughter. She used 124 surviving letters from Sister Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun and the oldest of Galileo’s three illegitimate children, to her father. Galileo had enormous respect for her and described her as “a woman of excellent mind, singular goodness, and tenderly attached to me.”

See how taking a small role person connected to a larger life or event can give new life to biographical treatment of a well-known person? These different points of view can illuminate in ways that direct biography cannot.

Now imagine the tale you could spin by taking the point of view of the first Native American that Columbus encountered when he landed in what is now the Bahamas. How astonishing to see the large ships and people dressed so differently. Enemies? Friends? The conversations in the villages must have been fascinating.

Or you might take the point of view of Juan de la Cosa, Columbus’s cartographer. He would have a lot of insight into Columbus’s motivations, understandings of the natives, and actions he took. Juan kept a diary. What if there were a secret, lost one you wrote about.

Imagine how those stories could be very different.

When you find yourself intrigued by a person or an event in history. Look around that world and latch onto a small character that you could create a book around. Being “into” the era or person already will give you a leg up when you create that world from a different perspective.

Facebook: Historical Fiction authors, looking for a unique take on a person, era, or event you are intrigued by? Check out an idea from Caroline Adams-Author. http://bit.ly/2Fyp6iv

Twitter: #HistoricalFiction #writers, looking for a unique take on a person, era, or event you are intrigued by? Check out an idea from @CarolineAdams_9 http://bit.ly/2Fyp6iv