How To Approach Researching Historical Fiction

How To Approach Researching Historical Fiction

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” When I first embarked on my debut novel THE TOWER, I wasn’t thinking of L. P. Hartley’s famous opening line of The Go-Between. But when I reflected on my first early stages of research and writing, I realised that my initial approach could be neatly summarised by that same line. The past is a foreign country; its inhabitants eat different foods, and speak a different language to us. No aspect of their everyday life can be taken for granted; the landscape they occupy may be one that we know intimately in the present day, but go back hundreds of years, and that same landscape is potentially unrecognisable to us. The inhabitants of the past may wear different clothes, or have slightly differing pastimes and habits to our own. Cultural touchstones and religious attitudes may differ, too.

When you are researching the past you are, in one sense, a kind of tourist; and when you’re writing about the past, you are tasked with representing – to the best of your abilities – a snapshot of a place and people both familiar yet foreign to us. It’s a daunting task that comes with both responsibilities and limitations, but for any writer embarking on their own trip to the past, I’ve compiled a list of tips for starting out.

Immerse Yourself

My debut novel THE TOWER, published in March, follows a young, pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots and her three female attendants during her 11-month imprisonment at Lochleven Castle, an island fortress in the middle of a vast loch. The castle rooms are a hothouse environment – we are in these brave, clever women’s company from dawn until dusk, so I needed to be able to picture them and their surroundings in minute detail.

What are they wearing? How is their hair styled? What does their handwriting look like? What type of chair are they sitting on? In the end, the answers to these questions weren’t just found in historical biographies, but in museums and art galleries. I researched the material culture of the sixteenth century by getting up close to objects and paintings from that period. Both Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh and The V&A in London hold various paintings of Mary Stuart and her contemporaries, in addition to precious items from her lifetime: jewellery she will have worn, for example, and embroideries she may well have stitched herself during her long captivity.

For readers familiar with her life, there are several Easter egg references dotted throughout THE TOWER, including a playful nod to her famous embroidery depicting a ginger cat toying with a mouse, which is thought to represent the red-haired English monarch Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary, who was imprisoned on the former’s orders.

If possible, Visit The Setting

If it’s physically and financially possible, visit the location where you plan to set your book. In some cases, time will have irrevocably altered the appearance of the landscape — but often you can still see the bare bones or ghost of what it once was. When I was working on THE TOWER, I visited Loch Leven twice. Lochleven Castle lies in ruins now, but it’s still accessible by boat. On the island, you can touch the same walls that imprisoned Mary Stuart, and view a landscape not too dissimilar from the one she saw from her prison windows.

Read, Listen, Watch

It may go without saying, but it helps to read everything you can get your hands on. If you’re researching a real-life figure from history, read up on that person. Historians can be subjective (particularly when it comes to potentially divisive figures like Mary Stuart), so read more than one biography, by different authors.

There are also plenty of wonderful books that focus exclusively on, for example, the food served during the historical period you’re researching, or the clothes that were worn. However, don’t limit yourself to just books. For the majority of the time I was researching and later writing THE TOWER, I was juggling my writing alongside a full-time job. Academic podcasts and radio programmes can be a hugely helpful means of researching, and they can be listened to alongside the daily commute.

Likewise, films and TV series can be a good way of visualising the time period you’re researching (although taken with a pinch of salt when it comes to historical accuracy). Finally, if you’re writing about a real-life figure, check if there are any existing letters written by them. When it came to Mary Stuart’s letters, I found reading them very helpful when it came to establishing her relationships with various key figures, including Lady Mary Seton, one of Mary Stuart’s female attendants at Lochleven, and Elizabeth I.

Enjoy Yourself

I researched for months before ever seriously putting pen to paper on THE TOWER. Historical fiction can entail a huge amount of work; for me, it meant researching everything from hairpieces and palaces to Tudor-era salad dressings. It’s a time commitment, especially if you’re juggling writing your novel alongside a separate career. So it’s important that it’s a period of time you have a genuine interest in and enjoy reading up on — it’ll keep you sane during the long weeks or months of research, and your enthusiasm will shine through in your work.

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The Tower is released March 2024 and is published by Penguin imprint Hutchinson Heinemann and with Doubleday in North America

Flora Carr was named one of 40 London Library Emerging Writers 2020/2021. She won the British Vogue Talent Contest and was Highly Commended for the 2020 Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Prize. She was also shortlisted for the 2018 V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize. Her work has appeared in TIME Magazine, British ELLE, and The Observer New Review. Flora grew up in Yorkshire and currently lives in London. The Tower is her first novel.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/floracarr_

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floracarr13/

THE TOWER

A bold, feminist debut novel, reimagining Mary, Queen of Scots’s darkest hour, when she was held hostage in a remote Scottish castle with a handful of loyal women while plotting a daring escape to reclaim her country and her freedom.

“Such a vivid, visceral read, you feel you’re locked in the tower alongside the characters, acting out a royal family drama. I am moved and impressed.” –Tracy Chevalier, New York Times bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Scotland, 1567. A pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots is dragged out of her palace by rebel lords and imprisoned in the isolated Lochleven Castle, an ancient fortress surrounded by a vast lake. Her infant son and heir, James, has been captured by her enemies.

Accompanying Mary are two inconspicuous serving women: observant, ambitious Jane and romantic, quick-tempered Cuckoo, who endeavor to keep their mercurial mistress company while sharing the space of a claustrophobic room over the course of their eleven-month forced stay. Their hosts want them dead. They’ll settle for Mary’s abdication.

After Mary reluctantly surrenders her throne, her closest friend, the reserved, devoted Lady Seton, is permitted to join the captive women. Against the odds, as they hatch a perilous getaway plan, the four women form a bond that transcends class and religion, and for Jane and Seton, becomes something even deeper. At the center of it all is Mary–calculating, charming, brave, and unbowed. Flora Carr’s thrilling, feverish debut is a celebration of resilience, a meditation on the meaning of power, and a testament to the unshakeable strength of female friendship, starring one of history’s most charismatic leaders.

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Category: How To and Tips