Don’t lie – a methodology for historical fiction?^*

* The research in this article is based on interviews conducted between 16 June and 27 August 2017. The audio was recorded digitally, and these recordings, with accompanying transcripts, where permission has been given by the interviewee(s), will be made available through the Scottish Oral History Centre at the University of Strathclyde once my own investigations are complete.

ABSTRACT

The practical challenges of the historical novel are explored through interviews with six authors of historical fiction. An analysis of these interview transcripts and Hilary Mantel's Reith Lectures is used to argue that the writers’ approach to research, and engagement with sources, demonstrates a working methodology from which aspiring writers may learn.

KEYWORDS:

• Historical fiction
• novel
• J. De Groot
• H. Mantel
• H. White
• G. Lukács

Acknowledgements

This article would not have been possible without the writers generously giving both their time and opinions along with the Borders Book Festival and Edinburgh International Book Festival helping connect me to them. I would like to express my most sincere thanks to David Goldie and Jonathan Hope for their critique and support. My thanks also go to Mary McDonough Clark.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Ethics

Type 1 approval for the study was granted by the University of Strathclyde Ethics Committee on 8 April 2017 ref: 781.

Notes on contributor

Bryony Stocker, from the University of Strathclyde, has just submitted her PhD in Creative Writing. She writes historical crime and her debut novel Keeper, set in Regency London's most notorious slum, uses real events as a springboard for fiction. Her research interests cover both historical and crime fiction.

Notes

* The research in this article is based on interviews conducted between 16 June and 27 August 2017. The audio was recorded digitally, and these recordings, with accompanying transcripts, where permission has been given by the interviewee(s), will be made available through the Scottish Oral History Centre at the University of Strathclyde once my own investigations are complete.