Contest winner
Forgive me for not announcing the winner of my November contest. Oops! Time kind of got away from me with the hubby being out of town and the kids, and my daughter coming down with strep. I know, excuses, excuses. Whaddaya do? :blahblah:
Congratulations to Judy Theis! She won a copy of The Bride Hunt by the very talented Margo Maguire and some holiday chocolates. Way to go!
I’ve been enjoying Nora Roberts’ Goddess Circle Trilogy lately. Since book one is partially set in 12th century Ireland, the same location as Her Irish Warrior, I jumped at the chance to read it. I have to hand it to Nora. She’s a great storyteller, even if the historical accuracy sometimes slips. I think that’s true of most books. If you love the stories and the characters, you can cut them a little literary slack. I think one of the most challenging parts of writing a historical romance is making sure you cover all the research bases. Clothing, food, and shelter are just the tip of the iceberg. And sometimes, no matter how much research you do, you miss something. I think that’s my worst fear–of overlooking some historical fact. I swear, I’ve read about every book I can get my hands on. But even some of the experts admit that with oral history being what it is, sometimes there are gaps. You can only do the best you can and hope that you haven’t missed anything too major.
What’s the worst history blooper you’ve ever read in a book? Or have you been pretty lucky in that regard?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 7:27 pm | Viewed 2173 times
Jean Says:
I almost got myself into an historical blooper with my upcoming book from Cerridwen Press. I scrupulously researched 10th century Scotland and the Norse who settled there and gave my book the “catchy” title Milady Viking. After I sold it, someone pointed out to me that the word Milady didn’t come into usage until much later. It’s now My Lady Viking.:)
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
Congrats, Judy
Too true about trying to cover all the bases and hoping you don’t miss anything major
Her Irish Warrior is going to rock, Michelle!!! The excerpt is fantastic
As for history bloopers in books I’ve read… (knock on wood) I’ve been pretty lucky in that regard :rudolph::xmastree::santa:
Michelle Styles Says:
Writing historical novels of any sort is ancronistic by definition. The author has never directly experienced the situation.
What was thought to be true may not stand up to historical scrutiny or new research.
The best an author can hope is to create an authentic world, onethat rings true for the readers. The author does this by using accurate detail but it is no more a direct representation of that world than a contemporary novel is of today.
Aim for authentic and your readers will forgive.
That said — I hate sandwiches before they were invented, Christmas trees in English country houses in the Regency period, Christmas carols such as Silent Night being sung in a Regency, writers going on about American know how and English incompetence before the US became an industrial power house and when England was the industrial power house, killing off of historical figures before they actually died, soap used during Roman times. Shall I continue?
There are the known unknowns, and the unknown unknowns. It is often the unknown unknowns or the things that you think you know but don’t really that will trip you up and pull the reader out. However, if a writer creates a wonderful evocative story, I forgive the odd mistake.
Olga Says:
Congrats to the winner! As for the history bloopers, I didn’t catch any, but that might be because I don’t know all historical facts that well!
Melissa Mc Says:
I don’t worry about historical bloopers as a reader. If it’s a compelling read, I’m willing to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride. What does it matter really since it’s fiction? Plus unless I’m an expert at the time, it would have to be pretty blatant for me.
The main problem I have with historicals is heroines who act and think too contemporary. That just doesn’t work for me which is why i prefer to read classics if I’m going to read about a historical time.
Nicole Reising Says:
I’m continually amazed with how hot of a topic this is for this genre. I have always loved historical romances and it was really the first romance type of books I got into. I can’t say I recall ever being upset over little things like say — they used buttons instead of hook -n- eyes… or the drawers had knobs instead of latches… I’ve not cared. I’ve just read the book and fallen in love with the characters. Why? Because its fiction and I don’t expect it to be a history book. So unless they suddenly pull out a cell phone… in which case I hope its a time travel or paranormal
, the writer isn’t going to have to worry about me. If the characters are good and the story/plot ect.. is good… then I say write on and relax!
Cole
Tori Lennox Says:
It’s only sort of a blooper, but when I was doing research for my 1920s book, much to my surprise, I discovered that Prohibition didn’t actually include ALL alcohol. It wasn’t illegal to have it in your possession. It was just illegal to sell it or transport it. Granted, that sort of limits how much anybody could possess, but still. *g*
But so many people have assumed over the years (myself included) that it was banned in any way, shape, or form that apparently that’s become the “norm” as far as everybody’s concerned. So I’ll probably get slammed if that book ever sees the light of day.
Melissa Says:
Hmmm…I can’t recall a history blooper in the text, per se, but I have noticed that some cover art on Regency novels looks more Victorian than early 1800’s.
Robyn Says:
I cannot wait for your book. I enjoyed Nora’s trilogy- for the-most part- and any medieval gets one star automatically for just being a medieval.
My ‘claymore’ thing was probably my biggie. Most of the reading public wouldn’t even care, but it was hard to get over the hero using this huge two-handed sword with one hand.
Kelly Says:
I can’t think of any horrible historical inaccuracies that come to mind. If I’m caught up in the story, I’m probably not even conscious of it unless it’s something I did a lot of research on and it jumps out at me. Although sometimes modern dialogue will throw me.
Emma Sinclair Says:
I don’t know enough history to catch bloopers, lol!
And honestly, I think contemporary books have just as many bloopers as historicals do, just in different ways!
Rene Says:
My first biggie I ran into was a scene where the hero and heroine were waltzing…in 1770. Same book had all sorts of costuming errors as well. However, still one of my favorite books because the story was soooooo good.
Unforgivable was the book I read a year or so ago which had the hero win 800,000 pounds in a card game in late 18th century Britain. I discovered after 5 minutes of research such a number would equal about 15 million dollars. Not particularly believable. As the author is multi-published, I thought it was an embarassing error and tossed the book aside.