Behind the Scenes of Historical Fiction

Imagine handling a document that is over 100 years old; a rusted straight pin still holding the fragile papers together. That is where one research project led me.

I have probably mentioned it before, but I really enjoy the research part of my fiction writing. This fascination began for me when I started researching and writing my Family History many years ago. But the proverbial ‘rabbit hole’ is a real issue. In fact I have just dug myself out of one such rabbit hole to post this blog. But that’s a story for another time. Sometimes I get so deep in research that I forget that I need to actually write the story. I often enjoy researching my stories more than writing them, especially when the writing gets hard, as it invariably does.

Research is really important when writing historical fiction because historical accuracy is essential to ensure that the fictional world aligns with the actual historical context of the story. It allows me to enrich the story by delving into specific events, customs and the way the society was structured in the given time period. It also provides me with inspiration for new ideas for my stories. And not to forget that readers of historical fiction include history enthusiasts who will definitely notice any inaccuracies. The story needs to be credible and believable. Research helps to make the story captivating and also respectful of the past.

The process to research my historical fiction novels is quite involved. Of course, Google is my friend. A simple Google search will nearly always result in a myriad of interesting discoveries. I usually start with any Wikipedia link that is often near the top of the Google search. Whilst it is general in nature there is often good information and certainly many leads to other sources. Historical societies have a wealth of information as well and Trove is, of course a treasure chest for history buffs. But there are many other options. I wrote a blog post about the benefits of reading books written during the period concerned.

  Seeking out primary source documents is probably my favourite type of research.  Perhaps you can imagine how exciting it is to find a digitised version of a document bearing the signature of an ancestor, such as a marriage certificate for example. But to touch an actual 100 plus year-old document is such a thrill. Some years ago I visited the Public Records Office of Victoria having sought out land records of my great grandfather’s selections in the Heathcote area. Imagine my surprise when amongst these records I found actual letters written on his behalf. I knew he didn’t write them because many of the documents were signed with an X and the words ‘his mark’. He apparently could not write. So I can only assume that someone else wrote the letters for him. These letters told of the hard times he was experiencing trying to make the required improvements to the land and requesting extra time to make the rent payments. One of the letters appears in the image above and see below for the transcription.

There is so much more to tell about my research methods and some of the interesting discoveries I have made so watch this space……..

How do you balance the excitement of research with the discipline of writing when tackling historical fiction?

Transcript of the letter in the image

Heathcote  July 25th 1881

Sir

I hope you will excuse me for the neglect of answering you letters. I live seven mile from Heathcote and it may be once a month I would call to the Post Office. Owing to the Land Act 1880 I only have two hundred and sixty acres of land selected in a poor rough country. I was forced to select it in three different blocks exah block was nearly as expensive as if I selected three hundred and twenty acres at once before I put you to any trouble I inquired what would be the cost of coming under the provisions of the Land Act 1880. I was told it would be only five shillings per block. But to meet so much expense on each block over again I could not afford it. In a month from this date I will pay a rent on the sixty and eighty acre blocks. I hope that I wont put you to the trouble of writing to me for arrears of rent again, though my returns from the land was not sufficient to keep myself and a pair of horses for the time being on it and got ten in the family to do for.

                                                                                                Patrick McCarthy
                                                                                                                x
                                                                                                Heathcote.