This week's guest blogger, Jess Steven Hughes is a newly published historical author, already working hard on his next two novels. And why not? He's certainly got the research covered! Here's a peek into how such a writer prepares for the dive into not just one but two ancient civilizations to make his story come alive.
Over the years I have accumulated a
personal library of more than five hundred books on Celtic, Classical, Medieval,
and Middle Eastern history which I use in the research and writing of my
historical novels. This does not include various magazines, journals and other
papers that I have collected, not to mention using the internet for the same
purpose. I am always acquiring more information in an effort to make my novels
as authentic as possible.
Before I wrote my first historical
novel, The Sign of the Eagle, and the
two novels I am currently writing, I had to learn the fundamentals of writing
fiction as opposed to writing history. This included plot, characterization,
scene, setting, dialogue, descriptive narration, the difference between showing
and telling, and so on. Only after I had attended writing seminars and
workshops for several years did my abilities as an author of novels finally
emerge..
Always keep in mind that I write, first
and foremost, fiction; I don't write history.
I use historical events and backdrops for my stories. The Sign of the Eagle, recently published by Sunbury Press, is an example. The
story takes place in Milan and Rome in 71 A.D. The main character, Macha, is a
Celtic woman married to a Roman officer, Titus. He has been wrongfully accused
of treason and conspiring to assassinate the Emperor Vespasian. Macha must
almost single-handedly prove his innocence.
Historians have speculated there
were several conspiracies against the life of Emperor Vespasian, but only two
appear to have been recorded, as found in The
Twelve Caesars by Suetonius or in The
Histories by Cassius Dio. Therefore, my story is a fictionalized account of
one possible unrecorded attempt on Vespasian's life. I wrote it from what I
believe to be a different perspective using an unlikely protagonist, a Celtic
woman. Why not?
Before I could fully develop The Sign of the Eagle—the characters,
plotting, setting, scene, dialogue, etc.—I started by researching the overall history
of the Roman Empire and the Celtic world. Such books included, among many
others:
- Michael Grant, History of Rome
- M. Rostovtzeff, Rome
- H.H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero
- John Peddie, Invasion: the Roman Conquest of Britain
I continued with geographical
locations. I narrowed down the story to Milan, Rome and the Italian country
side. A sample of the books I used includes:
- Muir's Historical Atlas: Ancient and Classical, edited by R.F. Treharne and Harold Fullard;
- Tim Cornell and John Matthews, Atlas of the Roman World
- Peter Connolly and Hazel Dodge, The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome
I also had to consider historical
events that occurred prior to those in my novel which were important to the
story's background. Among these I included the great civil war of 69 A.D. known
as the Year of the Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian). For
this I referred to these books in particular:
- Kenneth Wellesley, The Long Year A.D. 69
- Michael Grant, The Twelve Caesars
- Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars
- Michael Grant, The Army of the Caesars
In
my story, Macha's husband Titus fought in this war against the forces of the
short-lived Emperor Vitellius at the Battle of Cremona. Titus was part of one
of Vespasian's advanced units.
Other events included the invasion
of Britannia in 43 A.D. and the eventual capture of the British Chieftain,
Caratacus, Macha's father (see above Invasion,
etc). He was brought to Rome along with his wife and Daughter and
ultimately pardoned by the Emperor Claudius. We don't know the daughter's
actual name, I chose a good Celtic name, Macha. Caratacus was ultimately
pardoned and disappeared from history, but there was no reason why I could not
use his daughter for a story.
For her background, I described her
growing up being Romanized but clinging to many Celtic customs. Prior to the
story, she married Titus, who was born in Rome. His parents were Gauls, but
his father was a Roman Senator, one of the first Gauls admitted to the Senate
under the Emperor Claudius
Because I used a Celtic protagonist,
I had to research Celtic as well as Roman customs of daily living, the role of
women in the Celtic and Roman worlds, the gulf between the classes, slavery, religion, the military (Celt and Roman),
descriptions of city life, especially, in Rome, etc. My research for these topics included:
- W.S. Davis, A Day in Old Rome by
- Jerome Carcopino, Daily Life in Ancient Rome
- Jacqueline Morely, A Roman Villa
- Juvenal, The Sixteen Satires
- The Epigrams of Martial, James Michie, translator
- Petronius, The Satyricon
- Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity
- Peter B. Ellis, Celtic Women: Women in Celtic Society and Literature
- Miranda Green, The Gods of the Celts
- Ruth and Vincent Megaw, Celtic Art
- Adrian Goldsworthy, The Complete Roman Army
- Karen Dixon, The Roman Cavalry
- P.K. Baillie Reynolds, The Vigiles of Imperial Rome
- Stephen Allen and Wayne Reynolds, Fighting Elite: Celtic Warrior 300 B.C. – A.D. 100
It was only after I had conducted
sufficient research that I finally wrote my story. However, I wasn't finished.
I had to run the gauntlet of two writers groups, The Spokane Novelists and The
Spokane Writers Group, which month after month reviewed and bled all over my
chapters until the manuscript finally met their expectations. Even then I
wasn't through. I sent my manuscript to a "book doctor," an editor
who had spent many years with Harper-Collins before going into private
business. Fortunately, she is a very ethical person (there are some real
charlatans out there) who was very thorough and answered all my subsequent
questions after she had reviewed and returned my novel for more work. My
efforts paid off. After many rejection slips, The Sign of the Eagle was accepted for publication.
If you are interested in learning
more about The Sign of the Eagle
please check out my website http://www.jessstevenhughes.com.
A time period after my own heart-Jess. That 's an excellent bibliography you quote and as an author of a Celtic/ Britain AD 71 novel (The Beltane Choice)I know how hard it is to find useful reference material for the era. Best wishes with your future writing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nancy, I appreciate your comments and understanding. Best wishes on your future writing as well.
Delete