Ringing True: Balancing Factual History with Fictional Elements in Historical Fiction
- charisnegley
- Apr 21
- 19 min read
“The ferocity of the reactions was unexpected. The rage was raw. Some quibbled at my sheer audacity.”[1]
This was the shocked reaction of historical romance author Vanessa Riley after seeing the reader responses to her debut novel, A Duke, The Lady, and a Baby, published in 2020. Despite Riley believing that her novel was not only accurate but also well-written, her readers critiqued her for accuracy, not her storytelling devices. “How dare I give colored women agency, ball gowns and the privilege of marrying peers? I also heard a lot of variations on ‘never’ (‘never would love visit people of color when their liberty was at risk’) and ‘can’t,’ as in ‘I can’t believe this version of history,’ though the subtext was clear: ‘I can’t cede to you the license to write it.’”
She is not the only author to encounter this dilemma. Author Salman Rushdie wrote about his deliberate choice to have an unreliable narrator (a narrator who is not trustworthy, whose words must be taken with a grain of salt) for his historical novel Midnight's Children. “I went to some trouble to get things wrong … [but readers were] … judging the book not as a novel but as some sort of inadequate reference book or encyclopedia,” he said.[2]
It is universally recognized among historical fiction authors that they must have author’s notes to defend their choices to minimize reader backlash. But even with that failsafe, thorough accuracy, even in historical fiction, is a daunting task. And how important is it really, alongside the importance of good fictional elements and storytelling? Are they of equal importance?
I’ve come across these questions in my own writing. When there are gaps in the historical record, they must be filled in authentically. When facts are presented, they must be accurate. When setting is crafted and words are spoken and clothes are worn, the immersive nature of accuracy is in the details.
In my current historical novel (working title: In Frigid Waters, I am faced with gaps in the historical record of the event the novel is based around—the sinking of the ocean liner the Princess Sophia—due to a lack of primary sources and survivors of the wreck. Within the few primary sources (letters, in this case), some events that passengers experienced aboard the ship are confusing and cannot be explained with certainty because the letter writers are long dead. With so little information from the passengers themselves, outside sources from the time surrounding the sinking don’t always line up. How do I approach these gaps, incredulities, and discrepancies as I attempt to tell an authentic, believable, and well-written story?
It all boils down to one question: How does one balance factual history with fictional elements in historical fiction? This question can be answered by looking at author responsibility, accuracy versus authenticity, and the elements of excellent fiction writing.
Author Responsibility
Historical Voice
Before an author can begin the equation of balance, it is good to name the type of historical voice one will take on. Melissa Addey, full-time author of self-published historical fiction, suggests that historical fiction should be approached as a “playful exploration set within the frame of the historical record, thus creating a ‘playframe.’” She says this playframe acknowledges the importance of both accuracy and fictional elements. And within the playframe lie three author player types: the Ventriloquist, the Mosaic-Maker, and the Magician.[3]
The Ventriloquist has an offset balance. Their novels weigh historical fact much more heavily, packing their chapters full of fact rather than the craft of fiction. This voice is not often seen in historical fiction because although it all but erases the “anxiety of accuracy,” it doesn’t let the author play, lessening creative satisfaction. Abandoning the “fiction” in “historical fiction” is as much of a paradox as it sounds. This player type is an example of leaning too far into the weight of fact.
The Mosaic-Maker is by far the most common of the players. When pieces of history are incomplete, Mosaic-Makers fill in the gaps. Their choices have a significant impact on their story. Their fiction includes many factual components. Often, their characters are a compilation of ideas and behaviors of the period they are in. The Mosaic-Maker is putting a puzzle together and creating a balanced work of fact and fictional elements.
The Magician overrides the historical genre for the freedom to approach their overarching concept. They veer into subgenres, which may receive backlash from readers, just as the Ventriloquist might. The Magician looks at surreal opportunities to present, like Markus Zusak having the narrator of The Book Thief be Death, or Ian Mortimer choosing time travel to be a prevalent element in The Outcasts of Time. Whether it be magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, or something else entirely, Magicians weave these genres with historical elements. Their scale is also at a different balance, like the Ventriloquist, but their scale is more heavily weighted on the fiction side.
None of these is necessarily a wrong approach, but authors need to be aware of which kind of balance between fact and fiction is necessary for their historical fiction. Since the Mosaic-Maker is the general kind of author for this genre, the content of this paper will discuss the process of creating an equal balance of fact and fiction.
Reader Feedback
Should historical fiction authors pay attention to reader praise or criticism concerning their historical content? First, we should ask what reader feedback may be useful for.
“It is tempting to believe that what we create always remains within our control; but this is an illusion in art, as in other aspects of life such as love and work,” wrote author Juhea Kim. “And there is something invaluable, maybe even essential, about the reader (or the listener, or the viewer) being the co-creator of art.”[4] Reader comments are certainly important, as they are the true meaning-makers of writing, and as Kim claims, “co-creators.” Reader feedback may also be beneficial for other readers looking for their next book.
But what is the author’s responsibility in listening to reader noise, warranted or unwarranted? “There seems to be an imbalance of power in how historical fiction is reviewed or judged, with a strong emphasis on checking for historical accuracy and little attention given to the purpose of the fictional aspects that the author has chosen to include,” Addey wrote.[5] Overall, it may be safe to say that it’s not the author’s place or responsibility to change reader mindset, especially when readers approach the historical fiction genre with the idea that they need to judge it as a history book instead of a creative work.
World War II historical fiction author Amy Lynn Green tends to avoid reading reviews of her books for this reason. Sometimes, reader feedback is just discouraging, and what they’re criticizing can’t be changed. Ultimately, it is not a fulfilling activity for an author to immerse themselves in this critical feedback. There will always be someone who doesn’t like/isn’t the target audience for a specific book.
Research
Historical fiction authors should try their best for good writing and thorough research. For any book, research is an important initial phase. This is especially important in historical fiction, as authors have to deep-dive into a period and all of its codependents in order to believably portray it as an immersive and appropriate setting. How should an author know how much research is necessary for accuracy?
“Before I start to write a book, I do a lot of preliminary research,” Green said. “I read a lot of books, try to find some primary sources, and then I start writing, and as I go, I look up things that I think will be important to the plot that I didn’t find out before.”[6]
After she starts writing, if Green comes across something she missed that needs researching, she’ll put in a placeholder and return to it later to keep momentum as she writes. When her editors go over her full manuscript, they often find and correct more obscure historical facts Green wasn’t aware of.
Primary sources are some of the most valuable resources. Much can be learned from the voices of people of the time, especially if authors want to capture the authenticity of those people in their characters. Letters, diary entries, and essays are some of the best primary sources to get a taste of the voices you want to understand and capture. They can be found most easily through archives, databases, and museums.
In my novel, I used the diary of Walter Harper, the first man to summit Denali, to learn the way he wrote so I could give him an accurate and authentic voice when he made a cameo appearance. I also read the two passenger letters recovered from the shipwreck to understand what was happening during the days the passengers were stranded on the Vanderbilt Reef. Other primary sources I used were the accounts of the people on the nearby rescue ships and how they experienced the event.
Primary sources are also good for understanding the common beliefs and voices of the time. I’ve read several letters of Canadian soldiers who served in the Great War to hear what they were saying about the war while they were overseas, since World War I is a large event happening during the period of my novel.
Secondary sources, works that analyze, interpret, or merely describe historical events, are not to be ignored, however. While primary sources give a good taste of an era, secondary sources can provide a wider lens and perspective. They’re written based on firsthand accounts without being firsthand accounts themselves. Secondary sources can be collected from many places, including historical societies, archives, historical experts, databases, and nonfiction books.
I’ve found many secondary sources by visiting the websites of towns for town histories, emailing experts if I needed access to more tricky-to-find information (for example, a niche question about a town’s history or information about a tribe of native people in the Yukon Territory), reading whatever nonfiction books were written about the events featured in my novel, and reading the sources cited in the back of said nonfiction books if I want to read further about anything those authors mentioned.
Sometimes, sources may be unclear. How can we know what is most accurate?
“Pontius Pilate asked the famous question, ‘What is truth?’” wrote author Chuck Sambuchino. “Historical sources can be apocryphal or fraught with gossip, spin, propaganda, hearsay, and conflicting points of view. Sometimes the facts weren’t recorded. Authors, who aren’t necessarily professional historians, often have to make educated guesses. We employ “facts” on a number of levels – for character motivation and conflict, the plot’s direction, or even simple background scenery.”[7]
Research is a framework—the foundation for accuracy. This stage isn’t all black and white, however, so the author must make educated judgment calls.
But according to Green, there soon comes a point when the writer needs to end the initial research phase and start drafting. There’s time for the nitty gritty details later.
Sensitivity should also always be at the back of an author’s mind. We should honor the histories of the people who came before us. “Limited thinking can happen if details are made up concerning people and cultures that are historically underrepresented or oppressed,” wrote StoryCoach editor Heather Wood. “For the writers who find they must bend the facts of history for the sake of their story and are choosing to do this with a clear purpose for the betterment of the writing, an author’s note or disclaimer shows the reader what to believe, and what to suspend in their belief of the facts.”[8]
Executive Editor of The History Quill Andrew Noakes suggests a few story concept ideas that keep sensitivity in mind: telling a fictionalized (but accurate) account of a true story, telling a true story with some creative license, use real events as the backdrop for your mostly fictionalized story, or use a true story as the inspiration for your story. For this last one specifically, Noakes says, “This could involve basing a fictional character on a real person, for example, or taking inspiration from an interesting historical episode and replicating elements of it in your story. Just be careful to avoid basing your characters on people who are still living (for obvious legal reasons).”[9]
Accuracy is a responsibility, not an option. It establishes the credibility of the author for the reader.
Accuracy vs. Authenticity
On the point of accuracy, we must discuss how it differs from authenticity. They are not always the same thing. Let’s take dialogue, for example:
Aleyn spak first, “Al hayl, Symond, y-fayth;
How fares thy faire doghter and thy wyf?”
“Aleyn! welcome,” quod Symond, “by my lyf,
And John also, how now, what do ye heer?”[10]
The above is quoted from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Here is some accurate 14th-century Middle English dialogue. But using language like this in a modern novel would not impress your reader—it would ostracize them. See an adapted version of the same text:
Aleyn spoke first. “Good day, Symond. How’s your fine daughter and your wife?”“Aleyn, welcome!” replied Symond. “And, by God, it’s John as well. Are you both well? What brings you here?”[11]
This translation keeps the traditional phrases such as “Good day” and “by God” to give the text authenticity. These lines are much easier to understand and draw the readers in instead of keeping them out.
In historical fiction, that is key: stay away from details that will pull the reader out of the story, even if the details are accurate. If you feel the absolute need to include a fascinating detail, even one that may pull the reader away for a moment, Noakes suggests introducing a character’s skepticism of it. “Depict at least one character finding it just as unbelievable as you think the reader might, and then depict another character putting them right.”[12]
Noakes recommends three principles for crafting authentic historical fiction: authentic dialogue, keeping in mind when things were invented/discovered, and knowing the social conventions of the era (and when to break them).[13] If they are broken, your protagonist needs to still be confronted with the societal expectations of their time.
“Authenticity refers to the experience of consuming a historical text and the audience’s impression of whether it captures the past, even if this is at odds with available evidence; a novel can be read as inauthentic even when it is strictly accurate, and vice versa,” wrote Laura Saxton.[14] Historical characters are informed by the past but created by the writer, which gives them the historical and fictional elements all at once.
Authenticity also extends past the facts, such as events or dates. The people and setting should reflect the era authentically, such as the way people speak, what they’re thinking about, what their homes are like, what they’re wearing, what careers their families have, etc. Details of this kind speak to the spirit of the time rather than its reality.
I’ve found the best way to do this is to read primary sources such as diaries, letters, and other personal accounts to understand a specific person’s (or a group of people’s) voice, values, personality, and lifestyle.
Believability is crucial for any novel. Accessing and presenting that believability does not mean the writer should strive to present the period exactly as it was. In fact, that’s impossible. The further back you set your writing, there is only textual evidence. We don’t know what it was like to stand in the middle of a Civil War battlefield, gunpowder in our nostrils, or to be in the first audience who heard the majesty of Beethoven’s Fifth, or to wait with anxiety pooling in our chests as we wait for Caesar Rodney to make the rainy ride from Delaware to Philadelphia so America could declare independence. But we can draw from similar experiences, and we can draw from the primary sources of others who experienced such pivotal history.
Not only is a historical author’s work a presentation of the facts, but it is also an opportunity for them to interpret history. Truth needs to be found in a historical narrative, or else it would be bland.
“In the British Library’s podcast series ‘Henry VIII: Man and Monarch,’ Mantel suggests that historical fictions are a site of ironic interplay between author and reader who are continually nudging each other and saying this is a fiction you know, and this is one representation. It is one of many possible representations,” wrote Saxton.[15] The past has innumerable interpretations. The purpose of historical fiction is to represent one or a few interpretations, because though accuracy and authenticity are important, they can’t lead to the full truth. We as authors can only approach stories and their many layers with a particular lens.
The way to marry authenticity and accuracy is to introduce accepted facts into fictional scenarios. Our characters need to have plausible feelings and conversations. Authenticity comes in when we explore the relationship between the past and the portrayals of the past in media; it comes in when we realize intertextuality provides context and foundation for the truthfulness of any situation.
Saxton concludes that authenticity, in the end, is subjective.[16] One reader may not find one story as authentic as the next person may. That is part of the beauty of fiction and the way readers participate in its impact and interpretation. The author’s job is to be familiar with comparable representations and write accordingly.
When it comes to the side of accuracy, what is expected? Is there ever a time to stretch the truth? And which facts are essential to include?
“Historical accuracy doesn’t mean that every detail must be correct,” stated an article from Lost in Bookland. “In fact, it’s impossible for a work of historical fiction to be 100% accurate; there will always be some degree of creative license taken by the author. The key is to strike a balance between accuracy and artistic license. A good historical fiction writer will know when to deviate from the historical record in order to create a compelling narrative, and when to stay true to the facts in order to maintain the integrity of the story.”[17]
James Forrester, writer for The Guardian, argues that historical fiction is a “lying art.” Good historical fiction involves telling lies, he wrote. By this, he is talking about authenticity. Like the Canterbury Tales excerpt, we cannot use period-accurate English because it would isolate the reader from the story. We should not use slang that’s not understandable out of context, even if people in that era would have used such words. In a third example, he wrote, “Similarly, an accurate portrayal of a world in which most dutiful and conscientious fathers will regularly beat their sons is likely to alienate readers.”[18]
These “lies” are expected. When crafted well and intentionally, they make the immersive reading experience fluid.
“The spectrum of historical fiction is therefore not as simple as ‘accurate = good’ and ‘inaccurate = bad,’” wrote Forrester. “It depends on whether the inaccuracies are constructive lies or accidental mistakes. Hilary Mantel has commented on how the early years of Cromwell are so poorly documented that she was free to make up elements. Such invention could be called educated guesswork, but it is still guesswork, it is still lying.”[19]
Let’s look at the place of fact in a novel. Some historical fiction books are based on fact. Historical events, periods, people, and beliefs are essential to the novel’s plot and operation. Other historical novels simply weave fact into the narrative. It is still important, but it is not the foundation of the work. There is no objectively right option, but there is always a best choice for each work.
Too many facts and too much history can weigh down a novel. We are trying to tell a compelling story, not bore students in a survey history course.
Liam Bell, novelist and creative writing lecturer, said, “I’ve learned that the key to writing historical fiction is not providing all of the facts and figures, but combing through your research and pinpointing the one detail in ten which the reader can emotionally connect with. It is the human experience that truly resonates.”[20] You will not include most of your research in your story. But the research is essential for finding the gems that will resonate with your readers.
Will a little mistake ruin the work? It certainly doesn’t have to. In Ken Follett’s The Pillars of Earth, he wrote low-class characters in the 12th century eating breakfast most days, when in actuality, people of such status wouldn’t have eaten until the main meal. However, this is a minor misstep given that the rest of the book is so well thought through, immersive for the reader, and widely appreciated as a whole.
Sometimes, when you research more obscure figures or events, or if you go farther back in time, you’re left with as many gaps as you have facts, and those must be filled with fictional, educated guesses. Whatever choices you make should be left in the author’s note. “It’s part of your craft to fill in the gaps with your imagination,” wrote Noakes. “In fact, some of the best historical fiction stories grow between the cracks found in history.”[21]
Fictional Elements and Good Writing
No matter what, no matter the genre, the fictional elements ultimately make or break a story. A historical fiction novel may be completely accurate, but if it lacks interesting characters, a coherent plot, an immersive setting, or a solid theme, the book will get bad reviews. Historical fiction authors are not rehashing history; they are representing it within the confines of fiction. These fictional elements add essential flavor. Like cooking dinner, macaroni, rice, or potatoes will taste bland alone. It takes herbs and spices to give them the kick and flavor that will make people exclaim in delight, “What’s in this? I have to have this again!”
Just like a well-known meal staple, fictional elements can present well-known history in a similar way. Good fiction pitches present what-ifs when there are gaps in the historical record. Take a few examples:
Nadine Brandes’s Romanov: What if Anastasia and Alexei Romanov survived their family’s murder because of a hint of magic?
Jennifer Nielson’s A Night Divided: What if two children defied the Soviets and tunneled under the Berlin Wall to see their father and older brother after years apart?
Stacey Lee’s Under a Painted Sky: What if two girls of color had to disguise themselves as boys on the Oregon Trail, hiding their secret even from their companions?
But can a good idea with good fictional elements stand without the backup of accuracy? From what I’ve collected, no. A well-written historical novel without the credibility of accuracy cannot stand on its own. Readers want to trust the author. They want to be immersed in history to a certain extent. Accuracy and authenticity are the base of the meal; good fictional elements are the meat and potatoes, as they should be for any genre of novel. The plot, worldbuilding, characters, theme, setting, and conflict must not only be present, but they must also be well-crafted.
Good historical fiction writing cannot be separated from historical accuracy. They are in a symbiotic relationship. A historical novel will seem lacking if one is present without the other. And the heart of it all is simply storytelling.
Historical fiction author Bernard Cornwell said, “The most important thing, the all important thing, is to get the story right. Write, rewrite, rewrite again, and do not worry about anything except story. It is story, story, story. That is your business. Your job is not to educate readers on the finer points of Elizabethan diplomacy or Napoleonic warfare, your job is to divert and amuse people who have had a hard day at work. What will get you published? Not style, not research, but story. Once the story is right, everything else will follow.”[22]
In a slightly different point of view, author Elizabeth Chadwick seemingly places accuracy on the same level as story. “Yes, story is massively important, but in the case of historical fiction the story must rest solidly on historical integrity…Indeed, it’s essential.”[23]
But it’s clear that both authors agree on the central point: accuracy is the foundation for any good historical fiction storytelling.
Choices With Purpose
Historical fiction is an important calling, an invitation to share untold stories and respectfully and authentically magnify marginalized voices. “The ethics of fiction are always about the work of imagination, about the human ability to imagine what it might be like if things were different, and what it is like for other people for whom things are different,” wrote author Sarah Moss. “Historical fiction, then, is able to imagine the stories missing from popular history.”[24]
In the end, there will always be conflicting opinions about the balance of fact and fiction in the genre. I didn’t anticipate the topic being so subjective. It comforts me to know there is a degree of flexibility and freedom in the “fiction,” and a sense of noble responsibility in the “historical.” Despite one’s stance on what degree the balance should be, we as authors all ought to make choices with purpose.
As for me, this will make me more aware of the choices I make and why I make them. If those choices may give readers pause, it’s my responsibility to say where I took creative liberties and why. Am I representing historical people and their cultures as authentically as possible? Do the facts I have in the story add to the plot, or do they ostracize the reader? Are the details I include adding to the credibility of the story instead of taking away from it? Having answers to these questions will let me represent people’s histories through a quality fictional medium.
What do these choices look like? For me, it’s being the Mosaic-Maker. It’s reading the voices of real historical people so I can represent them and the characters I base off them authentically. It’s making educated deductions about what happened in the hour of a shipwreck that no one survived. It’s using my author’s note responsibly so readers can learn from and understand the decisions I make.
There is no perfect equation between the historical facts and the good storytelling elements of historical fiction. And despite all our hard, careful work, inaccuracies may still show up in our published novels. But it is our mission as historical fiction authors to hold the crafts of historical fact and fiction with importance, no matter what that balance looks like for each of us. So, tell the stories of those in hidden history with excellence.
Bibliography
Addey, Melissa. 2021. “Beyond ‘Is It True?’: The ‘Playframe’ in Historical Fiction.” New
Writing 18 (4): 421–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2021.1876095.
Aubrey, Jade. 2022. “Fact and Fiction: How ‘True’ Should Your Historical Novel Be? —
History Through Fiction.” History Through Fiction. June 23,
Bell, Liam. 2022. “Good Historical Fiction Is Not Just About Factual Accuracy, but the
Details of Human Experience Too.” The
about-factual-accuracy-but-the-details-of-human-experience-too-185341.
Chadwick, Elizabeth. “Beyond the Dressing Up Box: How I write historical fiction.” 2017, July
Chaucer, Geoffrey. 2007. The Canterbury Tales. London: Penguin Books.
Cornwell, Barnard. 2023. “Writing Advice | Bernard Cornwell.”
Forrester, James. 2019. “The Lying Art of Historical Fiction.” The Guardian, August 21,
historical-fiction.
Green, Amy Lynn. 2023. Interview by author. February 14, 2023.
Kim, Juhea. 2021. “Why You Shouldn’t Read Historical Fiction to Learn History.” 2021.
Literary Hub. December 17, 2021. https://lithub.com/why-you-shouldnt-read-historical-
fiction-to-learn-history/.
Lost In Bookland. 2023. “The Importance of Historical Accuracy in Fiction: Why It
Matters to Readers.” Lost in Bookland. March 21,
fiction-why-it-matters-to-readers/.
Moss, Sarah. 2016. “Sarah Moss: In Defence of Historical Fiction.” The Irish Times,
July 20, 2016. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/sarah-moss-in-
defence-of-historical-fiction-1.2728416.
Noakes, Andrew. 2020. “6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction.” Jane Friedman.
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Noakes, Andrew. 2021. “10 Essential Research Tips for Historical Fiction Writers - the History
Quill.” The History Quill. August 2, 2021. https://thehistoryquill.com/10-essential-
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Noakes, Andrew. 2019. “Three Ways to Create Historical Authenticity - the History Quill.” The
History Quill. October 16, 2019. https://thehistoryquill.com/three-ways-to-create-
historical-authenticity/.
Riley, Vanessa. 2021. “Perspective | Female-Centered Historical Novels Are Dogged by Questions of Accuracy. Hence the Author’s Note.” Washington Post, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/historical-fiction-accuracy/2021/06/13/8a018ee0-cae8-11eb-a11b-6c6191ccd599_story.html.
Sambuchino, Chuck and Writer’s Digest. 2014. “Stretching the Facts in Historical
Fiction.” February 19, 2014. https://www.writersdigest.com/whats-
new/stretching-the-facts-in-historical-fiction.
Saxton, Laura. “A True Story: Defining Accuracy and Authenticity in Historical
Fiction.” Rethinking History 24, no. 2 (June 2020): 127–44.
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Wood, Heather. 2023. “The Importance of Historical Accuracy.” Fictionary. February 22,
[1] Vanessa Riley, “Perspective | Female-Centered Historical Novels Are Dogged by Questions of Accuracy.
Hence the Author’s Note,” Washington Post, 2021,
cae8-11eb-a11b-6c6191ccd599_story.html.
[2] Riley, “Perspective.”
[3] Melissa Addey, “Beyond ‘Is It True?’: The ‘Playframe’ in Historical Fiction.” New Writing 18 (2021): 421–33, https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2021.1876095.
[4] Juhea Kim, “Why You Shouldn’t Read Historical Fiction to Learn History,” Literary Hub, 2021,
[5] Addey, “Beyond ‘Is It True?’”
[6] Amy Lynn Green, interview by author, February 14, 2023.
[7] Chuck Sambuchino, “Stretching the Facts in Historical Fiction,” Writer’s Digest, 2014, https://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/stretching-the-facts-in-historical-fiction.
[8] Heather Wood, “The Importance of Historical Accuracy,” Fictionary, 2023, https://fictionary.co/journal/the-importance-of-historical-accuracy/.
[9] Andrew Noakes, “10 Essential Research Tips for Historical Fiction Writers,” The History Quill, 2021,
[10] Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. (London, England: Penguin Classics, 2007)
[11] Andrew Noakes, “Three Ways to Create Historical Authenticity,” The History Quill, 2019, https://thehistoryquill.com/three-ways-to-create-historical-authenticity/.
[12] Andrew Noakes, “6 Principles for Writing Historical Fiction,” Jane Friedman, 2020, https://janefriedman.com/dos-and-donts-of-writing-historical-fiction/.
[13] Noakes, “Three Ways.”
[14] Laura Saxton, “A True Story: Defining Accuracy and Authenticity in Historical Fiction,” Rethinking History 24 (2020): 127–44, doi:10.1080/13642529.2020.1727189.
[15] Saxton, “A True Story.”
[16] Saxton, “A True Story.”
[17] Lost In Bookland, “The Importance of Historical Accuracy in Fiction: Why It Matters to Readers,” Lost in Bookland, 2023, https://lostinbookland.com/the-importance-of-historical-accuracy-in-fiction-why-it-matters-to-readers/.
[18] James Forrester, “The Lying Art of Historical Fiction,” The Guardian, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/aug/06/lying-historical-fiction.
[19] Forrester, “The Lying Art.”
[20] Liam Bell, “Good Historical Fiction Is Not Just About Factual Accuracy, but the Details of Human Experience Too,” The Conversation, 2022, https://theconversation.com/good-historical-fiction-is-not-just-about-factual-accuracy-but-the-details-of-human-experience-too-185341.
[21] Noakes, “10 Essential Research Tips.”
[22] Barnard Cornwell, “Writing Advice | Bernard Cornwell,” 2023, https://www.bernardcornwell.net/writing-advice/.
[23] Elizabeth Chadwick, “Beyond the Dressing Up Box: How I write historical fiction,” 2017, https://elizabethchadwick.com/blog/beyond-the-dressing-up-box-how-i-write-historical-fiction/.
[24] Sarah Moss, “Sarah Moss: In Defence of Historical Fiction,” The Irish Times, 2016, https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/sarah-moss-in-defence-of-historical-fiction-1.2728416.
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