Absolutely. The most well-known stories can be told in unique ways, and in the hands of a good writer, long-dead historical figures who are names in biographies (or these days Wikipedia articles) become real people. The fun of reading fictional portrayals of historical events is to see how the author brings these people to life through words and fleshes out their thoughts and motivations, and sometimes, I've read novels where the characters are so engaging I find myself hoping, despite knowing how the story ends, that this time, just this once, Catherine Howard or Lady Jane Grey (or anyone else who in real life died tragically) makes it out alive.
The first time I remember being consciously aware of the fates of Henry VIII's wives was in my early teens. When I was about 15, I picked up a novel about Anne Boleyn's rise and fall, which not only ignited a fascination with her story, but introduced me to Mark Smeaton for the first time. A handful of the several hundred pages focused on him: he was depicted as a teenage prodigy recently arrived at court who developed a crush on the Queen and whose life was regarded by more powerful men as expendable. The author's portrayal was so vivid, especially the horrific scene of his interrogation, that I remember some sentences verbatim decades later. I still remember the shock of finding out what happened to him, and my anger at the injustice. And yes, I - a teenager reading about him 450 years after his death - grieved for him. I realised he had a family, friends, perhaps someone he hoped to spend the rest of his life with. Their grief would have been immeasurable. I've been fascinated by him ever since, which has only been fuelled by the way in which some people portray everything they assume he did in a negative light, simply because a traumatised young man who did nothing wrong did not respond under interrogation in the way they (from the safety of their 21st century lounge rooms) think he should have.
I've always thought he'd make a brilliant subject for a novel (or film) so I was delighted to find out about yours!
Thanks so much for this. I've been saddened and intrigued by Mark Smeaton's story for decades too. Sometimes when people criticize him for confessing, I think to myself, "Yeah, you try it. You see how well you do when you're brutalized and caught in that kind of terrifying, inescapable trap."
I love this piece, especially its treatment of the difference between surprise and suspense, love how it reminds me why a story's suspense may be more satisfying than its surprise.
Yes, exactly. Plus it often tempts readers to learn more about the history. I think you could organize such an interesting high school or college history course by starting with some great historical fiction.
I don't think people mind knowing how a story in real life ends because fiction, is, well, fiction. And they might know how something ends, but they likely don't know what happened on the way there. I have also learned that people don't know as much history as one might believe. I worried about people knowing how the story ends when writing my own novel, Solitary Walker. I assumed everybody knew as much as I did about Mary Wollstonecraft. She's an iconic historical figure famous the world over. But I've been stunned by how many women (my target reading group) have never heard of her. Roughly 98% of my readers that I've spoken with have never heard of her.
By the way, nice review in the last Historical Novel Society magazine!
Thank you -- and yes, sometimes historical fiction is the introduction, isn't it? We're lucky to be able to introduce readers to intriguing people and times they're not familiar with. It's one of the pleasures of writing.
I agree that known events can be just as interesting and suspenseful as totally fictional ones. The film Argo springs to mind. I was on the edge of my seat, despite knowing the ending. There is always some new point of view in historical fiction.
From a recent interview with Jamie Lee Curtis, I learned that the suspense in the movie Psycho persisted long after the filming for her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis said her mother would never take a shower after making the film.
Real life doesn't revolve around plot twists, and the ending is only occasionally all that surprising. And I'm still interested in life!
Also, I often read the end of a book first, so I can settle in comfortably to read everything leading up to it!
Absolutely. The most well-known stories can be told in unique ways, and in the hands of a good writer, long-dead historical figures who are names in biographies (or these days Wikipedia articles) become real people. The fun of reading fictional portrayals of historical events is to see how the author brings these people to life through words and fleshes out their thoughts and motivations, and sometimes, I've read novels where the characters are so engaging I find myself hoping, despite knowing how the story ends, that this time, just this once, Catherine Howard or Lady Jane Grey (or anyone else who in real life died tragically) makes it out alive.
The first time I remember being consciously aware of the fates of Henry VIII's wives was in my early teens. When I was about 15, I picked up a novel about Anne Boleyn's rise and fall, which not only ignited a fascination with her story, but introduced me to Mark Smeaton for the first time. A handful of the several hundred pages focused on him: he was depicted as a teenage prodigy recently arrived at court who developed a crush on the Queen and whose life was regarded by more powerful men as expendable. The author's portrayal was so vivid, especially the horrific scene of his interrogation, that I remember some sentences verbatim decades later. I still remember the shock of finding out what happened to him, and my anger at the injustice. And yes, I - a teenager reading about him 450 years after his death - grieved for him. I realised he had a family, friends, perhaps someone he hoped to spend the rest of his life with. Their grief would have been immeasurable. I've been fascinated by him ever since, which has only been fuelled by the way in which some people portray everything they assume he did in a negative light, simply because a traumatised young man who did nothing wrong did not respond under interrogation in the way they (from the safety of their 21st century lounge rooms) think he should have.
I've always thought he'd make a brilliant subject for a novel (or film) so I was delighted to find out about yours!
Thanks so much for this. I've been saddened and intrigued by Mark Smeaton's story for decades too. Sometimes when people criticize him for confessing, I think to myself, "Yeah, you try it. You see how well you do when you're brutalized and caught in that kind of terrifying, inescapable trap."
I love this piece, especially its treatment of the difference between surprise and suspense, love how it reminds me why a story's suspense may be more satisfying than its surprise.
Readers like me may know WHAT happened but fiction engages the imagination to think about HOW and WHY it happened.
Yes, exactly. Plus it often tempts readers to learn more about the history. I think you could organize such an interesting high school or college history course by starting with some great historical fiction.
I don't think people mind knowing how a story in real life ends because fiction, is, well, fiction. And they might know how something ends, but they likely don't know what happened on the way there. I have also learned that people don't know as much history as one might believe. I worried about people knowing how the story ends when writing my own novel, Solitary Walker. I assumed everybody knew as much as I did about Mary Wollstonecraft. She's an iconic historical figure famous the world over. But I've been stunned by how many women (my target reading group) have never heard of her. Roughly 98% of my readers that I've spoken with have never heard of her.
By the way, nice review in the last Historical Novel Society magazine!
Thank you -- and yes, sometimes historical fiction is the introduction, isn't it? We're lucky to be able to introduce readers to intriguing people and times they're not familiar with. It's one of the pleasures of writing.
I agree that known events can be just as interesting and suspenseful as totally fictional ones. The film Argo springs to mind. I was on the edge of my seat, despite knowing the ending. There is always some new point of view in historical fiction.
That's a great example. Completely agree.
From a recent interview with Jamie Lee Curtis, I learned that the suspense in the movie Psycho persisted long after the filming for her mother, Janet Leigh. Curtis said her mother would never take a shower after making the film.
I bet. I can't tell you how many times that scene has crossed my mind when I'm in a hotel and about to take a shower.