Much nattering on writing and researching

[cleolinda]

V. excited--I had hit a wall trying to research Black Ribbon Vol. 2, because I didn't know what I was looking for. I generally have to plan at least a couple of chapters ahead so I can lay the foundation/foreshadowing/logistics/whatever, which is why I'm worried about this even though Vol. 1 is still not done (STILL! NOT! DONE!). So getting past this block is a big thing.

Here's my problem: I need in-depth information as to what it would be like in Paris in 1889. Not even just 1889--the first half of the year, February to April-ish. Complicating matters is the fact that this is the year the Eiffel Tower went up and the World's Fair came to town, so geography (temporary pavilions, etc.) and social matters are all out of whack. I mean, imagine needing to know what it would be like to live in Atlanta, Georgia, precisely when the Olympics were going on. See what I'm saying? So. Searching for World's Fairs in general turned up surprisingly little--and I'm not just talking about the internet, here, I'm talking about Amazon and local libraries.

Okay, failing that, let's broaden the scope. I'm looking for... Victorian France? No, it's not called that, silly. It's... what is it? Dammit, I don't even know how France was governed in 1889. Wikipedia, have I told you lately that I love you? Yes? Good. Ah. The... Third Republic? Really? No shit. Hmmm. Well, I know fin du siècle is tossed around a lot, let's try that.... Huh. Not much. Great.

That's where I was when I left off researching a few weeks back (class and all), so that's where I picked up. Now, for some reason--you know how sometimes things are just right in front of you and you don't notice? Yeah. There in the French history: Third Republic Wikipedia article: Belle époque. That's the search term I needed. It was like I'd pushed a secret button at the UAB library search engine. Of course, now I have a paper due on Thursday for Literature of Antebellum Reform--I think I may do something with mesmerism--and while mesmerism will also play into Black Ribbon, and thus I'm sort of multi-tasking... it still puts off serious reading for a while.

Here's the stroke of genius I had: I love reading historical biographies--of royals, if at all possible. I love Alison Weir's bios of the Tudors and Plantagenets, but Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette bio was great, too. And after reading these books, I feel reasonably equipped to start--start--writing an historical novel set in any of those periods, should I so desire. The level of detail--food, clothing, social mores--is that good. So: Why not find a figure in the time and place I want, find a good biography, and read that?

I've settled on Sarah Bernhardt for my French research; she traveled a lot and was a figure of huge cultural importance, so I ought to be able to glean a lot of ordinary details from an extraordinary life. I'm thinking of using Vienna for Vol. 3, so I'm looking for books on Elisabeth of Austria--Empress Sissi. She rebelled and lived in Venice, Corfu, and Madeira for a time--a great panorama of what life was like in several places at the time. In fact, her son's famous suicide happened right about the time Vol. 1 takes place, so she's situated ideally in my timeline.

Obviously there's the problem of class--my characters aren't royalty, after all, and so a lot of what I read might not apply to them. But my experience with biography is that you learn so much about the period in general that it's worthwhile. And, like a lot of people, I've soaked in Victoriana for years--but I know very little about any other place at the time. (Vol. 4 will take place somewhere in Eastern Europe, I'm not sure, and finish in India. Of course, there may be zipping back and forth all through the series, I don't know.) If any history buffs out there have any particular book suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Comments

[edda.livejournal.com]

Are there any good novels/nonfiction about life in England pre-1066? I'm thinking of the period Tolkien was so fond of. I'd like to read anything in that era, if there's anything either really engaging (fiction) or really reliable (non-fiction). And yes, i have read The Mists of Avalon which made Lord of the Rings look like The Poky Little Puppy.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I really like Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave--it's a whole Arthurian series, but that's the only one I've read, I think. I was 14 or 15 and couldn't really get into the rest of them--I need to go back and read them. Anyway, it's written like completely straight historical fiction, first-person from Merlin's POV. It reminds me a lot of the King Arthur movie coming out--Merlin's father is Roman, the story is very down-to-earth, and the closest thing to magic is a sort of vision/seizure he has. (Well, that and the Ygraine/Uther episode--I forget exactly how he accomplished that.) In fact, I really want to go back and read the books now. Grrr, only 24 hours in a day...

[edda.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've seen it around but never tried it. I really must...

And yes, there should be more than 24 hours in a day...then I'd be able to use more for sleep.

[alysscarlet.livejournal.com]

Yes, I thoroughly recommend Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. There is also a 4th book The Wicked Day not told from the POV of Merlin. I too read them as a teenager, but am re-reading them now and am pleased to discover that they stand up to re-reading 25 years later. They are set in Dark Age Britain, but I would hesitate to say they are historically accurate, although they give that impression. Of course, Stewart follows the story of Geoffrey of Monmouth and this time around I've definitely noticed quite a few anachronisms creeping in.

But they are a great read overall and I recommend them.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

I read a big-assed book in Sissi in high school (my dad majored in Euro History so I was interested in that stuff) so I know there is one.

geography of long ago times

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

i am thinking that you may be able to find an historical map of the world's fair. i would combine that with whatever maps you can find of paris as close to your target time as you can get. make your own map, kind of the equivalent of the quick character guide that some writers make. and then, this is the key bit, make up the rest. even if you get a lot of it wrong, as long as you've got enough right no one will notice that the croissant stand was actually on the right and the Rue de Imaginaire didn't go all the way through until 5 years after Mme Brissand's burnt down.

Re: geography of long ago times

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee. I actually did find a map last night--an actual map from 1899 (http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCH/exhibition/galleries/1889par.html) that the U of Maryland had scanned in. It's rather small, though, and doesn't show specifics too well.

It did occur to me that, since this is the fair where they debuted the Eiffel Tower, that just researching that would probably turn up what I want.

And you're right--the best part about discovering that there's hardly any info is that no one will be able to contradict me. :)

[missbingley.livejournal.com]

Oh, I adore Alison Weird and Antonia Frasier. My mother has a big thing for British history, so I always read them when she was done. They're wonderful.

[terriem.livejournal.com]

Hi there. I randomly found your journal and as a bit of a historian, was instantly drawn to your research entry. I'm not sure if these are what you're looking for, but they might help you get a feel for the look of Paris at the time: This site (http://membres.lycos.fr/soisy91/) has some good photos of parades and people wondering around.
Here's a very good article (http://www.lib.umd.edu/ARCH/honr219f/1889pari.html) on the exhibition and the geography of it, including a map.
And finally, (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/mtdavis/243/parisexpo/parisexpo1889.html) here's a site with a lovely birds eye picture of Paris.

Hope some of that helps! Good luck with the research.

[autiotalo.livejournal.com]

Stephen Lawhead wrote a pretty good trilogy based on Taliesin, the Welsh minstrel, although I don't know how readily available they are these days. Plus Bernard Cornwell always does his research, and I find him eminently readable - he wrote a trilogy around King Arthur (The Winter King is one of the titles, can't remember the rest offhand) and he also write Stonehenge if you want to go waaay back... although as an archaeologist I disagreed with some of the assumptions he made in that one. Still a good story, though.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

That was what I was about to recommend, The Crystal Cave. I was always fascinated by the first half, with Merlin's Roman father--just that juncture between Roman and Medieval culture, and the way you could see one becoming the other.