I often hear the question: “How much of what you write in your historical novels is actually true?”*
A lot. At the beginning stages of a book, I sit down with all the reliable recorded information that I can find about my hero. I write a timeline of notable events in the woman’s life, then study up on the most important people in her life and how they interacted with her.
Then I meditate on those things, and using those events and people, come up with a dramatic overlay of a plot with a strong theme and gradually-building conflict. It’s usually pretty easy to spot the most crucial moment in my protagonist’s life, and the big pay-off centers around that moment. In most cases, I focus on a particularly dramatic time in my character’s life; right now, with THE BLOODIEST QUEEN, I’m tackling Catherine de’ Medici’s entire earthly existence.
So the drama (not the events) in the woman’s life is massaged creatively, as are unrecorded exchanges between herself and the principals in the story. Recorded exchanges or letters or speeches – such as, for example, the desperate letter from Lorenzo to the Duke of Milan, or Savonarola’s impassioned sermons, both in I, MONA LISA – are presented as accurately as possible. Only rarely will I introduce characters that are unmentioned by historians, and even then I try to tie those characters to history. For example, Lisa’s slave, Zalumma, hails from the Caucasus mountains – like so many other slaves in Florence at that time, and “Zalumma” is a bona fide Caucasian name, and her hair is wildly curly because curly hair was common among Caucasians.
If I do introduce a character, it’s one that could plausibly have existed. All major events in the story are real. Remember, I’m working from a timeline, and any descriptions of places in the novel are given with all the accuracy I can muster. (There are times when I feel like I’m writing a travelogue.) I locate pictures of all my characters, too – even the minor ones – and gaze lovingly on them while I’m writing.
*This riff does not cover my completely fictional characters in THE DIARIES OF THE FAMILY DRACUL trilogy or THE BURNING TIMES (whose Sybille is a composite of several women who were from Toulouse or Carcassone and were burned at the stake as witches.) Oh, yeah, and because so little was known about Lisa Gherardini, I had to get pretty creative and fill in a lot of blanks.
Comments (3)
Jeanne,
I have just finished "The Borgia Bride"...I haven't been able to put it down! A friend had bought "I, Mona Lisa", and let me borrow it. I loved it, and just had to find another book by you and found "The Borgia Bride". I was just enchanted with the story and the characters...I can't wait to read "the Bloodiest Queen".
Keep up the great work!
Vickie (An avid reader with a strong fondness for historical fiction)
Posted by Victoria | August 10, 2007 12:43 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 12:43
Hi, Vickie, and thanks for the comment. Plus all the kind words... shucks! Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, considering looming deadlines and all the pages still to be written... But nice messages like yours cheer me right up. Thanks again!
Posted by Jeanne Kalogridis | August 10, 2007 5:11 PM
Posted on August 10, 2007 17:11
I am a big fan of Catherine, but still learning about her. Always wanted to do a children's book about her...maybe some day when I meet all my deadlines and have nothing else to do. ya, right. I will watch for your book. (send me an email when it is out!) It sounds very interesting.
Posted by Carlyn Beccia | April 14, 2008 10:41 AM
Posted on April 14, 2008 10:41