The figure becomes a character and the engine of the novel turns over. The facts are cemented in truth, but the moral, emotional reasoning is an educated guess. This is also the time when the history blurs and fiction gallops in. This is when I am committed, devoted and off and running. It is the part where I become completely absorbed in a character’s life and time.

But the right person from history will only grow more dear, more beloved and more real.Īfter the honeymoon, comes the immersion, the falling down a rabbit hole period. If her choices feel illogical or her decisions poor, or her laughter shrill, she can quickly fall off her pedestal. After the initial honeymoon period, the wrong historical figure could start to grate. 'Choosing the historical figure is a bit like choosing a roommate for my brain.'įirst comes the research. Because it can take years to write the novel. I have to feel an immediate kinship, a recognition that this is a person I could spend an enormous amount of time with. Things like leaving dishes in the sink or singing in the shower. I have to not mind if she does things that might irritate me. I have to want to see this person first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Choosing the historical figure is a bit like choosing a roommate for my brain. But it is a guess that is based upon a real life. Historical fiction is a guess, a hat tossed into the ring.

In this behind-the-book essay, Parmar explains how important-and how personal-choosing a historical fiction subject can be.įor me, choosing a subject for a historical novel is a tricky thing. Her second novel, Vanessa and Her Sister, is based on the life of the artist Vanessa Bell. Priya Parmar is a former freelance editor whose first novel, Exit the Actress, was based on the 17th-century actress (and royal mistress) Ellen 'Nell' Gwyn.

Exit the actress by priya parmar