How authentic is the language used by the characters in the novel?
A. Authors of historical fiction are faced with a difficult task. They need to remain true to the language, character, atmosphere and ‘feel’ of the period but also make it relevant and interesting to present day readers. So on the one hand, it is easy to be slightly critical of some terms in the novel: Jack ‘seeing’ Tamasin (p. 325); Tamasin and Mistress Marlin going on a ‘shopping trip’; Wrenne’s servant Madge being ‘in the solar’ with his greyfalcon (p. 307); describing Lady Rochford as Tamasin’s ‘employer’ (p. 325); Shardlake describing himself as ‘bookish’ (p. 458). Jennet Marlin would not have referred to her betrothed as her ‘fiancé’, a term which makes its appearance in the nineteenth century (p. 129). Also, Barak’s penchant for using the f-word is out of place. These are terms familiar to the reader, but would not have been used by men and women in the sixteenth century. There are other words the author uses that I could not find in the Oxford English Dictionary at all: gallapi
