Is it really necessary to spend a great deal of time researching a Regency or Georgian novel?
To a great extent it depends on the author’s basic knowledge of the periods. I think it vital that the backgrounds, mores, parlance, etc., be fairly accurate. I say “fairly”, because if we wrote exactly as they spoke, in Georgians especially, it might be a bit tiresome. However, as I often remark when lecturing, one can overdo research. If you’re writing to meet a deadline and it takes you four days to discover one small detail, it might be better to simply write “around it”. Also, I was reading a book, in another genre, in which an author (an American with a great love of England) had researched so deeply that she simply couldn’t resist passing on her erudition to her readers. There were endless passages on how British names are pronounced quite differently than their spelling - i.e., Featherstonehaugh – Fanshaw. One would have done quite well; and constant references to some obscure monetary differences. Research makes the difference between a believable and a nonsensical tale, bu
Related Questions
- Tank platoons spend a great deal of time perfecting ambush situations, like opening fire from all tanks at once, and distributing targets to each platoon member. How does Steel Beasts reflect that?
- I spend a great deal of time with the child(ren). Should my support obligation be reduced to reflect that?
- Is it really necessary to spend a great deal of time researching a Regency or Georgian novel?
