I wonder what draws a reader to historical fiction novels. I have seen all the interest lately in the events of 1916. I think a lot of us had forgotten our history lessons at school and tuned in to the various programmes to be reminded, or to hear for the first time, the facts surrounding the events of the Easter Rising. Yet what seems to have captured the hearts and minds of the nation these past weeks were the human stories behind the facts and statistics. Descendants of people who were personally involved have shared their letters and diaries and it has touched us in a way the facts alone never could.
So when a reader delves into historical fiction I think it’s because so much in the characters resonates with them despite the era and circumstances being different. In every past generation people struggled with life, love, the need to feed and clothe themselves, the need to seek adventure in order to feel alive. They yearned to achieve or find peace in day-to-day life, and make choices regarding the others they shared the world with.
I set my two novels in the 1880s. What I like about writing historical fiction is the fact that it allows for mystery and a slower pace because answers weren’t readily available back then on the internet or through the immediacy of e-mail. And the characters had concerns that still mirror our own.
We have obviously evolved since then, with electronics, machinery, transport and clothes. But what about attitudes? The main character in my second novel, Rescued, is a healer. She had to do a lot of her healing in secret because she was frightened of severe reprisal from the parish priest. Within her own community there were those who totally accepted her gift of healing and believed in it, those who didn’t believe in it and disliked her for it, even despised her.
That was 1889 – have we moved on? I would say yes, because a healer here in Ireland doesn’t live in fear of their lives; however, while valued highly by some, they are still treated with scepticism by others.
Also I have two female characters in Rescued who are in love with each other – they feared they would not be able to have a life together because no one could accept that type of relationship and feared punishment if found out.
In 2016, there has been huge change in regard to same-sex relationships, but yet there still isn’t total acceptance across the community. What was wonderful about the marriage referendum in 2015 is that those who accepted it and voted “yes” were joined by those who, though not quite understanding it, still found common ground in order to accept it. An example of that common ground would be a Catholic married couple in their fifties or sixties, or grandparents in their seventies or eighties, who maybe couldn’t quite get their heads around the idea of a same-sex relationship, but wanted for their adult children what they had known for themselves – a committed, recognised marriage of two people in love.
So, in conclusion, I think we learn from the people who have gone before us because we can identify with the struggle and wonder of the human condition with all its beauty and imperfections, and in historical fiction, we see how they grapple with it all under circumstances different to our own.
[ Rescued by Maria Murphy is published by Poolbeg, at €8.50Opens in new window ]
