(c) Rosemary Watson
My undergraduate degree was in Archaeology. I'm telling you this, because it might go some way towards explaining why I am one of those annoying readers who get pissed off at a writer who makes a blinding error in their historical novel. Regency ladies taking afternoon tea? Celts peeling potatoes? Julius Caesar in Lorica Segmentata? I have been known to scream.
Don't get me wrong, I accept that it is impossible to view or relate to the past without colouring it with a modern perspective, and I'm even okay with things being a bit out of place for the sake of a good story, but please, if you are going to write about the past then at least try to get the basics about the period right, okay?
But then there are writers like Elizabeth Chadwick, who not only have a deep understanding of the period they write about, they live and breathe it. Literally. Elizabeth is part of a medieval re-enactment society, so she's as close to the period she writes about as it is possible to get, short of building a time machine. Not only is her work historically accurate, she writes a bloody good story to boot. She's one of the best in the business, and her books are a pleasure, even for those of us who are anally retentive over historical detail.
So, there was only one thing for it, then. Harass the poor woman until she answered a few questions for the Project. Method writing is definitely something worth investigating.
Hello, and welcome to The Literary Project! Let's start by talking about why are you a writer? Have you always wanted to write?
I have always been a story teller. I can remember telling myself stories from the age of three - my first effort was making up a story about the imagined lives of fairies printed on my cotton handkerchief. I didn't actually write anything down until I was 15, when I fell in love with a knight in a TV programme and being bored in the summer holidays began writing a story inspired by him. It became a full length novel and it was at this point that I realised I wanted to be a writer for a living.
Why historical fiction?
A matter of chance. As mentioned above, I fell for a handsome knight in a television programme called Desert Crusader and was inspired to write a story. I wanted it to feel as real as possible, so I began researching the Middle Ages in detail. The more I researched, the more interested I became and the more I wanted to write about the period. Not all historical periods have the same siren song. You probably will never find me writing about the 16th or 17th centuries even if I enjoy reading novels by others set at this time. They're not for me as a writer. Long ago I did dabble with the idea of writing Regency too after enjoying the novels of Jane Aiken Hodge, but medieval remained my first love and I've gone on to develop an awareness of the period in depth.
Is there a particular individual or time period that you are yet to explore that you hope/plan to write about in the future?
Oh more than one! There are still numerous aspects of the 11th 12th and 13th century to be written about and some very interesting people, both men and women, although I'd rather keep them to myself for now.
You are very active with historical re-enactment events. Can you tell us about how this interest started? Did you start it for book research, or did the re-enactment come first?
I began it for book research but it soon became more than that. I had happened to go to Nottingham Castle when a pageant was on. I was intending to take some photographs and soak up some medieval atmosphere. There were two guards on the gates dress in full Norman war gear with mail shirts, shields, swords, and helmets. I thought 'wow!' and went to talk to them and ask where they'd hired their marvellous costumes. They told me they owned them and they belonged to an early medieval re-enactment society called Regia Anglorum, which means Kingdoms of the English and they sought to portray the life and times of the British Isles in the tenth and 11th centuries, sometimes stepping outside those parameters. Seeing all their equipment and learning that they were keen to explore aspects of experimental archaeology, I immediately applied to join because I could see the huge benefits for someone like me writing about their period.
Bringing a historical period to life within a novel is a challenge. Do you think re-enactment helps to add authentic flavour to your work? Would you recommend this method of research to new writers?
Re-enactment/living history is a superb method of research for any historical novelist. Rather than learning things from a text book you can get out there and touch and feel and experience it for yourself and that is bound to make a difference to your writing. For me it's an essential part of the process and there are 're-enactment moments' scattered throughout all of my novels.
Can you talk us through your path to publication?
I am afraid I am going to be totally boring on this one. I decided at 15 that I wanted to be a writer for a living. I went to night school and learned to touch type and at 18 began to submitting my manuscripts to publishers and the agents. I received the usual rejection slips but I persevered, seeing rejection as a stepping stone not a stumbling block. At some point I knew I was going to write a novel that was going to get me there and I was enjoying the journey. I didn't network, I didn't go on courses, but this was in the days when writers were a lot more solitary than they are now. I stayed at home to bring up the kids and I wrote. In 1989, having completed my novel The Wild Hunt, I sent the first 3 chapters and synopsis off to literary agent Carole Blake at Blake Friedmann. I had researched the agency via the Writers & Artists Yearbook and the Writers' Handbook and thought that it was an appropriate agency to send my material to. Carole loved the chapters and synopsis and asked for the rest of the novel, at the same time offering to represent me. So although I'd been in it for the long haul - first novel written at 15, published at 32, The Wild Hunt was accepted on its first outing. It sold at auction 3 months later to Michael Joseph and Sphere, and I was on my way!
Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known in the beginning?
I perhaps wish I'd known more about the publishing industry when I got taken on because I was entering a completely new world and my only point of reference and my key was the fact that I'd written a novel, secluded at home with my kids. So it was a steep and sometimes scary learning curve.
Your given name is not Elizabeth Chadwick. Why use a pen name?
It's still me. It's my middle and maiden names. When I was first published there was a cookery writer using my everyday name, so it seemed a logical step to look around for a different one. This suits the genre and is still very personal, especially as the women of my family in the maternal line have always tended to wind up using their middle names as their main ones!
Tell us about your new book!
TO DEFY A KING is about the daughter of William Marshal, who was one of England's greatest medieval heroes and star of my novel THE GREATEST KNIGHT. His eldest daughter was very much like him, but being a woman, she had a harder row to hoe when it came to being herself. It's about the expectations placed on a woman by the marriage ideals of the time, and it's about surviving in a difficult, dangerous world where one wrong move could mean the end of your entire family.
What are you working on right now?
The novel is titled LADY OF THE ENGLISH and is about the Empress Matilda and her stepmother Queen Adeliza. The latter was the second wife of Matilda's father, King Henry I. She was actually younger than her stepdaughter by a couple of years. No one has ever written about her and I felt she deserved her moment in the spotlight. Empress Matilda has often featured in fiction, but I wanted to get up close to her, rather than tell her story in broad scope. She has often been known as a sharp-tongued virago, but what was she really like? Here's a preliminary video trailer I made for my publishers.
What is your greatest moment in your literary career so far?
I don't think I've had one greatest moment as such, but there have been many highlights and wonderful moments. Being accepted for publication after literary agent Carole Blake picked me off her slushpile would have to be one. Winning a Betty Trask award with that novel THE WILD HUNT would have to be another, especially as the award was presented at Whitehall by Prince Charles. Being nominated (on several occasions) for the Best Romantic Novel of the Year award. Appearing on the Big Breakfast with Ant and Dec and Melanie Sykes (that was so much fun). Being given a guided tour of the Houses of Commons and Lords by a reader who is still doing the same job that my characters did a thousand years ago - that's a very special one. Meeting the fabulous Marshal men and getting to write about them.
What is your ultimate writing goal?
At the bottom line, to stay published and keep my day job. As long as I can write historical fiction that people love, then what more could I want? I've won awards and often been short-listed for awards. Sure, they are attractive icing on the cake, but they are incidental. Although it's not a writing goal as such, I would so love to see the Marshal novels in film or on TV.
New writers can struggle to get the balance between historical fact and the actual story right. How do you approach this problem?
What problem? :- ). I would like to give you a reply replete with wisdom, but I can't because it is something I do by instinct. I weave the research round the novel and the novel round the research. I see the world through the eyes of my protagonists and this means doing a massive amount of research, but I only utilise that research in the novel on a need to know basis. Historical details should be filtered through the senses of the characters and not dumped into the novel as chunks of information. As far as dealing with fact versus storyline - it's like a jigsaw puzzle. You just have to figure it out for yourself how to make the pieces fit. You should always bear in mind if you are writing about an actual person, the known details about them, their personality traits and characteristics. If you go off at a wild tangent then you are defaming the dead and readers will not forgive you. I know whereof I speak. So, in order to be able to use your imagination with free rein, you also need to know your period thoroughly. There are no shortcuts.
There are fashions and trends within historical fiction, both in terms of theme and time period. How much of an impact does this have on your decision about what to write?
None whatsoever. The Medieval period 1066-1250 has always been my stamping ground. I've written it both when it has been popular and unpopular and managed to keep my job. I suppose I have my platform and my niche now. I do wonder what would have happened if the Tudors had been my passion. Would I now be a millionairess? And would I have to consider switching time periods because everyone is now sick and fed up with the Tudors?
You have a lovely website and are very active on Twitter! Do you think that a web presence is important for writers these days? What about accessibility to their readers?
A web presence is vitally important to the published author, as is accessibility. These days readers often want to know more, and making that extra content available, and being around to answer questions makes all the difference. However, I'm not so sure that it's vital to authors without novels to sell and who are still writing towards publication. I would say a blog or a very simple website would do at the outset. Once you're on the treadmill then you can get more complicated.
And finally, can you sum up a key piece of advice for new writers in one sentence?
Write for the pure and simple joy of the experience and the rest will follow.
Many thanks to Elizabeth, whose can be found tweeting over here, or at her lovely website over here. I heartily recommend Elizabeth's books (and the recommendation is seconded by my mum, who is scary and knows about this kind of thing) to anyone with so much as a remote interest in history; she brings to life a period that most of us know very little about.
If you are hoping to make a career for yourself writing historical fiction, then Elizabeth Chadwick has set the benchmark. Read her books, learn from them, then get yourself down to your local re-enactment society. Oh, and let me know if you're heading up Yorkshire way. I'll take pictures J
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