Science Fiction and Fantasy For Younger Readers – Part Four – Historical Research
Posted by admin on 03 Mar 2010 under books, writingEditors, teachers, librarians and critics may scrutinize the imaginary science in your science fiction story and the same applies to historical facts in time travel stories. Just as the scientific equipment has to be in working order, the historical details have to be well researched for the story to remain credible. In The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, Jack discovers a letter in a drawer and finds himself corresponding with Edward V, one of the princes imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1483. After penning a reply, Jack finds himself trapped in late medieval England.
While it was not overly important to explore the political complexities of England in the aftermath of the Wars of the Roses, facts had to be checked and rechecked. Some of this naturally involved research into the clothing of the era, everyday life, maps of medieval London and so on, but some aspects of the novel required more attention. The language of the scroll Jack finds had to be appropriate for the time period and be written in both the style and the alphabet of Middle English, as it was spoken in 1483. Real characters are also used in the book, such as Richard III, so that their exact location at the time described in the story had to be accurate. Research focused on the Tower of London, such as which buildings existed within the complex in 1483 and the layout of the grounds, plus many other aspects related to the historical background of the novel, featuring who was who in late medieval England, Richard III, Edward V, the Wars of the Roses, the mystery of the Princes in the Tower, pretenders and imposters, medieval maps, the history of the English language and links to various websites about the time period depicted in the story.
Simon Rose is the author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He offers a wide variety of workshops, presentations and Author in Residence programs for schools and libraries around the world, covering such topics as where ideas come from, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, history and research and more. He is also available for presentations, workshops and public speaking engagements with a wide range of adult audiences, offers creative services designed for writers, including editing, critiquing and manuscript evaluation and also freelance writing services, including website content and copywriting, for the business community. Details of school and library programs, plus online readings, excerpts from his books, reviews, and reader, student and teacher comments may be found at http://www.simon-rose.com/ You may also visit his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/
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