THE RESEARCH RABBIT HOLE
And how not to (totally) disappear...
Hello, and welcome to the Rabbit Hole!
The research rabbit hole often gets a bad name – the place where historical fiction writers get lost among the weeds and are never seen again. But research is an integral part of the practice of writing historical fiction. It’s a source of authenticity and details for world-building, yes, but it is also a source of inspiration, ideas, and energy.
In my Substack, I’ll be posting about interesting research and sources, plus my writing process and journey to publication. I hope you’ll join me for the ride.
If you are interested in how research fuels my creative process, read on:
I’ve just finished a novel set in 14th century England, in a place I’ve traveled but never lived. The novel’s seed was a prompt in a writing class that led to a scene that wouldn’t let me go – an old woman in despair making bread. But I did not know the who, what, where, or why of the woman in my scene. She seemed like she might be a widow, living in a village somewhere in Europe, some centuries ago.
So, in early 2023, using the search terms “widow” and “medieval,” I started looking for sources of information that might lead me to some kind of story. Google did not get me very far, but I did find some useful resources there: medievelists.net, several books, and some references from jstor, like this one: jstor.org/stable/j.ctv80c9fv
Jstor is an index of academic research that is a much better source of accurate information than general search engines like Google or Duck Duck Go. You can get a free personal account at jstor that is limited to abstracts and open-access articles (a growing category) or you can get access through college, university and often public libraries.
I live in the countryside, but within striking distance of college and university libraries, where I could find books and journal articles. As I got further along in my research, I found books that looked useful enough to purchase, either new or used: Larson’s Conflict and compromise in the Late Medieval Countryside gave me rich information about widows and other villagers in County Durham, England, where I ultimately set my novel. Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England gave me an occupation open to women and information on singlewomen running their own businesses. As I read, my ideas for Margaret, her circumstances, time period and location grew along with my knowledge. I had a story!
With enough information to get a sense of Margaret’s story, I could concentrate on writing for awhile. As I wrote, I used various sources to find specific information I needed as I needed it. Mortimer’s Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England was a treasure trove of details for setting and everyday activities. Google Earth allowed me to travel from the northwestern United States to County Durham, UK in the blink of an eye, giving me a 3D view of the area in which I set my fictitious village, along with a virtual tour of Durham Cathedral and the surrounding town.
Archivists, librarians and historians were also amazingly helpful, often going beyond what I asked and turning up unexpected information that allowed me to take my plot into new places. When I needed information on the bishop’s palace where the thrice-yearly halmote court was held, I contacted the wonderful archivists at Bishop Auckland, who put me in touch with the archeological team conducting research on the palace’s history and architecture. They had, amazingly, an artist’s conception of the now-vanished Great Hall where my protagonist would have pled her case.
Not every person I emailed out of the blue could help, but most could and did. It costs you nothing to ask! And besides information, you get a chance to interact with delightful people who know all kinds of things related to your topic, time period, and people.
Finally, a word about online collections. I made use of the British Library’s online resources (before they were hacked and held for ransom) to listen to the local accents in the place where I set my novel. I used the British Museum’s website to look at pictures of objects from the time, and the British National Archives to look at manuscripts and maps. Durham University also had a useful online collection, including the kinds of court records on which much of what is known about ordinary medieval women is gleaned.
So if you are a bit nerdy, like me, you can scratch that itch without disappearing forever down the rabbit hole. I never liked history class in school, but historical novels were a favorite genre. Doing my own historical research is just as much fun, in part, because it has a point. I need information to fuel my creative process! It’s an instrumental relationship, not just endless noodling in the archives. It is possible to be disciplined about it and still enjoy the chase.
I’d be happy to read about your own research rabbit holes and to write more about any of these topics, if there is interest. Let me know in the comments!