Historical romance week - information overload with Janet Mullany
I have to out Janet Mullany as having one of the best novel openings I've ever read. See for yourself (from THE RULES OF GENTILITY): "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman of fortune and passable good looks amuses herself in London with fashion, philanthropic works, and flirtation until a suitable gentleman makes an offer. I consider the pursuit of the bonnets and a husband fairly alike - I do not want to acquire an item that will wear out, or bore me after a brief acquaintance, and we must suit each other very well." Janet, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....
A Case History or What To Do About Historical Overload by Janet Mullany
The subject was dressed in girls’ clothes until about the age of five. He was frequently beaten with great severity. At the age of seven he was sent to a boarding school where he was beaten, tortured, and possibly sexually abused, and as he grew older, became one of the torturers himself. When he was a teenager his family ordered him to join the equally harsh and brutal environment of the Royal Navy.
His dreams of becoming a naval hero were dashed by the death of his father and elder brother (several other siblings had died in the family) and when only in his early twenties he had to take charge of a large and complex estate.
He thinks women are either whores or marriageable, couldn’t find a woman’s erogenous zones if handed a map and compass, hates the French, Catholics, and Jews, drinks heavily, and will fight to the death anyone who he thinks impugns his honor.
Yikes, he’s a psychopath!
No he isn't. He’s the hero of a Regency-set romance and I created this case history to show how sometimes history is too much history. And I didn't even mention the head lice or (lack of) dental hygiene...
As historical writers we have to be fairly picky about what history we use and don't use, and what and how we translate. Because while we want to give a sense of the past, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a rose-tinted interpretation, we want to identify what we hold in common with our historical characters as well as what makes them different. We want to build a convincing historical world and still have the reader identify with our characters.
So, let’s reexamine the case history.
Fact: little boys were dressed in petticoats until they were house-trained and children were beaten as punishment. It doesn't mean, by the standards of the day, that they were unloved.
Fact: boarding schools were a brutal but necessary rite of passage for the young gentleman, as was participating in the unsavory community's rituals.
Fact: boys could join the Royal Navy at the age of twelve as midshipmen and conditions were notoriously harsh.
Translation: He was brought up in a loving family and survived the brutality of boarding school and the Royal Navy, thus meeting his family’s expectations and testing his courage. The strong sense of duty developed during his formative years made him accept his family responsibilities without hesitation while mourning his losses.
The best fix for the sexual ignorance, racism and prejudice, I believe, is to fix him up in a consensual relationship (maybe with a French Catholic?) where’s he’s taught the mechanics of the female body and gets some of the blinding male silliness out of the way.
He’ll still be extremely touchy about his honor-a great plot point, very alpha male-he’ll still gamble, and the beer he drinks for breakfast will be small beer (i.e. weak) … but when the love of his life tells him she prefers tea, he’ll join her for intimate cuppas and conversation in the morning room.
________________________
Janet Mullany was reared in England on a diet of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer and now lives near Washington, DC. She has worked as an archaeologist, waitress, radio announcer, performing arts administrator, bookseller, and proofreader. In addition to her most excellent novels featured above, the first book in Janet's Immortal Jane Austen series will be released in 2010.