We are delighted to have historical fiction author Robyn Cadwallader joining us as a guest speaker for Writing Historical Fiction with Lauren Chater.
FWA: You’ve published six books, three of which are historical fiction. The latest, The Fire and the Rose, was published by HarperCollins in May last year. As an author, what do you find the most challenging or surprising about the publishing process?
RC: My answer to this is quite mixed, and has changed quite a bit. My first 2 books were with smaller publishers and arrived on the scene with little or no fanfare. The big surprise was the amount of publicity for my debut novel, The Anchoress. I was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of support from the literary community, and by the novel’s reception. So many lovely people sent me messages: how it had helped them in a tough time; how much they had learned — most had never heard of anchoresses; it had helped them to think a bit differently about their own lives and about women in history; and, they were surprised how relevant a story from seven or eight centuries ago was to our contemporary world.
Challenging: the copy edit — I am always enormously grateful to have the luxury of a close edit, but once a suggestion for a change has been made, I need to consider carefully what my initial intention was, and whether the change would help or hinder that. With The Anchoress, particularly, I had to pause and ‘regather’ myself, and reaffirm Sarah’s voice and my own intentions for the novel.
Social media: learning to ‘sell’ myself, to consider myself a ‘brand’, as so many suggest that writers should; keeping up with social media; working out the technology , which often takes me so long that I feel I am wasting precious writing time.
The introvert becoming extrovert for the publicity period — as grateful as I am for the chance to talk about my work, I always find that exhausting.
FWA: How did you find your way into writing historical fiction?
RC: I had always wanted to write but, just after my youngest child went to school, I enrolled in some English subjects at uni, just to get my brain working again! I had studied medieval literature in my honours year of my BA, so I continued with that area. My interests developed and I ended up working on a PhD. In the course of my research I discovered anchoresses and was fascinated. With some funding from my uni, I travelled to England for field research, and as I visited a few remaining cells, I began to think more about who these women were, why they would have chosen to be enclosed, and what that experience would have been like. Gradually my main character began to emerge and I wrote, mostly to explore the ideas for myself, with little hope of being published. When I signed my contract with my agent, Gaby Naher, she asked me what my next book would be, because publishers like to know there is something in the pipeline. In the course of my research, I had been intrigued by the bawdy and fantastical decorations on illuminated manuscripts, so my decision was made then, on the phone!
FWA: In addition to your historical fiction books, you have also written poetry and a comprehensive study of a thirteenth century text, as well as compiled an essay collection about Australia’s policies regarding asylum seekers. With so many different types of projects that require extensive research, how do you approach researching for a new book?
RC: I read … a lot. For my historical fiction it is academic articles, books, whatever primary resources I can find. I take notes by hand because it helps me to remember what I have read. I have learned how important it is to develop an historical timeline for a period around the time I am writing about, so that I understand the political, social and artistic context. I use notes on a cork board. I always visit the place I am writing about — that is vital to me, even though the landscape will probably have changed a lot. I visit museums, churches, libraries, exhibitions, etc because it is important to gather a sense of the wider culture, beyond the area I am writing about. I also consult experts where I can. I also try to choose fiction that will feed the themes in my writing. So, for The Fire and the Rose, I sought out, from my literary community, recommendations for good love stories, and good novels that treat the issue of prejudice.
FWA: Who are some of your favourite historical fiction writers and why?
RC: I think it’s important to read beyond the genre, so I seek out a range of novels, mostly looking for good, and innovative writing. In historical fiction, some of my favourite writers are: Lauren Chater, of course, Christos Tsolkias (not always historical, but I admire his work in Damascus), Jim Crace (for his unusual approach to history), Barry Unsworth, and Kate Atkinson.
FWA: What is the main thing you hope that students will take away from your guest appearance in our Writing Historical Fiction course?
I really hope that students will be encouraged to continue writing for the sake of the work itself. I hope that they will dive deep into research with a strong respect for the period they are researching. I hope that they will discover ways to avoid being tied down to getting the facts ‘right’, but will focus on the story itself. I hope they will think about the many ways historical fiction can be approached, and take some risks for the sake of the story. I hope they will learn to listen to what the story wants to be.
That’s more than one, I know!
Bookings are currently open for our Writing Historical Fiction course with Lauren Chater.
Writing Historical Fiction
with Lauren Chater
ONLINE
Tuesdays, 6.30 – 8.30 pm AEST
6 August – 24 September 2024