Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Depends on the circumstances, DD. As a reader of fantasy and SF I have absolutely no objection to the depiction of a world that differs from our own. But when a book is described as historical fiction, I have a not unreasonable (IMHO) expectation that the "history" part of it will have at least a tenuous connection to actual history. When I read, say, Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall", I am reading a believable depiction of life in the court of Henry VIII. When I read Outlander, I'm reading something that presents a completely inaccurate picture of 18th century Scotland. Mantel did her research; Gabaldon patently did not.
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As a fan of 'Alternate History', I expect the history to be as accurate as possible up to the point of departure, and that subsequent changes to history culture, landscape, etc., be supported with a story logic I consider reasonable.
In a sense, "Outlander" is an alternate history novel. In my eyes, when a person travels through time to the past, that person DOES create ripples that will change the future (but NOT the past prior to the time traveller's arrival in the past). The historical inaccuracies between 'then' and 'now' are a logical result of the time travel itself (or should be) I didn't read enough of 'Outlander', or know enough about Scotland in that era to know how outrageous the historical inaccuracies are. I found the book not to my liking as a story.
For Historical Fiction, there is a fine balance between historical accuracy and the telling of a good story. For me, I assume I am somewhat ignorant of the time and place in which the story is set, so I also assume the author is interested enough in that particular time and place that he or she has done a reasonable amount of research so that the research can support the story.
I don't really care if a dumpling has the right name, or not, but I DO want to know that the broad strokes of culture, language, politics, and geography are reasonably accurate. I don't want the hero to be in Paris one moment, and crossing the Mississippi 3 days later. AND I want the story to be entertaining.
It's hard to do, but I also try to not let the story in question help influence my current political and cultural beliefs. And I try to NEVER buttress a political or social argument with 'facts' I learn in a novel! That just leads to embarrassment.
Zorro - never happened!