Falling For Henry (27 page)

In your story, you have used characters based on real historical figures. What is the challenge to a writer in using real people in a work of fiction?

Having the opportunity to read about real people adds richness beyond what the imagination can offer. Working with biography can be frustrating, however, because the demands of fiction pull the writer away from factual characters and events. Too many details can ruin the plot by weighing the story down. In a way, the relationship between fantasy and realistic fiction is like how we try to balance history with story line in the historical fiction equation. Both balancing acts require walking a tightrope between the real and the unreal, and doing all four at once in a historical fantasy (fantasy, realism, history, storyline) can be quite mind boggling!

Do you think combining contemporary times with a historical period through the use of the time shift device helps make history more accessible to young readers?

Absolutely. Realistic fiction is the most popular genre among children and young adults, because it elicits personal response. The challenge for historical writers is to make the story speak to readers with the same intimate feel—creating characters that demonstrate universal themes that transcend time and place. Maybe we're reading about someone who lived a long time ago, but in spite of the differences, the character's feelings and struggles are just like ours.

Historical fiction offers a means for readers to live vicariously in the past. In addition to reading for enjoyment, historical fiction offers perspectives on history that readers might not otherwise consider. Henry VIII, for example, has been villified in many non-fiction texts; yet it's important to realize that society shaped the man he became just as society continues to play a role in the people we see when we look in the mirror.

On one level this is the story of a disconsolate teenaged girl dealing with loneliness and a sense of being abandoned by the people she's loved. But you are also interested in another story: the treatment of wolves historically in England. What led you to weave this thread into Kate's story?

My interest in wolves began rather incidentally when I lived in London and realized the incredible history of these animals in the United Kingdom. As I searched for a way to develop a time slip portal that would work in my story, I suddenly saw the potential of the wolves as tunnel-makers, although I had to stretch their existence in England a little longer than historians might generally allow. Some sources suggest that the extinction of wolves in England took place before 1500; however, I hope that the small liberties I have taken in prolonging their existence will be excused.

As a young reader, what works of historical fiction were you most attracted by?

My grade 5 teacher, Mrs. Gaston, read us Marguerite de Jong's
House of Sixty Fathers.
Every day after lunch, the whole class would gather excitedly for the next chapter. I really did not discover other historical fiction works until a university professor, during my masters' degree course work, suggested I try Mary Luke's books, and I was completely enthralled. I suppose you could say that as a reader of historical fiction, I was rather a late bloomer. I hope I have made up for it since! Canadian historical fiction authors I'd recommend to children and young adults include the following: Barbara Haworth-Attard, Linda Holeman, Julie Johnston, Sharon McKay, Maxine Trottier, Ann Walsh, Irene Watts, John Wilson, and Paul Yee. Rachna Gilmore's book
That Boy Red
is terrific. I also recommend looking at the winners of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Canadian historical fiction.

For a young writer interested in writing a story based in a particular historical period, what advice would you offer?

The advice I'd give is the same for both adults and young people: read copiously in the field you are interested in writing about. Write as best you can a gripping story. Research (either before, after, or both before and after) the historical period you're focused on, so that you get the details as right as you can. In historical fiction, setting is particularly important as it is integral to the authenticity of the work. The actions, beliefs, and values of the characters must also be authentic to the time period. Then find an audience who'll give you good feedback on whether or not your work feels “true.”