5 Tips for Writing an Ahistorical Novel
Author Tirzah Price shares her top five tips for writing an ahistorical novel—as opposed to a historical novel.
Historical fiction is my first genre love, and throughout the years I’ve often felt the pull to sit down and pen a historical novel. For too long, I let one thing stop me: My fear of getting something wrong.
Writing a historical novel requires a lot of research. A daunting amount of research, for those whose hearts aren’t set aflutter by primary documents. The idea of going to all that effort, only for an inaccuracy to trip up my story put me off the entire endeavor…until I encountered A Spy in the House, by Y.S. Lee. Set in the Victorian era, it’s about Mary, a biracial orphan rescued from the gallows who goes on to become a spy. As the book shook loose my preconceived notions of what historical fiction was, I began to wonder what historical fiction could be—and the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries were born.
I like to describe Pride and Premeditation as an ahistorical mystery retelling of Jane Austen, with Lizzie Bennet as an aspiring barrister who wants a career, not marriage. Writing this book allowed me to work within a beloved world, but it also required a bit of trial and error as I figured out how to write a historical novel when the very premise went against history. Over the course of writing Pride and Premeditation and its two companions, Sense and Second-Degree Murder and Manslaughter Park, I’ve learned a few things about writing ahistorical fiction that I’m happy to share.
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Know your time period
I’m sorry to inform you, but writing ahistorical fiction doesn’t excuse you from the research. It’s possible to write a novel that only uses the skimpiest details of the time period as set dressing, but I’d argue that those novels aren’t very satisfying. History is teeming with fascinating details, unconventional figures, and complicated conflicts. Use those to your advantage as you research.
Research is also a layered process: You want to know enough going in to feel confident about starting, but it’s also okay to not know everything. In fact, don’t assume you know everything. The most interesting historical discoveries occur when you ask, “What if…”
Be deliberate about your changes
In writing, we’re often told you need to know the rules in order to break them. The same holds true for ahistorical fiction: You must know the historical facts in order to throw them out. Disregarding historical fact or context can feel incredibly freeing in the moment, but be aware that every change you make will have a consequence in the logic of your world—and in the mind of your reader. Some changes might not raise eyebrows, but others might require more grounding in your reimagining.
An early draft of Sense and Second-Degree Murder received the feedback that the young ladies were doing an awful lot of running about London unchaperoned. While I was tempted to shrug off that feedback and make their independent comings and goings a nonissue, doing so would cause the premise of this Regency society to unravel. Instead, I brainstormed ideas with my editor to show the characters actively pushing boundaries, and in revision I highlighted the risks they took do so.
Decide how your character will work with—and against—convention
I write novels about girls inspired to act because they’ve experienced injustice. It’s tempting to give them modern perspectives on social justice issues, but no one comes to their beliefs with thoughts fully formed—we’re shaped by our experiences. When it came to giving Austen’s heroines a more overtly feminist outlook, I also had to consider how living in the Regency period would influence their opinions and actions.
As a result, the emotional journeys of my heroines are about reconciling the tension between modern and historical values, and their books highlight social injustice in the Regency era while also shining a light on the women who find happiness despite society’s constraints.
Consider what narratives you’re upholding
We all know that history can be oppressive. In changing up historical fiction, we have a duty to carefully consider the narratives we construct to ensure that we are not doing further harm to marginalized groups. We must be mindful of how certain historical attitudes have harmed people of color and LGBTQ+ people throughout history—and continue to permeate into today’s society. This isn’t to say that bigotry cannot be a part of your ahistorical novel, but make sure that it doesn’t go unchallenged.
Have fun with it!
I wrote my series because I love historical fiction and I love mysteries. Anytime I felt stuck or blocked in by the historical norms, I tried to keep in mind my favorite elements from both genres, the things that I took pleasure in as a reader. What tropes make you smile when you read them? How can you subvert expectations, or indulge readers? It’s okay to experiment with language and scenes to write something that will delight a modern reader—they are your audience, after all!
Writing ahistorical fiction allows readers to connect with history in a new way. It can be fun, irreverent, thought-provoking, but if done well, it helps readers to empathize with people from another time and place, and deepens our understanding of history from a very human lens.
Tirzah Price holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is a senior contributing editor at Book Riot. When she’s not writing, reading, or talking about YA books, she splits her time between experimenting in the kitchen and knitting. Originally from Michigan, she now lives in Iowa.
