My latest feature article is now live at the Historical Novel Society site:
Despite Our Differences: When We Were Divided by Liz Flanagan
It was absolutely fascinating to interview Liz Flanagan and hear all about how she wrote the book, especially the connections she made to the times we all spent under COVID lockdowns. Divided we were, but we were together in dealing with an issue larger than all of us as individuals.
It’s true — the writers you know are always taking note of what you are doing. We spend a lot of time observing and reflecting, as well as researching and plotting. Inspiration strikes randomly and it’s important to grab the moment before it’s lost, even if it suggests a story that is never written. You never know when a word, scene, or emotion will add important detail to a story.
Writers are part of society and always reflect their own individual take on the world around them. No matter what era we are writing about – or even whether we are writing about our own world or a fictional one – there is often more to our work than entertainment value. Though we hope there is plenty of that!
If you are at all interested in the English Civil War, When We Were Divided makes great reading.
Clare, I enjoyed this review of Flanagan’s “When we were divided,” and it helped me think through some of what I am trying to accomplish in my current project. This book and your review of it demonstrate once again the importance (and challenges) of historical fiction in telling the stories of women (and men) in other times.