tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post7584649497910019179..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: History in Fantasy by Juliet McKennaMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-64092098084299714172011-08-09T10:12:16.039+01:002011-08-09T10:12:16.039+01:00Hi Katherine! And Emma :-)
Sorry to be so late in...Hi Katherine! And Emma :-)<br /><br />Sorry to be so late in replying but we were on holiday - in Northumberland which is wonderfully supplied with castles filled with interesting things for an author... <br /><br />On the question of where fantasy and history novels divide - the key elements do seem to be magic and/or a secondary imagined world.<br /><br />I've written one series with very little magic indeed - The Lescari Chronicles - which did cause some comment and indeed debate. How much magic does epic fantasy need? I reckon it depends on what the author is aiming to say. <br /><br />Of course that line is very hazy, especially when considering more remote history where facts are thinner on the ground for eg, Manda Scott's Boudica novels - history or fantasy or somewhere in between?JEMcKennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00370750396764033657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-22214027083387443842011-07-29T20:52:55.016+01:002011-07-29T20:52:55.016+01:00Great post! And so true, too. As a fantasy-writing...Great post! And so true, too. As a fantasy-writing friend said to me, "Even my dragons have to be believable!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-11643596065156990882011-07-29T20:52:50.370+01:002011-07-29T20:52:50.370+01:00Great post! And so true, too. As a fantasy-writing...Great post! And so true, too. As a fantasy-writing friend said to me, "Even my dragons have to be believable!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-30477012899236831492011-07-29T16:35:49.246+01:002011-07-29T16:35:49.246+01:00Hello Juliet!
I have written historical books wit...Hello Juliet!<br /><br />I have written historical books with magic in them and fantasy books with history in them... and as a writer I see very little difference. Only the setting changes - there's a bit more freedom in a fantasy book.<br /><br />But where is the line, I wonder? At what point does a fantasy based on history become historical? Or a historical novel with magic in it become fantasy? Perhaps it is all down to marketing - fantasy sells into the US, but historical does not?Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.com