B.J. Sedlock

Dec 1, 2024 | historicalnovelsociety.org | Byzantine Empire |Bywater Books |Lara Byrne |B.J. Sedlock

BY B.J. SEDLOCKA scan of the Historical Novels Review shows that there are fewer historical novels set in the Middle Ages than those set in more recent centuries. But authors and readers with a passion for medieval times may find these resources useful for learning more about medieval arms, armor and warfare. I limited the list to Western Europe for length’s sake. Note: All images are in public domain, courtesy the Cleveland Museum of Art. PRINT BOOKS (ISBNs provided if available)Boutell, Charles.

Sep 8, 2024 | historicalnovelsociety.org | Byzantine Empire |Bywater Books |Lara Byrne |B.J. Sedlock

BY B.J. SEDLOCKSomething as mundane as knowing how our ancestors kept their clothes clean could be useful in the novel you are writing. Your novel’s main character is a lady trying to climb the social ladder, and you have a scene in the story where her table partner spills soup down her only party dress. A crisis could ensue if her maid couldn’t clean it well enough to wear again when the aspiring lady can’t afford to buy another.

Jun 16, 2024 | historicalnovelsociety.org | Byzantine Empire |Bywater Books |Lara Byrne |B.J. Sedlock

BY B.J. SEDLOCKEven if you are not writing a Western or military fiction, you may still need to research types of firearms for your historical novel. If your prairie romance character goes out hunting to feed their family, you will want them to pick up a rifle that was available in that time period. Or if your historical mystery involves someone getting shot, you’ll need to make sure that the firearm you choose for the deed existed at that time, and that you get the caliber correct.

Nov 26, 2023 | historicalnovelsociety.org | Bywater Books |Lara Byrne |B.J. Sedlock |Alana White

BY B.J. SEDLOCKCharacters in novels set in the 18th and 19th centuries have to eat, so historical novelists may want to do research on foodways of that era.   I’ll limit this list to North America, due to a wealth of material, and cover UK and Australia at a later date. (I covered ancient and medieval/Renaissance foodways in previous articles.)  Many of the books have bibliographies for further research.

Sep 11, 2023 | historicalnovelsociety.org | Bywater Books |Lara Byrne |Alana White |B.J. Sedlock

BY B.J. SEDLOCKHorrors!  Would you set a scene in your novel in a lavatory? Even if you don’t depict your characters actually using the loo, you might still need to have some idea how people in your novel’s time period tended to personal hygiene, in order to write around it. Here are some resources that will help you research the topic of cleanliness, elimination habits, and menstruation in history.