Historical Credibility
To be clear, Child of War is not historical fiction. The events that inspired the plot for this novel are indeed historical fact, however plot inspiration is as far as it goes. The fact that Child of War is pure fantasy using a roughly 10th century setting styled somewhat after western Europe coupled with a 17th century plot originating in Europe and executing in North America creates more than a few challenges with regards to credibility. The ongoing research behind Child of War is designed to bridge that anachronistic gap.
Consider some of today’s better writers of Fantasy. Katherine Kurtz in her Deryni series, Katherine Kerr with Deverry, the late Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, and George R. R. Martin’s Ice and Fire series all share one major characteristic in common. In all of their novels the setting and rules of their unique worlds were taken for granted. They were all accepted by the reader as a given, leaving the authors free to devote precious words to the development of the characters and the plot. To accomplish this, however, they had to create settings and rules that were both consistent and credible. The subtle nuances that set their worlds apart were exposed to the reader in small doses, each revealing a bit more about the ways of their worlds in much the same way that a child learns the ways of ours. We aren’t born with a working knowledge of the rules governing our lives, and neither is the reader provided with the rules governing the fantasy world right from the first page. It’s a learning process, and the four authors I’ve mentioned here convey that process extremely well.
That is the challenge I face with the world of Westerloch. To be successful, the early Medieval setting must feel comfortable and natural to the reader. Adding to that challenge, is a political struggle that pits two opposing factions and one seemingly caught in the middle faction, yet it is a struggle that developed on our own continent in the 17th century. Marrying those two seemingly contradictory historical periods is both extremely challenging yet a lot of fun as well.
The Colonial Period research is playing very well into the background for Child of War. This was an era that was glossed over – if it was mentioned at all – in our high school American History classes, yet the drama that unfolded in North America for over 150 years leading up to the American Revolution was absolutely fascinating. The political free-for-all between France, England, the Dutch, the Spanish, and for a brief time Sweden shaped a continent and in no small way generated the political atmosphere that persists across two continents to the present day. While I’ve selected only one seemingly minor event as the inspiration for Child of War, the possibilities for future novels in the same setting are virtually endless.
A great line from Billy Joel’s Goodnight Saigon reads, “We held the coastline, they held the highlands.” While he was referring to the American strategic position in Vietnam, the line also adequately describes the battlefield between New France and the Dominion of New England in the mid-1600s. Imagine a continent in which one faction, New France, had an entire continent west of the Appalachian Shelf upon which to build, yet their only access to their territory was the St. Lawrence River. On the other hand, the Dominion of New England held virtually the entire east coast, yet they were boxed in by New France to the north and west, and the Spanish settlements in the south.
What makes the setting even more interesting is the fact that neither France nor England provided much in the way of military or economic support to their fledgling colonies. Rather, in both cases the colonies were funded and supported by private trading companies that viewed North America as a logical springboard for economic expansion. Their respective governments, however, saw little advantage in exploring or settling North America, and as a result the colonies were left to pretty much fend for themselves. They were governed from Europe, to be sure, but they were not truly supported by Europe.
All of this plays extremely well into the fantasy setting I’m developing in Westerloch. That the true politics of the 1600s is not taught in our schools today works well in my favor, since few will recognize Westerloch for what it is – a fantasy recreation of a real-world political infrastructure. With this in mind, I believe the goal of introducing a credible fantasy setting that incorporates a 10th century lifestyle with a 17th century conflict is achievable. Of course, how well that is achieved depends on how well I do my job. Stay tuned…
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