|
|
Article: Through the Lens of Time
- Article from:
- Irish Voice
- Article date:
- April 12, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightProvided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
Colin Lacey
Irish Voice
04-12-1994
Through the Lens of Time.
WHEN the rules for writing historical novels were being hammered out, a clause was entered stating A) they must be extravagantly long, B) they must be peopled with a horde of characters representative of the period under discussion, and C) the author must stack as much period detail as possible into every page.
However, while these conventions have become the nuts and bolts of the genre for masses of avid fans, they have probably kept just as many readers at a wary distance: hands up anybody who's managed to break on through to the concluding chapters of the likes of "War and Peace", "I Claudius", or even "Strumpet City"?
If the ...