A look back in time
Novelising the past has challenges for the modern historical fiction writer, but human nature doesn’t change, says Margaret James
Margaret James
FICTION FOCUS
The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.
So begins The Go-Between, the classic novel by LP Hartley, and that opening line has become almost as famous as the one we all know about single men of good fortune presumably being in need of wives.*
While it’s certainly the case that politics, cultures, traditions and values change from generation to generation and from country to country, often dividing us when it might be in our better interests to co-operate with each other, it’s also arguable that basic human nature all over the world and down the ages stays the same. Yes, in the past they did things differently.
But did they feel things differently? I don’t think so. I’m confident that one of the many attractions of reading and writing historical fiction is that it connects us with our collective past, assuring us that although previous generations might not have had daily showers or used iPads, they did fall in love, they wanted the best for their children and they argued with their neighbours. They made terrible mistakes that sometimes resulted in tragedy. But the majority of them also did their best to be good citizens, like most of us do today.