Need to know

Jo here, with a book about to reach the shelves, which means she's not thinking about much else. :)

So I thought I'd try to remember the research steps for A Lady's Secret.

Because I write series, I have a fairly wide and deep knowledge base to begin with, but of course things come up that I have to research -- the things on a need to know basis. As I said last time, I didn't expect A Lady's Secret to start in France. I hadn't researched everyday life in Georgian France and now I needed to know.

Logistics said the book had to start a few days away from England, and Abbeville came to mind. The reason Abbeville came to mind is because when one crosses from Dover to Calais and heads toward Paris, you're quite likely to spend a night in Abbeville. Been there, done that, and so, it seems, have most travelers through the ages.

It was at this point that I discovered travel books from the 18th century  on Google Books that gave me info I needed, but I've written about them before. I thought that this time I'd mention some of the things that didn't end up in the book, because our judgment on what to leave out is as important as our judgement about what to include.

(If you're a writer, what's the juiciest bit you've had to leave out because it just didn't fit the story?)

The highways were owned and administered by the French crown and strictly regulated. They were quite safe because the penalties for any infraction were severe. I could have shared the complex rules about how many horses you were required to hire, depending on the number of wheels on the carriage and the number of occupants, but I restrained myself. The rules seemed designed to spare the horses abuse, which seems like a good thing.

It was, apparently, essential to take ones own knife, fork, and spoon, for those provided by the French hostelries were completely inadequate. It sounds as if they had something like a spork -- a dished fork -- but it's unclear. The knives were blunt and the blades so thin they bent. Or so the advice went. I decided that played no useful part in my story.

That's the benchmark, you see -- does it contribute to the story? I couldn't see how to make a good story incident out of it, so I left it out. I'm sure Robin travels with excellent cutlery.

(Oh dear, in looking for a website to point to, I came across an 18th century time sink. The 18th century reading room.  Also The Casanova Tour , which seems to be a description of 18th century travel through the experiences of Casanova, which is particularly relevant as you'll see later.)

I felt I had to include the fact that most post houses only provided horses and not food and lodging because Robin and Petra stop at one such place and they're hungry. To have them eat as if that was the norm offended my sense of reality, so I had to make a little point of it.

It does seem a strange state of affairs, however. The post-keepers could have made a nice little income from it, and travelers complain that delays left them having to travel much later than they intended in order to find a place to stay.

There was also strange stuff about the bills. Costs had to be settled on arrival at an inn, or the traveler could face a huge bill with no way to contest it.

But let's move on from travel. I also had to figure out routes. Calais to Dover was the obvious one, but what about Boulogne, often used now? It's a longer Channel crossing, but less time on the road. As they want to leave France as soon as possible, they choose Boulogne, even though it wasn't as busy or good a port.

Living in the minds of my characters -- or rather, Robin at this point, as he knows the routes -- I realize that crossing to Dover makes them sitting ducks for the bad guys, so I have to see where else they could go, and how. It's only a minor spoiler to say I spent a lot of time researching Folkestone for very few words, but I needed to know.

Oh, I forgot to mention all the research I did on Italian convents, especially those in Milan, which was quite fascinating and provided good background, but very few words. Ah, if we could only included all our research, writing a novel would be easy! Dull for the reader, but easy to reach the word count. But they really were crammed with widows and unmarried ladies of the higher classes, who could rarely find husbands. Also, did you know that even up till recent times some nuns' headdresses distorted the skull and caused headaches and other problems? Not saying this one is an example, but those tight, starched bands could do damage.

I had already been reading about Teresa Cornelys, and as she was a natural fit for an Italian heroine I hoped to make her a major player, but alas that didn't work with the story. I didn't even get to tell the nifty story of her and Casanova.

You want the story? Good! When young, Teresa Imer, as she was in Venice when she was beginning her career as an opera singer, had a love affair with the young Casanova and bore a daughter. He'd gone on his adventures and knew nothing of it. She married another, then later another, and after an almost unbelievable sequence of events ended up hosting Venetian assemblies in a grand house in Soho that became the model that Almack's made successful. Teresa, alas, didn't, and though she ruled London for a few years, she was always in debt.

This picture is of a musical evening at Madam Cornelys' house. You can see a bigger version by clicking here.

Enter Casanova, come to enjoy London. Teresa immediately wants a loan. Probably as part of this, she decides to convince him that her daughter Sophia was his. Being Teresa Cornelys, however, she simply confronts him with the girl in public when he has no choice but to acknowledge her because they're so alike. She then sends Sophie on begging missions.

The plan backfires somewhat, however, as he decides that Teresa's house is not suitable and places her in a convent boarding school. Time for me to gulp. There are no convent boarding schools in England, which is a minor point in my book!

Turns out there was, sort of. A group of women lived  in Hammersmith (maybe, the location switches in different versions) it a vaguely nuns-like way and wearing something like a habit. They supported themselves by running a school for a few girls.

I really wanted to work this into A Lady's Secret because it's a delicious tid-bit, but though I managed it, it ended up on the cutting room floor because it was part of a section that didn't move the story along. When I cut it out, the rest of the book stood without a quiver. That's the real test. If it can be cut without making a difference, it has to go.

I'm sure there were many other plunges into the research books along the way -- there always are! -- but that's enough for now.

Do you notice information dumps in books, and do they bother you?

Which do you think is most common these days -- too much information in historicals or too little?

A Lady's Secret might be on the shelves this weekend. It should certainly be there by Tuesday. Romantic Times describes it as a "delightful, delicious gem of a book." Chapter one is here.

And, of course, the two-for reissue of trad regencies is also out soon, and you can read the openings of those from this page.

Happy spring!

Jo :)

Comments

[talpianna]

There was a lot of argument on infodump on the Crusie/Mayer blog HE WROTE/SHE WROTE. Crusie notoriously hates it. Bob Mayer is always dumping in info about weapons and how to kill someone with your little finger.

It depends, really, on what the info being dumped is, and whether I'm interested. For example, I like most of the stuff about gems in Elizabeth Lowell's books--but of course, the gems are the focus of the plot. I tend to enjoy descriptions of food, especially exotic food. There's a section in Steven Brust's fantasy BROKEDOWN PALACE that should come with a warning that it must not be read by anyone more than a block from a Hungarian restaurant.

I'm less interested in descriptions of clothing. Because I'm just the opposite of the Tigress and have a lousy visual imagination, descriptions of how things look don't usually appeal to me all that much. But anything to do with history or language usually grabs me.

I don't usually read historicals, so I can't comment on the amount of infodump. I do read Regencies, but I've read so much about the period that I tend to skip the infodumps.

But one question does perplex me; perhaps you can answer it for me:
What DO you do when your postilion is struck by lightning?

[Kalen Hughes]

***What DO you do when your postilion is struck by lightning?***

Pray?

Can't wait for the book, Jo!!! I love love love your Georgian books (ok, I love 'em all, but the Georgians have a special place in my heart).

[Susan Wilbanks]

"Do you notice information dumps in books, and do they bother you?"

It depends on how they're handled. I enjoy them if they're deftly woven into the narrative and are relevant to the story. I *hate* them when they involve characters telling each other things they both already know for the benefit of the reader.

"If you're a writer, what's the juiciest bit you've had to leave out because it just didn't fit the story?"

Not quite a juicy bit, but I spent multiple hours and got several books from interlibrary loan researching the duties of footmen, because I thought two of my characters were going to spend a substantial portion of my WIP working undercover in that role. But once I actually got to that part of the story, the whole "undercover servant" thing didn't make sense, and I needed to research another set of details entirely.

I'm sure the footman knowledge will come in handy eventually, but I guess the lesson here is that pantsers shouldn't research too far in advance, because the story will change by the time they get there!

[Susan/DC]

This topic reminds me of an art exhibit here in Washington at the Corcoran Gallery a few years ago. An artist had made sculptures based on famous paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, and others. I didn't find the bronzes (or whatever they were) all that interesting, especially compared to the paintings, except for one thing: they made very clear that the original artists had made very definite choices when they painted the 3-dimensional world on a 2-dimensional canvas. They chose angle (straight on, from below, etc) and POV (facing into a room from a window or facing the window). They chose where to focus on detail versus where to merely sketch in a feature.

I think that when we see a picture or read a book, we accept it somehow as an organic totality, not thinking about the mind of the artist/writer who had to decide about all of the details highlighted or glossed over or left out. Seeing those statues made me much more conscious of just how much creative genius there is in those choices, and this column reinforces that.

[Sharon]

Love your research tidbits, Jo. I can see why you would like to include some of those. Seeing the picture and hearing about the "model" for Almack's was very interesting. I love little bits of strange information like these. I understand that there can be too much information in a novel so that the story gets bogged down. But I have to say that I have really enjoyed learning much about history and life during those times, either from things included in the historical novels themselves or from my own research that has been sparked by a question raised by a novel that I've read. One of the things I appreciate about the Wenches is that I can depend on your research and accuracy. I've even used some of the knowledge I've gained along the way in my reading to help in my job as a reference librarian.

[Jo Beverley]

Hi.

Hmm, why the question about the postilion struck by lightning, as that almost happens in ALS. :)

But as lightning strikes the highest object, wouldn't it more likely strike the coach? In my research I discovered that a wooden coach struck by lightning goes up in flames, so the postilion's the least of your problems.

Also, lightning striking earth nearby can stun or cause heart attacks -- as on golf courses. Horses have hearts, too, so they might keel over.

Whichever way, not good news.

I think we forget that before lightning rods lightning was a terror, and even after, even now, it's a big problem if we're caught right under a storm in an exposed place.

Jo

[Jo Beverley]

"I'm sure the footman knowledge will come in handy eventually, but I guess the lesson here is that pantsers shouldn't research too far in advance, because the story will change by the time they get there!"

Absolutely, Susan. And we have to resist the temptation to put it in there anyway, because we spent so long on it.

Or even, try to force the next book to go that way.

Thanks, Kalen. I hope you enjoy the book. :)

Susan, what a great insight about 2D and 3D.

Sharon, Teresa Cornelys is a fascinating woman. I recommend reading up about her. Silly in many ways, however, and possibly self-destructive, so I couldn't write a book actually about her.

Jo

[Virginia]

It depends on the infodump. My eyes glaze over at David Weber's extensive infodumps in regard to space ship weaponry in the Honor Harrington series, but I enjoy the ones on the social structure and history of the planet Grayson. For a lot of other readers, it's vice versa.

[Louis]

I like the "Authors Comments" that you leave at the of the book. Quite often the "info dump" there covers what I may have wondered about as I read.

Looking forward to "The Lady's Secret"....have it on order.

[Jo Beverley]

Thanks, Louis. The author's notes help me restrain myself from putting stuff in the story.

Virginia, it's interesting what technical stuff we like and what we don't. Some people love to read every detail of period costume, but I like just enough to make it clear what they're wearing -- unless it has a point in the story.

It often does because what we wear affects how we feel and often how we behave.

Jo

[talpianna]

Jo, I thought I'd mentioned the postilion thing here before. "Help! Our postilion has been struck by lightning!" is a sample phrase from an 18th or 19th century English/French phrasebook for travelers.

I always thought they just took out their cellpho--I mean POCKET HELIOGRAPH--and called Postilions 'R' Us for a replacement....

As for why the lightning would strike the postilion, as opposed to the coach, I suppose it partly depends on the length of the team; surely one wouldn't need a postilion for anything shorter than a coach-and-four, and a coach-and-six is more likely. This would distance him from the coach as a target. Also, he'd probably have metal about him.

Speaking of infodumps, over on the Evil Editor blog there was a "Write Like Cassie Edwards" writing exercise (and guess who suggested that one?) that involved inserting infodump into a story the same seamless way one inserts lumps of coal into creamed corn. Here's mine (and you can follow along to the others):

http://tinyurl.com/324o8m

And of course, as I don't really need to point out, description contributes to characterization. Obviously a heroine who shows up in worn levis and stained Reeboks is a very different kettle of fish from one wearing Versace and carrying a Kate Spade purse.

[Jane George]

Ooh, ooh, it's almost April!
Getting closer.

Sorry. Squeeing fangirl post today.

I'll pull it out by saying something relevant. I think there's not quite enough history in historical romances, in general. Wenches and Ms. Hughes excepted.

For me, the world is in the details. And a big part of the attraction of historical romance is I get to live in that world for a bit. I'm not saying I want to read a Black Plague Love Story, or anything, but the Disneyland historical romances make me go "bleh."

[Jo Beverley]

Jane, I'm the same. I don't want grim, but I like substance in my historical fiction.

Ah, okay, Talpianna, I get it. But I still think that if the postilion is struck by lightning the horse or horses would be too, which would generally create a larger problem, wouldn't it?

The things one has to think about.*G*

Jo :)

[Anne]

I'm with Jane on the fangirl bit. :) I'm excited for you, Jo, and for all of your ardent fans waiting for your newest.
I can't add much more to what has been said above about infodumps, except to say that I love learning about history this way. I especially enjoyed "To Rescue a Rogue" and was fascinated by the "detox" process Dare had to endure. (I love Dare, too, like everyone.) So, keep up the excellent research, whether or not you put it all into the story.
(I, too, like your author's notes at the end, and agree that the historical details bring the world of the novel to life.)
Four more days...

[Jo Beverley]

Thanks, Anne. :)

Though the official pub date is Tuesday, you could well find A Lady's Secret on shelves this weekend. Some places will keep to the pub date and others won't.

Jo :)

[Marissa]

+JMJ+

There is a scene in a non-Wench novel which involves a publishing house that smells strongly of tea. The omniscient narrator explains that this comes from books being packed in crates formerly used for tea.

That pulled me out of the story a little because it seemed to me as if the author was waving a banner at me so that I'd notice how much research she had done into early-nineteenth-century publishing houses. For one thing, she's not usually so detailed when it comes to describing her characters' surroundings; so a sudden assault on four of my five senses (not just smell) was obvious.

On the other hand, Jo, there is the scene in your "Lady Beware" when Prussock tells Darien that he has a guest and Darien argues that he must mean a visitor. In a few short sentences, I learned the difference between a guest and a visitor, and I didn't feel as if you were showing off some chance nugget that you had picked up! =)

[Jo Beverley]

Marissa, the word "visit" is a tricky one because the English don't use it for "sit and chat a while."

I've come across quite a few English-set historicals where someone invites another to "sit and visit awhile" and it jars.

OTOH, a visitor stops by, but a visit will be for a few days or so, so a guest would be making a visit, but a visitor would be taking tea and leaving.

Jo :)

[liz]

I skipped this entry until I'd read the book. Because I knew I'd enjoy the book best going in cold. I didn't even read the back panel. Which meant that page 199 caused me no end of fangirl delight.

Anyway, it's only an info dump if it's done poorly. Otherwise, it's part of the book. All the information about Petra's order and orders in general is informational, because it's worked into the narrative and it's not an action stopping lecture. I love tons of detail (fresh detail,not like, Who Byron Is or The Detail Of Sally Jersey) when it makes sense to the tale.

[Jo Beverley]

Glad you enjoyed the surprise, Liz!

I've opened a book discussion on my Jo Talk blog so people don't have to worry about spoiling things for others.

http://jobeverley.blogspot.com/

Jo :)

[Robyn Enlund]

One of the things I adore about your books are the fascinating tidbits, and knowing and trusting that what you put in there is historically accurate. I finished reading A Lady's Secret this morning after a marathon reading night. I adored it! Truly adored it. Wonderful characters, exciting adventures and a peek into an exciting and romantic world. And it's always a bonus to revisit the Mallorens...i just LOVED the scene when she came home to Rothgar. And your authors note at the back was great too. I love seeing behind the scenes details. Thanks for a wonderful read.