In our continuing series of “Ask A Wench” joint posts, December’s question comes from Lindsay Hoffman:
“Many of my favorite contemporary novels have pets that are very important to the H/H or even play important roles in the story. I haven't noticed many historical novels with pets, though. Is there are reason for that? Also, if you've written novels where the H/H had pets, do you base them off pets you've had?”
So that’s a free book by me for you, Lindsay! As you might imagine, getting people to talk about pets isn’t difficult. Here’s what the Wenches have to say about pets and books.
Cara/Andrea and Doggy Dreams
An interesting question! A few authors come to mind who do feature pets in their historical. Barbara Metzger, a dear friend of Edith Layton, has some delightful animals in her books-including one with a very mischievous monkey.
But we have to remember that for the most part, people in the past did not have quite the same “sentimental” view of pets as we do today. Animals were kept for practical reasons and expected to “work” for their keep-dogs helped with the hunt, cats kept barns free of rodents. So I think historical writers who strive to stay true their era tend to reflect that attitude.
As for my own household, my erratic schedule wouldn't be fair to an animal, so alas, I don't have a pet right now. I grew up with German Shepherds and adore big dogs. (This is Hansli, one of our family's wonderful companions.) As soon I as feel I can manage it, I'd love to one just like him-or a Lab. In the meantime, however, I do have an animal in residence-here is Teddy, who's been with me since I was five years old. I recently found the thank you note I drew for my grandmother. Apparently, I dressed him in my brother's clothes and made up stories . . . so my earliest works did
indeed feature a very natty bear. I regret to say, they remain unpublished (and unremembered.) Probably for good reason!
Pat and Her Peke-a-poo:
Pets in historicals can be a bit difficult since many of the animals with which we're familiar today aren't likely to have been around in say, 1810. (my peke-a-poo, left, for instance, would have been unheard of, although I'm currently writing a Pomeranian mutt, which comes close enough) Hamsters and goldfish are unlikely. There's always the local farm cat, but having one sitting in the parlor, all fluffed up and beribboned, probably didn't happen often. Pet pigs and lambs got eaten. :-) Still, I'm determined to do an
animal-loving heroine, even if exotic birds are a wee bit tough in an English climate!
Anne and Pets as Needed
Pets can be difficult as, like characters and events, they should only be there to further the story. I've started a book with a pet in it and then taken it out as it doesn't play any role in the story, or that the action will take the main characters away from where the pet is. And I know that if readers are anything like me, they'll be worrying about what happened to the pet. ;)
Some pets have survived this editing process, though. In The Perfect Kiss, the hero had a dog who was inspired by this picture of an English setter on the cover of a calendar.
In The Stolen Princess, I committed the cardinal crime of killing a puppy on the first page, for which some of my friends will never forgive me. However the little boy who innocently gave his puppy the poisoned milk meant for him got a lovely dog in the end. In my next book, His Captive Lady, the heroine's beloved companion was her dog, Freckles, a springer spaniel.
Finally, in my latest book, To Catch a Bride, the heroine had to leave her very elderly street cat with her friends when she went on a long journey to England. The hero, however, later presented her with a kitten, who would easily adjust to travel and confined living. This gorgeous pic of a Mau kitten inspired my heroine's adventurous kitten, Cleo. Mau is Egyptian for cat.
Nicola: Pets at Home, Not in Books
My first pet was a hamster called Cuddles when I was five years old and since that time I have always shared my life with animals. These days I have an adorable Labrador called Monty and an endearingly bad-tempered cat called Bob, but despite my love of pets I seldom feature them in any of my books. I don't know why this is, as animals have been important to people throughout history in a variety of different roles from hunting to companions, and the subject of pets in history fascinates me.
In my next book, Whisper of Scandal, I do feature a dog called Max who is a Dandie Dinmont terrier and is a fashion accessory for the heroine as well as a pet. Max was inspired by a real live Dandie called Becky. Here she is with Monty! Dandie Dinmonts were first mentioned as a breed in the writing of Sir Walter Scott and went on to become favourites of Queen Victoria.
Susan King and Her Research Assistant
We have a White West Highland Terrier, Molly, who adds a little authenticity to a household interested in Scotland and our Scottish heritage. They're related to cairn terriers, and the story goes that long ago, the occasional white cairns were discouraged and even destroyed at birth in Scotland because they were considered useless for hunting, being too easily seen. Some sources say that a 19th century MacDonald chief in the Western Isles went hunting one day and accidentally shot his favorite dun-colored cairn terrier because he had not seen him in the bracken. After that, he raised white cairns for hunting, so that tragedy would never happen again. Trust me, Westies are easy to spot -- even in the dark we can see Molly running around the back hill, refusing to come inside because she's just so busy ....
I've occasionally included pets in my novels, adding them now and then as minor and supporting characters. I particularly remember a wolfhound in The Stone Maiden, who went everywhere with the heroine as a sort of silent bodyguard. I adore quiet, gentle wolfhounds, though my allergies and the size of my house would never tolerate one as a pet. We are more than content with adorable, impish, smart and hypoallergenic Molly (who as you can see, helps me with my research!).
Jo, Who Keeps Her Pets in Books
I haven't really had pets. A couple of budgies when I was young, some tropical fish, and a rat my sons wanted -- which turned out to be antisocial. That was slight inspiration for the pet rat owned by Judith's son in Christmas Angel, which created some mayhem for the hero, who really hadn't thought enough about marrying a widow with young children!
Despite the lack of pets in my life, I do enjoy them in books because they're just about guaranteed to bring humor and plot mayhem, but I don't plan them. They just arrive. In Forbidden Magic my hero collected difficult cases, and one turned out to be dog a who looked ferocious but hid at the first sign of trouble. He also had a misogynistic parrot. In Dangerous Joy, the Irish cats get their revenge.
In A Lady's Secret, the tiny Papillon dog, Coquette, simply arrived, and was so right for the fun-loving Earl of Huntersdown, and in The Secret Wedding, Tabbie, the "talking" Manx cat, prowled in from the dark. She, of course, is a ferocious Hessian cat, bred to kill the terrifying fanged rabbit of that land...
Can you tell I'm a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail?
Then there were kittens, ready to tangle events for the Duke of Ithorne next year.
Ah yes, animal characters. Lets have more of them!
Sherrie Holmes, our Pet Mistress
(Pictures of her multiple critters on the left)
Animals in romances can be entertaining and also revealing about the owner's character. In Georgette Heyer's Arabella, the seemingly stuffy Mr. Beaumaris rescues a scrappy mongrel, and in subsequent scenes delights the reader (and Mr. B's household staff) by having conversations with the dog. This reveals a softer side to Mr. B's character.
Jo Beverley uses mysterious cats to good effect in several of her stories, and like Heyer's animals, the cats become a running tag through the story, often with humorous undertones. Laura Kinsale has used ferrets and hedgehogs. Mary Balogh's heroine in Indiscreet has a hilariously demented terrier.
Each of these animals tells us a lot about the characters in the story. I enjoy stories that include animals, though I do roll my eyes at how many authors seem to think a hero can't be a true hero unless he's mounted on a black stallion. <g>
Mary Jo and the Lurking Felines
I love animals in books, though they need to have at least a fig leaf of relevance. There are almost always cats lurking in the corners of my stories (unless it’s a road book and cats just aren’t possible), just as they lurk around my house in real life. (At the moment, Grady has his paw on my trackball and the Fluffster is sitting in door of my office, blocking traffic.)
Interestingly, while my characters are always invented, the cats are always based on real cats. <g>
Being ecumenical, I’ve occasionally included dogs, and in A Distant Magic, a hyacinth macaw in honor of a friend who shares her house with five large and opinionated birds.
So how do you feel about pets in books, especially historicals? Do you have favorites? Ones you couldn’t stand?
Mary Jo, adding that that's the elusive Lacey on the left