Research And The Historic Novel

Karen Maitland conjures up a world of magic, superstition, and mystery. Her tales are overly dark and chilling. She says that a novel is a way of putting two or three pieces together from discrete sources. Maitland is a meticulous researcher who unearths economical, cultural, and historical information about the medieval time. She brings the medieval world alive and shows the deep contrast with the contemporary society. She summaries her research approach by saying, do all the research, then close the textbooks, and write a cracking story.

Kate Innes was once an archaeologist and museum education officer but now enjoys living in the past by writing historical fiction. Her first novel, The Errant Hours, based on real events in medieval Shropshire, followed the journey of a young woman through the physical and spiritual dangers of the Plantagenet Marches. It was a Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice and included on a medieval reading list at Bangor University. The sequel, All the Winding World, was published in 2018. Her poetry collection Flocks of Words was shortlisted for the International Rubery Award.

Join Karen and Kate at Shrewsbury Library and hear how they approach the complex task of historic research.