It began as a simple problem. I needed a character to meet his untimely end while relieving himself at the back of an eighteenth-century London tavern. But how, I wondered, did people go to the loo in those days? Would there have been a latrine or even an outhouse? I had no idea. My research took me down several internet rabbit holes, where I learned a lot about the development of sewerage, the disparity between facilities for the rich and the poor, and the reason why women with long skirts and petticoats didn’t wear underwear. It was fascinating, but, in the end, a week of research ended up as half a paragraph of text.
This is the joy and the frustration of researching for historical fiction. Those of us who write it often say that it is the research that draws us. It can certainly bear fruit for the plots. In my second Lizzie Hardwicke novel, The Corpse Played Dead, much of the action takes place at Drury Lane Theatre. I read a number of books about eighteenth-century staging, which helped me come up with the method of the murder. Reading about gambling houses and the outrageous wagers that took place in them gave me a crucial plot point for the latest novel, Viper in the Nest.
But however fascinating the research is – and believe me, the history of toilets is utterly enthralling – the novel reader is reading fiction and wants to press on with the story. As a reader, I can always spot when a writer has become over-excited about their research because they feel the need to offer several paragraphs of information – sometimes delivered from the mouth of a character who would surely not need to explain because they inhabit that period.
It's not easy to get it right. Too little information about something specific to your chosen era and you risk the reader missing something crucial to the plot. Too much, and they may be wearied by the history lesson.
My own preference is to allow my protagonist to describe what she sees, and to make her own observations on the situation. I’m lucky that Lizzie Hardwicke has a conversational tone of voice – she’s more likely to make a wry aside than to lecture. I also tend to trust the reader. People who enjoy historical fiction already have a historical imagination. My readers may have read Georgette Heyer, Antonia Hodgson, Laura Shepherd-Robinson, or Winston Graham – or, indeed, watched Poldark or Harlots. They are familiar enough with the landscape of the eighteenth century and all I need to do is nudge them now and again with a small detail or comment.
At the end of each of my novels, I add a short historical note. Mostly, I want the reader to know that I’ve done my research and, if I’ve made a few tweaks to historical facts, I prefer to confess my anachronisms openly rather than have someone point them out. I also add a short list of some of the books I’ve found helpful so that, should any reader wish to engage further with the history of theatre, or gambling, or even toilets, then they may do so at their leisure – perhaps even when alone in the smallest room.
Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke (Verve Books) Out Now
London, June 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, who plies her trade in the brothels of London whilst also working as an undercover sleuth for the magistrate, can see no reason why a man who had everything to look forward to would wish to end his life. Lizzie's search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho, ready to erupt with riots in the sultry summer heat. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate's trusted assistant, Will Davenport, and a disturbing situation at home. Then a gambling house owner is brutally murdered, and Lizzie finds herself tangled in a chaos that she cannot control. The darkest of secrets threatens to turn Davenport against her forever; its exposure will send her to the gallows. London, June 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, who plies her trade in the brothels of London whilst also working as an undercover sleuth for the magistrate, can see no reason why a man who had everything to look forward to would wish to end his life. Lizzie's search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho, ready to erupt with riots in the sultry summer heat. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate's trusted assistant, Will Davenport, and a disturbing situation at home. Then a gambling house owner is brutally murdered, and Lizzie finds herself tangled in a chaos that she cannot control. The darkest of secrets threatens to turn Davenport against her forever; its exposure will send her to the gallows.
More information about the author and her books can be found on her website. She can also be found on X @clarkegeorgina1
Georgina Clarke’s latest novel Viper in the Nest is a gripping and vividly imagined historical mystery set in 18th century London, featuring brothel worker and sometime sleuth Lizzie Hardwicke and follows on from the first two in the series (Death and the Harlot and The Corpse Played Dead). Clarke is also the author of the acclaimed novel The Dazzle of the Light which is based on the Forty Elephants - a gang of notorious female thieves in 1920s East London. All of Clarke's novels are published by VERVE Books.
