Sprinkled throughout Myfanwy Cook‘s book, Historical Fiction Writing, are numerous examples of useful resources for writers. Many relate to British history, however, every country has similar resources available online.
http://www.britishmuseum.org If you can’t personally visit, the British Museum offers a treasure trove of online information.
http://www.castlesgardensireland.com Dedicated to houses, castles and gardens of Ireland.
http://www.scotland.com/castles All sorts of information on Scottish castles.
http://www.heritagecanada.org Information and photos about heritage homes and buildings across Canada
Weapons and warfare: a series of sites providing information on warfare across the ages. http://www.royalarmouries.org; http://www.nares.org.uk; http://www.histrenact.co.uk; http://www.eventplan.co.uk; http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk; http://www.nps.gov/spar; http://www.aaftankmuseum.com; http://www.tankmuseum.org
http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk Information on viking long boats and maritime archaeology.
http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org Dedicated to the history of Britain’s Royal Navy including search facilities for ship records and photos.
http://www.lategreatliners.com Transatlantic passenger ships of the 20th century.
http://www.aafs.org American Academy of Forensic Sciences – AAFS represents physicians, attorneys, dentists, toxicologists, psychiatrists, engineers and educators, in the application of science to the law
http://www.sportsidioms.com Contains over 275 idioms derived from terms used in the sports and games played in the United States.
http://www.archive.org The Internet Archive offers permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format
http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk The Fashion Museum holds a world-class collection of contemporary and historic dress. Many photos available on their site.
http://www.nrm.org.uk National Railway Museum site
http://www.swindon.gov.uk/steam Museum of the Great Western Railway
http://www.talyllyn.co.uk The Talyllyn Railway is a historic narrow-gauge steam railway, set in the beautiful Mid-Wales countryside.
http://www.penhaligons.com The site of Penhalgions, a London perfumer established in 1870. Every fragrance is described in detail providing writers with useful ways to describe scents.
http://www.historicalnovelsociety.org The Historical Novel Society’s website contains over 5000 book reviews and many feature articles related to historical fiction.
http://www.npg.org.uk Britain’s national portrait gallery. An incredible collection of portraits available online to use for researching people, costumes, fashion and accessories. Gallery mission: to promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation and understanding of the men and women who have made and are making British history and culture. For example, here’s a collection of paintings of Elizabeth I along with extensive explanation.
As mentioned in my first post on Historical Fiction Writing: A Practical Guide and Toolkit, Myfanwy Cook’s book has lots of advice to offer writers of this genre.
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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction and blogs about all aspects of the genre at A Writer of History. Her latest novel, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE is set in WWI France and is available in paperback from Amazon and in e-book formats from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. Her debut novel, UNRAVELLED: Two wars. Two affairs. One marriage. is available in paperback from Amazon (US, Canada and elsewhere), and in e-book formats from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and on iTunes.
Mary can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
