Tag Archives: novels set during WWI

The 100th anniversary of the end of WWI

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by in Writing about WWI, WWI fiction

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Today marks 100 years since the end of WWI. What a horrifying and devastating war. Tragically, the terms of the armistice led to economic distress and resentment in Germany, which when combined with a toxic man like Hitler, who promised to tear up the Treaty of Versailles, led to WWII.

Each of my three published novels features the end of the war. Here’s an excerpt from my first novel Unravelled when Edward Jamieson is remembering his experience.

After Valenciennes, Germany was ready to surrender. On November eleventh, unaware of any official communiqué, Edward and his comrades instead became conscious of the absence of gunfire, a quiet filled with birdsong, the rustle of leaves and the creak of an unhinged shutter. Bells began to chime. Wild shouts filled the air as voice after voice swept the news along.

Clustered in front of their homes, in the fields and along the roadside, the French people seemed stunned at first. But soon Edward’s unit heard the sound of drums and the unmistakable rhythm of the Marseillaise. Responding to the call of their homeland, families began singing. Then a procession formed as a man with only one arm held the French flag high in the air, leading whoever would follow into town. Cafes and restaurants filled to capacity, windows and doors opened wide, the smell of food wafted into the streets as though the town itself brimmed with joy.

Gathering in the town square to hear Lieutenant Colonel Gill’s briefing, every soldier dreamed of home. The sun shone brilliantly. Gill’s voice rang out.

“Men, today marks the beginning of the future. You have fought tirelessly to secure freedom for family and friends, for our country and the Commonwealth. It is a momentous victory, which we have achieved together. You have given of yourselves unstintingly and courageously. You have seen your comrades suffer, seen death close at hand and yet, you have endured. It is a testament to your valour and commitment that Canada has contributed so magnificently to the outcome of this war. The war is over. Peace has been won. We have made the world safe for democracy and soon we’ll all go home to our families.”

Edward heard a rustle in the back of the ranks and then the applause and cheers began. On and on it went. Elated warriors filled the square with their shouts and four years of pent-up emotions released like floodgates opening on a narrow gorge.

Gill raised his hand and held it there for some time until the square was quiet again.

“Signals officers will be reviewing the needs of the army during occupation. We will assess each and every soldier and proceed in stages to return you all to Canada as soon as possible.” He stopped to look around the square as though he wanted to make eye contact with every soldier, one by one. “I am proud, so very proud, to have been your commanding officer for the past three years.”

Emotion thickened Gill’s gruff voice. He saluted his troops, holding his arm rigid for much longer than usual, then stepped down from the stage. Only a very few who were close enough saw the tears glimmering in his eyes.

The dead had lived on in Edward’s nightmares. He remembered feeling like an old man, withered and worn, wise in ways he wished he were not, aware of all that sucks humanity from the marrow of men.

The title UNRAVELLED says it all. Reading this again now, I’m filled with feelings of loss and the incredible damage to humanity that war brings about.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY (using the widget on the left sidebar)

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

 

The Power of Historical Fiction by Darrell Duthie

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by in Historical Fiction, reading historical fiction, Writing about WWI, writing historical fiction, WWI fiction

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Darrell Duthie and I connected over WWI fiction – his and mine both involving the heroic deeds of the often overlooked Canadian soldiers serving in that war. Darrell offers insights into what historical fiction can do to illuminate history in ways that non-fiction can’t.

The Power of Historical Fiction by Darrell Duthie

For the historically minded, historical fiction is often viewed with scepticism, and the boundary between fiction and history is sometimes blurred. Yet historical fiction has the power to be far more insightful than nonfiction. Few, if any, history books are able to draw you into the world of the past in such a visceral way as good fiction can. To be carried into the past is to experience history, not simply read about it, and that gives it an impact that pure history so often lacks.

My own novel is set in the First World War, and anyone who is familiar with that war is almost certainly familiar with Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front or, at the very least, the film of the same name. For all the truly excellent WW1 histories, none have been able to paint so vivid a picture in the minds of so many about the experiences of warfare on the Western Front, as that single book.

Through dialogue, descriptions of the weather, a character’s clothing, or even the smell in the air, novelists enliven history so as to make it real. They can tell us about personal relationships and emotions, and seemingly small, but crucial details that escape the historian focused on the “big picture”. No historical account can ever truly evoke the same depth of understanding that comes from a reader feeling like he or she was there. And that is the wonder of historical fiction.

Take one episode from the infamous bloody battle of Passchendaele in 1917. The historian might write: “After progressing 1700 yards on wet ground towards the Bellevue Spur, the 9th Australian Brigade’s advance was ultimately checked by fierce machine gun fire and a band of unmapped wire.” The novelist might write: “With a grunt he pulled his foot from the mud and stumbled on up the shallow slope of the Spur, crouching low as another concrete pillbox began spitting fire. To his side the cheery bloke from Perth went down. Through the smoke, tangled spirals of wire suddenly appeared. Damn, that wasn’t supposed to be there. ‘Pull back,’ roared the sergeant.’” One plainly states the facts, while the other invites the reader in to experience the battle. Which is more likely to leave a lasting impression? Do the plain facts or the fictionalized story better convey the essence of that fateful day?

The best authors of historical fiction ensure that they get their facts straight. It is, after-all, historical fiction, and that is more than just a story in the past with a few splashes of colour in which history is molded like so much clay to fit a narrative. Robert Harris – one of the masters of the genre – remarked that where the demands of a good story conflicted with the history, he willingly sacrificed the latter in favour of the former: a logical choice. But historical fiction without solid research is simply fiction, and Harris recognizes that too.

The challenge lies in trying to craft a tale which is both true to the past, and compelling reading. In my own novel, for example, I couldn’t very well have my worthy protagonist staring out over the parapet, on a specific rainy, wind-swept night, awaiting a trench raid, when the war diaries described the daily weather as fine, and put his division twenty kilometres from the front! What I could do – borrowing from history – was to have him sneaking across a snow covered No-Man’s-Land with a handful of others and a tube of ammonal explosive in a trench raid to capture German prisoners, hereby illustrating the changing nature of warfare in early 1918, the specific tactics of the Canadian Corps, and telling a true story at the same time.

Philip Kerr, author of the Berlin Noir historical detectives, once said that the little details – which brand of china his characters were eating on – was the key to authenticity, and he is surely right about that. The small touches, largely irrelevant and mostly ignored in any history book, are curiously invaluable in historical fiction. They too inform us about the past in a way that the broad, factual strokes cannot. They add context and detail, and further our understanding of how and why events happened as they did. However, it is ultimately the combination of well-researched facts, plus all the subtle techniques of fictional drama, which is unique to historical fiction. Together they can lift a novel beyond fiction and tell us things about the “truth” of history in a way that history alone can never do.

Many thanks, Darrell. I’m certain your readers will appreciate the lengths to which you’ve gone to create just the right blend of history and compelling fiction so they can learn, enjoy and feel like they were there.

Malcolm MacPhail’s Great War by Darrell Duthie

Fall 1917. The Western Front is in stalemate.

Captain Malcolm MacPhail of the Canadian Corps has been in the trenches for longer than he cares to remember. He’s just landed a new job on the intelligence staff, but if he thinks staying alive is going to become any easier, he’s sorely mistaken.

The rain is pelting down, the shells are flying and the dreaded battle for Passchendaele looms. Malcolm reckons matters can still get worse. Which proves to be an accurate assessment, especially as his unruly tongue has a habit of making enemies all on its own.

The Allies are fighting desperately to swing the tide of war, and Malcolm’s future hangs in the balance, so keeping his head down is simply not an option…

Malcolm MacPhail’s Great War is available from Amazon, Kobo, and select retailers.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION follow A WRITER OF HISTORY (using the widget on the left sidebar)

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.

The Devil is in the Details

21 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by in Historical Fiction, writing historical fiction

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Rebecca Rosenberg is the author of The Secret Life of Mrs. London which releases January 30, 2018. I met Rebecca through a Facebook group of Lake Union authors. Both being writers of historical fiction, we discovered much in common. Here’s Rebecca giving her thoughts on the concept of show don’t tell.

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Devilish good details … Most writing workshops focus on writing interesting characters, or a riveting plot rife with conflict, or the structure… all very important in crafting a story. But perhaps for historical novel readers, it is the spicy details that change our experience from commonplace to a story that transports us to a time long ago.

How does the author come up with these bits of intrigue that bond us to the character? Traveling to the locale, antique stores, searching old maps, scanning odd books or the internet? Yes.

In THE SECRET OF MRS. LONDON, I used the Remington typewriter, the mimeograph, and the ediphone to illustrate the tools of the writing trade in the 1915-1917 period covered in the book. My characters, Charmian and Jack London actually used these apparatuses in their writing and they portray these characters and even what is happening in the story.

Charmian London typed on the Remington, as Jack London dictated his stories! She typed 100 words a minute. How is that even possible pushing those mechanical keys? The “prop” of the Remington, illustrates Charmian London’s education as a typist and working at Overland Journal. It characterizes her as an industrious, serious worker that pushes herself, not the norm of the day in 1915. But it occurs to me writing this blog, that the Remington typewriter also indicates a subservience to her husband Jack, because she it typing his words.

I was amazed to find out that Charmian actually copied Jack London’s manuscripts on an early mimeograph, invented by Edison in 1876. Each page had to be fed through and the ink dried. Within the manuscript, using the mimeograph showed the tedious, labor intensive process of creating a manuscript, which Charmian often did, since Jack London produced more than twenty novels in the fifteen years they worked together. Not to mention the articles and letters they wrote! Mountains of typing and mimeographing!

When the London’s bought an ediphone it marked a stark break in their togetherness. Jack could speak into the ediphone by himself, and later Charmian would type it up. Jack was no longer telling his stories to Charmian and watching her make them come alive on the page. And Charmian now had the freedom to spend time on her own writing. In fact, in later years, they hired a typist to transpose Jack’s ediphone recordings.

Other examples of how props are used to depict character traits and state of being, from my favorite authors:

From Kay Bratt, author of THE PALEST INK. The title comes from an old Chinese proverb that says ‘The Palest Ink is better than the best memory’. She chose it because during the Cultural Revolution, people were not allowed to keep any sort of records or photos about what was really going on. Media was twisted to make those in power look good, and tragedies and truths were concealed. The most important object was Mao’s Little Red Book. It is rumored to have landed in the hands of billions of people. During the Cultural Revolution in China, it was an unofficial requirement for every Chinese citizen to own, to read, and to carry it at all times. For their own safety, people memorized segments of it, to prove their loyalty and avoid persecution or death. Later, after the Cultural Revolution was shut down, Mao was exposed as a madman and the cause of millions of tragic deaths throughout China.

From Camille Di Maio, author of BEFORE THE RAIN FALLS. One of her characters, Della Lee Trujillo, is in a Texas women’s prison in the 1940s, convicted for the murder of her sister. As she is being driven to the prison from the courthouse, she clings to a rosary that had been her mother’s. Her mother deserted the family when she ran off with her lover, so Della begins to fear that it is tainted by her mother’s sin. As she prays, the words “Forgive us our trespasses…” plays in her mind and she recalls all the events that led up to that moment.

So what objects can best describe your character, and what she is going through? The use of unique props is a great example of a writer’s mantra: Show. Don’t Tell.

A riveting story of ambition and infidelity, The Secret Life of Mrs. London by Rebecca Rosenberg captures the fateful meeting of the Houdinis and Londons, the most remarkable couples of their time. Jack London, the most popular author in America, and Houdini, a world-renown escape artist, have reached the pinnacles of their careers in 1915. While their wives, Charmian London and Bess Houdini are opposites, they bond through their trials with the over-sized egos of their famous husbands. Free Love, blinding fame, tenuous success, and the Great War threaten them. The couples struggle to hold onto their marriages through the challenges, eventually succumbing to the lure of another’s arms … until one of them takes a stand … alone. Releases January 30, 2018. You can pre-order your copy now.

Many thanks, Rebecca, for sharing your thoughts on this subject and the technique you used for The Secret Life of Mrs. London. Your story sounds like it has all the ingredients of a winner.

FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION follow A WRITER OF HISTORY (using the widget on the left sidebar)

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel, TIME AND REGRET was published by Lake Union. Mary’s other novels, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads or on her website www.mktod.com.