Against Quote by Tim Curry

When writing about historical characters I try to be as accurate as possible, and in particular not to misrepresent the view they held. With…

— Pat Barker

“All forms of literature are dangerous; but in none is the danger more acute than in historical fiction...”

— John Julius Norwich

If you can relate to what the character's going through, the story can be as ridiculous as possible, and people will relate to it.…

— Drew Goddard

We really should stop taking historical novelists seriously as historians. The idea that they have authority is ludicrous. They are very good at imagining…

— David Starkey

Writing historical novels can be dangerous. We need to be as accurate and as fair about the historical record as we can be, at…

— Edward Rutherfurd

When I begin a book, I inevitably discover many things along the way, about the characters, their past histories and the political intrigues that…

— David Brin

There is a natural disposition with us to judge an author's personal character by the character of his works. We find it difficult to…

— Edwin Percy Whipple

I feel like it's hard to get into historical novels where you know what the story is far too well.

— Matthew Tobin Anderson

That's a long way of saying no, I'm always too bound up in thinking about the characters in whatever I'm working on and trying…

— Jonathan Dee

You never want to be in a position where your reader feels like you're passing judgment on your own characters. Any novel where you…

— Jonathan Dee

I think if you're too embroiled in the need to relate too closely to the character, then you start to judge the character for…

— Cate Blanchett

A biography is never a biography of one person, of course, but the individual life of your protagonist will never conform. It will always…

— Rachel Holmes