How Poltical Do You Get?

My novel of 17th century Spain is set mostly at Court, so politics cannot be avoided. Politics again appears in the sequel set in Amsterdam because it impacts war or peace, religion, and daily life. My almost completed WIP set in the 9th century during the reign of Louis the Pious and taking place mostly at his court is very political because of necessity -- rebellions and the disintegration of Charlemagne's empire impact all the characters.

I think everything is political, as long as political things happen around and characters do have an opinion.

One of my characters? She was fan of Napoleon "the liberator" until she saw what the "liberation" meant - annexation to France, cutting territories like a pizza in slices, etc. Then she hated him.

Another, in a different setting, hates the Ottoman conquerors of her homeland (Greece) and thinks fondly about Rigas Velestinlis, who planned the rebellion.

And so on... Some are against slavery, some think slavery is the right order of things...

There is a difference between characters having an opinion on political issues of the time and the author writinga treatise on politics using the characters as a socratic dialogue... you can take it too far so the trick is finding the balance your readers can tolerate.

Even though my stories are set a long way from court, I try to integrate larger political issues into the plot. If a wife murders her husband, that raises the specter of rebellion for the crime was not murder but petty treason. (The logic was that killing your husband and killing your king were the same act though on a different scale.)

The way in which people saw the world around them linked the local, to the national, to the divine, so including that in the story should be pretty common.

Sam

The project I just decided on doing revolves around the Thirty Years War. My characters have political views and interests, naturally, but I suppose part of my interest in the period is political, or at least philosophical.

I'm fascinated by the capacity for terrifying cruelty and remarkable charity people are capable off. This story ultimately revolves around choosing between the two. If that's political, then I suppose it has political undertones.

If politics affect the story - and the outcomes, politics need to be included or addressed, but not necessarily blatantly. They were part of the times we're writing about - for me, US (and British) situations before and during the War of 1812 for my novel. Puma

"Politics" are nothing more or less than the struggle over power, whether local or national--something which should naturally affect your characters.

I probably will end up integrating some politics into my novel (set in late 19th century San Francisco), though largely from a social standpoint just because there were so many issues with reform going on around that time. I think that women's suffrage will definitely play into it somewhere and also issues concerning the poor (like VD and healthcare), since the upper vs. lower class plays into my novel as well.

But I think the late 19th century was such a hotbed of activity politically and socially in America that it would almost be hard to avoid it.

Djuna

'The White Rajah' is very concerned with the idea of colonialism and the relationship between European rulers and the people they rule over. Anything like that is surely political. That doesn't mean there's a whole lot about Whigs and Tories.

It depends on whether the politics in question matter to your characters. Dickens frequently deals with politics, especially the effects. Jane Austen never does.

but I doubt that either of them ever will again.