G Wayne Meaney
Canadian author Jack Hodgins' novel Invention of the World was originally meant to be a pure historical account of the 1920s cult begun on Vancouver Island by a man known as Brother Twelve. Hodgins encountered constant contradictions in his research, and an accurate account of events proved so elusive that he wrote a book about the subjectivity of truth, and kept only those details which suited the story's ends—that is, the ones that contradicted.
When I began writing about a Malay legend based on historical events, the meagre accounts of which were contradictory, I found myself facing the same dilemma. Hodgins' freedom to choose the details which meet the needs of the story influenced many of my decisions. I ended up shifting several characters' lifetimes forward fifty years so they overlapped a well-documented event—the 1511 Portuguese conquest of Malacca.
For the purposes of my story this suited perfectly, though it's not actually accurate. Ultimately, the author needs to weigh historical accuracy against the net effect of the story.
If it serves the story's purposes, are historical details fair game?
When I began writing about a Malay legend based on historical events, the meagre accounts of which were contradictory, I found myself facing the same dilemma. Hodgins' freedom to choose the details which meet the needs of the story influenced many of my decisions. I ended up shifting several characters' lifetimes forward fifty years so they overlapped a well-documented event—the 1511 Portuguese conquest of Malacca.
For the purposes of my story this suited perfectly, though it's not actually accurate. Ultimately, the author needs to weigh historical accuracy against the net effect of the story.
If it serves the story's purposes, are historical details fair game?