2013; 242 pages. Full Title : Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders : A
Writer’s Guide To Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms,
Errors, and Myths [Second Edition].
New Author? : Yes. Genre : Non-Fiction;
Research Guide. Overall Rating : 9*/10.
Mrs.
Julius Caesar wiped the crumbs from her toga, speared the last cherry tomato
with her fork, waved the utensil at her husband, and said, “Jules,
darling. You really need to do something
about those hookers on our street. They're a bad influence for Dominique and Maria.”
Gaius Julius Caesar pushed back his plate of Caesar salad (his own
invention), took out a cigar rolled from the finest Tuscan tobacco, and paused
before replying.
“Don’t
get your panties in a ruffle, my dear. Our two
daughters don’t even notice the streetwalkers.
They are totally focused on their latest ‘cause’ - Women’s Suffrage.”
What’s To Like...
If
you’d rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard than read the above vignette
again; then you are undoubtedly a reader of Historical Fiction, and a stickler
for accuracy. I crammed enough howlers (13 or so) into those three paragraphs to
annoy anyone who prefers their settings historically realistic. And you will probably also enjoy Susanne Alleyn’s captivating
book (and hereafter abbreviated simply
as :) Medieval Underpants.
The
book is intended to be a handy reference for aspiring Historical
Fiction writers. I do not fall into that
category (I’m a reader, not a writer), but I am a history buff, so this was a
thoroughly captivating read for me. It is
by no means a comprehensive treatise on historical oopsies, but it wasn’t meant
to be. I felt it was the optimum reading
length for the subject.
The
writing style is “Sarah Vowell-ish”; witty and interesting, but still
fact-filled and thought-provoking. The
author cites the bloopers in a number of works by other writers, including one
of my faves, Anne Perry. This might come
off as borderline snarky, but Alleyn also points out errors in her own works,
including the first edition of Medieval
Underpants.
I
liked the Kindle version structuring of the book. There’s a Table of Contents at the beginning,
with links to each chapter. There are
also links for every note in each chapter, then a link from that note back to
the point where you stopped in that chapter.
You don’t have that kind of convenience in a regular book.
The highlight topic is, naturally, the chapter on Medieval
underwear. My other favorite topics were
Servants, Lighting, Hygiene, and Death-&-Burial. Your high spots may well be different.
Kewlest New Word. . .
Prochronism (n.)
: A chronological error in which a person, event, etc., is assigned a date
earlier than the actual one.
Excerpts...
Recall the plot of A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton, determined to saves Charles
Darnay from the guillotine, goes to the apothecary’s shop and buys a mysterious
substance with which he’ll drug Charles into unconsciousness. (We won’t even go into the original big
honking anachronism in the novel that many literary critics have pointed out
over the decades, that Mr. Dickens, in a story set in the 1780s/90s, was
clearly referring to chloroform – which wasn’t discovered until the 1830s and
wasn’t commonly used until the 1850s.
Once again, Do Not Borrow Your
Period Information From Other People’s Historical Novels and Movies, not
even Great Literary Classics.) (loc.
1586)
Bathing, in the Dark Ages, was too closely
linked in people’s memories with that decadent pagan Roman society that had
once persecuted good Christians; fanatical Christians believed that dirt and
illness, like everything else, were all God’s creations, and those who
impiously tried to remove the grime that had collected on their bodies (let
alone practiced medicine!) were therefore deliberately going against God’s
will; and they also believed that “mortification of the body” – denying oneself
fleshly pleasures like cleanliness and smelling nice – was good for the soul. (loc. 2315)
Kindle Details...
I bought Medieval
Underpants for $4.98 at Amazon. Susanne Alleyn has 14 other books available
for the Kindle, ranging from $0.99 to $7.59. They are of various genres (including
Historical Fiction), sometimes have co-authors, and range in length from
Novellas to full-sized Novels.
Oui, mon dieu, c’est un blague, n’est-pas? (sic, sic, sic, etc.) (loc. 620)
The quibbles are minor. I don’t
recall the book mentioning anything being said about candles back in Roman times (there weren’t
any). And I think every reader would
love a chapter on “cusswords through the ages”. But perhaps such vocabulary has been lost in
the mists of time.
The two chapters on Money and Aristocratic Titles were a bit of a slog
for me. But any writer planning to be
the next Jane Austen would find them to be indispensable.
I
was motivated to buy this book after recently reading a novel set in 2nd-century
Roman-occupied Britain (reviewed here), and which contained a bunch of
historical boo-boos. I still enjoyed
that book; it was a delight to read. But
oh, how those gaffes got under my skin.
Historical Fiction is so much more rewarding when everything in it feels "real”.
9 Stars. Highly recommended. The book delivers what the title
promises. Add ½-star
if you know who Sarah Vowell is and enjoy her books as well.
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