Guest Post by Greer Macallister

Greer Macallister, a celebrated author of historical fiction, dives into the intricate world of biographical novels, showing that they have the power to resurrect the overlooked stories of remarkable women from history and gives us a peek into her newest novel The Thirteenth Husband. In this very informative guest post, she shares her expertise on how to write within this genre, drawing from her own personal experiences writing about trailblazing figures like Kate Warne and Aimee Crocker. Macallister offers invaluable advice for aspiring authors on how to balance historical accuracy with compelling storytelling, ensuring the important historical pieces are left in and the novel is both informative and captivating.

Historical novels are a great way to surface the stories of women from history. Given that the historical record is often patchy or incomplete where trailblazing women are concerned, novels are often the only tool we have for sharing their stories in book-length form. In just the past few years, biographical historical novels have acquainted hundreds of thousands of readers with women they might not otherwise have met, such as: Mila Pavlichenko, history’s deadliest female sniper, in Kate Quinn’s The Diamond Eye; Rosalind Franklin, whose research was essential to discovering the double-helix structure of DNA, in Marie Benedict’s Her Hidden Genius; and Martha Ballard, 18th-century midwife and diarist, in Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River.

But like any other form of fiction, biographical historical fiction has its own set of challenges that authors need to watch out for. From my experience writing novels about the first woman private detective (Kate Warne, Girl in Disguise) and a scandalous Gilded Age heiress (Aimee Crocker, in my new book The Thirteenth Husband), I have a few suggestions to share.

Don’t rush in before you’ve done your research.

Once I started writing historical fiction, I found fascinating stories everywhere; digging through books and newspapers and court transcripts and yes, Wikipedia, countless women’s names caught my eye. But sometimes you realize it’s not your story to tell; sometimes you realize you don’t have a particularly interesting angle or twist on the person’s biography; and sometimes you decide that the woman in question shouldn’t necessarily be glorified. In writing Woman 99, my novel about sisters trapped in an 1880s insane asylum, I of course researched the writer of the most famous short story about madness, “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a fascinating figure who boldly used fiction to attempt to right the wrong of women being institutionalized and mistreated for post-partum depression, as she had been. I considered writing a novel about her life. But she also used her pen to advocate for white supremacy, accusing non-white immigrants of “diluting” racial purity and suggesting that the government institute a forced-labor system for the formerly enslaved. Too much for me to get past, personally.

Don’t let your subject have the final say.

This may or may not be an issue for you, depending on your subject. When I wrote about Kate Warne, I had to develop her voice from scratch, as she left no letters or diaries behind. But my latest subject, Aimee Crocker, was widely quoted in newspapers during her life and even wrote her own memoir, which she titled — in classic Aimee fashion — And I’d Do It Again. But her memoir says very little about some of the things that interested me most, like the very public custody battle with her first husband that resulted in both of them losing custody of their daughter, who was then adopted by Aimee’s mother (yes, really). The memoir also tells wild tales that can’t be substantiated — she claims to have been kidnapped in Borneo for the purpose of marriage against her will — and I chose not to include those in my version of her story. As the author, you’re in control. You have no obligation to include every aspect of someone’s life. However…

Don’t change history without a reason.

Now of course, “history” isn’t some unbreakable monolith, is it? We’re talking about the historical record, which itself is selective and flawed. But be deliberate about the choices you make in diverging from what’s been recorded. The Author’s Note at the end of the book is an ideal setting for you to explain what you’ve changed and why. For me, “it makes the reader experience better” is reason enough. If you need to move an event a couple of months in either direction so that the story doesn’t stall out in the middle? Do it. When I incorporate real-life tragedies in which real people lost their lives (there’s one in The Magician’s Lie, no spoilers) I’m careful to keep the details as faithful as I can. But making aggregate characters, moving dates, all that is allowed, as long as it serves the story.

Great biographical historical fiction doesn’t come from the accumulation of accurate detail. It comes from telling a story that helps your reader inhabit a character more deeply and come to an understanding of what her life might have been like. There are plenty of pitfalls in putting together a story like this, but there are advantages and rewards as well — for you as the author and, even more importantly, for your readers.

The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister

At ten years old, Aimee Crocker encounters the mysterious Woman in White, who appears before every tragedy in her life, starting with her father’s death and her inheritance of a fortune. Despite her wealth, globe-trotting adventures, and numerous husbands, Aimee is continually haunted by this terrifying figure. In her latest novel, Greer Macallister masterfully brings Aimee’s scandalous and tragic life to the page, oftering an unforgettable peek into the life of this extraordinary 1880s heiress.

Order the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble