The Minefield of Anachronisms

The historical novel attempts to take a reader into a different time, and sometimes, a different place too. For example, my historical mystery "Murder in Old Bombay" transports readers to nineteenth century Bombay, the center of colonial India during the British Raj. To be effective, a historical narrative must weave the facts and sounds of the time and place into the story, so that readers feel this story could not have occurred in any other time-frame. Anachronisms—the use of words, objects or phrases in a period when they did not exist—are the bane of the historical fiction writer’s life.

Why does this matter? A reader cracks open a new book with a sense of anticipation, expectations fed by the cover art and the book blurb, suspending disbelief as they begin. As they turn pages, every detail must align else the bubble bursts, the curtain falls, the illusion is gone. Imagine reading about ancient Rome, and one of the characters says “No deal!” In that micro-second, the scene is shot, that fragile tapestry torn down, and suspended disbelief comes crashing down with all the weight of disappointment. The author has broken that promise, announced first in the genre and then made explicit in the blurb, leaving an unhappy customer to toss the book aside, return it to the library or angrily report that terrible term, DNF—did not finish.

When the illusion holds, the story unfolds. The reader dives in, turning page after page, enjoying the place and time, experiencing it first-hand. When they are immersed, they feel the character’s difficulties and troubles, their quandaries, anticipate their plans and root for them; they weep at their failures as events trip up the protagonist, until the final unfolding, where both reader and character are surprised. If success is achieved, the reader feels it is hard won, as in real life. If it is not achieved, yet the protagonist has changed in other ways, then too the reader is satisfied. They may feel that, just as life does not always reward, so too does this book mirror the vagaries of fortune which don't always favor the brave—sometimes they die, leaving us sadder and wiser, but grateful for their efforts.

When the illusion holds, the story unfolds.

None of this will work if the details do not align. Anachronisms are anathema to the dream.

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