Fleshing out your story

The "years ago" stories I heard from my grandfather, father, relatives and their friends provided the framework for my three novels.  But bare-bone facts are not sufficient to hold the readers attention.  What an historical novel requires are the nuances of history that puts flesh on those bones and transports the reader into a culture long past.  They are the details defining characters' clothing, food, housing and speech that brings a novel life.  While a few of these details can be obtained from first hand knowledge, the vast majority requires research.

The Russian's World

Over the course of my writing, I collected a rather extensive research library.  While many of the volumes were obtained through the local library, many more were purchased online or through book stores.  My main source of Russian cultural tidbits was The Russian's World: Life and Language, by Generva Gerhart.  To say this book was invaluable to my research would be an understatement.

My main source of Russian culture

Gerhart's book provided information on housing, food, language and more.  It was especially useful with Russian names; which names implied an aristocrat and which a pheasant.  It walked me through the labyrinth of the differences between the familiar and the proper, and patronymics and endearing Russian nicknames.  Gerhart's information was woven throughout my three novels.

Names (The Russian's World by Genevra Gerhart)

An even subtler requirement were the nasty names and phrases used in everyday conversation.   Every story needs a few expressions of disdain, and again Gerhart's book came through.

Name Calling (The Russian's World by Genevra Gerhart)

Russian to English

While rummaging through a pile of books at a flea market, I came upon a work entitled New Russian - English and English Russian Dictionary.  The work by M.A. O'Brien was published in 1944 and contained many of the outdated words used during my novels' period.  By cross referencing English and Russian, I was able to find just the right connotation to flavor my story.

Russian History

When I began writing my first novel, a book entitled, Picture History of Russia provided the historic information I needed to establish my settings.  Edited by Stuart Martin, the book was published in 1945 and presented images of Russian history from prehistoric to modern times.  Photos and descriptions from the pre-revolutionary Russia to the Soviet Union provided the Slavic background for my saga.  In addition, many of the photos stirred my imagination resulting in the various subplots winding through the saga.

These three books provided gave me an overview of Russia, her people, and culture.  There were many other reference books used for specific periods.  They warrent posts of their own.