I’ve been researching my next novel.
The country we now call Italy was united only in the late 19th century. Prior to that, it endured centuries of struggle as city states fought against each other for supremacy. As much of Europe at the time, corruption was rife, as was pestilence and abject poverty. It is a brutal period of history, whichever way you look at it.
Researching this period is a bit hit and miss at times. We’ve all heard the phrase the ‘history was written by the victors’. Well, that is never more true than during this time. Some information is contradictory; a lot of what you think you need to know just isn’t there.
However, researching a novel doesn’t have to be mathematically accurate to the nth degree in every single detail. We are inviting our readers to suspend disbelief, to believe they are in this world we have created, that they are living and breathing everything that the characters live and breathe.
And, sometimes, just sometimes, the best research comes from the most unlikely sources.
The Medici family ruled the city of Florence from the early 15th century, bringing prosperity the likes of which had never before been seen to its citizens. Netflix just so happens to have made a wonderful show about them.
Now then, my novel is set from the late 14th century, and in the neighbouring region of what we now call Umbria; the city of Florence is unlikely to receive anything but a passing mention. You might think that learning about Florence by watching a TV show wouldn’t help me. Oh, but it does!
At the time, Umbria was part of the Papal States, a region stretching across the width of Italy, controlled by the Roman Catholic Church, which if course was headed up by the Pope. The borders of the various city states and their ruling families’ land was constantly changing. Perugia, I have learned, was run by a lord who hd previously been a mercenary – loyal to no one except whoever was paying him.
Also, my character is of noble birth; she would have understood the political machinations necessary to retain power and stability across the city states at that time. The language she used, the dresses she wore, the architecture of these people’s residences… all these can be seen in the show. So, how pleasurable, therefore, to be able to sit and binge-watch an entire two series of the show as part of my research!
However, I’m at that point where I am liable to dive into the abyss – that bottomless chasm of never-ending internet surfing and textbook reading.
It’s bottomless and never-ending because, as the writer, we too often use this as a crutch to avoid the actual writing, never quite feeling that we’re ready, that we have enough information with which to proceed.
I am personally regretting the fact that dropped history at school. But equally grateful that Netflix is filling the gaps for me.
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