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For many writers, history can be both an inspiration and a source of plot. No one is going to call a fantasy writer out for “making it up”. With historical fiction, however, you have to be more careful – there are always a bunch of readers out there ready to spot anachronisms.
But some writers like the challenge of weaving fantasy into history itself, creating alternative histories of our world. A great example is Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series which reimagines the Napoleonic Wars.
When writing alternate history, just how much can you invent? How much of history can you change before it becomes fantasy? Sarah Brooks, author of The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands, joins us to discuss the pros and pitfalls of writing alternate history.
Sarah Brooks won the Lucy Cavendish Prize in 2019. She works in East Asian Studies at the University of Leeds where she also helps run the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing. She has a PhD on monsters in classical Chinese ghost stories and is also co-editor of Samovar, a bilingual online magazine for translated speculative fiction. Originally from Lancashire, she now lives in Leeds.
