In an interview in the American Chronicle, novelist Michael Dobbs discusses how he goes about writing historical novels. First, why write them?
Dobbs says, "I was brought to writing them when I discovered just how unsatisfactory many history books were. They miss the greatest motivating factor of all in history, the will of the individual, the passions, the fears, the love. Historians can’t deal with personalities and emotions very well, that’s what novelists do, and that’s why there is a huge role for fiction in helping others understand what really went on."
A lot of writers find the research for such novels daunting. Here's how Dobbs does it: “I go to the personal records of those involved. Many of these were written down in the 40’s and 50’s as diaries and short memoirs, and even if they were published have been long out of print, but they bring home the passions of the moment far better than most history books. Much of the material came from records in the Imperial War Museum, but some were also obtained from second-hand booksellers.”
Dobbs' new novel, "Never Surrender: A Novel of Winston Churchill," is his 15th.
