As a museum curator, research has always been a large part of my working day, and over the years I have spent many hours poring over documents, (white protective gloves on of course!) sitting in archives and reading rooms researching everything from chamber pots and children’s toys, to military uniform and medals. However, I was once advised by a very sage curator at the V&A museum that I must be very, very cautious of what I might read. To remember the George Gershwin song from the ‘Porgy and Bess’ opera – ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’. And those words have always stuck with me. I must look at everything from all sides and then make a judgement, since the writer often had an agenda depending on who they were writing for!
When it came to writing my novel, I wanted to make my book as factual as possible as I love to learn and I think others do too. The more accurate the research, the more believable and enjoyable the book.
When I first began to delve into the lives of the Tudors, over thirty years ago, I already had an extensive library of books. Of course, when I started this novel, it was an excuse to buy more, and I would spend hours scouring book sites, spending a fortune over the years. I bought everything that might give me an insight into the times. This was the fun part, the searching for new material. Shall I buy this? Yes, one-click – done! Every day a new book or pamphlet plopped through the door, and it was like Christmas. Of course, books were only a starting point. Archives proved invaluable and in my next blog I’ll tell you what I discovered...