Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Creative license to invent a sibling to a historical figure?

+0
−0

I am about half-way into writing a manuscript of historical fiction depicting mostly fictional European characters in the period between the First and Second World Wars. For purposes of the storyline I would like to create an imaginary third sister to Czar Nicholas II of Russia — someone who generally opposed the monarchy and specifically her brother's brutal regime, and decided to marry a commoner and leave the country.

We're all familiar with "fictionalizing" dialogue and situations within the lives of actual, historical figures. But I'm uncertain if what I'm describing is also commonplace. In other words, I wonder if it's acceptable or prudent to "invent" a sibling in this manner.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.
Why should this post be closed?

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/34666. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

2 answers

+1
−0

Can you? Yes. There is nothing wrong with it, either legally or ethically. What you're doing would come under "artistic license". In fact, Alexandre Dumas' "The Man in the Iron Mask", for instance, relies on similar artistic license: as far as we know, Louis XIV had no twin brother. So you'd be in good company.

Should you? That's rather opinion-based. Here's something for you to consider, however: unlike Dumas' original readers, your readers would have access to Wikipedia. They'd immediately know there was no such sister. For some, that might significantly impede their suspension of disbelief. Then again, the fact that Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna had been very definitely murdered together with the rest of her family, did not prevent Disney (or was it some other studio?) making an animated movie about how she actually survived.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

0 comment threads

+1
−0

I would advise against it. In a historical novel, you do not want to "tamper" with history. That is, you do not want to create a character close enough to a historical figure to be able to re-write history. People who are familiar with the actual history of the historical figure might resent this. The exception to this rule might be if a historical figure would be the main character.

There is a saying for a historical novel, "Your fiction's main characters ought to be minor characters in history, and your (main) historical characters should be minor characters in your fiction." You can make your hero say, a bodyguard to George Washington. "Everyone" knows that such figures have bodyguards and practically no one cares who they are. You can even allow your bodyguard hero to overhear Washington's battle plans and react accordingly. But your character should not be close enough to Washington to "talk back," or "consult" with him on battle plans, thereby affecting the course of history. Unless, of course s/he did so in real life.

History
Why does this post require moderator attention?
You might want to add some details to your flag.

This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/34672. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

0 comment threads

Sign up to answer this question »