Historical Fiction – Shona MacLean & Richard Mason, Guest Janet Paisley

Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 7th Sep - Sat 12th Sep, 2015
12:00pm

Location
Moniack Mhor, Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire , IV4 7HT

This course will consider key points in writing historical novels, including:  creating a sense of place – physical and psychological; character – getting in to their heads; dialogue – achieving an impression of authenticity; research – enough, too much, or not showing it; material culture – clothing, art, architecture, interiors, music – how will you use them? The tutors will also consider ethical issues – treatment of real historical characters, moral anachronism and making judgements.

Shona MacLean is a native Highlander with a Ph.D. in Scottish History. Her four Alexander Seaton novels are set in seventeenth century Scotland. The Seeker, the first in a new series set in Cromwellian London, will be released in 2015.

Richard Mason was born in South Africa, and brought up in the UK. His first novel, The Drowning People was published to wide critical acclaim in 1999, and won the Grinzane Cavour Prize for Best First Novel.

Guest:

Janet Paisley is an award-winning Scottish poet, author, playwright, non-fiction, script and screen writer, writing in Scots and English. Her work has been translated into twelve languages. The historical novels are White Rose Rebel, and Warrior Daughter, as well as the play The Lasses, O, on the life of poet Robert Burns. Derived from her original BBC radio series, the play was a sell-out success at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2012, Warrior Daughter was named as a major work in Professor Alan Riach’s open Canon of Scottish literature.

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