Disclaimer
Okay, I'll fess up. I know very little of the stuff I'm writing about. There, I said it. That was a relief. Or probably not, since now you'll all know I'm a fraud. Well, perhaps I do know some things about the Victorian era, but for the most part I play by ear, relying too much on my own misconceptions and biases concerning those times.
I try not to obsess too much over the tiniest details, as my aim is to go for a certain "feel" of authenticity; it was never my intention to accurately portray the way they lived. I'm writing fiction, after all. Let's just say that A Pair of Brown Eyes takes place somewhere off the East coast of Canada in the neighbourhood of 1895.
But, hey, sometimes I actually do my homework, as you'll see below.
I try not to obsess too much over the tiniest details, as my aim is to go for a certain "feel" of authenticity; it was never my intention to accurately portray the way they lived. I'm writing fiction, after all. Let's just say that A Pair of Brown Eyes takes place somewhere off the East coast of Canada in the neighbourhood of 1895.
But, hey, sometimes I actually do my homework, as you'll see below.
Literary inspiration
This section may contain some spoilers if you haven't read either my story or any of these (wonderful) books.
This section may contain some spoilers if you haven't read either my story or any of these (wonderful) books.
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Brontë. A young woman--allegedly a widow--arrives at Wildfell Hall with her little son, and shocks the entire neighbourhood by her hermetic ways and strong opinions on alcohol and men.
- Hard times, by Charles Dickens. A man marries her teenaged daughter off to a utilitarian bore some 30 years her senior.
- Washington Square, by Henry James. A middle-aged physician despises his daughter, because he holds her responsible of her mother's death, who died during childbirth.
- The Evil Genius: a Domestic Story, by Wilkie Collins. It shows a divorce case.
- A Pair of Blue Eyes, by Thomas Hardy. A very unfortunate coincidence, since I haven't even read the book. I don't really know how much more I might have unknowingly plagiarised from it, LOL. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Hardy; I'm sure your grave is a very comfortable place to be resting in, so please don't come from the dead to sue me. I promise to be more original with my next title".
- The News. Not a literary reference at all, but sadly, a reference nonetheless.
Online resources
Many of these sites are rather old, therefore a little hard to read on newer browsers and screens, but they're very worth the extra effort.
Many of these sites are rather old, therefore a little hard to read on newer browsers and screens, but they're very worth the extra effort.
- The Victorian Web. I lost count of how many times I browsed through this highly comprehensive website during my university years...
- The Salon.
- 1876 Victorian England.
A Pair of Blue Eyes, is not really look your story. I just read some parts of the book because I wasn't that interested in it but I still read a few paragraphs here and there LOL. I do that. Basically the first two chapters and the last chapter.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, by what I read and that the synopsis says, it's not at all so don't worry. ;)
Hehe, funny thing is, I probably knew the book existed, only I didn't remember it: Thomas Hardy is not my thing at all. I want to read it someday, though, out of... sheer curiosity, you know? ;-)
DeleteAnyway, thanks for letting me know :-D.