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Susanne Alleyn

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.susannealleyn.com

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Literature & Fiction, History

Member Since

June 2007

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The granddaughter of children’s author Lillie V. Albrecht (author of Deborah Remembers, The Spinning Wheel Secret, and three other historicals, all now available for Kindle), Susanne Alleyn definitely doesn’t write for children, unless, like her, they have found guillotines, high drama, and the French Revolution fascinating since the age of ten or so.

Susanne grew up in Massachusetts and New York City. After studying acting and singing, and earning a B.F.A. in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Susanne eventually came to the conclusion that, as an actor, she was quite a good writer, and that sending out manuscripts to editors and agents was still easier on the nerves than going to auditions. (She can, nevertheless, ...more

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Aside from reading Medieval Underpants, which I wouldn't want to write without (the book, not the underpants,) what method of researching do you recommend to writers of historical fiction?

Susanne Alleyn Hi Renee, and thank you!

I suppose the short answer to your question is simply "Read, read, read." In the end, there's not a lot of difference between…moreHi Renee, and thank you!

I suppose the short answer to your question is simply "Read, read, read." In the end, there's not a lot of difference between researching for HF and for writing nonfiction history. Primary sources are always ideal, always taking into account any possible bias on the part of the author.

Once you know which period you're really passionate about, start general and quickly go specific. Find a corner in a local college library, if you can, and hit the stacks. I started learning about the French Revolution by reading a comprehensive layman's history of the period, cover to cover. Then I branched off by reading about specific people whom I found particularly interesting, biographies cover to cover. Read firsthand period memoirs/autobiographies if you can find them (primary sources rather than secondary sources). I'd begin there.

Then, depending on which period you are researching and the sources available, go into the primary sources -- most useful for our needs are newspapers and/or magazines (if available), and fiction and/or drama, epic poetry, etc -- FROM the period, not ABOUT the period, as I stress in the book. The "Daily Life In ___" books are always helpful; they condense the material you'll find in the primary sources, but don't stop with them.

Newspapers before the mid 19th century are not terribly reliable for facts about the historical events they're reporting, but are great for "daily life" details because the ads, the personal columns, announcements, etc, are perfect little glimpses into the past. Because of 1790s newspapers, I can tell you who was the major seller of sheet music in Paris at the time, or that a certain lady was making enough money from her miracle hair lotion to make it worth her while to advertise it. You can see the progression of attitudes during the Revolution from, in early 1789, court circulars giving fawning details about the king and queen's routines; to, a couple of years later, as the Revolution went on, a review of a play that definitely was about the "little guy" fighting and triumphing over the Establishment; to announcements (during the Terror, after the monarchy was overthrown) of plays that were all about ridiculing kings and aristocrats. This is the sort of research you do that eventually will make you feel entirely at home in the period you're writing about, and once you're that comfortable in the period, the background of your historical fiction will be convincing.(less)

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I am reading "A Far Better Rest" and really loving the way you write. I am so afraid that the ending might make me sad because I really like the characters...I am afraid of finishing it...I never felt this way before about a book. I will be reading everything you have written. You are a very gifted writer! Will I be able to finish this book?

Susanne Alleyn Hello Dona,
Thank you so much for your kind message. I'm so pleased you are enjoying "A Far Better Rest." As for the ending, all I'm allowed to tell…moreHello Dona,
Thank you so much for your kind message. I'm so pleased you are enjoying "A Far Better Rest." As for the ending, all I'm allowed to tell you is, well, the endings of most of my books are bittersweet . . . never fear, you can do it! Chin up and carry on! :-)

Take care,
Susanne(less)

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Susanne Alleyn’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 1,294 ratings · 273 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (and Editor's) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, and Myths 3.98 avg rating — 407 ratings — published 2012 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Game of Patience (Aristide Ravel, #3) 3.70 avg rating — 225 ratings — published 2006 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Cavalier of the Apocalypse (Aristide Ravel, #1) 3.70 avg rating — 246 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Treasury of Regrets (Aristide Ravel, #4) 3.76 avg rating — 130 ratings — published 2007 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Palace of Justice (Aristide Ravel, #2) 3.92 avg rating — 115 ratings — published 2010 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Far Better Rest 3.56 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2000 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Executioner's Heir: A Novel of Eighteenth-Century France 4.20 avg rating — 46 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Masquerade 3.35 avg rating — 23 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Annotated a Tale of Two Cities: Abridged-Text Edition 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Weirder Side Of Paris: A Guide to 101 Bizarre, Bloodstained, or Macabre Sights, From the Merely Eccentric to the Downright Ghoulish liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Aristide Ravel - author's suggested reading order (4 books)
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Susanne Alleyn (Goodreads Author)

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Aristide Ravel - published order (4 books)
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Susanne made a comment on Why the Heck I Published My New Book With Amazon " As another "established author" (5 novels with major presses) gone to self-publishing (I've now self-pubbed 3 books) because my latest novel The Execu ...more "
Oct 26, 2014 06:34AM · see blog post
Susanne and 1 other person liked The Just-About-Cocky Ms M's status update The Just-About-Cocky Ms M added a status update: I'm staying away from historical fiction for a while--need the rest from critiquing what amounts to every other paragraph. Love Greg Iles because he's so dark!
May 14, 2014 04:49PM
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Quotes by Susanne Alleyn

“The English criminal code, later known as the "Bloody Code," was brutal in the late 18th century. By the time the first legal reforms were enacted in 1826, 220 crimes—many of them relatively petty crimes against property as Dickens describes in the rest of the paragraph—were punishable by death.”
― Susanne Alleyn, A Tale of Two Cities: A Reader's Companion

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“Everybody present, except the one wigged gentleman who looked at the ceiling, stared at him. All the human breath in the place, rolled at him, like a sea, or a wind, or a fire. Eager faces strained round pillars and corners, to get a sight of him; spectators in back rows stood up, not to miss a hair of him; people on the floor of the court, laid their hands on the shoulders of the people before them, to help themselves, at anybody's cost, to a view of him—stood a-tiptoe, got upon ledges, stood upon next to nothing, to see every inch of him.”
― Susanne Alleyn, A Tale of Two Cities: A Reader's Companion

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“turning an immense pecuniary Mangle.”
― Susanne Alleyn, A Tale of Two Cities: A Reader's Companion

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