World-building Historical Fantasy (or, of Unicorns and Icebergs)

The Historical Fantasy Book Club is one of my favourite FB groups (shocking, I know), and back in June they invited me for an “author takeover”. I thought rather than talking about my usual topics (Romans, and their obsession with fantastical beasts and how to cook them), I’d try to create a broader discussion, one about the various shades of historical fantasy — specifically how much and what type of “history” are addressed in books of this genre.

This turned into a lively and th...