Historical accuracy in fact, and words

 

“Iwrite novels, mostly historical ones, and I try hard to keep them accurate asto historical facts, milieu and flavor.” – Gary Jennings

Born on this date in1928, Jennings wrotethe bestselling historical book Aztec andhad a stellar career as a writer of historical fiction.   A native of Virginia, he began writing as a war correspondent in the Korean War (awardeda Bronze Star for heroism in the process).   
His thoroughlyresearched – and sometimes massive – novels are known for theirdetail.   He spent12 years in Mexico researching Aztec andits sequel Aztec Autumn and joined 9different circus troupes to write his bestseller Spangle.    In the course of hiswriting Jennings learned that many words modern writers take for granted simplydidn’t exist in the time periods he wanted to represent – something he said allwriters, especially of historical fiction, should be prepared to deal with.   He suggested that a writer looking for a project might consider  “. . . a good, thick,complete-as-possible dictionary of 'What People Used to Call Things.'  “I could list hundreds of words I'vecome up against in the course of my work that did not exist in the era of whichI was writing and for which I never could find a suitably old-time, archaic orobsolete substitute.“