Hi there!
I wanted to take a moment to explain my approach to historical accuracy and give you a few links to some resources I use often.
I have certain tabs that are just perpetually open on my computer, these include: an etymological dictionary, a map of Regency London, rules for addressing the gentry, and several Regency slang dictionaries. These are essential to me and I use them every day. I also have a copy of the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Frances Gross that I like to break out at parties.
Additionally, I research individual issues as they come up, these include things like etiquette, piano playing, fencing, horse racing, gambling, the geography of various counties in England, weather patterns in the 1810s, flora and fauna common to the region in the era, and the coaching routes. I also search other… less savory subjects. It’s almost a guarantee that I’m on some terrifying watch list.
Sometimes my research involves pestering that friend from high school that I haven’t spoken to in a decade but who used to fence. Hi Hanna! Other times it’s bothering people on obscure subreddits.
All this to say, I try my best to be historically accurate whenever possible. However, I am just as certain that I make mistakes. A lot of them. That’s where you come in. If you catch something and you’d like to let me know, please send me a note here.
Now, what do I do when I want to make an anachronistic choice?
Such was the case with the title, The Baker and the Bookmaker. The term 'bookmaker’ wasn’t used in the way that I am using it until 1824, a full decade after my book. Indeed, at the time of my book, the term was more literal, meaning person who makes books.
I considered that choice carefully, and decided my desire for alliteration was more important to me than the decade difference and hoped no one would notice. I’m frivolous like that. Of course, I’ve ruined any hope of flying under the radar by telling you all about it!
It’s actually interesting that ‘bookmaker’ in the sense that I am using it was first recorded in 1824. Michael Wayland is my hero in Courting Scandal and he owns a gaming-hell (gambling house). His rise to gambling prominence is very based loosely on William “Crocky” Crockford and his gaming-hell, Crockfords. Crockfords opened in 1828, I have my suspicions that the term rose to prominence with him.
For Courting Scandal, I’ve bumped up the timeline a little to fit with my Regency setting. Though Michael and Crocky have very different origins, Michael follows Crocky’s trajectory through the hells. Staring from Temple Bar through the silver-hells of Piccadilly. Crockford’s opened in St. James’s Square, and still stands today. I’ve set Waylands in the same part of town and discussed his success using similar gaming habits and sums of money. You can learn more about William Crockford and gambling in Regency and Victorian England here.
Back to my concerns about purposefully anachronistic choices. The novel I’m currently drafting, Angel of Mine, includes the word ‘stalker’ in one place. It feels like such a modern word, doesn’t it? The term became commonplace in the 1990’s to mean obsessive harasser.
However, beginning in the 16th century, the term was used to refer to one who pursues stealthily. That is the exact context I’m using it in. However, it now has a thoroughly modern connotation and I’m concerned my readers may be thrown. Unfortunately, it really is the most perfect word for the situation and none of the others will do.
This issue is commonly known as the “Tiffany Problem” in historical writing spheres. It refers to the problem that arises when an author uses a name or term that sounds modern so readers assume that it is. The name Tiffany in some spelling has been around since the 12th century, but it has such a contemporary feel to it that readers would surely be disappointed to read a Regency romance with Tiffany as a heroine.
Do you have thoughts on names and terms that were technically in-use during a historical era but read modern to our ears? Is there another term I should use for stalker? Sound off below.
Thanks for checking in!
<3 Ally!