Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Oh! Those Russians!

I'm currently back in Russia. In my head, that is. Right now reading up on Tsar Alexander II inThe Romanovs 1818-1959. The Russian Imperial family of the 1860s make an appearance in the WIP. Well, I call it a WIP, but I haven't actually written a word of it yet. Perhaps I should call it a WIM. Short for Work In Mind.

I'm in the research phase, which always seems to involve spending a lot of time, and unavoidably money, in bookshops, panic-buying any book I think might vaguely come in handy.

This amazon list seems a good place to start.

4 comments:

David Isaak said...

Oh, you are getting cheeky, aren't you? First old Fyodor's detective, and then genuine historical personages.

I'm interested to see where this will lead a few books hence. Does Porfiry ever get to meet, say, Mark Twain?

It's just too bad your timeframe misses the Crimean War by a decade.

Dr Ian Hocking said...

Hi Roger - I'm actually researching the same period! I've got some great books, too, if you want to compare notes. 'Five Sisters: Women Against the Tsar' is a fascinating oral history of several woman anarchists 1870+ and how they constructed their passport bureaus, laid mines under the Tsar's parade routes, and so on. Great book.

Roger Morris said...

David, all I can say is, "Cheeky, moi?" Hmm, Mark Twain.... interesting. Interesting. I like your thinking...

Ian, that's amazing. I didn't know you were working in this are. That sounds like a fantastic book. I shall look into it.

I just got a book called The Camera and the Tsars, which is full of photos of the Imperial family. I find photos extremely useful when writing historical stuff, in fact, possibly the most useful resource.

Nik Perring said...

Hope the research is going well; I find that it can be among the most fun moments of writing. And c'mon - what writer doesn't like buying things from bookshops just in case they might be of use! (Okay, the cost may be a downside, but still, research is research!)

Nik