Paul Doerwang's Page

What do those of us who enjoy historical fiction want from a story of this type. Obviously, for many of us there is a simple desire to visit distant shores. But,what to make of the inhabitants we find on those shores? Do we prefer an author who requires that we not only get to know a cast of characters, but also their cultural mores and values, recognizing that as denizens of the past, they are citizens of a "foreign country" as L.P Hartley so famously put it ("they do things differently there")? Or do we instead ask the author, our tour guide on this journey, to translate the experience into a modernized "shorthand" of sorts, so that we can hit the ground running. Should those who prefer the latter be looked down on for hitting what some consider nothing but all the "tourist traps?"

I just think it is a great thing that there is always a ship at the pier of the imagination bound for just the port we're looking for. 

Uh oh, I think I hear the captain calling. Time to set sail. I hope you all get to where you want to go. Maybe I'll see you when I get back.