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Rhiannon Davies: This is your first foray into historical fiction. What made you decide to write a novel?
Dan Jones: The story of Essex Dogs was catalysed, I suppose, in the summer of 2019, when I had dinner with George RR Martin, author of the Game of Thrones series and an avid reader of history. Talking to him, and realising that it was possible to take serious historical ideas and communicate them via fiction, gave me the kickstart I needed.
Did you deviate from the historical record when writing Essex Dogs?
Yes, because there's no point in writing fiction if you're not going to take full advantage of creative licence. But of course, even in this genre the readers want to feel like history is informing the narrative. So I wanted Essex Dogs, which is about the Crécy campaign in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War, to be based on the original sources.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2022-Ausgabe von BBC History UK.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2022-Ausgabe von BBC History UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
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The king they couldn't kill
Want to know why Henry VII is remembered as an intensely suspicious king, wracked by paranoia? The answer, writes Nathen Amin, lies in his death-defying rise to power
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The long road back The election was tough for the Conservatives - but the past holds clues on how parties can return from the brink
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