Try Before You Trust: To All Gentlewomen and Other Maids in Love (Historium Press, 2023), by Constance Briones, is an insightful work of historical fiction that captures the best of the genre. Here is an interview with the author on her writing journey with this novel.
What made you choose this
particular topic?
I discovered the protagonist of my novel, Isabella
Whitney, while researching my Master’s thesis on literacy and women in England
during the sixteenth century. Whitney is credited as the first English woman
believed to have written original secular poetry for publication in the
mid-sixteenth century. I admired her gusty character. She dared to write poems
exploring love relations between men and women at a time when religious
translations were the only acceptable writing endeavor for women.
Whitney was in her late teens when her first volume of poetry concerning men-women relations was published. The Copy of a Letter (1567), with its adjoining poem, The Admonition of the Author to all young Gentlewomen and all other maids being in Love, were love poems written in the personae of a jilted lover. Whitney presented an unconventional woman’s perspective of how unfairly men treat women in love, which played a role in the debates on women’s nature in the sixteenth century. Her choice to defy the conventions of her day, both in her thinking and actions, impressed me. And I couldn’t help but think she would make a most engaging literary heroine. Another primary consideration for going the fiction route rather than writing a biography is the scant information about Whitney’s life, leading me to tell the story of her journey from maidservant to unemployed domestic to her early success as a poet through historical fiction.
What were your greatest writing challenges and why?
Getting
as close as I could to historically authentic language and striking a balance
between including too much history or too little history in the story.
How
did you address these?
My story takes place in Elizabethan England, so I
realized early on that I couldn’t write dialogue as if I were Shakespeare,
fearing it would turn people off. So, to promote a better understanding of
dialogue, I opted for authenticity, rather than absolute accuracy, to give the
reader a taste of the historical language of the period. If I wasn’t sure about
a word or a phrase, I used the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which has a word
history section. I also read historical fiction by well-known authors such as
Allison Weir and Philippa Gregory, who frequently write stories set in
16th-century England.
Since I taught history and am more comfortable with nonfiction writing, my biggest fear has been that my novel would begin to read more like a history book than a story. I followed the advice given to me: to use a combination of narrative exposition, dialogue, and internal thought to convey historical background. And to include it only when it felt pertinent to the story.
What did you enjoy most about writing the novel and why?
I enjoyed building scenes where the reader sees and hears what’s happening, like
watching a movie. It was an engaging endeavor to consider the actions and
dialogue of my characters in pivotal scenes, contemplating what I would have
them do and say that would reveal their true character.
What other projects
do you have planned?
I’m researching a possible second historical fiction
novel based on the early life of Sarah and Angelina Grimke, the only Southern
white women ever to become leading abolitionists. It has long fascinated me
that these two sisters from a wealthy family in South Carolina united to oppose
the institution of slavery, which was the economic backbone of the South.
What
else would you like to add for readers and writers to know?
As a writer
edging toward the goal of publication, I found a beta reader service very
helpful. The History Quill in London offers a beta readers service, which gave
me feedback on my manuscript from a team of real historical fiction readers I
didn’t know. The History Quill handpicked the readers based on a questionnaire
I completed. The feedback I received was detailed, honest, and very insightful.
I appreciate that The History Quill carefully vets their beta readers and
ensures that they are a good fit for the story, which means the feedback is of
good quality.
Additionally, I had to develop patience in querying agents. Many didn’t respond and said upfront not to expect a response if they were not interested, while others responded quickly with a standard rejection letter. Then, after weeks and even months of waiting, when I least expected it, a few took the time to craft a personal response. I appreciated those who gave praise and encouragement to continue writing. Seeing a small wave of humanity within the money-driven objective of the publishing world made me feel encouraged.
Constance Briones has a Master's in Woman's History and seeks to highlight little-known stories of women in history. She is a contributing writer to Historical Times magazine, and when not writing lends her time as an educational docent for her town's historical society. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and sibling Maine coon cats, Thor and Percy. For more, visit Try Before You Trust: To All Gentlewomen and Other Maids in Love.
