By My Halidome! The Use and Overuse of Period Language in Historical Novels

June 29, 2016 · by Kate Gilbert | in Craft, General | tagged archaic language, Baroness Orczy, Hilary Mantel, M.T. Anderson, Mark Twain, narrative voice, period dialogue., Sir Walter Scott | 7 Comments

Gentle reader, prithee tarry thou a moment in mine company, for by my troth, a tale I would fain unfold for thee. List and learn… And there you have it: gadzookery, the intemperate and/or unskillful use of archaic language. If you’re a reader of historical fiction, you’re no doubt familiar with the phenomenon. And if, […]

Lynn Cullen Discusses Twain’s End: The Man Behind the Mask, Part I

November 11, 2015 · by Christina Kaylor | in Author Interviews | tagged "Mark Twain" pen name, Breakout novel, Isabel Lyon, Lynn Cullen, Mark Twain, Mark Twain and conjoined twins, Mark Twain and his Angelfish, Mark Twain doppelganger, Mark Twain Papers at Berkeley, Mrs. Poe, Samuel Clemens, Samuel Clemens and Isabel Lyon, Samuel Clemens Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Samuel Clemens in old age, Samuel Clemens' condemnation of Isabel Lyon, Samuel Clemens' public face, The Houses of Mark Twain, Twain's End | Leave a comment

(Last week, Brenda Lloyd reviewed Lynn Cullen’s latest novel, Twain’s End. If you missed this review, you can read it by clicking here. If you know Cullen only from Mrs. Poe, you can learn more in my earlier interview, linked here.) Just a little over two years ago, Lynn Cullen published Mrs. Poe, her story […]

Freshly Baked Books: A Review of The Bohemians by Ben Tarnoff

May 7, 2014 · by Stephanie Knapp | in Book Reviews | tagged 19th century American History, 19th century San Francisco writers, American Literary Feuds, Ben Tarnoff, Bret Harte, California gold rush, Charles Warren Stoddard, Ina Coolbrith, Influence of the West on American Literature, Local Color Stories, Mark Twain, Mark Twain and California, Mark Twain and Missouri, Mark Twain and the Civil War, Mark Twain Bret Harte feud, Missouri writers, The Bohemians | 5 Comments

Before the American coasts were joined by a railroad, there was still magic in the world. OK, maybe not dragons and stuff, but the Far West – the “grand social experiment” in California – was a fascinating caldron of pioneers from the East, luckless prospectors, Latino gentry, and Chinese immigrants. They were financed by […]