Juggling Two Sets of Readers

 

Writing a historical novel as a column involves two sets of readers: my twenty-first century American readers and the column’s World War II-era British readers. Unfortunately, their knowledge is decades and continents apart. So how can I fill in my readers’ information gaps without insulting the column readers’ intelligence by telling them things they already know?

Part of the answer depends on how important the information is to the story. For example, the school system in Britain during World War II was very different from the one we are used to in America and has even changed significantly since then. My online critique partner was confused when I called a twelve-year-old girl a senior and wondered if I should explain the system. Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a good way to do so without insulting the column readers’ intelligence. Since it isn’t crucial to the story, I decided it was better to leave my present-day readers with an unanswered question. (If they really care, they can always look it up on the internet—an option that wasn’t available to Jane’s readers.)

If the information is important to the story, the answer changes. Jane’s readers would have known when the evacuation of school children began and how it worked, but most of my readers won’t. Since it is a significant part of the story, I have tried to weave it in here and there in a way that comes naturally.

I can best demonstrate that approach with an example about rationing. Jane’s readers would have known which items were rationed at the time, but my readers don’t. The following passage comes from a column about a meeting of the Sewing Circle at the home of a farmer’s wife. This a from the first draft and may change, but it should give you the idea.

In the middle of the afternoon, we took a break for refreshments. My mouth watered when I saw the scones and what accompanied them. The Wares had cows, so I wasn’t surprised at the clotted cream, but jam had just been added to the rationed list.

“I thought you all deserved a treat,” Mrs. Ware said as she put the scones on plates and added a spoonful of cream and another of jam to each one. “I was overrun with strawberries last year, and I still have half-dozen jars of the jam I made from them.”

“You’re much too generous,” Mrs. Wicker said.

Mrs. Ware shook her head. “We’re all that way, and we’ll pay each other back eventually.”

That isn’t true, of course. I don’t have room to host the Sewing Circle, and I’m probably not the only one.

Mrs. Wickers took a sip of tea before speaking again. “It’s the sugar ration that bothers me most. Martin has such a sweet tooth, and with three young Londoners in the house, I’d love to give them all a treat now and then.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, I can’t seem to save enough coupons.”

Cathy nodded. “We wouldn’t have had enough sugar and butter for my wedding cake if Mum hadn’t begged coupons from her sisters and all our friends and neighbors.”

Even this passage has some elements of telling Jane’s readers what they already know, such as the part that says “jam had just been added to the rationed list.” I’m working on it, though.

It’s always a challenge to tell my readers what they need to know without telling Jane’s readers what they already know.

But that’s part of writing good fiction.