Weekly Roundup of History, Archaeology and Writing Wisdom Oct 18-24

A cogent argument in The Guardian for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens. Where, after all, they have a gorgeous, purpose-built museum waiting for them. I know the British Museum also has a purpose-built space, but it isn’t at the foot of the marbles’ home. And there are kind of a lot of other cool things in the Brit Museum. It’d be okay, you know. Click here.

Fact or Fiction? How Novelists Can Blend Factual Research with Creative Storytelling. A good discussion by Jack Woodville London on CS Lakin’s blog Live Write Thrive Click here.

Sometimes we all get tired of trying to sell books—our own, our friends’. Tinney Sue Heath has a hilarious post regarding the whole dilemma and while you are laughing you’ll figure out that her book is entirely wonderful. One of my favorites, A Thing Done and it’s on sale these days, cheap (oh golly, there I go, selling a book…) Click here.

Kim Rendfeld on the problem of polyglot plots (set in Charlemagne’s kingdom). Just who can chat with whom and other intriguing problems for a historical novelist. On Anna Belfrage’s blog. Click here. 

Ruth Downie on trying to write the Romans in Britannia: “I think the best we writers can do (and heaven knows, most of us aren’t historians, so we’re constantly playing catch-up) is to love our chosen era enough to immerse ourselves in the research and try to create something that seems authentic at the time. Something that, crucially, we ourselves believe in. We’re bound to get some things wrong. For that, we apologise. It’s only fiction, after all.” Great discussion including a medical recipe involving, apparently, scorpions and donkey poo. Sounds so like my Hittite brews! Ruth also spends time each summer in the archaeological trenches. If you haven’t read her mysteries, Medicus is the first in the series; Tabula Rasa the latest. Via Alison Morton. Click here