What makes a good historical novel?
Is the historical novel dead? I'm working on a novel about the eruption of Mt. Pelee on the island of Martinique in 1902. Do you have any ideas about what makes a historical novel good? My two main-ish characters were the only survivors of the eruption in the city of St. Pierre. One joined the circus as a freakshow, and was part of a growing trend of racial and ethnic "others'" on display in circuses and museums at the turn of the twentieth century, but the other history has mostly forgotten (granted, if he had been entirely forgotten, I wouldn't have known about him). Their lives after the eruption unfold on this uncanny parallel level.
So tell me what you liked about different historical novels you've read. Or tell me why you hate historical novels.
I don't read historicals, but, I can gather that good historicals transport you to the time and place that the story occurs, with enough sprinkled description of the world in which your characters live without using extensive expository dialog. Having your characters explain the intricacies of the technology back then, for example, going for pages about how the steam engine works, say, is probably not a good idea.
If the work is dramatic or fiction, or even narrative nonfiction with a strong story and it just happens to be set in that time and place (in other words, if the setting isn't your story... it's just one element), then I would say you go about it like anything else. You be lenient on extensive description and try and only explain the things people aren't familiar with and haven't seen a thousand times before, then get on with the story.
edit: Also don't worry, like so many other people about what's "dead" or not. All of those authors that talk about that sort of thing all the time are pretty much hacks in genre fiction... a good enough book in any genre will overcome its obstacles and detractors and find its way onto the shelf and into the paws of excited readers. All you have to worry about is making it a really good book. Don't worry about selling it until you're done =D
Personally I think the rules for a historical novel are much the same for any novel. If you check out the Ramses series by Christian Jacq you will find an inaccurate but entertaining Historical novels. The King of historical novels seems to be Bernard Cornwell. Also Robert Harris wrote a few worth mentioning, If you nned more I can scour my shelves. I hope Ive been a help.
Just write a good novel.