Researching

As a writer of historical fiction I spend too little time writing. Marketing takes up a huge proportion of my time as well as research, which can take the form of reading books, articles, the internet and visiting historical sites. I really love my travels to interesting historical places both here in the UK as well as abroad. I can write about these places with so much more feeling, authority and reality when visiting rather than reading about a historical event in that place. Two examples come to mind.

I visited Rochester Castle in Kent recently where the rebel barons held out against King John’s brutal mercenaries for 7 weeks in 1215. The first impression I had was how small the castle was and how difficult it must have been for the men to defend the place. And also how the castle had hardly changed in 1000 years. King John eventually broke in with a very ingenious plan. I could imagine the terror of the defenders, the bravery, the smoke and the noise. Every one of my senses was fired up. I went home and wrote the chapter in one sitting with passion and dedication. This is a chapter in my current book, the follow up to Magnum Opus. You cant beat reality!

Another time, even before I started writing I was walking in the hills above Lake Galilee. A local farmer spoke to me, asking if I had realised that this was the site of the Horns of Hattin battle site, named after an extinct volcano, between the forces of Saladin and the Crusader states. He told me how Saladin had completely outwitted the enemy by depriving them of water and he set fire to the dry grass forcing the men to flee. I recalled this powerful experience when I wrote Magnum Opus.

I have also cycled the length and breadth of Israel/Palestine and Jordan, visiting many of the religious sites. Where possible I write from these experiences. A few years ago I wrote From Eden to Babylon about WW1 in Mesopotamia and my protagonist also spent time in India. Sadly I haven’t visited either country – yet!

Nigel Messenger October 2025