Trustworthy Historical Fiction: The Documented Novel

Most of us have had the experience of commenting to our friends about a movie, "Well, it was pretty good, but it wasn't as good as the book." Or sometimes we read historical fiction or see a movie based on a historical event and come away disappointed that the work played fast and loose with the known historical facts. Such experiences give the knowledgable reader or movie-goer a feeling of helplessness ("Why can't they get it right for once!") and increases one's skepticism about the entire genre of historical fiction. How can we trust what we read or see in movies?

Enter Paul L. Maier, professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, author of several scholarly books related to the religio-political history of the ancient world, who has created a genre of fiction that he calls the "documented novel." A documented novel can be defined as a work of historical fiction which includes notes directing the reader to the primary source material which corroborates the validity of the character or plot development.

In three novels about Christian history, Maier has employed footnotes to document the validity of his plot developments in much the same way that historians document their sources to ensure academic honesty and facilitate further research. Maier states in the preface to The Flames of Rome, "I have not tampered with known facts in retelling [the story]--unlike almost all historical novelists--nor invented characters that could never match the kind who actually lived in this era. The factual undergirding is documented in the Notes, some of which unveil new historical data."

In his devotion to historical fact, Maier has adopted three rules. First, all characters in the book are actual persons whose names appear in the written records of the era. Second, unless by an unintended error on his own part, the actions of persons (characters) in the book accord with the historical record of those deeds. Third, where evidence is lacking in the historical record, Maier, like any historian, makes an informed decision (an educated guess, if you will), which can be inferred from the facts on record.

One good example would be the reconstruction of the trial of Paul of Tarsus in The Flames of Rome, to which Maier accords a five-paragraph explanation in his Notes, saying, "On the basis of all scraps of evidence in the prison epistles (the above passages in which Paul looks forward to a positive resolution of his case), the political situation in both Palestine and Rome, and the known court procedure in appeals to the emperor, I have endeavored to reconstruct the trial as set forth in the text." Readers can make their own determination, as they do with all historical writing, as to whether the reconstruction holds water.

Maier has written three novels in this genre: Pontius Pilate (1968), The Flames of Rome (1981), and the best-selling novel A Skeleton in God's Closet (1993).

His sources include primary materials such as the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio Cassius, Livy, Josephus, Juvenal, Lucan, Lucian, Marital, Pliny, Plutarch, Seneca, Strabo, and Christian ancients such as Clement of Rome, Luke, Paul, Peter, Tertullian, and others. This is an enormous aid to the reader who might not otherwise know where to begin to track down features of the story in the works of the ancients.

Maier's expose of the distortions in novelist Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code was included in the well-known DVD The DaVinci Delusion, hosted by D. James Kennedy, Ph.D. His comments in that debate boost his credentials as a historian who values the fiction writer's devotion to historical accuracy--and one who is able and willing to expose nonsense masquerading as historically supported fiction when necessary. Unlike the rest of us, as a historian who deals with this source material on a daily basis, Dr. Maier has the ability to flip pages in Dan Brown's face, so to speak, in order to nail down his defense of historical accuracy.

Dr. Maier's documented novels are also a remarkable assist to students who become confused by all the different voices in the marketplace. How can one know whom to trust? Oh, that all writers of historical fiction would so document their work! Dr. Maier, do you have students who are willing to carry on this tradition in the twenty-first century?