Image credits:

C.E. McGill – Copyright Rebecca Holmes Photography Ltd

Francesca de Tores – Copyright Andrew North

Who reads historical fiction? And who writes it? Authors C.E. McGill and Francesca de Tores will share their take on today’s historical fiction.

Both authors’ most recent novels feature a main character called ‘Mary’ – in Francesca’s case, her Mary in inspired by the true tales of infamous pirate, Mary Read. In Charlie’s case, her ‘Mary’ is a Victorian scientist and the great-niece of Dr. Victor Frankenstein.

Together, we’ll discuss gender identity and queer love stories, placing them in the context of historical fiction. We will discuss whether the traditional expectations of gender influence characters, and whether Francesca and Charlie’s novels would work if their ‘Marys’ gender identities were different.

We’ll talk stereotypes within historical fiction, whether it’s important for characters to exist with today’s cultural understandings, and if these authors are subverting the expectations of historical adventure with their novels?

After the main discussion there will be a chance for you to ask Francesca and Charlie your questions.

About the Authors:

Francesca de Tores is an author and academic. As Francesca de Tores, she writes historical fiction. Her latest novel is Saltblood (Bloomsbury) was a Sunday Times top-twenty bestseller, and won the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

As Francesca Haig, she is the author of four novels. The most recent, The Cookbook of Common Prayer, was published in 2021. Her post-apocalyptic Fire Sermon trilogy is published in more than 20 languages.

Francesca grew up in lutruwita/Tasmania, gained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, and was a senior lecturer and a Visiting Writing Fellow at the University of Chester. Her poetry has been published in literary journals and anthologies in both Australia and England, and a collection of poetry, Bodies of Water, was published in 2006. In 2010 she was awarded a Hawthornden Fellowship. She lives in naarm/Melbourne, on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin nation.

C.E. McGill was born in Scotland and raised in North Carolina. They are a recent graduate of NC State University. Charlie’s short fiction has appeared in Fantasy Magazine and Strange Constellations, and they are a two-time finalist for the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing. Charlie’s debut novel, Our Hideous Progeny, was shortlisted for the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. They now live back in Scotland.

Chair: Georgina Brown, Director of The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation

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