# Historical Romance research



## MaitreyeeMAYHEM (Dec 24, 2012)

I am writing a historical romance that takes place in India when England took over the country in 1858. I have been researching online and in books and I still feel like I'm missing something. How long has everyone else been researching? Or any ideas of where else I can find information? They haven't made many movies about this era either.


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## ppsage (Dec 24, 2012)

When I start looking at a new historical era, I try to find biography and memoir for starters. The sorts of details one finds with relation to some specific person's life are better for the fiction writer, I think, than what one finds in more general treatments. And there is nothing quite like the actual words of people who lived at the time. A large metropolitan library is probably the best bet, I'm lucky to have the Multonomah County Library (Portland OR) nearby. A quick search shows four volumes of memoir from the period. All of them are quite old and only available for in library use. I like to get to know the 'important' personages of the time and look for things about them and by them. By paying attention to the references and credits, the thing quickly snowballs. This is a fascinating place and period. Good luck, pp.


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## Caragula (Dec 25, 2012)

As a good backdrop to 1858 with a very detailed bibliography that should lead you to a lot more info about the takeover itself, I recommend a History of the English East India Company - John Keay.  I'm reading it for different research but the company's presence in the far east and in India is considered centrally important to how British interests eventually flowered into rule.  Being a 'proper' history book, John Keay writes with verve and veracity.


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## MaitreyeeMAYHEM (Dec 25, 2012)

Caragula said:


> As a good backdrop to 1858 with a very detailed bibliography that should lead you to a lot more info about the takeover itself, I recommend a History of the English East India Company - John Keay.  I'm reading it for different research but the company's presence in the far east and in India is considered centrally important to how British interests eventually flowered into rule.  Being a 'proper' history book, John Keay writes with verve and veracity.



Thank you so much for the advice. I could not find that book at the library but I found India: A History. I reserved that at the library. I'll read that and get more of a feel for the culture and then read the other book. Thank you so much for the suggestion.


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