“All the world’s a stage,” said Jaques in As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII. When you write historical fiction, you can stage any part of the world as the backstory for one of your characters. I did this with Peggy, one of the soiled swamp doves of my forthcoming book, Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure. She dreams of being a trapeze artist and her name in lights. I had to give her a reason to leave the circus and come to Bill’s house of ill repute. I searched for circus disasters in Google and found the Hartford (Connecticut) Circus Fire of 1944. 167 people lost their lives in the fire. Nearly five hundred were injured. Officials estimate seven thousand were under the big top when the show started. This is the worst circus disaster on record.
Peggy arrives at Bill’s in 1951. I had seven years to build her backstory and bring her from her dream of performing with the Great Wallendas to entertaining men in a more intimate environment. The horrific fire didn’t dash her dreams in Hartford. They came crashing down later in St. Louis when the swing broke. The doctors removed her infectious right leg above the knee. Unable to use a one-legged trapeze artist, Ringling Brothers left her behind. Peggy worked in low-budget circus and sideshows throughout the rest of the forties. Her life spiraled into the gutter when the circus manager suggested she can stay on board if she offered herself to the men so he wouldn’t have to pay them as much.
Poor Peggy had a terrible life for a few years. She escaped the misogynistic circus bastards and made her way to Bill’s. It wasn’t much of an improvement in managerial style, but she made money and put a swing in her room. In her swing, she found everything else tolerable. History doesn’t write itself, but it’s a great asset to have when writing your character’s backstory.
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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book I have my nose in. I may not be a published author yet, but I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read. I’m still reading Forever Vacancy, an anthology. I encourage you to read a variety of topics.
So clever! I’m doing something similar with my female serial killer who gets her comeuppance in 1967, the Summer of Love. Had to go back in time to create her backstory which starts after the crash of ’29.