Facts in Historical Romance?

[Misfit]

Interesting thread over at the romance board at Amazon,

http://www.amazon.com/tag/historical%20romance/forum/ref=cm_cd_ef_tft_tp?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=FxAM906CKYVNOT&cdThread=Tx2YEYM5WTFHPZJ

[Margaret]

Yikes! I read as far as the post from the woman who criticized the mythological creatures in Harry Potter for not being accurate. But it's no surprise that people who read historical romance for the romance do not feel too concerned about whether the historical background is carefully researched.

[Miss Moppet]

Yes, interesting thread. Readers seem to have very different expectations plus different levels of knowledge about a period. In other words, there's no pleasing everyone. I think the author's note is the best way of solving this one just as it is with other historical genres. With romance I'd tend to assume most of the main characters are fictional but it's still good to know if, for example, dates or events have been moved around.