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Is PG also a Historian

SCW
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Is PG also a Historian

Post by SCW » Mon July 27th, 2015, 6:18 am

I have often read that she is considered to be one as well as a novelist.

Is this true?

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Vanessa
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by Vanessa » Mon July 27th, 2015, 10:23 am

Yes, I believe she is.
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Misfit
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by Misfit » Mon July 27th, 2015, 2:54 pm

From some of the blurbs and promotional material put out by her publisher, they try to lead us to the she has a doctorate in history, when according to Wiki and other sources say her doctorate is in English literature - 18C I believe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa_Gregory

She was a "rebel" at Colston's Girls' School[4][5] where she obtained a B grade in English and two E grades in History and Geography at A-level. She then went to journalism college in Cardiff and spent a year as an apprentice with the Portsmouth News before she managed to gain a place on an English literature degree course at the University of Sussex, where she switched to a history course.[6] She worked in BBC radio for two years before attending the University of Edinburgh, where she earned her doctorate in 18th-century literature. Gregory has taught at the University of Durham, University of Teesside, and the Open University, and was made a Fellow of Kingston University in 1994.
If I read that correctly and granted it's Wiki, but she studied history. Does that make her a historian?
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princess garnet
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by princess garnet » Mon July 27th, 2015, 7:17 pm

This is the official biography on her website: http://www.philippagregory.com/biography

SCW
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by SCW » Tue July 28th, 2015, 1:47 am

Her doctorate was in 18th century literature. She was able to ultilise the information gained there to write her first novel Wideacre.

I always thought of PG of more of a novelist rather than a historian.

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Misfit
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by Misfit » Tue July 28th, 2015, 5:28 pm

SCW wrote:Her doctorate was in 18th century literature. She was able to ultilise the information gained there to write her first novel Wideacre.

I always thought of PG of more of a novelist rather than a historian.
I wonder how the historian 'myth' got started? I know I've seen at least one inside the jacket blurb that definitely implied she is one.

SARCASM FONT ON

So, I took the bio bit to FB. My pal Michele, who recently went back to school and got a degree in history, says she's going to add historian to her list of achievements. If PG can say it, why not everyone else?
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SCW
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by SCW » Tue July 28th, 2015, 11:58 pm

One of the things that appear to annoy people about PG is the way she or others go on about her books being so historically accurate.

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Mythica
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by Mythica » Wed July 29th, 2015, 1:01 am

I sometimes use the term historian informally/loosely to refer to historical novelists even if they haven't written any non-fiction - they still have to do a ton of research to write a historical novel. Whether they choose to stick to the facts or not in their novel is another matter. It's not the same as a professional historian, I just think it's worth noting how much research is involved in writing a novel.

SCW
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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by SCW » Wed July 29th, 2015, 8:01 am

Apparently Margaret Mitchell spent seven years writing Gone With The Wind and Kathleen Winsor devoted a similar amount of time to her restoration novel Forever Amber.There would have to be a lot of research.

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Re: Is PG also a Historian

Post by Misfit » Wed July 29th, 2015, 3:54 pm

Mythica wrote:I sometimes use the term historian informally/loosely to refer to historical novelists even if they haven't written any non-fiction - they still have to do a ton of research to write a historical novel. Whether they choose to stick to the facts or not in their novel is another matter. It's not the same as a professional historian, I just think it's worth noting how much research is involved in writing a novel.
Watching updates on FB from EC and Sharon, I'd have to agree to that. The thing with PG that bugs me is she does go all over the net about her research and accuracy in her books and then goes completely cray-cray from known history. If she would just fess up in her author's notes... :(
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