Sarah asked Tracy Chevalier:

What has been your favourite time period to research/write about? Have you learned anything really fascinating that you wish you had been able to work into a novel, but couldn't find the right spot?

Tracy Chevalier Hmmm...You know, I love each period as I'm working on it. I suppose I slightly prefer periods where I can still see and feel the period. So, for instance, the Delft of today still looks a lot like it did in Girl with a Pearl Earring. I like that, that I can walk down a street there and squint and still see it the way my characters did. Or Lyme Regis: I was there just the other day, fossil hunting out on the beach the way my characters in Remarkable Creatures did. It feels there just the way it would have for Mary Anning, and I find that really cool. I guess you could say that nature (and fossils) completely transcend what we humans think of historical time.

When I'm researching I discover things all the time that I can't fit into the novel. (Sadly I can't think of a specific example just now, sorry!) I do a lot more research than I ever use. The trick is to know your stuff so that the reader feels you have a good grasp of the period etc, but then hold back on the facts so that you're not just showing off with it.

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