On Writing : Using exposition to recreate the historical setting by Chiara Torrisi

Chiara Torrisi

Using exposition to recreate the historical setting

Portraying the historical context is hard, so better to use every tool you have to give details about it. A great way to do it is to take advantage of the exposition.

Especially when a story is told in first person, the language should reflect the culture and the mindset of the time. It doesn't mean to recreate an archaic style, which would make the novel difficult to digest. Yet, choosing some words, sentence structures and, even better, images from that time, will elevate the depiction of the historical context.

An example? "Memoirs of Hadrian" by Marguerite Yourcenar. You read it and you're transported into the Roman Empire of the 2nd century AD.

But adapting the style and the language doesn't involve only historical fiction: every novel told in first person will benefit from an exposition modelled on the character's or the society's background.

Could you mention some novels that effectively use the language in the exposition to portray the (historical) context?

Maurice Vaughan

Thanks for the advice, Chiara Torrisi. I haven't written that many Historical stories. This will come in handy when I write another one.

Chiara Torrisi

You're welcome, Maurice Vaughan

Ashley Renee Smith

Chiara Torrisi, this is such a great point! Two that come to mind for me are Shōgun by James Clavell and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. They’re incredibly different in tone and scope, but both use exposition as a powerful tool to immerse readers in vastly different eras and cultures. Shōgun unfolds through the eyes of an outsider, so the exposition reflects both cultural dissonance and discovery, while Outlander leans heavily into its protagonist’s 20th-century perspective contrasted against 18th-century Scotland, anchoring the reader through voice and contextual reflection.

Both show how voice and narrative perspective can turn exposition into a time machine without overwhelming the reader.

Chiara Torrisi

Great examples, Ashley Renee Smith! I still must read Shōgun; it interests me also because the screen adaptation seems to be excellent.

And you're right: exposition helps a lot to convey mood and details about the past without info dumping. When it works, readers almost don't notice that they're learning about the context.

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