From Academic Archives To Bestselling Adventures
Susan King discusses blending her art history background with meticulous research to craft authentic medieval fiction, exploring the nuances between her pen names and the physical dedication required to resurrect history.
I n the realm of historical fiction, few authors navigate the mist-shrouded glens of medieval Scotland with as much authority and grace as Susan King. With a career spanning over thirty novels and novellas, King has established herself as a master of the “historical thread”—that delicate line where meticulous academic research meets the soaring imagination of a storyteller. Whether writing as Susan King or Susan Fraser King, her work, including acclaimed titles like Lady Macbeth and Queen Hereafter, serves as a bridge between the dusty archives of the past and the vibrant pulse of the present.
In a recent interview for Mosaic Digest, King pulled back the curtain on her creative process, revealing how a background in art history and a penchant for “catching arrows” have shaped one of the most respected voices in the genre today.
From the Gallery to the Page
For King, the journey into the Middle Ages began not in the library, but through the eye of an artist. Her academic roots in art history and medieval studies provided more than just a chronological framework; they offered a sensory methodology for world-building.
“Art history taught me to be visually observant, a creative thinker, and a careful researcher,” King explains. She notes that the discipline of art history is, at its core, an exercise in narrative. Much like a novelist, an art historian must construct an argument with a beginning, middle, and end, using deep research to evoke emotion and character from a static object. When King transitioned to fiction, she brought this “visual thinking” with her, allowing her to describe the tactile world of the 11th century with a clarity that feels lived-in rather than merely studied.
- Academic Foundation: How a background in art history and medieval studies provides the structural blueprint for her novels.
- The “Two” Susans: The creative and branding differences between writing as Susan King and Susan Fraser King.
- Debunking Shakespeare: The fascinating process of stripping away dramatic fiction to find the real woman behind Lady Macbeth.
- Experiential Research: King’s hands-on approach, including learning falconry and the physical mechanics of catching arrows.
- The Dunfermline Discovery: A rainy afternoon in Scotland that led to uncovering local legends about William Wallace.
The Balance of Fact and Feeling
One of the greatest challenges for any historical novelist is the tension between the rigidity of facts and the requirements of a compelling plot. King views this not as a conflict, but as a difference in intent. While nonfiction writers reconstruct history through a logical, analytical lens, King sees her role as “conjuring” history.
“A writer in nonfiction or fiction becomes an authority of sorts for the reader,” she says. “I try to stay cognizant of that by sticking close to the historical thread, though I’ll wander a bit where it serves the story.” This philosophy allows her to fit characters naturally into their environments, ensuring that their motivations and emotions are grounded in the actual cultural landscape of their time.
The Dual Identity of a Storyteller
King’s body of work is famously split between two identities. As Susan King, she pens historical romances that blend adventure with the “happily-ever-after” arc. As Susan Fraser King—a name chosen to honor her Highland ancestors and satisfy a more “academic” branding—she explores mainstream historical fiction.
The distinction goes beyond simple genre labels. Her mainstream novels are often longer and more complex, following the verifiable chronology of real historical figures. Perhaps her most daunting task was reclaiming the character of Lady Macbeth from the long shadow of William Shakespeare.
“Writing about the actual Lady Macbeth was a bit scary, given the Shakespearean elephant in the room,” King admits. However, by following “historical breadcrumbs” and sparse Latin documents, she discovered a woman who bore little resemblance to the dramatic villainess of the stage. The “factual landscape” revealed a queen who was substantive and real, rising far above the tropes of tragedy.
“Good writing is as important as solid research… Crafting a strong research argument (or a plot) relies on structuring a beginning, middle, and end that hooks and keeps the reader.”
– Susan
Hands-On History
King’s commitment to authenticity often leads her out of the library and into the field. Her research is famously experiential; she has taken lessons in falconry, Celtic harp, and archery to better understand the physical realities of her characters. “I once trained in catching arrows to learn how it could be done,” she recalls—a testament to the lengths she will go to for a single scene’s accuracy.
These journeys often lead to “lightning bolt” moments of discovery. While studying genealogy charts, King noticed a naming pattern that allowed her to rename her Lady Macbeth “Gruadh,” moving away from the phonetically clunky “Gruoch” found in Latin texts. On another occasion, a rainy afternoon in Dunfermline led her to a local historian who pointed out the legendary burial site of the “bits o’ Wallace.” These specific, local details—items that can’t be found in standard textbooks—give her novels their distinctive “fresh angle.”
Breathing Life into the Past
At the heart of King’s novels are her heroines: strong, intelligent women who navigate the treacherous social and political waters of their eras. Rather than superimposing modern sensibilities onto the past, King lets her characters emerge from the research itself.
One of her most effective tools for characterization is language. To capture the essence of a medieval Scot without making the prose impenetrable, she uses “flavoring”—incorporating Gaelic phrase structures into dialogue rather than thick dialects. “I’m very careful with Scots,” she notes with a touch of wit. “A little goes a long way!”
The Enduring Impression
Ultimately, Susan King’s work is a testament to the idea that history is not a static collection of dates, but a living, breathing tapestry. By blending the rigor of a scholar with the heart of a romantic, she ensures that her stories do more than just transport readers to the past—they leave a lasting impression on how we understand the people who came before us.
In her hands, the medieval world loses its “fairytale” distance and becomes a place of recognizable human struggle, hope, and resilience. As she continues to weave her historical threads, King reminds us that while the settings may be centuries old, the search for truth and connection remains timeless.
