As in historical narrative some incident, or series of connecting incidents, is told in such a way that the details are impressed vividly upon the imagination, so in historical fiction some story or tradition which has come down through the past is portrayed so that it, too, may stand out the more clearly because of the larger setting, the greater wealth of details, and the added emphasis upon the dramatic situations which are given by the narrator. Many novelists since the time of Scott, recognizing the possibilities in this kind of fiction, have depicted characters in relation to certain great epochs of history; but there have been relatively few story-tellers who have seized upon a single event and constructed a short story with that event as the climax. We do have, however, in the work of Maurice Hewlett, James Branch Cabell, E. Barrington, and some others less noteworthy, delightful pieces of historical fiction which prove the charming possibilities afforded by this type of narrative. Here, too, the material lies ready for you. You have but to think of an appealing personality in the history of any land and then discover, if you do not already know, some climactic incident in his life which may serve as a nucleus for your story. Nor must you necessarily stick to the facts. Tradition, for the story-teller, is often more interesting and more valuable than history. In her story of _Fair Rosemonde_, for example, E. Barrington forsakes the historical truth which would end the Lady Rosemonde’s days in Godstowe nunnery in favor of the wholly traditional story of her poisoning at the wicked hands of Queen Eleanore of Aquitaine. Literature may suggest a story to you. For example, what could afford better suggestions for a piece of historical fiction than Rossetti’s various ballads, particularly that of the _White Ship_? The methods employed are much the same as those suggested for historical narrative, although, since in historical fiction your scope is larger, since you are dealing with a series of _complicating_ incidents instead of with one major incident, since you are in point of fact telling a story, it will be well to heed the following suggestions in addition to those already given: 1. Do not fail to emphasize the setting for the story. Your characters will be far more real if they act against a background which is clear to your reader because of the detail with which you have pictured it. Note how Cabell in _The Story of the Fox-Brush_ gives the exact time and place which mark the opening of his story, and again the detail with which he describes the cloudy morning of Katharine’s and Alain’s second meeting. 2. Do not hesitate to give by careful weaving into your narrative details concerning the past of your characters. This will make them stand out far more clearly and will act as a motivation for their behavior in your story.