304. How to Write Historical Thrillers with Sarah Raughley

Author Sarah Raughley discusses all things historical thriller, from creating compelling narratives to keeping suspense, and just how historically accurate you should be.

We also wanted to say congratulations to Sarah for being mentioned as one of People's Most Anticipated Books in 2025 by Becky Albertalli! Make sure to check out The Queen's Spade when it's out on January 14th (or preorder now)!!  

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Visit Sarah's website:
https://sarahraughley.com/

Grab a copy of her books:
https://sarahraughley.com/books-by-sarah-raughley/

Follow Sarah on her Instagram and Threads:
https://www.instagram.com/s_raughley/

Transcript

Jennia: Hello, I'm Jennia D'Lima. Welcome to Writing and Editing, the author-focused podcast that takes a whole-person approach to everything related to both writing and editing. Writing a historical thriller requires the author find a way to weave in historical details without slowing the pacing or losing the feeling of suspense. Author Sarah Raughley is here today to tell us how she accomplished this in her most recent book, The Queen's Spade.

Jennia: Well, first, I am so thrilled to have you here today!

Sarah Raughley: Hi! Thank you for having me!

Jennia: Yeah! So the series you wrote before The Queen's Spade is historical fantasy. I was interested in finding out what led you to trying a new genre.

Sarah Raughley: It's so interesting. I'm typically somebody that writes specifically fantasy, but the story that I had for my last book, which was a book series called The Bones of Ruin trilogy. I was inspired by the story of Sarah Baartman, who was this girl—this African girl who was taken to England. And I was just really inspired by not only that story about that time period. I wanted to know more about what it was like to live in 19th century London and the different types of people that were there. And so as I was researching for The Bones of Ruin trilogy, I came across this wild story—at least wild to me because I never knew about it before—that Queen Victoria had an African goddaughter. You know, Sarah Forbes Bonetta was an African princess in the west who was sort of given as a gift to Queen Victoria, became her goddaughter. And there was just all sorts of potential there. I knew that one day I would tell that story.

Jennia: Yeah, I'll admit I had never heard about it. And I've read books about Queen Victoria, been to England, never knew about this until I think I looked at your book up on Amazon and then I read the summary. And then from there, of course, it led into that rabbit hole of, "Okay, well, now I'm going to Google her." (both laugh)

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, it's weird. You know, at the time people knew Sarah Forbes Bonetta. She even talked about the newspapers. She was in those upper echelons.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: You know, she was in those elite circles. But after she died, it was almost as if she was erased by history. And I don't know, it was hard to reconcile that. So that's part of the reason why I wrote the story.

Jennia: Well, did you encounter any difficulties then when you were doing research? Because I would think that you would just based on what you just said, that there isn't a lot of material out there.

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, I mean, there's little material here and there so it was definitely about, you know, looking at archives . . . I got to see some letters that she had written—

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: —which are very interesting. And some letters that were written about her and newspaper articles that were written about her. And thankfully, there were some scholars that had written a little bit about her life and the life of her children, especially her child, Victoria. I mean, there's not a whole lot, but definitely, if you do enough digging, you can find enough.

Jennia: Well, was there anything that you found in your research that, either helped shape the story or maybe guide it in a certain direction? Or possibly even change it from what you had originally had in mind?

Sarah Raughley: Well, I think I didn't really have anything original in mind until I read her story, until I learned about her story. And I think what really shapes the direction was learning that she was given as a present.

Jennia: Yes.

Sarah Raughley: And there's somewhat of a dehumanization element of, like, giving somebody else—giving a child—to an adult, to the Queen of England as, like, a peace offering or as a present. And I kind of wanted to explore that dehumanization element to it. So in my story, you know, Sarah Forbes Bonetta feels like she has been turned into a puppet of propaganda, which in a way, she kind of was.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: Right? Like, Britain kind of used people like her to show itself as this sort of multicultural, benevolent empire and to kind of put a happy stamp on colonialism and stuff like that. So here it's kind of like Queen Charlotte if it were a revenge thriller. You know, she's going after the people that kind of dehumanized her and took away her subjectivity and turned her into a puppet.

Jennia: Yeah. Well, can you—I mean, you've already kind of touched on it, too, but the types of tension or conflict that you included in the story. So, like, internal conflict versus external conflict, and then even how you balanced the two throughout the narrative?

Sarah Raughley: The Queen Spade is like a young adult/adult thriller. It's like a crossover. So, especially because at the time, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, her real age—Like, she was 18, 19 years old. So I think it lent itself to some more adult conflicts. And at the time when she was that young, she was kind of forced into marriage. And I read one of her letters, and she really didn't want to get married.

Jennia: Yeah! I looked up that same letter. I think it's probably the same one anyway, yeah. Where she said something about, there's no way she'll be able to love him.

Sarah Raughley: Yeah! Yeah, like, it was a real letter. And, you know, I was thinking about what is it like to be some—you know, a woman in the 19th century and to be forced into these relationships, to be forced into a particular style of life that maybe you didn't choose.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: So that's an internal conflict. I think the main conflicts, whether it has to do with romance, whether it has to do with marriage or her fight against Queen Victoria and colonialism and racism and all that stuff, the main conflict is about, do I assimilate and just acquiesce to this life or do I fight? Do I challenge the norm? And I think for a lot of us, we have to face that same internal conflict every day when it comes to certain things. And it can be really painful to decide to turn away from the norm because there's always consequences to that.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: But, you know, for some people, that's the risk you're willing to take.

Jennia: Yeah. I think that's the theme that works really well with the intended age for your audience you have for this book. Because, you know, just thinking about even, like, if you look back at high school again, that feeling of, do I fit in or do I do what I want to do? Do I go along with my friend group even? Or speak out if I don't like something or dress a different way? Or even just whatever it is on a much smaller scale.

Sarah Raughley: Mhm. Exactly. Hopefully people will relate to that in their own lives.

Jennia: Yeah, I mean, obviously this is much higher stakes, but yeah . . .  So how did you bring out some of these themes, though, without it feeling heavy handed in terms of how much information you were sharing? So, like, the theme of colonialism, for instance. Because if we look at a lot of historical fiction that deals with this time period, that really does get glossed over. But I think that's partially just because of the perspectives that we usually see those stories from, and so it doesn't play a part. So how do you bring that out?

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, I mean, I think it was just natural. You know, it's just like you said, the perspectives. My perspective is one as a black woman. So, you know, I love Victorian era stuff and I love period dramas and, you know, Bridgerton and steampunk. But I also know that, you know, a lot of the stories that I've read as a child were very white—you know, from a white perspective. And so, like you said, like, maybe those authors who weren't negatively affected by colonialism didn't really see that as part of the period. So having done research on people like Sarah Baartman, Sarah Forbes Bonetta, I know that this was a part of that period.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: Like, the 19th century was an era of rampant, you know, imperialism, Scramble for Africa, and so on and so forth. So it was just natural that I would talk about it. But I also just wanted it to be a fun revenge thriller where a girl gets to kind of be a little bad and a villainess and, you know, and just the fun of that. So I think it's that radical, you know, trouble-making-type personality that I think a lot of us kind of want to have, or, you know, if we don't already have it. That's kind of what I focused on. And I think when you consider, like, okay, so Sarah Forbes Bonetta in my book is a rebel. What is she rebelling against? All of that stuff just comes out naturally.

Jennia: Did you have to extrapolate any of that, like, say, from her letters or other material, or was this more imagination based, what you wish you could have seen something like this happen? Or it was just an interpretation of how things could have been, some more, like, revisionist history?

Sarah Raughley: I think it's probably the latter. Like, more revisionist history. And, like, it was definitely projection a little bit. I don't want to make the same mistake that I think people made back in that day where they had created a caricature of Sarah, you know, and they have written about her instead of Sarah telling us who she was and allowing herself to speak for herself. I mean, yeah, she wrote letters and things like that. But in terms of how Britain saw her, it was very much through the lens of these, like, British newspapers, and the Queen, and this kind of propaganda. So I didn't necessarily want to sort of say, "Oh, this is totally how Sarah was."

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: You know, I really don't think she hated the Queen just because she did name her first child after Queen Victoria. So she must have had some kind of love for her. But I kind of wanted to reinterpret her story to kind of reimagine and see, like, well, how can I tell the story in a way that says something different about this relationship? Knowing full well that Sarah is her own person? Like, she was a real person . . . she had her own feelings about it. And I can't say that I 100% knew how she felt. And I'm not claiming that I do. But rather, her story inspired me to think through this relationship between the Queen and her adopted sort of colonized children in a way that maybe speaks about some of the more insidious elements.

Jennia: Right, exactly. And I think it just brings up—and this is again because the book isn't out yet. But just reading about it and then seeing what you've posted beforehand about it, it brings up, again, so many ideas and themes that it feels like just get pushed under the surface over and over and over again. Yeah, I mean, again, like, just saying that she—even knowing that she existed is kind of one of those earth-shattering moments of, like (Sarah laughs), "How did I not—How? Why? Why is no one talking about her?"

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, but I mean, that question brought me down that rabbit hole. You know, like, whose histories do we tell? Whose stories do we tell? And I think that comes back to, like, who do we see as important and who do we see as not important? So all of this kind of framed how I told this particular story.

Jennia: So getting back to the thriller part, now that we've touched on history a little bit, how do you keep that tension going, especially when it's an internal conflict? Because I could see it would become easy, perhaps, to maybe spend too much time in the main character's head versus seeing something on the page or them reacting to it in some sort of outward way.

Sarah Raughley: It's definitely a balancing act because, you know, it's hard to know what readers want. And I think every reader is different. There are some readers that want something to be happening every second. Like, they don't want any downtime. And then there are some readers that do want that downtime and do want to spend time in the character's head a little bit to get their perspective on things. But I think when you're writing a thriller, you need to keep up the tension and just make sure that people always know what the stakes are. So, you know, there's always an element of danger lurking around the corner. Even if the character is thinking about something or, you know, reflecting, there's still always this omnipresent threat throughout. And the readers can feel that. They know that for every action there's a reaction. So, you know, Sarah, she has a lot of nasty ideas and she knows how to get what she wants to get back at people. But then they might get back at her. Right? There's always some sort of consequence to what she does. So making sure that that momentum is always there and that sense of threat is always there is important.

Jennia: I like that you brought up the idea of consequences because, yeah, it kind of takes away a little bit if you know that they're going to get away with it somehow. Or that they'll be able to do whatever it is to exact revenge. And then they'll just skip away all merrily and everything's fine (Sarah laughs).

Sarah Raughley: No, you always have to make things worse for your characters (laughs). You always have to throw in a curveball and just like, okay, how do things get worse? Okay, how do they get worser? And just, you know, put those obstacles in there to make it hard for them to achieve their goal.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: So if they ultimately achieve their goal, you know that they worked for it.

Jennia: Yeah. So true. And how often do you include obstacles? Was that something that you plotted out, or did they just naturally come up as you were telling the story?

Sarah Raughley: Probably both. I like to have a strong outline before I write. But then I also know that sometimes things just happen. Like, you'll have a random idea, you'll have a dream. I have a lot of weird dreams (laughs). And sometimes I'm, like, "Hey, that could be a good idea if I remember them." You know, and sometimes as you're writing, an idea will just naturally flow from that. You'll be thinking to yourself, like, "Oh, this character in this situation would react this way." So I think, you know, when it comes to, like, obstacles and plot points and plot twists, I always try to have a strong outline first. But I leave myself open and available for those changes because they absolutely will happen as you're writing.

Jennia: I think that's great advice.

Sarah Raughley: Yeah. You gotta keep yourself open, and it's fun that way. You know, it's like you surprise yourself a little bit.

Jennia: Yeah. Well, plus, too, you know, it's not as if you've used up every single idea possible when you're making your outline. So there is that potential that you might come up with a better idea. So maybe it should override what you originally had planned.

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, it's like that saying, kill your darlings—

Jennia: Yes!

Sarah Raughley: —You know, don't be afraid to go back and change things and cut out ideas if you come up with a better one.

Jennia: So how did this setting add to the feeling of suspense in a way that a modern setting might not?

Sarah Raughley: For me, there's something really exciting about period dramas because it's so foreign to the way that I live and, you know, the modern lifestyle that I have. And I think the 19th century already kind of has, you know, a lot of works. And we already get the sense of this rural—and sometimes industrial, very industrial—especially if it's in London—kind of setting where you don't have the kind of technology that we do today.

Jennia: Yeah.

Sarah Raughley: So, you know, if you're sick, you don't have the kind of technology that will help you get better if you get hurt, so the stakes are automatically higher.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: You know, there's something very atmospheric about this sort of cobblestone streets, its carriages and horses and things like that. It already feels very spooky, in a way, to me. And I think it's just that period, that era already feels somewhat more atmospheric and exciting and intense as opposed to something that we're more familiar with. And there's more expediency. Here, if you need help, you can call someone on your cell phone. You know? There, if you need help, you might not be able to get that help that you need as quickly.

Jennia: Yeah. Even the obstacles—I'm thinking, like, of social class—you know, who can you ask for help? And who's more likely to be listened to if they ask for help?

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, you're absolutely right. I mean, even though Sarah Forbes Bonetta was in the higher echelons, I guess? But she was still a stranger. There are still barriers in terms of who she could ask for help. She didn't trust these people and these people didn't really trust her either. Especially when you think about 19th century London and how strict that class system was. It was just harder for certain people to reach out and to get the treatment that they deserved. So automatically there's more barriers, more obstacles that are harder to overcome.

Jennia: Right. Yeah. M. And then her just being a woman, too, I mean . . .

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, yeah.

Jennia: So when you think about that and you almost put almost anybody into Victorian London with that going on, like, that's almost automatic tension right there. You don't even have to do anything.

Sarah Raughley: Oh yeah, we tend to romanticize, Victoria—I'm guilty of that, of—

Jennia: Oh I am too!

Sarah Raughley: romanticizing Victorian London. But for women, it wasn't easy. It was not—Even just, like, how you're able to take care of yourself. You know, take care of your children and, you know, the law surrounding marriage and health care and all of that stuff that are specific to women, that was just very archaic. And, you know, we don't really realize how lucky we are. You know, even though we're still fighting those battles. But, man, it was tough for women in the 19th century. So already there's going to be like tons and tons of issues and that's where a writer can kind of find conflict and obstacles.

Jennia: Yeah. And then you use some of that, those social expectations or customs to add tension in yours, right?

Sarah Raughley: Yeah. And it was all from history, you know. Like, it was Queen Victoria who told Sarah that she had to, you know, get married, even though she didn't want to and wasn't ready. And then she had to, like, take these marriage lessons and things like that, so (laughs). But that was normal for the time, right? Like, if you're of a certain age and you're of a certain class, you're expected to kind of, like, debutante, socialites. Like, you have to take marriage lessons and learn how to bake and knit, and, you know, take care of children. And when I put myself in her shoes, I was like, "Oh my god, how would I feel?"

Jennia: How did you include some of these historical details so they added to the story instead of slowing the pacing too much?

Sarah Raughley: I think it was just about making sure that, you know, whenever I found something that was real, that was true about Sarah's story, and I knew I wanted to incorporate it, I tried to think about, "Okay, what's the goal of this scene?" You know, what's the goal in terms of pushing the thriller part ahead? The story should always be moving. It's not, like, okay, now we're just slowing down to see her take marriage lessons. But how do do these marriage lessons factor into her revenge and her desire to, you know, get back at certain people who are plotting? What crazy thing is going to happen during this marriage lesson? You know, you have to think always about how are you going to use the scene to push all of those conflicts forward.

Jennia: Wow. Yeah, I can see that too. It sounds like just even having that focal point, even as you're doing research, would probably be really helpful. Just so you don't get too sidetracked by going down this route or, like, you have a romance in your book too. So I could see someone maybe paying too much attention in a similar book to their romance instead of, like, what you were saying here, how do I get it back over to here? How do I get to another obstacle? How do I make another obstacle?

Sarah Raughley: Yeah, and I guess it depends on the kind of story that you want to write. I mean, for some people, the romance is the point. And if the romance is the point, then maybe they do want to just spend some time going back and forth. And I've read stories like that where the plot isn't really moving, but you get to spend time with this couple, and I've enjoyed it. So I think it always depends on, you know, who are you writing for, what kind of story do you want to tell? If it's a thriller, there are certain expectations that you need to keep the story moving. You know, there are other stories and other genres that require you to slow down the pace and to be more introspective. So, again, like, what genre are you writing in? Who's the intended audience? And specifically, what kind of story do you want to tell?

Jennia: Did you read other thrillers just to see how other authors maybe employed some of these techniques or to get an idea of what their pacing looked like?

Sarah Raughley: I mean, I've read thrillers in the past just for fun, but I didn't read any specifically for this book, to get ready for this book, because I find that when I read in the same genre that I want to write—like, I plan to write a book and so I'm reading in the same genre—I compare too much. It's, like, I don't know who said this, but comparison is definitely the thief of joy (laughs)—

Jennia: Yes!

Sarah Raughley: —Because you end up comparing yourself to the writer and you might think, like, "Oh, this person so much better than me." Or, "Oh my gosh, like, there's no way I can write like that." You may end up paralyzing yourself. So I tried to stay away from other books like that, you know, so I didn't get in my own way.

Jennia: Mhm.

Sarah Raughley: And thankfully, these things are a collaborative effort with your editor. You know, so the editor knows that it's supposed to be a thriller. It's supposed to be Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo. So the editor, who has edited lots of book and knows what they're doing, will be able to look at your work and tell, like, "Okay, this area needs to cut" or, "This area needs to be expanded."

Jennia: Do you think that it's harder to maintain some suspense when the main character is based on a real person simply because, let's say, the reader looks up to see what happens to them in real life? Or maybe they're making their own comparisons between the actual person and then the character in your book?

Sarah Raughley: Mmm, that's a good question. I think it depends on how inspired you are by that character. Like, if it's loosely inspired and the audience kind of knows that what's happening here in this book is an interpretation—it's inspired by genuine events, but it's not, like, the real Sarah Forbes Bonetta, like, went on a revenge campaign (laughs), then hopefully you can keep people on their toes. So, again, I think it's about deciding how close you want to tell that story and how many liberties you want to take with telling the story.

Jennia: Which, thankfully, is possible with fiction.

Sarah Raughley: Yes!

Jennia: Well, thank you! And where can listeners find you online and learn more about your books?

Sarah Raughley: I have, like I've mentioned, I've written some other books, The Bones of Ruin trilogy and the Effigies trilogy, which is very much YA fantasy set in the modern times. So if you kind of want to see the difference between my historical fantasies and my modern fantasies, you can go to sarahraughley.com. How you spell the name: S A R A H R A U G H L E Y .com. And you can find me on social media. I'm always @s_raughley. I think I'm the most active on Threads right now, and the Instagram, but anywhere else if you want to chat with me, DM me, or you can send me an email through my contact page on my website. I'd love to meet fans and hear from people.

Jennia: All right, fantastic. Thank you again so much!

Sarah Raughley: Thank you for having me!

Jennia: Well, thank you for listening and please be sure to check out the show notes for additional information. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a rating or review wherever you download or listen. Thanks again!