Introduction

Why don't writers who fictionalize history just write fiction? Why did Shakespeare call his character Richard III or King John? Why not call him Reginald I or Murray II? If a fiction writer does choose to use a real person's name, does the writer have any obligation to make the fictional character resemble the real one? In the two episodes that follow this one I use Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as the basis as the models for fictional characters. In this episode I explain why and how I did it. Maybe you'll agree with what I did, maybe you won't. Give it a listen and decide. This first episode lays out what is involved in turning history, in the form of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, into fiction as a short story and a play.