The Crosses: Getting the Historical Setting Right

This is the second of at least six posts on writing The Crosses. The third, discussing the novel’s character diversity, will be posted in a few days. If you haven’t followed the Kickstarter, please consider doing so at the link below. It will end later this month, so take advantage now to get not only the signed edition of the novel, but also other rewards that include:

• Paperback, PDF, and Hardcover Editions
• Signed paperbacks and hardcovers for USA fans
• BSI Bundle that pairs The Crosses with Kim Krisco’s novel, Irregular Lives: The Untold Story of Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars.

https://tinyurl.com/3xed6txk

The Crosses: Getting the Historical Setting Right

Sherlock Holmes-related short stories and novels are usually set in Great Britain, but Bonnie felt our Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) novel should be set in the U.S. — specifically, in Las Cruces, the town to which we relocated upon Bonnie’s retirement from federal service. We knew extensive period and regional research would be required, but the possibilities intrigued us, from the desert terrain to its racial and cultural diversity, elements that would play important roles in any story we developed.

The challenge in writing historical fiction is getting language, social, and political aspects period-correct. For example, in the novel’s first draft, alcohol was readily available, but the story’s set in 1925, when religious zealots and conservative politicians held the key to the country’s liquor cabinet, forcing the novel’s characters to employ a bit of creativity in acquiring a brew or bottle of wine.

In 1849, a year after the U.S. acquired the region through the Treaty of Guadalupe, U.S. Army Lt. Delos Bennett established a settlement of 84 city blocks which he distributed lottery-style to settlers. He named the new community Las Cruces, based on an Apache-era legend that has no verifiable historical foundation, only oral tradition that recounts an Apache attack near the town’s founding site. Survivors purportedly marked the location with three wooden crosses — hence, the name Las Cruces, Spanish for The Crosses. Today, the symbol of three crosses is widely used by residents, businesses, and local government entities.

The town’s initial population numbered a little more than 100. By 1925, it had grown to a few thousand. The local newspaper, the Rio Grande Republican, began publishing in 1881 and, despite challenges over the years, evolved into today’s Gannett-owned Sun-News. The novel’s fictional newspaper, the Gazzette, however, is not based on the Republican, and its survival at the end of the book is in doubt.

The 1920s were a transitional, volatile period. Phone service was expanding, but problems associated with long-distance communication persisted, such as letters arriving after the upcoming events they addressed had passed. Radio had begun to compete somewhat with newspapers and live entertainment for consumer attention, mainly in large cities but not so much in smaller towns. The BSI, Ben Irwin, who’s from London, England, is accustomed to entertainment venues hosting everything from burlesque to Shakespearean plays. He’s pleasantly surprised when the newspaper’s publisher, Bessie de la Paz, takes him to the local theater for a traveling vaudeville production, featuring two comics he’s seen perform in New York.

The novel’s primary characters are a diverse group who must deal with open racism more strident than the resurgence we’re seeing today. While Ben is white European, Bessie — a former Pinkerton agent (Pinkerton employed women agents, but at a lower wage than males for the same job; sound familiar?) — is half indigenous-Mexican (her father) and white (her mother).

The deputy sheriff character, Orren Stokes, is inspired by Bass Reeves, a former slave who became a law enforcement officer in the Indian Territory and one of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshals, making more than 4,000 arrests and killing at least twenty men during his career. During the novel’s murder investigation, Ben is an eyewitness to the area’s blatant racism toward Native Americans, indigenous Mexicans, blacks, and “half-breeds.” (A future post will discuss primary character development in more depth.)

The field of medicine, especially in diagnosing and treating diseases such as cancer, was also experiencing rapid development. The novel’s good doctor, Walter Cain, is not only up on the latest medical information and treatment, he’s also the town’s coroner and self-taught expert in ballistics. He’s a pretty good guy with a compassionate bedside manner that proves more critical than the medications in treating terminal patients.

Local tribal and settler farms along the Rio Grande, which continues to be a primary irrigation source, provide the primary setting for the crime and action. Had we set the story a few years later, we would’ve had to contend with the Great Depression and, despite the Rio Grande’s use, dustbowl conditions. 

Prior, during, and after the Civil War, many Southerners, both pro- and anti-slavery, migrated to southern New Mexico. Many of those Southern whites, like Bess’s maternal grandparents, opposed slavery and secession, while others, like the family of Teri Johns, Bess’s employee and friend, supported the Confederacy. Other Southern migrants included African-Americans like Orren’s father, a former slave.

Another period consideration is language use such as slang and idioms. For example, politically influential people today have “clout.” In 1925, they had “pull.” Clout as political power or influence didn’t come into use until the 1950s. Every idiom, every expression, even vulgar phrases, required period verification.

These are only a few of the considerations required to create an authentic, believable setting. Upcoming blog posts will explore other aspects of the novel, including the characters’ ethnic and cultural diversity, their backgrounds, the crime that has brought them together, and the literary easter eggs interspersed throughout the novel. I hope you find the posts interesting. Thank you for coming along on the adventure.