: Re: How can I write about historical realities that readers mistakenly believe are unrealistic? Readers have certain expectations about locations and time periods, things they "know". For example, people

@Sarah872

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Have your narrator digress
Describe workers building a house in ancient Rome, tie it into the story later, to let it look like a Checkov's gun, then put in some historical facts integrating them into the narrative. Talk about forks, "which would later disappear until the late renaissance".
Annotate your book
When writing about something you know to be common misknowledge, write notes.
"¹Contrary to popular belief, forks were in use in Constantinoples" might be ugly, but it works.
Being ugly, you want to take this route only as a last resort.

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