Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Frustrations

I always knew this but have recently had it reaffirmed for me. I'm a perfectionist. It's annoying to those around me I'm sure, but it's also annoying to me as well. Why oh why can't I leave well enough alone? Why can't I just gloss over something? Why do I have to spend hours researching something so unbelievably insignificant?

Case in point: Austria. There isn't a lot to go on. I'm talking specifics here - inheritance law, marriage and family, merchant class lives. If I want to know about nobility and royalty we're all good. If I want to know basics of history, again bully for me. If I want to know things in today's world, I have the best of luck.

I want the Napoleon War's affect on Austria and 1870s. I want merchant class rich. I want the wife to inherit everything so she can give it to her second husband. (The plot's a wee convoluted, but I swear it works!) I want to know why I can't find these things online. Am I using the wrong search words? Am I totally off and should be using something else?

Google Books is all well and good, but most of the images are copyrighted and not all of the book is available. Usually it's the page I need.

Found marriage customs, which does help, but not enough. I've asked my historical writing groups and discovered the one other person writing in this time and place has the same issues. I need...well, I need movies like The Illusionist (which I hold out no hope for as being remotely accurate) and historical fiction. Maybe that'll be my next search. Austrian fiction translated into English.

Off to do this next search. Any other suggestions?

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