Matharu has specifically discussed His Majesty's Dragon as something he loved, alongside his interest in historical warfare, and described the influence of the Napoleonic setting on his own thinking.
BookSeries· 2006· Fantasy
Temeraire
by Naomi Novik
Temeraire: 1 recorded work traces back to it, and it draws on 4 recorded sources.
What Temeraire influenced
Works that record this one as a source, with the evidence a contributor gave.
What influenced Temeraire
The works this one is recorded as drawing on.
Novik explicitly said O'Brian's books were “the inspiration for the Temeraire series.” She wanted the naval-adventure atmosphere, military life, friendship between officers, and historical setting, then added dragons.
The film introduced Novik to O'Brian's work and helped trigger her interest in the combination of Age-of-Sail adventure + Napoleonic history. She then imagined adding dragons to that world.
Novik has noted that Austen's general style taught her how to handle a comedy of manners and use free indirect discourse to shape character interiority. Critics and reviewers frequently compare protagonist William Laurence’s sense of duty and stubborn honor to characters like Captain Frederick Wentworth from Persuasion
Real-world influences
Events, places, movements and ideas outside fiction that this work is recorded as drawing on.
History
Real world
Real-world influenceHIGH
- Napoleonic Wars
Novik was already fascinated by the Napoleonic period and had read numerous biographies of Napoleon. She essentially asked: what if dragons existed during the Napoleonic Wars and were used as military forces?