I am going to attempt to write my first novel (historical fiction). Are there any really, really good books to help out with this besides the one by Strunk and White?

I have a pretty good idea of what the novel should be like, storywise and all, but should I do the historical research first (not really a problem because I have a bachelor’s degree in history) or do the outline first? How long does it take to work on an outline for a novel?

Thanks for any help and suggestions.
- chrstnwrtr