An interview with Stewart Binns, author of Conquest

Today Stewart Binns is visiting the blog to respond to some questions about his new novel Conquest, fast-paced adventure fiction about Hereward of Bourne – or Hereward the Wake, as he's better known.  A legendary English hero whose existence is historically documented, Hereward led the resistance to the Normans' conquest of England in the landmark year of 1066.  The principal story of Conquest, however, begins thirteen years beforehand.  A strong and impetuous young man of eighteen, Hereward is a brilliant fighter who still has much to learn about the ways of the world.

Conquest was the first major novel about Hereward the Wake to appear in quite a while, and there have been several other authors writing about the tumultuous events of 11th-century England just within the last year, too. What attracted you to this time period, and why do you think readers are so interested in it now in particular?

I’ve always been fascinated by 11th century England and 1066 in particular. I think Senlac Ridge was the critical defining moment in English/British history where the outcome determined the kind of country England became and all that led from it: Britishness, Anglo-American (western) culture etc. It was a great battle in every sense: its consequences, its intensity, its protagonists and the fact that the margin between defeat and victory was so close. Hardrada and Stamford Bridge are part of this as well, and I’ve always been intrigued by the mix of Celt, Norse, Norman and Anglo-Saxon at the time and how different England and the modern world would have been if either Harald, or Harold had emerged victorious instead of William.

Hereward is an enigmatic figure with wonderful William Wallace-like hero potential, and I thought he was the perfect character to build both an heroic adventure around and to tell the story of those amazing times.

I think there is growing interest in English history at the moment as the English try to define themselves afresh in a newly-devolved Britain. Now that the Scots, Welsh and Irish are off doing their own thing, ‘Britain’ no longer exists in the way the English defined it, as, effectively, ‘Greater England’. The English tended to define ‘English’ as ‘British’ and that doesn’t work anymore, leaving the English in search of themselves and their past.

The novel is framed around Godwin of Ely's account of his earlier life in England. What made you decide to write the core of the novel in third person rather than first?

I suppose I wanted there to be a circle from The Old Man of the Wildwood and Godwin of Ely and for Hereward to survive into great old age. The Varangian Guard/Byzantium/John the Beautiful were irresistible as well. However, my biggest challenge was how the deal with William would work at the end of the Siege of Ely. Thus, the anonymity clause and the creation of Godwin. There are also factors at play that make book 2 work! (To be published next April).

In working through the material on Hereward's life, how did you decide which elements to take from the myths about him, and which from history?

I only took the bits that seem fairly substantial – the banishment and Ely, the rest is fiction. However, although the book is of course fiction, all the history is spot on in terms of main characters, events and chronology. That is really important to me.

Hereward's wife Torfida (or Torfrida) was a character in Charles Kingsley's 1865 novel about him, but was there any mention of her in other novels, or in history, before he wrote about her? How did you develop her character?

I slightly changed her name (by accident rather than design!) but she is mentioned in the 12th century Gesta. I wanted a strong female character, slightly mysterious and somewhat tragic. It is also mentioned that they had twins.

During his time as a mercenary, Hereward and his company travel throughout many parts of Britain and Europe - Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Sicily, the Alps, France, and elsewhere. Did you get the chance to visit any of these sites yourself?

I have a policy only to write about places I’ve been to and can visualise. I’m lucky, I’ve travelled a lot!

The novel's action scenes certainly feel very realistic! What was your most enjoyable battle scene to write?

I’m told I write battles well. Two reasons I think: My day job is as a documentary-maker, so I suppose I think in pictures. Also, as an ex-soldier, I know how they think.

Most enjoyable battle scene to write - Senlac Ridge of course – one of the most important battles in world history. I really enjoyed trying to explain how it might have happened, especially the astonishing bravery on both sides. I’m also quite fond of Ely. There is no known detail of what happened there, so an author’s paradise!

What do you hope readers get out of reading Hereward's story?

Superficially, a good action/adventure romp through a great period of history and beneath that some thoughts about good and evil, right and wrong, truth and myth; some questions about courage and sacrifice and beneath those a little thesis about the making of England.

Conquest was published in February by Penguin UK at £6.99 (pb, 497pp).

Book review: A Lesson in Secrets, by Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear’s eighth Maisie Dobbs mystery demonstrates the truth spoken by one of her characters: “One always has riches when one has a book to read.” This is my first outing with Maisie, who by 1932 is a successful private detective in London. Feeling that I ought to get up to speed with this award-winning series, I requested a copy of A Lesson in Secrets to review. Reading novels out of order doesn’t bother me; if an author does her job well, the order shouldn’t matter, plus starting with a later volume gets me interested in reading about the characters’ past histories, too.

Maisie’s outward sophistication belies her humble origins as a domestic servant to the aristocratic Comptons – a family whose son James is now Maisie’s beau. In the years following World War I, the social fabric of Britain has unraveled and re-formed. The political climate is likewise shifting, not necessarily for the better. At the request of the British Secret Service and Scotland Yard, Maisie takes a post as a junior lecturer in philosophy at a small Cambridge college that has been enrolling an unusual number of students from abroad. Her task is to keep her ear to the ground for any activities “not in the interests of the Crown.”

Greville Liddicote, the founder of St. Francis, has pacifist leanings, and his institution’s curriculum is grounded in his principles. A controversial children’s book he wrote during World War I turned many would-be soldiers into “Conchies” – conscientious objectors – and reportedly caused a mutiny on the front lines. (If this event ever occurred, that is. The British government has kept the truth under wraps.) When Liddicote is found murdered in his office, Maisie is asked to stick to her own investigation and let Special Branch do its job, but everything is closely entangled, of course. The more Maisie learns about her fellow instructors and their connections, the closer she comes to unveiling a murderer.

The plot of A Lesson in Secrets is not so much suspenseful as intellectually provocative. Although she is new on the faculty, Maisie’s natural ease with her peers and students gets them talking, and her inquiry is neatly worked into the history of the period. The Nazi party on the rise in Germany is attracting followers throughout Britain and Europe. Few besides Maisie are attuned to the threat it may pose.

For a newcomer to the series like me, Maisie seems a little too perfect at first: she can quickly discern a cause of death, conduct a well-received philosophy lecture with little preparation, and is remarkably aware of her surroundings. For her, success lies not just in what you know, but in who you know.  Over time, she has accumulated enough contacts who provide her with the information she seeks – even if it sometimes leads her up the wrong path.

Maisie is too wary of "happily ever after" endings for her romance with James to be smooth sailing, however, and episodes in her personal life still manage to surprise her.  The mix makes her an intriguing character, and I'm now curious about her transformation from servant to wartime nurse to PI. Her back story is well developed here, and the secondary characters are equally well crafted. Even her late mentor Maurice Blanche, who had left her enough funds in his will to make her financially independent, lives on the page as a close memory. I look forward to meeting him in person in Winspear’s earlier books.

A Lesson in Secrets was published in April by Harper ($25.99, 323pp, hardcover).

A look at Kathleen Herbert's Moon in Leo, plus a giveaway

First, a disclosure: a quote of mine, based on my reading of Kathleen Herbert’s Dark Ages trilogy from the mid-'80s, is printed on the back cover and first page of Moon in Leo.  Not surprisingly, the words I’d written earlier proved to be true about this book as well:

"I’ve always loved Kathleen Herbert’s work. Written with sensitivity, passion, and an extraordinarily vivid sense of place, her novels reflect the realities of life in a bygone age while still evoking all of its magic."

Moon in Leo takes place on the Furness peninsula in south Cumbria, England, a remote land of sparkling estuaries, rocky woodlands, and wide skies that glow pink and lavender in the setting sun. (See the cover at left.) The novel is saturated with atmosphere to the extent that the setting becomes almost a character in itself. In this beautiful yet perilous place, wayfarers who manage to pull themselves free of Morecambe Bay’s treacherous sands can find sanctuary on Chapel Island – the spot where Moon in Leo begins and ends.

Rosamund Halistan comes from a family of alchemists who have always kept to themselves, which means that she has been more sheltered from the world than other young women of her age. In 1678, her twin brother Stephen returns home from a long stay abroad. Although Rosamund had hoped to become his lifelong partner in the mystical arts, Stephen’s interests no longer lie in that direction; he had fallen in love with the exuberant Italian culture and, more dangerously, the religion of its people. Rosamund finds evidence that someone’s out to kill him, and she’s right.

Even eighteen years after Charles II’s restoration, memories of the Civil War remain at the forefront of everyone’s minds. To help keep the peace in a company of mixed faiths and political allegiances, Rosamund and Stephen agree to attend a house party organized by Sir John Westby, a former Royalist, and his wife, Prudence, a former Parliamentarian. Dark undercurrents of schemes and deception flow through the conversations, and though Rosamund doesn’t catch all of the nuances, she finds herself caught in the thick of the action. When tragedy forces her to confront the layers of corruption in the highest circles of the realm, she determines to preserve what means most to her: her family.

Two suitors vie for her hand, one a fellow seeker of alchemical truths, the other a gentleman of the royal bedchamber. As an heiress, she’s a hot commodity, and whether they have their eye on her person or her fortune (or both) is unclear. Rosamund is a true ingénue trapped in a world swirling with intrigue, and while she struggles to find a foothold, her naïveté means that the reader doesn’t know whom to trust either. Reality versus illusion is one of the novel’s most prominent themes, and over its course, the multifaceted characters are seen from numerous angles.

This lengthy book is set against the backdrop of the Popish Plot, a fictional conspiracy drummed up by Titus Oates in an effort to incite violence against England’s Catholics and prevent them from holding power. The historical background is solid, and the storyline feels intensely romantic, at least until one looks beneath the surface. While declarations of affection abound, amid pet names of “dear” and “darling” and “oh my love,” women in this sparsely populated countryside must rely on male protectors, and few women in this book choose wisely – if they’re permitted to choose at all. Herbert’s lush style can make it feel as if one was reading a classic written many years ago rather than a modern work. As a result, the many songs and bawdy rhymes inserted into the text feel even more authentic to the storyline she creates.

Ghostly visitations, sigils charged with magic, and hermetic spells play such a strong role that I sometimes felt as if I’d stepped into a Dion Fortune novel. Although most of the characters don't believe in such things, these occult happenings definitely feel real to Rosamund, influencing her actions beyond what feels natural. The multiplicity of religious beliefs in this deep, involving read make her world feel genuine, as do the well-crafted depictions of ordinary people – nobles, scholars, courtiers, and gypsies – caught in the tide of history.

Moon in Leo was published by Trifolium Books earlier this year (£11.99, trade pb, 401pp).

Contest info:  I'm holding a giveaway for two electronic copies of Moon in Leo; the winners will be given directions by which they can download a copy at no charge from Smashwords.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post.  Deadline July 29th.

A spotlight on Jude Morgan's next novel

Longtime blog readers may remember my high praise for Jude Morgan's The Taste of Sorrow, a masterful work about the Brontës.  One of the things I enjoy most about his biographical novels is how carefully he matches his approach and his subjects; his books are all excellent, yet each is stylistically different from the others.  He writes about artistic types, musicians and writers and such, and his books show deep insight into the creative process.

While glancing at my recent purchase of his subsequent novel, A Little Folly - he's been alternating biographical treatments with more lighthearted Regency fare - it occurred to me that it would be time for something new from him very soon.

So I checked Amazon UK, et voilà.  The Secret Life of William Shakespeare will be out from Headline Review on March 1st next year, and here's the plot description, from the publisher:

The greatest writer of them all, brought to glorious life.

How well do you know the man you love? How much do you think you know about Shakespeare? What if they were one and the same? He is an ordinary man: unwilling craftsman, ambitious actor, resentful son, almost good-enough husband. And he is also a genius. The story of how a glove-maker from Warwickshire became the greatest writer of them all is vaguely known to most of us, but it would take an exceptional modern novelist to bring him to life. And now at last Jude Morgan, acclaimed author of Passion and The Taste of Sorrow, has taken Shakespeare's life, and created a masterpiece.

The title is gimmicky, but it's what's inside that matters.  Did I preorder it? You bet.

A visual preview of UK historical novels for late summer and autumn

With historical settings ranging from ancient Greece to Tudor England to 17th-century France to 19th-century India, here are some personal picks of historical novels set to be published in the UK over the next four months.





A.L. Berridge's In the Name of the King is swashbucking adventure set in France during the Thirty Years' War, a most uncommon setting.  In 1640, the Chevalier de Roland tangles with a cruel nobleman to save a young woman's honor and finds himself enmeshed in a political conspiracy.  2nd in series after Honour and the Sword.  Penguin, August 4th.





The forbidden romance between an Indian prince and an Englishwoman heats up colonial Lucknow, India, even as the couple battles society's prejudices and violence erupts all around them.  A debut novel for Sangeeta Bhargava.  Allison & Busby, July 25th.





Fiona Buckley's historical mystery heroine, Elizabethan lady-in-waiting Ursula Blanchard, re-emerges in this 9th entry in the series, which focuses on a covert plot to replace the queen with her Scots cousin.  Doesn't the lady on the cover look like a 16th-century version of Adele?  Creme de la Crime (now a Severn House imprint), Sept 29th.





Dickason has made a literary home for herself in 17th-century England. The little-known story of Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford, a daring noblewoman who becomes a peace-weaver between James I and his daughter, Elizabeth of Bohemia, after Elizabeth and her husband lose their throne.  Harper, November 24th.





Ewing is a versatile novelist, having mastered a variety of settings from Victorian and modern London to the colonial world of her native New Zealand.  I believe this is her first American outing.  Circus of Ghosts takes place in a circus in late 1840s New York and focuses on a mysterious woman adept at the dark art of mesmerism.  Sequel to The Mesmerist.  Sphere, July 28th.





Historical adventure in 13th-century Asia, as a Knight Templar travels from Palestine to the Mongol city of  Xanadu to form an alliance against the Saracens - and encounters a Tartar warrior princess that complicates his plans.  Why aren't more of Colin Falconer's novels published in the US?  Atlantic, October 1.





A multi-period family saga set in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1917 and ninety years later.  I found Hislop's The Island a smoothly written, satisfying, and uplifting tale about a traumatic historical period, so I expect the same to be true here. Headline Review, October 27.





This one will be a must-purchase based on my experience reading McMahon's fabulous The Crimson Rooms.  Season of Light, a love story set in pre-Revolutionary Paris, centers on a young Englishwoman, Asa Ardleigh, who falls in love with a dashing intellectual at the salon of Madame de Genlis. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, November 1.





This debut novel from Madeline Miller, an American classical historian, retells the story of the Trojan War from the viewpoint of Patroclus, good friend and more to the heroic Achilles, bringing to life elements of the tale that Homer only hinted at.  Love, battles, and the hidden schemings of the gods.  Bloomsbury, September 6th; also Ecco/HarperCollins US, next March.





Among all of the queens of England, Henrietta Maria is one of the few whose story has rarely been told in fiction.  Described as an "English Gone with the Wind" by the publisher, Fiona Mountain's Cavalier Queen tells the story of a woman torn between the king who loves her and the man, Henry Jermyn, who wins her favor and supports her through years of exile and danger.  Preface, October 25th.





Lucinda Riley's followup to her epic saga Hothouse Flower deals with two families and their tangled history in London and in Ireland during WWI. Penguin, October 13th.





A young woman in modern Wales traces her grandparents' lives in WWII-era Kashmir when she discovers an antique shawl in her father's house, and a lock of hair in an envelope tucked within it.  The review at The Bookbag intrigues me.  What a colorful and eye-catching cover, though almost too much is going on with it.  HarperCollins, July 21st.





In this novel of the gem trade in Tudor-era Europe, Henry VIII is a vigorous man of 36 who has just fallen in love with Anne Boleyn.  The main character of Will Whitaker's The King's Diamond, though, is jewel merchant Richard Dansey, whose determination to seize control of the family business leads him into danger. HarperPress, July 21st.

Guest post from Eileen Clymer Schwab: Shining a Light on Dark Times

I'd like to welcome Eileen Clymer Schwab to the blog today.  In the following post, she discusses what inspires her to write about a tumultuous time in history - slavery in pre-Civil War America - and what she learned while researching the Underground Railroad.  Thanks, Eileen, for a thought-provoking post, which pinpoints the reasons I enjoy novels set during this period, too (and why I wish there were more of them).  If this isn't enough to get readers interested, Shadow of a Quarter Moon has an awesome cover. I'll be writing a review of it here in the coming weeks.

Shining a Light on Dark Times

One of the questions I often hear from readers is, “Do you find it difficult to write novels that are set in such a brutal period of American history?”

Let me confide to you that I am a “happily ever after” kind of gal. So the fact that I’ve written two novels against the backdrop of slavery in the 1800s may seem like a highly unusual choice. After all, what good can be gained by stirring old ghosts? For this reason, there is not a lot of adult fiction written about this period. I suspect this is because it is not a time our nation is proud of or wishes to reminisce over. Instead we hide it from sight like an ugly scar. Readers and writers alike often avoid revisiting these pre-Civil War years because of the horror and shame it stirs in our moral conscience.

As an author, I am inspired by the strength and courage of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances; how friends, family, and inner conviction can change the course of our lives. Endless stories of inspiration, danger, upheaval, and bold beginnings are waiting to be unearthed from the ashes. In keeping the door closed on this period, we miss the chance to celebrate and marvel at the incredible acts of courage and daring deeds that were the genesis of social change in our country. The secret network known as the Underground Railroad is the perfect example of the best of America in the worst of America, and it serves as a vehicle of transformation for the main character in my latest novel.

In Shadow of a Quarter Moon, an unimaginable secret changes the course of Jacy Lane’s life; not once, but twice. First, when it is hidden from her, and then when it is revealed. As the daughter of a plantation owner, Jacy has been raised in privilege until she discovers that she is the offspring of a dalliance between her father and a slave. Amid the shock and complexities of her mixed heritage, Jacy is simply a woman longing for love, happiness, and a sense of wholeness; however the 1800s are not a simple time, and Jacy begins a treacherous journey of denial and self-discovery that is fraught with danger and life-altering choices. She soon discovers that what she chases is as elusive as the secret network she hopes can save them.

Writing a novel against this turbulent backdrop required a great deal of research. Often it was heart-wrenching, and at other times, awe-inspiring. For me, research is a process of discovery – not just of historical facts, but of tendencies, beliefs, and nuances of the time. Through this process I become better acquainted with my characters and the world around them. I wanted to touch and see as much as I could, beginning at the library, as well as visiting places like the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and other historic sites found within our National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. So often the surprises discovered in research shift plotlines or shape characters in unexpected ways. For example, while doing some research in North Carolina, I came across Dismal Swamp. As a writer, I could not overlook a name so vivid and descriptive, and I knew it would be mentioned in my story. At the time, I had no idea that the bleak sounding region was so rich and storied in Underground Railroad history, or that it would play such a significant role in my novel.

Shadow of a Quarter Moon and my first novel, Promise Bridge, shine light on both the villainous and heroic activity of that dark time. It was an honor to look back and give voice to a generation deserving of acknowledgment, tribute, and literary life, as with any other period in our history. Remembering and discussing their trials and triumphs can be one way of paying respect to their role in our social evolution. My hope is that the spirit of the Underground Railroad will never be forgotten.

---

Visit Eileen Clymer Schwab at her website, blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Shadow of a Quarter Moon is published today, July 5th, by NAL at $15.00 (trade paperback, 400pp). (Photo credit: Portrait Innovations)

Book review: Death at Pullman, by Frances McNamara

Frances McNamara’s follow-up to Death at Hull House sees her enterprising young protagonist, former university student Emily Cabot, involved in tracking down another killer in late 19th-century Chicagoland. Emily is more of an interested observer than a classic amateur detective, which lets the story unfold more realistically than many other mysteries of this type. The plot is based around a historical incident whose authenticity remains intact.

In 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company, creator of sleeper cars for luxurious passenger travel by rail, have gone on strike. With demand for their products slowing down, wages have been cut, but rents in the company town of Pullman, Illinois, have held steady – forcing the workers into abject poverty. Emily and her mentor from Hull House, Jane Addams, arrive in Pullman to help bring about a solution to the crisis, which Emily thinks won’t take long to achieve. Unfortunately, she’s wrong. Soon after the women arrive, a young worker of Irish descent is found hanged, and a sign at the murder scene accuses him of being a spy for the company.

Tensions heat up. The American Railway Union muscles its way in on the workers’ side, wealthy George Pullman refuses to budge, and travel is brought to a standstill. While her friend Dr. Stephen Chapman takes care of the medical needs of the employees and their families, Emily has her hands full running a food supply station, growing more sympathetic to their plight every day. The model town of Pullman has proved to be anything but.

The combination of labor unrest, rivalries among local families, and past romantic intrigues is a combustible mix, an edgy scenario that is laid out convincingly, just eight years after Chicago’s deadly Haymarket affair. As Emily transforms from idealistic outsider to central player in the escalating conflict, she grows in confidence, proceeding with resoluteness of purpose while remaining aware of the tragic missteps on both sides. By this third book in the series, Emily has come into her own.  Death at Pullman is a suspenseful re-creation of a critical moment in American social history, as seen from the viewpoint of a strong-willed, engaging fictional heroine.

Death at Pullman was published by Allium Press of Chicago, a small press focusing on titles of historical Chicago interest, in March at $14.99 (trade pb, 250pp).

Bride Flight giveaway winners

I feel I should be writing more about the Historical Novel Society conference, which was wonderful - thanks so much to all of the speakers, editors & agents, volunteers, and all of the attendees for participating.  I returned late Monday night after a very long flight (and having to repack my bag in the middle of the San Diego airport because it went over the weight limit - too many books!).  Since I'm still completely exhausted, and have a deadline for August's Historical Novels Review and some new responsibilities at work to take care of asap, I'm going to post more about the conference at a later time, I hope.

In the meantime, I wanted to announce the three winners of the Bride Flight giveaway contest.  Copies of the book as well as sets of movie passes will be going out to:  Linda B, Elizabeth D, and Noreen F.  I'll be in touch via email with details, and congratulations!

En route to San Diego

I'm on my way to San Diego (literally - I'm writing this during an unexpectedly long layover at O'Hare) for the 4th North American Historical Novel Society conference.  A group of us have been planning this event for the last two years, and I'm really looking forward to it!

The trip started off appropriately, as I got to talking with another traveler while waiting in Champaign - she was reading Sarah Blake's The Postmistress so I mentioned where I was heading... and recommended the author's earlier novel Grange House.  She told me she'd look out for it.

I'll try to post some pics here from the conference, and I'll also be tweeting from the event as time permits. For those who'd like to follow along with the conference virtually, look for the #HNS11 hashtag.

Today's plans - after our plane shows up and we finally get out of here - are to get to the hotel, hang around a bit, and commence to stuffing the goody bags!

A Unique Giveaway: Book & Movie Passes for "Bride Flight"

Hello blog readers -- today I have a unique giveaway to offer you.  As you know, I haven't been doing many contests, but this one caught my attention because the book and film appeal to me personally.  Literature in translation + historical setting + a story about women on an international journey... who can beat that?

"Bride Flight" is a brand new historical film that's based on Marieke van der Pol's recent novel of the same name.  It opens in US cities starting on Friday, June 10th, then expands across the country through July. I'll be looking to see if it comes to Champaign-Urbana.

Music Box Films, a major distributor of non-English language feature films in the United States, is sponsoring a giveaway of three copies of Marieke van der Pol's novel Bride Flight.  As a bonus, a pair of movie passes will be provided to the three winners, for a Mon-Thurs screening at a participating theater in their area.  (Winners would provide the theater name if this is of interest... see the film's website and click on Screenings at the top to see participating theaters and dates.)

More about the film:

* * * IN THEATERS BEGINNING FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH * * *

“BRIDE FLIGHT”

Only love and regret last forever

“Fascinating, beautifully acted and magnificently photographed.” -- Rex Reed, NY Observer

BRIDE FLIGHT is a lavish romantic drama inspired by the true story of the 1953 KLM flight that won the “Last Great Air Race” from London to Christchurch. The flight was dubbed “Bride Flight” by the international press, because of its special passengers -- young women with wedding dresses in their suitcases, traveling to join their fiancés who had already emigrated to New Zealand. 

Leaving behind the gloom and scarcity of post-WWII Europe, shy but sensual farm girl Ada, dogmatic Marjorie, and Jewish fashion designer Esther are filled with hope for a future of love and freedom. Each takes a very different journey in their strange new land, but together with handsome bachelor Frank, their paths continue to cross with chance meetings resulting in adultery, betrayal and near tragedy leading up to a reunion fifty years later. 

Honored with Audience Awards at film festivals across the country, BRIDE FLIGHT evokes a time of slim choices and desperate optimism, with sweeping views of the New Zealand countryside, stunning period dresses, and the faint smell of Pinot Noir from the thriving vineyard Frank establishes in New Zealand. (A Music Box Films release.)

http://www.brideflightmovie.com/

http://www.facebook.com/brideflight

Directed by Ben Sombogaart. Stars Waldemar Torenstra, Karina Smulders, Anna Drijver, Elise Schaap, Rutger Hauer, Pleuni Touw.

The original novel was published by Portobello Books (UK) in paperback earlier this year.  It was translated from the Dutch by Colleen Higgins.  I have a copy in hand for myself and will be reviewing it here sometime soon.

Because this contest is for the film's US release, this offer is limited to US residents only. Deadline is Sunday, June 19th, after which I'll be randomly selecting and contacting the winners. Good luck to all entrants!
(Note: form removed when contest expired)

Guest post from Evan Ostryzniuk: The problem of knighthood in the late Middle Ages

Debut novelist Evan Ostryzniuk is stopping by today with a terrific guest essay on the changing meaning of knighthood in 14th-century Europe.  His book, Of Faith and Fidelity, the first volume in the English Free Company Series, is published on June 9th by Knox Robinson Publishing.

The problem of knighthood in the late Middle Ages: the case of Geoffrey Hotspur

The consensus among historians is that the better part of the 14th century can be considered ‘transitional’ from the high Middle Ages, which was dominated by scholasticism, rigid feudal relations and a gothic sensibility, to the Renaissance, which engendered the birth of Humanism, merchant capitalism and the recovery of Europe’s classical heritage. This raises a problem for the young Geoffrey Hotspur, the main character in my novel Of Faith and Fidelity, because almost since birth he has been training to become a knight in the very conventional sense, and if 14th century society no longer places much value in that station, then he will be lost. The challenges before the squire, then, is whether he can find a place for himself as a traditional knight, assuming that the title worth seeking once he gets a glimpse of the outside world, and how much he will have to adapt his ideal to the shifting social, economic and military landscape of late medieval Europe. However, before the cloistered orphan can make any decisions, he will have to meet head-on those manifestations of a new and emerging culture.

One of the most vivid examples of change Geoffrey faces is the professional mercenary army, which was having a growing importance on the battlefields of Europe. Mercenaries, of course, were nothing new by the 14th century, and even the most majestic kings employed them alongside their levy of knights and titled men-at-arms. What changes, though, is the number and prestige of these soldiers for hire, especially in Italy, where the traditions of knighthood were weak and the institution of kingship close to non-existent. What is even more confusing for the young men brought up on the legend of King Arthur and the rituals of a feudal court is that growing number of titled families were entering professional soldiery as a respectable means of acquiring fame and honor, not to mention cold hard cash. The division between knights and mercenaries was blurring, and this transformed the military ethos of the high middle ages, whereby the right to military service was all about privilege, class distinction and maintaining the social hierarchy. The rise of the condottiere in Italy, peasant pikeman in the Swiss cantons and landsknecht in Germany changed all that.

The most treasured possession of any knight was his sword, and his skill with cold steel in battle or at a tournament helped define his value. For Geoffrey Hotspur, his magnificent sword is at once a weapon, a cross, a source of moral strength, and a part of his identity. However, the invention of firearms in the 14th century expanded the range of weapons available and eventually, certainly by the end of the 16th century, rendered the armored knight and his sword obsolete. The first recorded recipe for gunpowder in Europe appears in the 13th century, but the first practical military application is found only in the early 14th century with the primitive cannon. Gunpowder technology steadily evolved during the next few generations until batteries of cannon became an essential arm of the late medieval army and city alike. For the likes of Geoffrey Hotspur, gunpowder technology was dirty, unchivalric, and inelegant. Cannons were confusing as well. Hurling missiles from a safe distance was an age old tactic and a fully integrated part of the medieval army, but whether as archers or crossbowmen, missile-throwers were always associated with the lower classes, and therefore condescended to by titled soldiers. Those with firearms fell into this category as well, of course, but because of the chemical nature of gunpowder, unlike bows, firearms held a mystical fascination that competed with the knight’s aura of chivalry.

Geoffrey Hotspur wants to be a knight, but by the late 14th century was it worth the effort? Knighthood evolved out the military ethos that evolved in the post-Roman, Barbarian, newly Christianized world and coalesced into an ideal that included a wide range of virtues, including generosity, piety, courtesy, valor, as well as dexterity with arms and fidelity to one’s lord. However, as the centuries wore on and the non-military orders sought to move up the social ladder, they began to reach for titles, debasing them in the process. The nature of service was expanded and redefined. When royal and ducal households were still small, the number of bureaucrats was likewise few and mostly drawn from the clerical orders. By the 14th century, the nature of medieval governance was changing so that governments had to expand. More commoners joined the higher administrations and emerged as a non-fighting titled order. In France, the distinction became known as the ‘nobility of the sword’ versus the ‘nobility of the robe’. Therefore, how could an honest knight, who demonstrated his prowess through the tip of his lance or by the blade of his sword, reconcile with a parchment-pusher who claimed to be his social equal? If sanctioned by the powers-that-be, such a debasement of knighthood created conflict and confusion, resentment and despair, which caused the traditional, conservative aspirants to knighthood to fear for its value.

The main reward for loyal and valiant knightly service in the Middle Ages was wealth in the form of arable land, from which the knight could draw the resources necessary to equip himself, feed his family and supply his retinue. Geoffrey Hotspur is a rootless squire because he has no land. He lives in a city, Avignon, but it affords him no opportunity for career advancement, although it offers enough distractions to get him into trouble. The knight’s encounter with the city was often disorienting and corrupting, as he had no place there. A knight’s fee, however, was the source of his authority, something which the city could not offer in any meaningful way. It was no accident that the great knightly tales of the Middle Ages take place in a pastoral environment, whether open fields, enclosed gardens or darkened forests. Only on the open field of battle could a knight demonstrate his prowess, or in forests fight monsters, or in perfumed garden court his ideal maiden away from prying eyes. The 14th century saw the rise of cities and the merchant class, mainly in Italy but also in select places in northern Europe. As the cities grew, so did their financial and ultimately political power, which allowed citizens to invade the rural idyll of the knight by buying up land, or interfere in power politics. Geoffrey Hotspur must carefully negotiate the temptations of the city as he tries to prove himself worthy of a knighthood.

Finally, one of the greatest challenges to knighthood in the 14th century was the Black Death, or bubonic plague. It was a monster that killed half of Europe at mid-century and would regularly rear its ugly head over the subsequent three centuries. Disease and pestilence was common in the Middle Ages, but the Black Death was particularly destructive not just in terms of the sheer number of people who died form it, but its perfidious influence undermined the authority of the Church, destabilized society, fractured the medieval consensus about the social hierarchy, and interfered with the conduct of war, all of which together supported the institution of knighthood. A good squire cannot be made a knight without battle; a knighthood lost its quasi-sanctified nature without the belief in the Church; popular challenges to the social status quo made it difficult for the knight to keep his place and lands under control; mass mortality of the titled orders caused confusion about service obligations and relations. Geoffrey has to face this fatal threat daily. As a squire, he garners little enough respect from his social betters and underlings, and so if courtesy and deference break down, he might become humiliated and must find ways to gird his confidence in that what he aspires to is right and true.

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Author info: Evan Ostryzniuk was born and raised on the prairies of western Canada, where he also attended the University of Saskatchewan. After graduating with a B.A. in History and Modern Languages and an M.A. in Modern History, Evan crossed the ocean to do post-graduate work at the University of Cambridge, concluding five years of research with a doctoral thesis on the Russian Revolution. He eventually found his way to eastern Europe, where he took up positions as a magazine editor, university lecturer and analyst in the financial services sector before finally settling on writing as a career. Evan Ostryzniuk currently resides in Kyiv, Ukraine. Of Faith and Fidelity: Geoffrey Hotspur and the War for St. Peter’s Throne is his first novel.

Of Faith and Fidelity: Geoffrey Hotspur and the War for St. Peter’s Throne is the first book in the English Free Company series set in the late Middle Ages. The English Free Company is led by Geoffrey Hotspur, an orphan-squire and ward of the mighty Duke of Lancaster, whose driving ambition is to become a knight and serve a great lord. Of Faith and Fidelity takes place in 1394, at the height of the schism of the Western Church when the throne of St. Peter was contested by rival claimants in Rome and Avignon. Unable to settle the dispute peacefully, both sides resorted to war, and the key to winning the throne of St. Peter was control of the Patrimony, a band of territory stretching the breadth of Italy that owes fealty to whichever pope who can rule it. Before Henry V won his miraculous victory at Agincourt, before the Borgias had done their infamous deeds, there was Geoffrey Hotspur, a man as tall as Charlemagne and armed with a sword that rivals Excalibur. Thrown off the established path to knighthood, the ambitious and hot-tempered Geoffrey finds himself caught up in the war between the two popes, where he must adapt his beliefs and apply his training as a squire in order to survive.

Book review: Shadows of a Down East Summer, by Lea Wait

This skillfully drawn multi-period mystery blends present-day crime with scenes from 1890, a year when painter Winslow Homer was living and creating his masterworks along the picturesque Maine coast.

American Studies professor and antique print dealer Maggie Summer hopes to spend her holiday relaxing with her boyfriend Will at his great-aunt Nettie’s house in Waymouth, Maine, but things don’t turn out as planned. While Will dutifully performs home repairs for his relative, Maggie is asked to help a family friend, Carolyn Chase, conduct research on her mother, a noted 20th-century artist. Despite their brief acquaintance, due to her reputation and expertise Maggie ends up as the caretaker for some papers belonging to Carolyn’s family, including a century-old journal.

Maggie becomes drawn into the story of Anna May Pratt, a young woman who posed for several of Winslow Homer’s paintings alongside her best friend, Jessie. In her diary, Anna May expresses delight at the opportunity she and Jessie are offered, despite their initial wariness at being asked to let their hair down (literally) and wear outfits more appropriate to fisherwomen.

So calming is the seaside atmosphere in both the modern and historical scenarios that when a murder occurs, it comes as a shock. The diary contains long-held secrets someone is willing to kill for.

Genealogy buffs will enjoy sorting out the family relationships, and although careful readers will discern part of the puzzle long before Maggie does, it doesn’t make the parallel stories any less involving. The jealous rivalries present in both timelines demonstrate that human nature hasn’t changed much.

Wait includes the colorful characters expected for this small-town setting and a sufficient dose of suspense. She also adds plenty of educational details on the antique trade and many mouthwatering examples of Down East cuisine. Recommended.

Shadows of a Down East Summer was published by Perseverance Press, a small press publisher of mysteries, in April at $14.95 (trade pb, 236pp). I reviewed it for May's Historical Novels Review and thought I'd share my review here as well.  The novel is 5th in the Antique Print mystery series, but I didn't feel lost without having read the others.

My BEA book collection, part one

I'm just back from an invigorating yet overwhelming week in NYC for BEA and the book blogger con.  These are the BEA titles that came home in my luggage, either because they were signed copies I didn't want to risk shipping or because I got them at the blogger con on the last day.  My husband took the rest of them over to FedEx on the last day of the show.

Most of these were titles I mentioned in my post about historical fiction picks at BEA.  There were many other titles on that list I didn't get, either because I didn't see them - like The Lantern - or because the signing lines were amazingly long.  My back doesn't tolerate standing for long periods, unfortunately, so my waiting 45+ minutes in line for a signed copy of Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers just wasn't in the cards.  I looked on jealously as I passed by.

I was pleased to come across a previously unannounced signing of Patricia Falvey's The Linen Queen, though - it's a love story set in Northern Ireland on the brink of WWII.  Of the other titles above, Open Wounds is a new YA set in Depression-era Queens, and The Little Women Letters is a mostly contemporary tale about a descendant of Jo March from Little Women who finds letters written by her ancestress.  These latter two were giveaways at the blogger con.  As with last year, it was great to get the chance to meet so many bloggers, authors, and publishers in person when I was in NY.

Things may be quieter than usual around here, at least in terms of reviews, until after the Historical Novel Society conference in 2.5 weeks.  There's a ton that needs doing before then, many loads of laundry included, plus I came home to three freelance assignments with shortish deadlines.  One of these is the new Philippa Gregory, so that will be forthcoming in a bit.

Guest post from Mary Tod: Researching Is a Sleeves-Rolled-Up Process

Today Mary Tod, a historical fiction writer and fellow blogger from Canada, is stopping by with a guest essay on the many different facets to her research involving the First World War.  Thanks very much, Mary, and welcome!

Researching is a sleeves-rolled-up process

Six years ago when I began writing historical fiction, I had no idea where the journey would take me. Nor did I have any idea of how much I would enjoy the research involved. I was an expat wife, often called the trailing spouse in the world of international assignments, and I landed in Hong Kong with nothing to do. Having worked for thirty years, this was a problem.

After many frustrating months, I decided to take matters into my own hands and write a book about my grandparents who lived through two world wars and the great depression - surely their experiences would provide the foundation for a novel, I thought. What has emerged from this vague beginning are three novels and ideas for many more. Along the way, I developed a passion for WWI and WWII and a host of research techniques and sources.

Sarah has kindly invited me to tell you a bit about the research that goes into historical fiction. Being a list making gal, I’ve organized my thoughts by topic:

WWW 
 * I have several favorite WWI websites that I frequent for information on battles, maps, timelines, photos, personalities and the tools of war. Visiting these sites allows me to adhere to reality amidst the liberty of fiction. They also spark ideas to make each story come alive.

Official War Diaries
 * The Canadian government has an entire collection of official war diaries recording day to day events of every Canadian battalion. Governments can do some things right! I have spent hours poring through these pdf images looking for inspiration and accurate information. For example, my latest novel involves the heroine tracing her grandfather’s WWI experiences to solve a mystery. I placed this man in the 19th Battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade, and using the war diaries, I know exactly where he is every day of the war.

Fullbooks
* Much to my delight, I came across this site offering books of historical interest online at no cost. Of great value to me are Edith Wharton’s journals describing WWI France, Mildred Aldrich’s letters written from a small village near the front lines, and Charles Inman Barnard’s description of Paris on the brink of war. From another site I found Ruth Gaines’ vignettes of Picardy in 1918. All have been very helpful as I wrote about living with war in two of my novels.

My growing fiction and non-fiction collection
* Every time I visit my local bookstore or browse for an e-book, I look for new materials. Amongst others, my collection of non-fiction includes Vimy by Pierre Berton and Unlikely Soldiers by Jonathan Vance, the first is a detailed account of that famous WWI battle, the second is the true story of two WWII spies. Both offered deep insight into the war experience.

* My fiction collection includes authors like Anne Perry, Ben Elton, Pat Barker, Anita Shreve, Scott Turow, Joseph Boyden, William Woodruff, Siegfried Sassoon, Frances Itani and others. Wonderful works. My copies are well thumbed and well marked.

Diaries and letters
 * To add reality to my characters’ voices, I have perused many personal accounts of war, particularly WWI, and discovered phrases and language patterns of the day. I find it both amazing and heart warming to see so many soldiers honored by their families through websites and blogs containing letters, photos and personal details. British, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand stories are there for all to see. If you read French or German, you can find even more diaries.

* A particularly interesting book is The Letters of Agar Adamson, a WWI captain who enlisted at the age of 48. Fascinating first hand account.

Google & Google maps
* Ah, Google. An amazing source as every reader and writer knows, a place to find tidbits like the construction of a kite or the names of troop transport ships and to stumble upon serendipity like French marriage rituals or the lions outside New York’s main library.

* Using Google maps I can look at tiny villages like Villers-au-Bois or larger places like Amiens and can then check the surrounding countryside to see the contours of the land, the placement of crossroads, the bends in a river. I can then match war-time photos with present day in order to breathe life into descriptions of a picnic, a country drive, a battlefield or a behind the lines view.

Museums
* To date I’ve visited museums in England, Canada and France. These buildings, whether large or small, house a wealth of photos, posters, dioramas and context to augment my stories. In some cases, they include the sounds of war which are crucial to a writer’s toolbox. While visiting, I’ve taken many pictures and notes.

Personal travel
* Last summer my husband and I traveled to northern France with the express purpose of seeing WWI battle sites and memorials as well as the lands of Picardy and Nord-Pas-de-Calais where so many battles occurred. I filled an entire notebook and came home with over five hundred pictures.

* While sitting in a cafe having dinner one night, my third novel was born. You never know what a glass or two of French wine will inspire!

Movies
* Whenever I have the opportunity to watch a movie set in either war, I do using my ever-present notebook to jot thoughts as the movie unfolds. What I look for most is sounds and visuals.

Fashion
* In addition to photos of the time, I’ve discovered a few fashion websites like www.fashion-era.com or www.victoriana.com or www.costumes.org. Pictures and descriptions from these sites give little snippets to use when setting a scene or introducing a character.

Sounds
* Historical radio broadcasts have also helped. Hearing a speech made by Woodrow Wilson or King Edward VIII, listening to a reporter recount the actual Dieppe landing raids or hearing songs from the past make that world come alive in a visceral manner.

I am fortunate that the world wars are relatively recent and as a consequence easier to research. Nonetheless, I often work for hours in order to write a few sentences. Good thing I enjoy the process!

Bio
Mary Tod writes historical fiction with a focus on WWI and WWII. Her novel, Lies Told in Silence is represented by Anne McDermid & Associates. While The Secret Sits is a companion novel with intersecting characters. A third novel, Blind Regret is nearing completion.

Mary posts frequently on the topics of historical fiction and the business of writing on her blog, One Writer’s Voice.

Guest post from Kate Lord Brown: You Say Boxer Shorts, I Say Underpants

Kate Lord Brown is stopping by today to discuss some of the fascinating tidbits she uncovered while researching her debut novel.  The Beauty Chorus follows three young British women who sign up to be Spitfire pilots at the height of World War Two.  I went and bought myself a copy after reading her post -- I'm one of those readers who knows little about women pilots during the war, so am eager to meet her characters and learn more.  Welcome, Kate, and thanks for contributing an enlightening article!

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I love the research involved with writing historical fiction – in fact, it is so absorbing, so much fun I have to give myself a cut off point or the novels would never get written. The inspiration for ‘The Beauty Chorus’ came from a tiny obituary in a flying magazine for a woman who flew Spitfires during WW2. My gut instinct was – why don’t people know about this? Then: this is a story that has to be told.

I’m married to a pilot, but I knew nothing about aviation during WW2. I didn’t know a Lancaster from a Stirling, or how to fly a Spitfire – but I do now (at least on paper). When I was little, I wanted to be a detective like Nancy Drew, to solve mysteries like Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Researching historical fiction is just as exciting to me now. I taught myself everything I could from the material available to the public – read everything I could, from first person autobiographies and memoirs from the women who had flown with the Air Transport Auxiliary, to biographies of the ‘big’ figures like Amy Johnson. Then the fun really started.

Once I had the ‘scaffolding’ of the story – the major plot and characters outlined, the really deep research began. I poured over archives, handling documents and diaries yellow with age. I talked to surviving veterans who had lived and worked through this time. I read the wartime diaries of housewives to find out all I could about ‘make do and mend’ and ‘digging for victory’. I watched endless black and white films of the era to tune my ear into the dialogue, and listened to the music of the time. I wrote my first draft listening to Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra. I spoke to museums, libraries, chased down every single detail I could get my hands on to bring the story to life, to create a sense of place.

I found out amazing things – each clue, each question led to others. I found out pilots of the American Eagle Squadrons were known among the girls for their racy green socks. There were other sartorial cultural differences - while the American love interest would have worn ‘boxer shorts’, the Imperial War Museum told me normal British men would have worn utility underpants. I learnt that while the female pilots dreaded being stuck out at some bases, they loved getting stranded at the US bases because they could stock up on lipstick and silk stockings. Then there were larger things – I pieced together countless accounts of Amy Johnson’s last flight from biographies and RAF reports, and the account in the novel brings together details I haven’t read anywhere else. There was so much information I didn’t use a lot of it in the story – but I hope as Hemingway once said, you get a feel for the depth of this knowledge in the story – almost reading between the lines what isn’t said.

It was wonderful researching this story, and I hope my enjoyment and enthusiasm comes through. These women were amazing – modest, brave and skilful civilians doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the war, but they are all but forgotten. I hope ‘The Beauty Chorus’ will introduce them to a few new people.

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Kate Lord Brown studied Philosophy at Durham University, and Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She is currently taking a Masters degree. She worked as an art consultant, curating collections for palaces and embassies in Europe and the Middle East, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was a finalist in UK ITV’s the People’s Author competition in 2009.

‘The Beauty Chorus’ was published by Corvus, Atlantic on 1 April 2011; available from Amazon UK and Book Depository.  Visit Kate's blog, What Kate Did Next, at http://thebeautychorus.blogspot.com.

An updated post

A quick note to mention that my list of historical fiction picks at BEA has grown considerably in length, following my reading of Library Journal's and Kirkus's excellent previews of the show.

An interview with Rosslyn Elliott, author of Fairer than Morning

Rosslyn Elliott's debut novel, Fairer than Morning, takes readers back to Ohio and Pennsylvania in the 1820s, a bygone era no less complicated than our own.  Ann Miller, daughter of a saddle-maker and circuit-riding minister from the small town of Rushville, Ohio, slowly awakens to the qualities in a person that truly matter.  To her surprise, she finds them not in Eli Bowen, a handsome suitor who enjoys reciting poetry, but in saddler's apprentice Will Hanby. Alternating chapters reveal Will's painful situation. Indentured to an abusive master in Pittsburgh when he was too young to know better, he forms a strong bond with Ann and yearns to be free to pursue a life of his choosing.

Fairer than Morning is more than just a romance and coming-of-age story, though.  Rosslyn Elliott surveys her early 19th-century American setting with a sensitive eye for historical and artistic detail as well as social injustice. The novel falls into the category of inspirational historical fiction and is an excellent example of its kind. Rather than feeling forced, the characters' faith reflects their time; it takes root in the courageous lives they lead and the situations they find themselves in.  Also, I always find it refreshing to read a Christian novel that shows real people and their realistic decisions, even if they go beyond the usual genre limitations.  The main characters are based in history, as are their stories, and the graceful writing style suits the place and era.

Had you planned from the beginning to write Fairer than Morning from both Ann's and Will's viewpoints?

Yes, I had planned it that way from the beginning. Both of their spiritual journeys are important, though Will’s is unusually strong for the ‘man’s side’ of a historical romance. When I first wrote the novel, it opened in Will’s viewpoint and Ann’s viewpoint came second. My agent asked me to switch the order, as publishers usually require historical romances to open in the heroine’s viewpoint. At first, I didn’t like the idea, but it worked out well after I figured out which scene to use for Ann’s opening.

Given that the Hanbys and Millers were real people, how much responsibility did you feel to reflect the historical and spiritual truth of their story? During the process of transforming their lives into fiction, did these truths ever conflict with one another?

I was determined to infuse this story with both types of truth. As I explain in the historical afterword, I departed from the historical record in some aspects of the novel, but I believe my choices clarified the spiritual truth of the novel and unified the narrative. I’m particularly pleased with the development of the relationship between Mr. Miller (Ann’s father) and Will Hanby. I think father/son relationships are fascinating, and I believe the fictional parts of this novel reflect the historical story of these two men in a way that historical records support but do not flesh out. Only a few history-lovers know about the strength of this connection between Mr. Miller and Will. You have to be a real researcher of the Hanbys to learn the few details that exist to tell us their story. I’m happy that more people will understand Mr. Miller’s contribution to the story as a result of the publication of Fairer than Morning. (I’ll reserve further comment on fact versus fiction to prevent spoilers, and I should also warn potential readers not to read the afterword before reading the novel, for the same reason!)

Will's relationship with Emmie Flynn, as well as the duel fought between two parties, go beyond what's often found in inspirational historicals. At the same time, these subplots made the storyline and characters more realistic for me. Did you ever feel like you were taking risks, with readers or with publishers, by including these scenes?

My goal during the writing process was to write the best story I was capable of writing, in every way, and that meant not worrying about the typical boundaries of inspirational historicals. I like the way Jodie Foster once described the act of creating art. She said “it’s putting everything you are onto the head of an arrow and shooting it out into the world.” For me, ‘everything I am’ may include a number of virtues, but I’m also messy and flawed, and that’s true for most believers. Too many times, I’ve seen Christians try to assume a perfect façade, even though that doesn’t reflect reality. I don’t think we should do it in life, and I don’t think we should do it in our fictional characters. So I decided to write this novel about real love, real failure, and real courage, and I found a publisher who believed in that kind of story. I have to admit that I was sweating it out when my agent submitted this novel to publishers. I knew this novel was the best I could do, and if no publisher wanted it, that would be the end of my dream to publish this kind of fiction.

What appeals to you about small-town Ohio? Also, what compelled you to set part of your novel in the industrial city of Pittsburgh?

I like the heritage of Ohio because of its pioneer roots. I can still see those roots in many small towns, whereas big cities have choked them out with concrete and steel. I also like the way that Ohio hasn’t been overused as a setting in historical novels, and the same is true for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is a city with a fascinating history, both bright and dark, and it really adds to the atmosphere of a historical novel. Atmosphere was part of my decision to set part of the novel in Pittsburgh. I needed a strong dramatic contrast between Will Hanby’s world and Ann Miller’s world, plus, I wanted narrative access to some big city features that I couldn’t create in a rural setting.

Fairer than Morning is set during a time when individual craftsmanship mattered. It takes pleasure, for example, in showing us the details Samuel Miller carves into his leather saddles and the calligraphy on hand-addressed dinner invitations. Do you feel modern society has lost some appreciation for these things?

As a whole, yes, I think we have lost it. Last fall, I went to a fashion museum in Tombstone with a friend, and we exclaimed over every handcrafted detail of those nineteenth-century ensembles. The curator loved us. He said he couldn’t believe it when people came into the museum and complained of being bored, but it happened more often than we might think. Fortunately, no matter how our culture changes, there will always be people who love craftsmanship. We may not use horses as our transportation anymore, but I know a saddler who lives close to my house. The fascination of creativity will always draw new people into the old crafts.

How much time did you spend researching your novel on site? How clearly could you see the Rushville of nearly two centuries ago beneath the new?

I was only able to visit Rushville in person late in the writing process, but I was glad to see that the town’s history is well-preserved, though not always marked. The advantage of zero population growth in tiny towns is that no one knocks down buildings to make way for supermarkets. Beautiful old homes are well-preserved by citizens who have lived in them through the years. I saw the Rushville home of a doctor who appears in the second novel (1850s), and I saw the cracked, forgotten gravestone of Samuel Miller himself. (Some of the valiant supporters of Hanby family history repaired that stone this year.)

Ann Miller finds herself transfixed by Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, and the characters' lives and words resonate with her. On your website, you've listed some of your favorite novels, including Dickens' Oliver Twist, two by C.S. Lewis, and William Dean Howell's A Hazard of New Fortunes, which is a book that's new to me. What did you take away from the reading experience of each?

Both Dickens and Howells were compassionate souls, and both were sensitive to the social forces at work around them. Dickens is one of my personal heroes, and I could write a hundred pages on everything I admire about his work. I already wrote a hundred pages on Howells, who was one of the two authors I discussed in my doctoral dissertation in English (completed in 2006). Both authors are valuable reads for me because my Saddler’s Legacy trilogy spans most of the nineteenth century. Dickens is a major influence on Fairer than Morning, and Howells will have his turn in the last novel, which is set in his period, the 1870s. Howells was Mark Twain’s best friend, and one of the best-known writers of his time. I sometimes think his work has gone out of fashion in academic circles because he is too gentle, wise and ethical. His work won’t serve as a platform for the fierce battles that currently rage through university English departments.

The two books from C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy changed my life. After a Catholic childhood, I lost my faith as a teenager and was agnostic for ten years. It was a dark decade for me. The light finally began to dawn again when I read Lewis’s Perelandra. It’s a brilliant, redemptive novel that convinced me of the reality of evil as an active, intelligent force in our world. Once I believed in evil, I had to reconsider the possibility that good might also be the same kind of active, intelligent force. That restarted my spiritual journey, and a couple of years after reading Perelandra, I returned to Christian faith.

Thanks for your excellent questions. It has been a pleasure to go behind the scenes with you and revisit some of the joys of writing Fairer than Morning.

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Thank you too, Rosslyn, for agreeing to be interviewed.  I thoroughly enjoyed the read, and I look forward to reading your next book as well.

Fairer Than Morning, first in the Saddler's Legacy series inspired by the Hanby family of central Ohio, was published by Thomas Nelson in May at $15.99 (trade pb, 391pp).  Visit Rosslyn's website and her blog for biographical information, the history behind her books, insight into the writing process, her observations on historical fiction and other literature, and more.

A look at Marina Fiorato's The Daughter of Siena

British-Venetian author Marina Fiorato heads to Tuscany for her latest novel of love and suspense in a beautifully evoked Italian setting. As the fierce competition between the contrade (city wards) for victory in the annual Palio horse race takes a treacherous turn, two women of Siena muster up their courage to survive threatening situations.

In July of 1723, Pia Tolomei, a gorgeous, well-educated nineteen-year-old said to be descended from Cleopatra, is betrothed to a cruel man from an opposing contrada. After he is killed in an accident during the Palio, she is forcibly wed to his equally malicious albino brother. Shuttered away at his family’s palazzo, she can’t deny her growing affection for Riccardo, a horseman whose background is far less distinguished than hers.

While Pia makes for a suitable romantic heroine, another noblewoman provides a more intriguing and complex character study. Violante Beatrix of Bavaria, a barren Medici widow who had the misfortune to love her neglectful husband, governs Siena with benevolent dignity, but factions within the city – led by Pia’s nasty father-in-law – aim to depose her. Violante wants to put an end to the rivalries tearing Siena apart. In doing so, she awakens a new capability for political maneuvering. With Riccardo’s help, she investigates the secret plot against the Medici, but their unraveling of the scheme is marked by danger as well as missteps on both their parts (a realistic touch).

The parallel stories of these two daughters of the city, one native and one adopted, provide an intricate examination of women’s power and powerlessness in early 18th-century Italy. The villains are recognizably evil, and the coincidence-heavy denouement strains believability, but Fiorato deserves kudos for bringing to life an underutilized European setting. Most readers won’t be familiar with the royal families involved, which allows the historically-based subplots to unfold unpredictably.

The rich heritage of Siena is shown in all its facets, with scenes moving from formal staterooms and candle-lit cathedrals to dirty stables and macabre dungeons. The apricot silk gown on the cover reveals only part of the tale. Like the Palio itself, The Daughter of Siena is an exciting entertainment steeped in local color and years of cultural traditions.

The Daughter of Siena was published May 12th by St. Martin's Griffin at $14.99/$16.99 Canadian (trade pb, 382pp, includes author Q&A and reading group guide).  John Murray will publish it in the UK in September.

New Pauline Gedge review

My review of Pauline Gedge's The King's Man, the long-awaited final volume in her trilogy of the same name, was published in today's Globe and Mail.

If you enjoy ancient Egyptian settings, The King's Man is a must-read, but you really need to begin with the first volume, The Twice Born, for the storyline in the subsequent books to make sense.  Gedge is an internationally bestselling author, and her earlier books had American and British publishers, but the current trilogy was published in English only in Canada.  If you're not Canadian, I'd recommend spending the extra money on postage; her books are worth it.

Historical fiction picks at BEA

(This post was updated on May 20th with many new details courtesy of the Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews BEA preview publications.)

In just over a week, I'll be heading to BEA in New York for four days of networking and book chat, presentations, walking, dining, sightseeing, and shopping.  Anyone else going?  I'll also be heading to the book blogger con on Friday the 27th, as one of five Sara(h)s on their roster.

It's taken me a while to draw up a list of signings/galley grabbing that may interest historical fiction readers. The online schedule isn't as user-friendly as usual; you have to click around a while to find out what the authors will be signing and what their books are about.  So I may have missed some important titles... please let me know in the comments if you spotted something I didn't!  It doesn't appear to be a big year for historicals at BEA, but there will be some exciting-sounding books on offer.

Galleys to Grab

Doubleday (booth 4617)
Erin Morgenstern, Night Circus - described by PW as having "19th-century magicians, star-crossed lovers, and a most unusual circus."

Simon & Schuster (booth 3652-53)
Alma Katsu, The Taker - a combo of historical novel and supernatural epic spanning over a century in rural Maine.  Are you spotting a trend yet?  Historical paranormal is hot.  Well, anything paranormal is hot.

Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers - novel, based on the true events of Masada, which is being referred to as the author's Beloved.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (booth 3438)
Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery - about conspiracy theories in 19th-century Europe.

HarperCollins (booth 3338-39)
Deborah Lawrenson, The Lantern - a modern gothic set in the south of France, and PW says there will be galleys everywhere.  Not historical, but anything remotely Thirteenth Tale/Kate Morton-ish is good enough for me.

Random House (booth 4617)
Charles Frazier, Nightwoods - literary fiction set in 1960s small town North Carolina.

Macmillan (booth 3352)
Yangzom Brauen, Across Many Mountains - an epic of three generations of Tibetan women in the mid-20th century.  Per her website, the author is an actress in theatre and film.  Giveaway at 9am on Wednesday 5/25.

Stella Tillyard, Tides of War - epic of Regency England, at 9am on Wednesday 5/25

Steve Sem-Sandberg, The Emperor of Lies - novel of the Lodz ghetto, at 10am on Wednesday 5/25

Spiegel & Grau (booth 4420)
Ellen Feldman, Next to Love - multi-generational epic about three young women and the men they're involved with, set during WWII.

Autographing

Tuesday, May 24th, 11-12, table 13
Alma Katsu, The Taker - see description above

Tuesday, 11-11:30, table 26
James R. Benn, A Mortal Terror, latest in his Billy Boyle WWII mystery series

Tuesday, 11:30-noon, table 4
Evan Fallenberg, When We Danced On Water - a famous Jewish choreographer, now aged, meets a younger woman whose presence brings back suppressed memories from his past.

Tuesday, 12-12:30, table 16
Thanhha Lai, Inside Out and Back Again - Vietnam-era YA fiction.


Tuesday, 1-2pm, table 24
Luis Alberto Urrea, Queen of America - sequel to the excellent The Hummingbird's Daughter, which is enough to make me want it.  Also a galley giveaway on Wednesday morning at booth 3620 (Hachette).

Tuesday, 2pm, as part of "Feminism in Fiction Today" panel
Julie Otsuka, The Buddha in the Attic - Japanese mail-order brides in 1900s San Francisco

Tuesday, 4-5pm, table 5
Ilsa J. Bick, Draw the Dark - WWII comes to small-town Wisconsin.

Wednesday, May 25, 10-10:30, table not given in schedule.
Maria Dahvana Headley, Queen of Kings - a supernatural version of Cleopatra's life.

Wednesday, 10-10:30, table 4
Barbara Reichmuth Geisler, In Vain - a medieval mystery, part of the Averillan Chronicles series.

Wednesday, 10-10:45, booth 4638
Deanna Raybourn, The Dark Enquiry - the latest in her Julia Grey mystery series.

Wednesday, 11:30-noon, table 18
Andi Rosenthal, The Bookseller's Sonnets - historical mystery spanning the Tudor era, Holocaust, and present day.

Wednesday, 12-12:30pm, table 22
Talia Carner, Jerusalem Maiden - a young woman in early 20th-c Jerusalem must choose between her religion and her dream.

Wednesday, 1pm, booth 4420 (Random House)
Esmeralda Santiago, Conquistadora - saga of 19th century Puerto Rico

Wednesday, 2:30pm, booth 3252 (Penguin)
Amor Towles, Rules of Civility - social mores in the 1930s

Wednesday, 3pm, booth 4420 (Random House)
Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus, details above.

Wednesday, 3-3:30pm, table 6
M.L. Malcolm, Heart of Deception - novel of espionage, and a father's love for his daughter, set in 1942.
A note from M.L:  As a thank you for all the support I’ve received from readers in the Blogsphere this year, I’d like to treat the first 25 Book Bloggers who come by my signing on Wednesday to a glass of wine at the Book Blogger Convention reception.  All they have to do is come by Table 6 at 3:00 on Wednesday, pick up a signed copy of “Heart of Deception,” give me a card with the name of their blog on it, and I’ll give them a ticket for a free libation when they come to the reception on Thursday.

Other Featured Books

These were in the Books@BEA catalog, which means they'll be featured at the show in some way - whether galleys will be available, I'm not sure, but I'll be asking about them (and others too).

Bloomsbury (booth 3358)
Victor Davis Hanson, The End of Sparta - epic of war and freedom in ancient Greece.

Farrar Straus & Giroux (booth 3352)
Amitav Ghosh, River of Smoke - 2nd in historical saga set against the Opium Wars in China and Mauritius in the mid-19th century.
Steve Sam-Sandberg, The Emperor of Lies - an international award-winning novel about the Jewish ghetto of Lodz during WWII, and its authoritarian ruler.

Henry Holt (booth 3352)
Stella Tillyard, Tides of War - novel of the Peninsular War, by a noted historian (Aristocrats).

Hyperion/Voice (booth 3324)
Margaret Leroy, The Soldier's Wife - WWII in Guernsey

Other Press (booth 4421)
John Thompson, The Reservoir - mystery set in Reconstruction-era Virginia.

Peachtree (booth 2955)
Krista Russell, Chasing the Nightbird - YA, historical shipboard adventure

Penguin (booth 3253)
Maile Maloy, The Apothecary - YA, Russian spies in 1952 London

Simon & Schuster (booth 3652-53)
Ursula Hegi, Children and Fire - lead-up to WWII in Germany