Sometimes the unlikeliest people rise to the moment and surprise the world with their heroism, whether it’s
a Hebrew shepherd boy named David whose only weapons are a sling and stones
a mild-mannered newspaper reporter named Clark Kent
or a comedian-turned-president of a threatened nation
This month, we focus on one such unlikely scientific hero: Rosalind Franklin, an early-20th century British biochemist.
Her passion for science led her down a challenging and improbable path for a woman in that time.
Her research in France and England led to groundbreaking discoveries in science and medicine:
DNA (brought revolutionary advances in understanding disease pathways and genetic disorders, as well as the formulation of new drugs)
RNA (brought great advances in understanding viruses blighting agricultural crops, as well as the virus that causes polio)
What inspired me, a non-scientist, to read Her Hidden Genius, Marie Benedict’s fictionalized account of Rosalind Franklin’s life and scientific career?
Rosalind Franklin was an underdog—a woman forging a scientific career in an era when society and her family pressured her to choose a more traditional, family-oriented life
Her perseverance, work ethic, and scientific rigor, in spite of the skepticism she faced as a woman scientist in her era
Author Marie Benedict maintains an even-handed perspective on Rosalind and the controversy relating to other scientists’ use of her findings without giving her credit. Other writers have portrayed Rosalind either in a negative light or as a saint.
Her conflicts with others revealed hercore principles
Well-painted settings, in Paris and London
A well-written story that humanized Rosalind and held my interest
Strong characters:
Heroes of the story were Rosalind and the men and women who supported her in her life and the race to map the structure of DNA.
The scientists and family members who treated her badly came across as villains. Their attitudes and behavior weren’t uncommon in that era, but still shocked me.
Fyi for this novel:
You’ll encounter basic scientific explanations of Rosalind Franklin’s projects, since science played such a big role in her life
Content Rating—mild + for brief kissing
My recommendation:
If you enjoy a story that immerses you in an earlier time period, takes you inside the main character’s psyche so you experience the highs and lows of her emotions and life, and if you have at least a passing interest in how science progressed, Her Hidden Genius is a book for you.
What would you do if you were a David in a small nation, facing down a Goliath, a giant enemy who appeared to be coming to destroy your town and kill everyone you loved?
Would you try to reason with him, run, hide, or fight?
The Dutch people confronted this dilemma in the last half of the 1500s:
Many of the Dutch had left the Roman Church. Now they followed the teachings of Jean Calvin. They were desperate to keep their freedoms—religious and political.
Emperor Charles V, the Dutch ruler, didn’t interfere with their religious diversity
When Philip II, Charles’s son and a fanatical member of the Roman Church, took overin 1555, he showed the Dutch no tolerance and sent in Spanish troops to consolidate his power.
How did the Dutch respond?
Depending on their ages, occupations, and religions:
Some tried to negotiate with the Spanish
Some fled as Spanish armies approached
Some fought, on land or sea
Dutch Sea beggars were viewed by some as patriots, by others as pirates, and yet by others as a combination of both (similar to Francis Drake in England).
This month I discuss Cecelia’s novel, Sea Beggars. It not only entertains but can help us reflect on how such choices impact the lives of individuals and nations.
Readers, what would you have done? Would you judge the characters as heroes or villains?
Were the Sea Beggars brave freedom fighters or evil pirates? The answer to this question will determine if you view this novel’s characters as heroes or villains.
This novel immediately sets readers in the midst of big trouble, as the vastly under-armed Dutch struggle for independence from the Western world’s dominant military power, Spain, and its ally, the Roman Church.
What’s the magic of this story? Author Cecelia Holland skillfully portrays how ordinary people cope with war’s brutal consequences—in this case, how Spain’s domination dramatically changes the lives of the (fictional) van Cleef family members, each in a unique way. The story follows and builds upon each character’s journey through the tumultuous era.
In particular, the transformation of the youthful characters especially kept me hooked—the daughter, Hanneke, a bright girl who chafes at the restrictions she faces due to her gender, and the son, Jan, who rebels against his father’s approach to life, viewing it as too conservative. I found this novel hard to put down as I became invested in the characters’ fates.
I recommend Sea Beggars to readers who enjoy a well-crafted historical novel with lots of action, accurate to history (except when noted), with period details, and don’t mind some battle scenes, violence, and a bit of sex (all true to the era).
We love to read novels that keep us turning pages, but what keeps you reading? Maybe it’s:
A hero/heroine you identify with and root for
A villain you love to hate
An historical personality (king, queen, pope, rebel) you enjoy observing ‘in action’
But how often does technology drive a novel’s plot, influence the story’s winners and losers, and keep us on the edge of our seats?
Maybe you’ve read a fascinating novel or seen a movie with a plot involving technology, such as:
Enigma encryption device used by Germany (and decrypted by Britain and its allies) during World War II
Wright brothers’ airplane (1903)
Printing press (1440)
Oil painting (~1410)
Compass (in wide use by 1300s)
Magnifying lenses (1200s for weak-sighted, 1500s-1600s for microscopes and telescopes)
Recently, I discovered a fascinating new novel set in the reign of England’s Henry VIII, in which new cannons designed in Italy played a central role in the plot.
King Henry VIII of England orders a new type of Italian cannon to protect his life, family, and reign. Although this novel’s premise may sound dry and technical, it develops into an intriguing plot.
The story is told from the point of view of the heroine, a young Italian woman who accompanies the cannons to England. She turns out to be a sharp-eyed sleuth who turns her attention to a mystery that proves key to Henry’s reign.
Along the way, I learned more about the motivations of Henry’s enemies, both domestic and foreign, who sought to destroy him.
The author’s well-developed portrayal of Katherine of Aragon especially intrigued me—a marked contrast from common stereotypes about her.
An interesting and enjoyable read!
Readers, please share your favorite novels involving a technological innovation!
Lucia, my protagonist, is approaching the end of her next adventure. Along the way, I’ve discovered stories from history that came to life as I read them.
This month, I’ll highlight two fascinating stories:
Fontevraud (English spelling, Fontevrault) is a French Benedictine abbey two and a half miles south of the Loire River, in a wooded valley in the province of Anjou.
Although it contained both male and female Benedictine monastic communities,
the men labored to serve the spiritual and material needs of the women
the women lived a silent life of contemplation
A woman (the abbess) was always in charge of the entire abbey (including the men), overseeing renovation and construction over the centuries.
French kings and queens supported the abbey’s construction projects, including:
Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine
Louis XV, whose three youngest daughters were educated at the abbey (after a new complex was built with apartments, chapels, gardens, and an orangerie).
If Queen Elizabeth wanted to ally England and Russia against Spain and the Roman Church, how could she do it? This fascinating adventure story imagines how a betrothal locket delivered to Tsar Ivan the Terrible could lead to a marriage and an alliance.
A suspenseful novel, The Tsar’s Locketis filled with rich descriptions of costumes, scenery, buildings and interiors. It offers a window into travel from England to Russia, and throws readers into the dangerous, violent world of spies and conflicts between nations and faiths in the Elizabethan era.
The main characters offer insights into how different life could be in England for people at this time, depending on one’s place in society. I enjoyed observing how the events of the story changed them.
Note to readers: Romance is also an important element of The Tsar’s Locket. Most of the novel is written at a PG-13 level, but it also contains a small amount of non-graphic sex.
Topics off the beaten track intrigue me, and a new novel, Black Mountain, fits the bill for its location as well as the story. Here’s why I enjoyed it:
It took place mainly in rural Wales (not London, Paris, Rome…)
Set in the early phase of the Reformation in England, it focused not on Henry VIII or his court, but on how King Henry’s Reformation affected the lives of common people
The protagonist was a witch
The suspense propelled me
The characters are well-drawn and unique
The author, Leanne Hardy, was kind enough to answer a few questions about her story, and my interview with her follows.
Black Mountain is the third book in your Glastonbury Grail series. Does this novel work well as a stand-alone, or do you recommend reading Glastonbury Tor and Honddu Vale first? Leanne Hardy: Readers of the first two books will enjoy becoming reacquainted with old friends, but Black Mountain works fine even if you jump in here.
What led you to sixteenth-century Wales as the main setting for this novel? LH: It started with visiting the museum at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England, and learning about the dramatic events surrounding the closure of the abbey in 1539 under King Henry VIII. That became the setting for Glastonbury Tor. At the end of that book my main character, Colin, returns to his home in Wales, and the other books follow from there.
Major changes were going on in the world during the era of this novel. How did these changes impact the lives of peasants, nobles, and clergy in your story? LH: You’re right; the changes were revolutionary. Most of the books I have seen set at this time concern themselves with events at court, including Henry’s multiple marriages. (Wolf Hall, The Other Boleyn Girl, etc) I was more interested in ordinary people.
This is thetime of the early English Reformation, and the lines between Catholic and Protestant were not yet clearly drawn. Good people on both sides sincerely sought God; corrupt people on both sides took advantage of unrest for personal gain—not the least of which was Henry himself, who was more interested in justifying his divorce of Queen Katherine, who had failed to give him a son, than he was in biblical doctrine.
Henry closed down all the monasteries and appropriated their wealth for the crown, more accurately, he squandered it to win friends. Those monasteries ran the soup kitchens and travelers’ lodgings of the time. And now they were gone.
Peasants were expected to follow the lead of “their betters.” Owning a copy of William Tyndale’s English translation of the Bible could draw severe punishment, even death. As one of my readers of Glastonbury Tor commented, “It sounds like a police state!” It was.
Which historical figures did you include in your novel? LH:Henry VIII, of course, although he never appears in person. Throughout the trilogy characters make reference to various historical characters and events at court. Those are “current events” for them. The officials Henry sent to dissolve the abbey in Glastonbury Tor are historical. I used the names of actual monks who were there at the time, including those who were arrested at the end. But the personalities I gave them were entirely fictitious, and by the time I got to Black Mountain all the characters were invented, although they seemed very real to me.
Where did you discover the details of life in this time? LH: Thanks to inter-library loan, I read more than thirty books about the time, the setting, life in monasteries, etc. Even so, after the first book was published, I discovered information that revealed a geographical error that I had no choice but to carry over to future books.
The second book in the series was set in Wales. I was frustrated that all the books I found in the US lumped Wales in with England after the conquest in the thirteenth century. I was pretty sure the Welsh did not all instantly think like Englishmen.
When I traveled to Wales for research and stayed with college students in Cardiff (fabulous experience!), they arranged a library card I could use. The Cardiff library had two bookcases full of books on Wales from the Welsh point-of-view! Before I came home, I bought the history written by a raving Welsh nationalist. I figured he would give me the best perspective on how my characters would really feel.
By the time I started Black Mountain, I had a pretty good handle on sixteenth-century life in Britain, but when my beta readers asked for more information on Teg’s journey, I had to do a lot of digging about the places and cultures she passed through. Fortunately, the most significant were places I had visited and knew something about already.
What were the most challenging aspects of writing this novel? LH: When I started, I was unsure about attempting to write first person of two different points-of-view, but then I realized that a bitter old woman and a blooming bride were enough different that it was worth a try. I think it worked. Other than that, the most challenging aspect was sticking with it through years of interruptions and distractions.
What did you enjoy about writing this novel? LH: The surprises. By this time I knew my characters pretty well. They directed where the story should go, and that is always so much fun.
What do you hope readers will take away after reading Black Mountain? LH: Teg thinks she knows what Christianity is about. After all, her father was a priest and prior of the local abbey. (Yes, you read that correctly.) She is bitter and wants nothing to do with the church, but she has never met Jesus Christ, the owner of the mysterious cup whose power she wants to control. My hope is that readers will put aside what they think they know and meet Jesus.
Readers, I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey to 16th-century Wales! Can you share an experience or knowledge of Wales?
What
if
the Spanish Armada had invaded England in 1588?
If Spain had conquered England
and deposed Queen Elizabeth I, our lives would surely be different today:
The Protestant Reformation probably wouldn’t have
endured
Spanish explorers would have claimed much more of
the world for Spain
Science, philosophy, and literature would have
developed very differently.
Many people credit Sir Francis Drake with defeating the Spanish Armada. But without ordinary people, Drake couldn’t have succeeded. How did ordinary people help ?
Spies (often civilians in the right place at the right time) passed on important military information to England, and codebreakers interpreted it.
Merchants and even pirates supplied 192 of the 226 ships the British navy assembled to face the Spanish Armada in 1588—only 34 ships belonged to Queen Elizabeth I. Civilian ships carried supplies and troops, as well as battling to defend themselves or others.
Shipbuilders (shipwrights) designed and built ships that could function both to carry cargo and defend themselves or battle hostile ships.
Even
after the defeat of the Armada, England still faced danger.
Here’s a dramatic true example of the power of an ordinary person in England in the early 1600s:
One lit fuse could blow up a king and all his Parliament members. BUT one brave man could save all those lives by speaking up about a letter he received.
This was the Gunpowder Plot, which took place in England in 1605. Religious divisions had fractured the English nation for decades, and now a group of unhappy Catholics wanted to rid England of King James I.
One of the plotters—his identity is still debated—wanted to protect his friend, Lord Monteagle, who would normally attend Parliament meetings. The plotter sent Monteagle a letter warning him to stay far away on November 5th, because Parliament would receive “a terrible blow.”
Letter to Monteagle
Lord
Monteagle took the letter to Robert Cecil, England’s Secretary of State, who instructed
his officers to search the upper and lower levels of the House of Lords.
On November 4th, the night before King James and Parliament gathered, Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellar of the House of Lords with barrels of gunpowder and fuses—just in time to prevent the plot from succeeding!
One man’s courage and effort saved King James I and many others.
What examples can you share of other situations where ordinary people changed the course of history?
