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.
As I continue to trace my characters’ journeys, I discover new places or interesting new things about places I thought I knew—including the Netherlands.
Since many of us are limited in our travels now, it’s a perfect time to travel back in time to experience life in this part of the world in the late sixteenth century.
I’m highlighting a historical novel with a history of its own:
The Dove and the Rose was written more than two decades ago by Ethel Herr, one of my early fiction mentors. I recently re-read this novel, whose success inspired me to write historical fiction dealing with the consequences of the Protestant Reformation in an often-overlooked part of Europe—in this case, the Netherlands.
Although romance is an important aspect of this story, the historical context is key to understanding the struggles of the main characters. The author does a commendable job of providing background information (maps, historical background, a glossary of Dutch terms).
Central to the plot are the many competing expressions of Christianity in the late 1500s. Conflicts between these groups escalated as rulers at all levels became involved. Often, common people suffered most.
This novel doesn’t sugarcoat the suffering produced by these conflicts, but it left me admiring the heroism of several characters (even though they were complex, flawed people). I enjoyed the story and being transported to this unfamiliar setting—an engaging, off-the-beaten-track read.
Do you have a hidden gem historical novel to recommend to other readers?
First voyage around the World, by Antonio Pigafetta
Imagine you lived in the 16th century and dreamed of seeing new sights—just like we do today, especially if we’ve spent more time at home than we’d have preferred.
If you were a 16th-century European, how would you learn about distant places?
While we can look online or browse books, photos, or films to find out what we’re likely to experience, our ancestors had few options:
Fortunate listeners at a village inn might hear stories from returned travelers
Literate people might have access to guides for pilgrims—to places like the Holy Land, Greek holy sites, or the Spanish pilgrim route to the shrine of St. James
Only the most privileged and rich (kings, popes, and their associates) had access to travelers’ journals (described below)
Why did people travel?
Merchants, explorers, diplomats, soldiers, pilgrims, and missionaries — all needed to travel to succeed in their careers and religious callings
What appealed to readers about travel writing?
Wonderful, terrible, or amazing new information about the sights and peoples of the world stimulated people’s curiosity, spirit of adventure, quest for riches, and religious passion, and also allowed people to travel vicariously from the safety of their homes.
What did they learn? A few highlights from this vast genre:
Kublai Khan meeting Marco Polo
Marco Polo—the son of a Venetian merchant, his Book of the Marvels of the World described his travels through Asia between 1271 and 1295, and his experiences at the court of Kublai Khan. Even though this book had to be hand-copied (no printing press yet!), it became wildly popular. His description of Japan provided a goal for Columbus in his 1492 journey; his identification of spice-producing areas encouraged Western merchants’ new ventures; European explorers of the late 15th and the 16th centuries used the abundant new geographic information he recorded during their voyages of discovery.
Christopher Columbus—after his (1492) first voyage to the West Indies, he wrote a letter to King Ferdinand of Spain describing the wonders of the island he called Hispana: many great rivers and high, beautiful mountains; many trees bearing fruit; full of spices, cotton, aloe-wood, gold, and metals (except iron). Inhabitants were fearful, reverent, and friendly, and open to conversion to Christianity
Niccolò de’ Conti (1395–1469)–an Italian merchant, he explored India, China and Indonesia from 1419 to 1444. He wrote an account of his travels, including details about the Spice Islands, huge ships (1000-2000 tons) built in Asia, and confirmed it was possible to sail around the tip of Africa.
Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1491 – c. 1531)–a Venetian explorer who traveled with Magellan in the first circumnavigation of the globe. He wrote Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524) (The First voyage Around the World). Of the two hundred thirty-seven men who left Spain, he was one of only eighteen who returned. His account mentions:sharks, fierce storms, cannibals, giants, near starvation, wild boars, crocodiles; execution, robbery by natives, near drowning, and the killing of Magellan in 1521 by islanders of Matan.
Giovanni Battista Ramusio (1485–1557)–a Venetian geographer, he didn’t travel widely but compiledNavigationi et Viaggi (“Navigations and Travels”) (1555-1559),a large collection of explorers’ first-hand accounts of their travels around the world, the first one of its kind. They were translated into Italian from Spanish, French, and Latin, plus some from works never before published.
Religious pilgrims wrote guides tothe Holy Land and Greek pilgrimage sites
Missionaries wrote about lands they visited
Which of these accounts would have motivated you to travel?
Would you have wanted to travel if your options were ships, horses, mules, camels?
How about if you had no resources but your own two feet?
Would you have risked attacks by robbers or pirates along the way?
These brief examples reveal that however enticing travel seemed, it was difficult for most people in the 16th century. As I research my characters’ travel options for my upcoming novel, I constantly admire the courage and strength of people who lived 500 years ago.
Have you recently wished you could get away and see a new or faraway place? What inspired you to visit?
