Category Archives: HISTORY

WHY A TOMATO IS NOT AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ANY HISTORICAL NOVEL

Posted on May 12, 2013 by

Looks harmless enough, doesn’t it? But Solanum lycopersicum could cost you readers. I got this the other day: “I started reading Silk Road a couple of days back and was enjoying it very much, just as I had enjoyed one … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY, WRITING | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

THE FACE THAT SUNK A THOUSAND SHIPS (WELL 3, ANYWAY.)

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

As any old sea dog will tell you, it’s unlucky to have a woman on board ship. (Unless the woman is naked, apparently. Sailors make up the best superstitions.) But in the case of Violet Jessop, you’d have to say … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

THE SONG OF BERNADETTE

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

155 years ago a peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous saw an apparition of the Madonna in a cave called the grotte de Massabielle. Since then the nearby town of Lourdes has grown into a major pilgrimage site for Catholics from … Continue reading →

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NOT TONIGHT, JOSEPHINE

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

“I awake full of you. Your image and the memory of last night’s intoxicating pleasures has left no rest to my senses.” Napoléon Bonaparte will be remembered as one of history’s greatest generals; yet the one victory that seemed always … Continue reading →

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IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS THE WYRD

Posted on April 22, 2013 by

You can call me weird. I really don’t mind. In fact if you said I was in the way of the Wyrd, about two thousand years ago, it would have been a huge compliment. It would mean I was – … Continue reading →

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A BETTER MAN: THE STORY BEHIND CHICAGO’S AIRPORT

Posted on April 19, 2013 by

On Wednesday, November 8, 1939, a 46 year old man left his office at Sportsman’s Park in Cicero, and drove away in a black 1939 Lincoln Zephyr coupe. At the intersection of Ogden and Rockwell, a dark sedan roared up … Continue reading →

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IS EVERYONE BORN WITH A SOUL?

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

So who is this in the photograph? Do you recognize the face? What a cute little baby! It’s someone very well known. Instantly recognizable as an adult, in fact. I’ll give you a clue. It’s a he. What do you … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 25 Comments

MAN WHO INVENTED THE SENSATIONAL HEADLINE DIES IN BIG DISASTER!!

Posted on April 12, 2013 by

One hundred and one years ago today, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic; on board was one of the greatest newspapermen of his age, and the most famous Englishman on the ship – William Thomas Stead. Who? You have … Continue reading →

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THE FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

Who was the first female Native American female president of the United States? (a) Pocahantas (b) Hiawatha (c) this is a trick question, isn’t it? If you answered (c) you’d be right. Because no, there has never been a female … Continue reading →

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THE TITANIC SINKS IN 1898! RICHARD PARKER EATEN TWICE!!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

You cannot use co-incidence in a novel. Not ever. Every writer is taught that, from Story Structure 101. Even back in Ancient Greece, when Horace was in short pants, the deus ex machina was the mark of the amateur. Yes, … Continue reading →

Posted in HISTORY | Tagged , , | 10 Comments