Boy With Wings is set mostly in northern Florida, where I’ve lived all my life, and as such I had some familiarity with the historical predicate of the story, but not all of it. I knew almost nothing about sideshows, or “freaks,” which necessitated quite a bit of research on the subjects.
People have asked where the idea to write the book came from, and I tell them that perhaps it was from attending the North Florida Fair as a child and seeing “The World’s Smallest Horse” or the “Wild Man from Borneo.” Somewhere along the way I saw the 1932 Tod Browning movie “Freaks,” and this spawned more interest. When I told my agent I was thinking of writing a novel that delved into this area, he asked if I’d read the novel Geek Love, which I hadn’t, and did. This spawned more research.
There are a number of books cataloguing human oddities that were helpful to bring an understanding of this arena, including Freak Babylon by Jack Hunter and American Sideshow by Marc Hartzman. Eventually I found the book Truevine, by Beth Macy, which sets forth the story of the albino brothers sold into the circus who became known as Eko and Iko, billed as sheep-headed wonders from Mars. I learned a lot from these books, including the fact that for some, including Eko and Iko, their lives became perhaps better than if they’d remained at home.
I also discovered the book Freaks, by Leslie Fiedler, an examination of what attracts us psychologically to human oddities, and the documentary “Sideshow: Alive on the Inside,” by Lynn Dougherty. One of the most insightful finds, though, was a biography of a gentleman named Ward Hall, who for fifty years ran sideshows across the United States. After my book was published, I did several appearances with the current sideshow performer Short E. Dangerously, who paid me one of the highest compliments a historical fiction writer can receive when he told me that I “nailed what it was like to be in a sideshow” and asked me about my research. When I told him about the Ward Hall book, he exclaimed: “I knew it! I was in a Ward Hall show for several years!”
I had a little general knowledge of turpentine camps, as I remember as a child passing rows of pine trees with little tin pans affixed to their trunks. The research in this area involved locating pamphlets and books describing such operations, and a visit to the Florida Forest Capital Museum State Park in Perry, Florida, where displays show how turpentine is extracted from trees and distilled.
Some have asked why I set the novel in the 1930s, and what I research I conducted regarding the Great Depression. I wanted the story to take place at a time things were changing, in some ways for the better and others ways not. By the 1930s, sideshows had seen their heyday and were starting to phase out. The South was still segregated, but cracks were beginning to show in that, too. In the book, I have the show admitting Blacks for the first time in an attempt to garner more revenue. I did quite a bit of research on places, events and language of the time, as I wanted the reader to feel like she or he was there, reading old newspapers, seeing small towns and their quaintness and prejudices, experiencing the people and their foibles that are in some ways not unlike those today. That’s to me what the best historical fiction accomplishes, and I hope I’ve come close to achieving it.
Here’s the blurb
“A brilliant fever dream of a novel, a haunting coming of age story reminiscent of both Franz Kafka and Charles Dickens.”
~ Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Jackal’s Mistress
*Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2025 First Place Winner*
What does it mean to be different?
When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs.
From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?
Following Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy With Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way-and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.
Mark Mustian is the author of the novels “The Return” and “The Gendarme,” the latter a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing. It won the Florida Gold Book Award for Fiction and has been published in ten languages.
The founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, his new novel, “Boy With Wings,” is out in 2025.
I’m delighted to welcome Janet Wertman and her new book, Nothing Proved, to the blog with a guest post.
Guest Post
Thank you for having me on your blog to talk about my historical research, though I feel a little guilty given how much more information I have available to me than you do! The Tudor Era really marks the beginning of careful documentation of the historical record – and it’s all carefully indexed. The touch of a button opens the records of the Privy Council, writings of ambassadors, details of state trials. I can examine floorplans of castles and paintings of gardens long gone, I can watch videos of hawking parties and court dances, listen to period music played on antique instruments. But that much bounty can actually be overwhelming, so I focus my research in predictable thematic waves to get the narrative where it needs to be.
As my very first step with a new story, I start with books, or rather, I have always started with books and I am working on a way to do so again. I lost some amazing volumes in the January fires – things like The Social History of Lighting, Lady Hoby’s Diary, Conyers Read’s two-volume biography of William Cecil, and a host of other biographies, all of which told slightly different versions of the history. That’s the toughest part about researching: the inconsistent reports, the unreliable biographers. Of course, that can also be a bit of a hall pass for an author!
Anyway, once I have an idea what my story will be, I start to assemble dates into a detailed timeline, cherry-picking the ones I intend to use or need to keep in mind, and jotting down notes. From that, I outline the actual novel, date-stamped to keep me honest. Then the writing, which sends me down mid-course rabbit holes for scene-level information: the where, the why, the time of day – and an understanding of the relevant political context: that’s where letters come in. Any letter will have something to recommend it, but ambassadors’ letters are usually a goldmine. When I was writing The Boy King, I happened upon one relating how Edward VI plucked a dead falcon as a warning to his Council…yes I used that. Did I know that a similar rumor once surrounded Charles V? Yes, but again, the source gave me a hall pass…
Beyond that comes the truly granular part of the research, taking me back to books and websites and everything in between. The descriptions of Elizabeth’s clothes and dresses were helped along by Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d, an amazing resource that assembles inventories of the Wardrobe of the Robes, descriptions of the royal artificers, the different fashion styles and fads, and so much more. Descriptions of small household furnishings were invented with reference to the New Year’s Gift Exchanges 1559-1603, another rabbit hole to mine. Of course, sometimes the warrens are empty. Back in The Path to Somerset, I needed to show Henry closeted at Oatlands after learning about Catherine Howard’s infidelities. I wanted to find the period equivalent of him sitting in his bathrobe eating ice cream from the tub. It was easy enough to find the sumptuary laws that justified a silk night robe with a black jennet lining…but apparently he would have been scooping whale blubber and that would have required too much explanation to use. Instead, I had to simply give him empty wine goblets and a tray of half-eaten food.
I will say, for the early part of Nothing Proved, I run into a bit of your problem (and the problem of any other writer of Saxon England): few sources that mention my main character, and none that really show her interacting with her closest friends…so my initial task was to cross-reference the official records of Elizabeth’s doings with those of the other people in her orbit and come up with the intersections that the story required. I knew that Robert Dudley was keeper of Somerset House while it was in her use, I knew that William Cecil began to work for her just a month after a significant wedding they both would have attended, and so I was able to capture the depth of their respective relationships. In the end, big and small all come together. That is the beauty of research done right.
Here’s the Blurb
Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…
Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.
After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage.
Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.
By day, Janet Wertman is a freelance grantwriter for impactful nonprofits. By night, she writes critically acclaimed, character-driven historical fiction – indulging a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she was eight years old and her parents let her stay up late to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.
Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.
Janet also runs a blog (www.janetwertman.com) where she posts interesting takes on the Tudors and what it’s like to write about them.
Evy Miller thinks a summer with her grandparents in sleepy Dorset will be painfully dull. Her suspicions are confirmed when Juby, a wild-haired, lanky old man, strolls through her grandparents’ doorway. At first, she thinks he’s nothing more than an odd duck who charms her grandmother and annoys her grandfather. The last thing she expects is to become his companion on visits to the small village of Rouklye, whose entire population was evicted during WWII. She has no idea that the reason for Juby’s visits will become a defining moment in her life and change her understanding of history and her own family forever.
MICHAEL LAWRENCE has written and published a great many books, but he’s done a few other too. For instance, after leaving art school he began training as a graphic designer in a London studio before morphing into a photographer. As a photographer he took pictures for advertising agencies, publishers and newspapers, of pop stars and politicians, of fashion models and underwear, and many other kinds of people and things besides. He also worked in a travelling circus for a little while, and has been an antiques dealer, co-owned two art galleries, and made hundreds of paintings, drawings and experimental digital images. One of his private joys is recording songs (many of which he’s written) under the alias Aldous U.
As a writer he’s won the odd award, had books translated into twenty or so languages (one of which – ‘Young Dracula’ – was the inspiration for five BBC-TV series), has shuffled onto stages at literary festivals, and been interviewed on TV and radio. ‘There’s more,’ he says, ‘but I don’t want to bore you. There’s a lot of me in the Rainey novels, but I’m not saying which bits.’
A gripping saga of courage, resilience and fractured dreams, set in Victorian London.
Life on the river has never been easy for Tilly and Sam, but through hard work and determination, they’ve built a home filled with love. Joey, Tilly’s eldest son, has lived between two worlds—cherished as her child but granted privileges, denied to her other children, through his wealthy birth father’s family. It’s a fine balance that has always held… until an incident at a glittering Celebration Ball shatters the fragile harmony.
Tilly fears the consequences, especially when her spirited, headstrong daughter Martha is involved. Martha has ideas of her own. How will she fare when she faces Joey’s entitled friends and their easy lives?
Disaster strikes Sam’s business, shaking the family’s foundation. Tilly’s worst fears come to life when Joey’s affluent relatives start making plans to reclaim him. Tilly is torn between fighting for her son and respecting his dreams.
As old wounds reopen and new temptations arise, Tilly must summon all her strength to keep her family together. But will love and loyalty be enough, or will the promise of wealth and comfort lure her children away forever?
A Powerful follow-up to The Water Gypsy. Perfect for fans of Anna Jacobs and Dilly Court
Kay Seeley is a talented storyteller and bestselling author. Her short stories have been published in women’s magazines and short-listed in competitions. Her novels had been finalists in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. She lives in London and loves its history. Her stories are well researched and beautifully written with compelling characters where love triumphs over adversity. Kay writes stories that will capture your heart and leave you wanting more. Often heart-wrenching but always satisfyingly uplifting, her books are perfect for fans of Anna Jacobs, Lesley Pearse and Josephine Cox.
Kay is a Member of The Alliance of Indie Authors and The Society of Women Writers and Journalists.
All her novels are available for Kindle, in paperback, audio and in Large Print
Giveaway to Win 3 x paperback copies of Troubled Times for Tilly by Kay Seeley (Open to UK only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
As winter draws to a close, something suspicious lurks outside the walls of Colmar.
Appel, Gritta, and Efi, the three alewives of Colmar, are enjoying a calm month of brewing and friendship after solving the deeply unsettling riddle of the severed hands. But peace is not destined to last for long. The disappearance of two novice monks in the care of Friar Wikerus spark tales of a supernatural beast on the loose, and when a lowly street sweeper is terrorized one night, fear stalks the town like a monster.
Theories of demons and beasts run wild. Could this foretell another great mortality like the one they only recently survived? Could it be an evil spirit sent to punish the wicked citizens of Colmar? The alewives would rather not involve themselves, but everything changes when a body turns up near their canal. The threat is too close to home to ignore. Once more, Appel, Gritta, and Efi must put their sleuthing skills to good use – while ensuring they don’t also fall prey to the supernatural menace.
Book 3 in the award-winning Alewives of Colmar mystery series, The Monstrous Murders is everything readers have come to expect; witty banter, deep friendship, twisty clues, and frothy brews.
It’s so good to be back with Efi, Appel and Gritta. And this time, they’re thrust into a most beguiling mystery, with missing shoes, missing novices, and, as usual, the men of the town are more likely to be sent running for the hills with fear than solve the mystery themselves. It’s a good job Efi, Appel, and Gritta are more curious than terrified, although they’re not without some worldly and otherworldly worries.
I’ve read all three books in The Alewives of Colmar series. They are delightful fun and a real treat for the reader. If you’ve not yet discovered Efi, Appel and Gritta and the charming town of Colmar then what are you waiting for?
Another five-star read for me. Bring on book 4 (no pressure, Elizabeth R Andersen:))
This, the fourth and final selection of stories, completes the Seasonal Paths series created by a consortium of best-selling and award-winning North Atlantic writers.
In this anthology you will encounter unintentioned consequences, love in later life, the pull of family dynamics, misguided assumptions and murderous soulmates.
These yarns will take you to new worlds, into a ghostly abyss, across an ocean in pursuit of truth and into the darkness of ancient beliefs.
Make yourself comfortable and surrender to these multi-styled tales, all linked by the theme of summer, within the covers of this book. You will be surprised and entertained by what you find.
Summer Paths is a diverse collection of short stories by various authors. They are all engaging and read really well. I don’t read a lot of short story collections but I always enjoy them when I do, which makes me think I should read more.
It’s fun to dip in and out of others’ worlds and I will be checking out the authors other works.
Meet the authors
Sandra Bunting’s publications include two books of short fiction, two poetry collections, a non-fiction book, besides articles, poems and stories in numerous literary magazines. Sandra is on the editorial board of the Irish-based literary magazine, Crannóg, and worked at NUI Galway where she set up the Academic Writing Centre and taught Creative Writing and TEFL teacher training. Now living in Atlantic Canada, she is a member of The Writers Union of Canada, New Brunswick Writers Federation, Words on Water Miramichi, the Grand Barachois group Women Who Write and the Galway Writers Workshop.
The youngest of eleven children, Pierre C. Arseneault grew up in the small town of Rogersville, New Brunswick. As a cartoonist, Pierre was published in over a dozen newspapers. As an author, he has six titles published so far: Dark Tales for Dark Nights (2013) Sleepless Nights (2014) Oakwood Island (2016) Poplar Falls – The Death of Charlie Baker (2019) Oakwood Island – The Awakening (2020) Maple Springs (2022)
Chuck Bowie studied Science at the University of New Brunswick, in Canada. His writing is influenced by the study of Human Nature and how people behave. He loves food, wine, music, and travel, and all play a role in his work. His latest novel is entitled Her Irish Boyfriend, fifth in the international thriller series Donovan: Thief 4 Hire. He has just completed the third novel in a new cozy mystery series: Old Manse Mysteries, set in a small Atlantic Canadian town. Chuck has sat on the Boards of The Writers’ Union of Canada and the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick. He is a Fellow of the Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts, and is an author of note with the Miramichi Literary Trail.
Steve C. Eston has been a lover of the fantastical and the scientific since he was a young boy. He wrote his first story by hand while still in elementary school a five-page story about a tiger-masked ninja — fighting mystical monsters that included his own illustrations. When not spending time with his family, Steve makes time for his numerous hobbies, which include reading (and hoarding) books, listening to music, playing video games, watching movies, making puzzles, and playing hockey and tennis. He also loves to travel and developed an obsession with New Zealand after traveling there in 2015.
Angela Wren is an actor and director at a theatre in Yorkshire, UK. An avid reader, she has always loved stories of any description. She writes the Jacques Forêt crime novels set in France and is a contributing author to the Miss Moonshine anthologies. Her short stories vary between romance, memoir, mystery and historical. Angela has had two one-act plays recorded for local radio.
Gianetta Murray has worked as a technical writer and librarian on two continents, writing everything from specifications to website, marketing, and newspaper copy. She was a Toastmaster county champion and won a Daniel Phelan writing award for a short story casting Peter Rabbit as St. Augustine. She moved from Silicon Valley to England two decades ago after marrying a Brit, and has stories in multiple anthologies as well as having published a collection of humorous paranormal stories (A Supernatural Shindig) and the first of her Vivien Brandt cozy mystery series, Moved to Murder.
Eden Monroe loves giving voice to the endless parade of interesting characters who introduce themselves in her imagination. In her novels she writes about real life, real issues and struggles, and triumphing against all odds. In her short stories she likes to color outside the lines. A proud east coast Canadian, she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, and a good book.
Growing up in South Branch, Allan Hudson was encouraged to read from an early age by his mother who was a schoolteacher. He lives in Dieppe, NB, with his wife Gloria. He has enjoyed a lifetime of adventure, travel and uses the many experiences as ideas for his writing. He is an author of action/adventure novels, historical fiction and a short story collection. His short stories – The Ship Breakers & In the Abyss – received Honorable Mention in the New Brunswick Writer s Federation ’ competition. He has stories published on commuterlit.com, The Golden Ratio and his blog – South Branch Scribbler.
Angella Cormier grew up in Saint Antoine, a small town in south east New Brunswick, Canada. This is where her love of reading and writing was born. Her curious nature about everything mysterious and paranormal helped carve the inspiration for her passion of writing horror and mystery stories. She is also a published poet, balancing out her writing to express herself in these two very opposing genres. Previous titles include: Oakwood Island – The Awakening (2020), Oakwood Island (2016), A Maiden s Perception – A collection of ’ thoughts, reflections and poetry (2015) and Dark Tales for Dark Nights (2013, written as Angella Jacob).
I’m delighted to welcome Wendy J.Dunn and her new book, Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Katherine of Aragon Story, to the blog with a snippet.
Snippet
Furious, Ahmed bounded up from the cushions and stood over her. “Why doesn’t she write and tell me that now? My father writes to me but my mother, never.”
Beatriz bent towards him. “My prince, your father always writes a message from your mother.”
Sitting again beside her, Ahmed’s lower lip trembled. “A few words – that the king, my father, includes for her.”
Gathering her thoughts, Beatriz gazed at the book on her lap before eyeing Ahmed again. “Your mother would write if she was able. Do not fall into the mistake of believing what you see at Queen Isabel’s court is the same elsewhere. Dear prince, not all women know how to write.”
From The Duty of Daughters
Here’s the Blurb
In the Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology, readers are transported to the rich historical tapestry of 15th and 16th-century Europe, where the lives of remarkable women unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval and personal struggles.
In the first book, beginning in 1490 Castile, Doña Beatriz Galindo, a passionate and respected scholar, serves as an advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile. Beatriz yearns for a life beyond the constraints imposed on women, desiring to control her own destiny. As she witnesses the Holy War led by Queen Isabel and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, Beatriz dedicates herself to guiding Queen Isabel’s youngest child, Catalina of Aragon, on her own path. Beatriz’s role as a tutor and advisor becomes instrumental in shaping Catalina’s future as she prepares to become England’s queen.
Fast forward to the winter of 1539 in the second book, where María de Salinas, a dear friend and cousin of Catalina (now known as Katherine of Aragon), pens a heartfelt letter to her daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk. Unable to make the journey from her London home due to illness, María shares her life story, intricately woven with her experiences alongside Catalina. Their friendship has endured through exile and tumultuous times. María seeks to shed light for her daughter on the choices she has made in a story exploring themes of friendship, betrayal, hatred, and forgiveness. Through María’s narrative, the eternal question Will love ultimately triumph?
Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder.
Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.
I’m delighted to welcome Linnea Tanner and her audiobook, Apollo’s Raven, to the blog #HistoricalFantasy #HistoricalFiction #Rome #Britannia #CelticMyths #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
I’m delighted to welcome Linnea Tanner and her audiobook, Apollo’s Raven, Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series, to the blog with a book trailer.
Book Trailer
Here’s the Blurb
A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.
AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him.
The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and that her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father’s enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.
Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse? Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?
Praise:
“Mystery and intrigue with each word, Tanner is a master wordsmith. Her vivid imagery and imagination are captured in her story and character development.” ~ The Audiobook Reviewer
” Many surprising twists enrich the historically drawn plot. Points of view shift between different characters effectively, heightening the tension from one moment to the next.” ~ Historical Novel Society Review
A winner will be chosen at random and announced after the tour has finished.
Meet the Author
Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.
A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
I’m sharing my review for The Girls Who Dared to Love by Diney Costeloe #blogtour #newrelease #historicalromance @rararesrources
Here’s the blurb
Three girls seem to have the world at their feet in the summer of 1914. But World War I is coming and things will change forever – especially for women.
Debutante Lucinda McFarlane is engaged to be married to Major Sir David Melcome, but their society wedding has to be scaled right down when war is declared and David is recalled to his regiment.
Mabel Oakley, once a maid for the McFarlanes, has inherited Thomas Clarke’s printing works, but an unexpected turn of events leaves her at the mercy of her father’s old enemy, solicitor John Sheridan. What can she do?
Lady Diana Fosse-Bury is incredibly beautiful and reckless. When war is declared she immediately wants to be in the thick of it. Can her budding romance with Lucinda McFarlane’s brother Iain survive the Western front?
With war coming, the destinies of these three girls will soon be entwined forever, but only if they dare to love in the face of the dangers ahead of them.
The Girls Who Dared to Love is a story of three young women at the start of World War 1, all with different intentions in life.
We first meet Lucinda and follow her marriage to Sir David. The storyline then intermingles with feisty Mabel before Diana makes an appearance. We follow the many intricacies and minutiae of their lives as the threat of war begins to build. Then it starts, complete with the oft-repeated phrase that it would all be over by Christmas 1914, which adds poignancy to their stories.
While the writing style isn’t one I favour (as the chapters aren’t character-specific), I found the storyline engaging and was certainly rooting for Mabel, who perhaps, as the working-class member of the cast, has the biggest fight of all on her hands.
A charming novel, sure to appeal to fans of the genre, and those with an interest in women’s lives during the First World War.
Meet the author
Diney Costeloe is the author of twenty-four novels, including The Girls Who Dared to Dream, several short stories, and many articles and poems. She has three children and seven grandchildren, so when she isn’t writing, she’s busy with family.
In this post, I’m going to share something of what I’ve learned about the life of medieval nuns, and the other people who lived and/or worked in or for the priory. To paint a picture of how life might have been for Sister Rosa and her sister nuns, I’ve drawn heavily upon a book written in the 1920s by a medieval historian, Eileen Power: Medieval English Nunneries.
A nunnery – even a relatively small one like my fictional Northwick Priory – was a community, including not only avowed nuns, but also novices (children or adults) and servants. Depending upon the size of the priory, there could be a large domestic staff, easily outnumbering the nuns themselves. There would be household maids, and some of the senior nuns (especially in a wealthy nunnery) might have personal maids, although in Northwick, only the prioress has such a maid. Other staff could include both men and women: for example, the cook(s) and kitchen servants, workers for the brewery, bakery and dairy (milking cows, making butter and cheese), the laundry and in the kitchen garden (potager).
I imagine most of the servants probably lived in the nearby village. Outside the priory itself, there would be an estate – the manor(s) owned by the priory – with a home farm. To run the estate and farm required a number of secular officials (typically all men).
The steward was often an honorary position, held by a local gentleman – or even a nobleman if the nunnery was high status. He’d oversee and make decisions about the nunnery’s properties, including the lands, buildings and livestock, although he’d have other officials working under him, such as the bailiff and the reeve. He’d also liaise with those nuns whose roles involved some form of property management, such as the sacrist and the cellaress, and of course the treasuress, and the prioress herself.
The bailiff was to some extent the farm manager, but might also help the nuns acquire supplies, if they had to be purchased some distance away. As on secular manors, there would be other farm officials, like the reeve, and all the usual workers: ploughmen, cowherds, swineherds and shepherds, carters, and general labourers. Also, of course, craftsmen such as carpenters and masons would be needed when the buildings required repairs or new work was planned, and, if the priory kept its own horses and vehicles, a blacksmith or wheelwright too. All such workers would probably be employed from the nearest village.
The priory itself, of course, even if it was comparatively small, had to be managed, just like any business or institution, and the nuns themselves undertook most of this administrative work.
One important aspect of their daily lives that nuns couldn’t undertake themselves was that part of their religious practice that demanded the services of an ordained priest. Nuns could conduct services but could neither hear confession nor administer the sacraments, and so had to have at least one chaplain, who might have his lodgings within the priory’s grounds (but outside the nuns’ quarters).
At the top of the administrative hierarchy was the prioress, essentially the CEO or chairman, supervising the work of senior nuns, and chairing daily meetings in the chapter house, where all nuns gathered to discuss day-to-day concerns and make joint decisions. The prioress was also, in principle, the person who liaised with important people outside the priory, including the bishop.
There might also be a subprioress, but reporting to the prioress were “obedientiaries”, senior nuns who held particular positions of responsibility. In a relatively small priory like Northwick, nearly every nun would have such a position, to enable all the work to be done.
After the prioress, I imagine the treasuress was the next most important person in the priory. Larger priories might have more than one treasuress. Her job was to receive and record all income and manage all expenditure. It must surely have been a demanding job, especially when one considers that she was managing the finances not just of the priory itself but also the home farm and estate.
I also feel that the job of the cellaress must have been quite onerous, being responsible for providing food for the nuns and the domestic servants, and usually overseeing the management of the home farm. The cellaress had to ensure that the nunnery had constant and adequate stores of food and drink, no simple task in the days before refrigeration. Some supplies came from the home farm, the rest bought in. I think the cellaress would manage the priory’s gardens, where vegetables and fruit and herbs would be grown, presumably employing a number of gardeners to do the work.
Two obedientiaries reported to the cellaress: the kitcheness and the fratress.
The kitcheness supervised the work of the kitchen, managing the kitchen staff, who were mostly lay people, not nuns, and could be both men and women. The cellaress made sure food was supplied but ensuring meals were prepared fell to the kitcheness, although she was unlikely to do much, if any, of the cooking herself. The fratress, unsurprisingly, was in charge of the frater, the dining hall. She ensured the tables and benches or stools were kept in good repair, looked after table linen and dishes, and supervised the servants who served the meals.
Thesacrist took care of the church building, arranging for any repairs or works, and looked after the valuable church plate, vestments and altar cloths. She also had to provide lighting for both the church and the priory itself, buying the wax, tallow and wicks and arranging for candles to be made, often by a local candle-maker. At Northwick, I have the sacrist also caring for the priory buildings, as well as the church. If repairs were needed, she would have worked closely with lay people from outside the priory, such as the steward. Finally, it was the sacrist’s job to ensure that the bell was rung for chapel services and meals.
The chambress wasin charge of everything to do with the nuns’ clothes and bedding, buying cloth, employing seamstresses to make up garments, sheets, and blankets, and ensuring it was all kept clean and in good repair.
There were two “care-giving” roles: the infirmaress and the almoness. The nun in charge of the sick in the infirmary was the infirmaress. She would care directly for the patients, presumably with the help of servants. She provided food, drink and medicine, and treated wounds, sometimes at the behest of a physician, but perhaps preparing some medicines herself. The infirmary was generally a separate building from the priory, to avoid the spread of infection. Thealmonesswas responsible for giving help to the poor and sick who lived in the community around the priory. The giving of alms – typically food, clothing or money – was a most important part of a nunnery’s function.
The chantress or precentrix ensured the chapel services and offices ran smoothly and reverentially. She trained the novices in singing and led the sisters in the psalms and hymns during services. The mistress of the novices acted as schoolmistress to the novices, teaching them all they needed to know in order to become nuns, and supervising their general behaviour.If the nunnery had a school for local children – which Northwick doesn’t – the mistress of the novices would usually be in charge of that as well.
It’s clear that many of the nuns who held these, sometimes onerous, positions were women of great skill and competence. The tasks of the treasuress and the cellaress, for example, were surely quite demanding, and required at the very least an ability to read and write and manage accounts, for which one presumes they received no training but rather learned “on the job”. I feel they should be much admired!
Here’s the blurb
How can you rescue what you hold most dear, when to do so you must break your vows?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing Northwick: from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Meet the author
CAROLYN HUGHES has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.
Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!
Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England… Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she could learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.
Seven published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…
MJ Porter 