Shipwreck on Écréhous
A chapter from ‘Greet Suzon for me’ This draft of chapter 22 contains some drama, a style of prose I’m not good at. I’d appreciate any feedback – harsh or complimentary – to help me improve it.
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The Edict of Nantes
In the sixteenth century, France witnessed decades of strife between the established Catholic Church and the new Huguenot believers, followers of John Calvin’s Protestant doctrine. These culminated in a series of massacres in many parts of the country. The most horrible became known as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572, at which thousands of…
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Why I can’t believe in No God
A day trip to see an exhibition about evolution in a local natural history museum! The school class I assist was excited. Preliminary documentation showed that the displays were very well designed. Going round in groups, the children had to find the answers to questions about fossils, the emergence of different species, the demise of…
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Dramatic tension as the storm brews
Before The Storm 1685 by Paul C. R. Monk – an object lesson in creative historical fiction writing This free novella covers the same dramatic events as my work-in-progress, Gédéon. In my opinion, Paul C. R. Monk has not only written a captivating prequel to his trilogy, The Huguenot Chronicles but presents a masterpiece in regard…
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Slander – an odious sin
Even in a time of great persecution under Louis XIV, most Huguenots in France were primarily concerned for their personal holiness in the eyes of God, rather than to fight for their rights. This is illustrated by the following imagined secret evening culte in a private home, based on a genuine sermon preached in Castres…
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A New Home?
How do refugee families settle in their adopted country? Recently the BBC published a moving report about nine-year-old Rouaa from a Syrian refugee family. They had fled their home after a chemical attack and lived for several years in a camp in Lebanon. Now the UK has granted them asylum. For several years, I have…
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Hagia Sophia to become a mosque – again
Turkish President Erdogan has announced Hagia Sophia will revert to being a mosque, with Muslim prayers to be held there again from July 24 2020. Origins The Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul was not named after a female saint; the name means Holy Wisdom – a reference to Jesus, the Wisdom of God – and…
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A Night in the Forest
This is a sample chapter from my work-in-progress: Gédéon. Madeleine d’Albert “Get out of sight, Madeleine!” Papa’s voice roused me from my slumber. A cry escaped my lips as my head jerked up and struck a brass knob on Maman’s escritoire. Papa was quick to push back into place the tiny drawer that had opened…
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Seventeenth Century France and the Huguenots
Here are some books I found to help with research on my next novel, Gédéon. Click on the images for my full reviews. True to Her Faith by Harriet Gabourel I bought this book mainly because of the subtitle: A Story of France in the Time of the Huguenots. That was the subject of interest…
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Not quite as old as Silvanus’ map
This is a copper engraving by the Dutch artists Willem Janszoon and Joan Blaeu, based on Giovanni Antonio Magini’s original of 1598. Many thanks to Paolo Ferruzzi, who keeps this map in his Academy of Works of Art in Poggio. Funnily enough, Silvanus’ map, though less elaborate, looks far more accurate to the modern eye.
