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any historical personages you wish had fiction composed about them

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Russ Whitfield
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Post by Russ Whitfield » Sun August 29th, 2010, 8:23 am

We've got Sharpe, Hornblower, Kent, Bolitho(s) and Scarrows "Revolution" quartet.

Yet I've not seen any recent historical fiction about Lord Nelson in the Scarrow/Cornwell corking action adventure vein.

M.M. Bennetts

Post by M.M. Bennetts » Sun August 29th, 2010, 10:03 am

[quote=""Russ Whitfield""]We've got Sharpe, Hornblower, Kent, Bolitho(s) and Scarrows "Revolution" quartet.

Yet I've not seen any recent historical fiction about Lord Nelson in the Scarrow/Cornwell corking action adventure vein.[/quote]

There's also nothing from the Russian point of view, except for War and Peace, and given that the Russian army was vital in the destruction of the French Empire--particularly the flying squadrons under people like Chernyshev were tremendous in harrying the French through 1812-1814--our whole view of these wars is lop-sided toward the British point of view.

Chernyshev himself would be a great hero. Made page to Alexander at 15 because of his good looks, he was spying for the Emperor when assigned to Napoleon's court in his 20's, led these flying columns to harry the retreating French forces...

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Ludmilla
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Post by Ludmilla » Fri September 24th, 2010, 1:13 pm

I think a good story could be written about Vytautas of Lithuania. He was rather slippery, switched alliances frequently, lots of family politics and rivalries going on in the background, etc.

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Kveto from Prague
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Post by Kveto from Prague » Fri September 24th, 2010, 6:16 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]I think a good story could be written about Vytautas of Lithuania. He was rather slippery, switched alliances frequently, lots of family politics and rivalries going on in the background, etc.[/quote]

great suggestion, Ludmilla. A lot of people dont know it but Lithuania was THE power in North central Europe in the late middle ages with a vast empire. throw in large rivalries with Poland and Russia and the Teutonic Knights for good measure and youve got an untapped goldmine of stories.

you could also have Jadwiga, the female "king" of Poland.
Last edited by Kveto from Prague on Fri September 24th, 2010, 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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princess garnet
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Post by princess garnet » Fri September 24th, 2010, 9:24 pm

The same can be said for Croatia! I didn't know much about it until I went to the beautiful Dalmatian coast over the summer.

I'd love to visit Lithuania someday. The closest I've been is the the Lithuania Cultural Museum in Chicago.

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Kveto from Prague
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la Maupin

Post by Kveto from Prague » Fri November 19th, 2010, 9:55 pm

Please someone tell me that someone has written (good) HF about Julie d'Aubigny, aka la Maupin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_d'Aubigny

If anyone deserves a novel it's la Maupin. Dualist, swordswoman, opera singer, French courtier, Louis XIV setting, criminal, had several lovers male and female, entered a convent to seduce another woman then faking her death, deafeated several men in duals, dressed as a man (but didnt hide her sex), supported herself with her singing voice at times, and much more.

Someone must have written about her.

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Katherine Ashe
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Post by Katherine Ashe » Sat December 4th, 2010, 5:40 am

Kveto,

D'Aubigny sounds marvelous.

I'm wearying of histories and HF concerning aristocratic ladies who use seduction for political power and excessive wealth. The biography of Sarah Churchill seducing Queen Anne -- given me by a publisher with an implication of "go thou and write likewise" -- tipped me over the edge. In an age when large numbers of women at last can exercise true power without having to seduce their way to it, we should be able to develop a literature with some better values.

But your Julie sounds like a refreshing hell-raiser.

annis
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Post by annis » Sat December 4th, 2010, 6:49 am

There is a post on the sadly now defunct Cimmerian blog which discusses Julie d'Aubigny as an inspiration for some of Robert E Howard's fictional swordswomen:
http://www.thecimmerian.com/“beautiful- ... wordwoman/

The author mentions that d'Aubigny researcher Jim Burrows is currently writing a novel about her. He has put together a webpage with information about Julie d'Aubigny here:
http://www.eldacur.com/~brons/Maupin/MaupinIndex.html

19th century French author Theophile Gautier wrote a literary novel based on Julie d'Aubigny called Mademoiselle de Maupinwhich sounds a bit unusual - it has been translated into English.

She definitely sounds like a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Generally if you came across a character like this in a historical novel you would think she was totally out of period!
Last edited by annis on Sat December 4th, 2010, 6:59 am, edited 6 times in total.

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Kveto from Prague
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Post by Kveto from Prague » Tue December 7th, 2010, 8:29 pm

[quote=""annis""]She definitely sounds like a case of truth being stranger than fiction. Generally if you came across a character like this in a historical novel you would think she was totally out of period![/quote]

I agree Annis. La Maupin would seem far too over the top in fiction. not beleavable. Shes actually a perfect example of being able to write about a female warrior with actual historical basis.

Ill guess that she was the inspiration for Rober E Howards swordswoman/dark agnes stories. but his stories are much tamer than La Maupins actual life.
Last edited by Kveto from Prague on Tue December 7th, 2010, 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Michy
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Post by Michy » Tue December 7th, 2010, 8:40 pm

[quote=""Katherine Ashe""]Kveto,


I'm wearying of histories and HF concerning aristocratic ladies who use seduction for political power and excessive wealth.

In an age when large numbers of women at last can exercise true power without having to seduce their way to it, we should be able to develop a literature with some better values.

[/quote]

Perhaps this is due to the fact that for most of human history, women didn't, as you say, have a way to gain and excercise true power and wealth outside of using seduction - ? So if you're writing HF about a female character -- whether real or invented -- and you want her to achieve some degree of power, the avenues are kind of limited, aren't they?

I'm not necessarily defending the type of stories you describe above, since they don't appeal to me, but I'm just asking.......

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