any historical personages you wish had fiction composed about them

gyrehead · Post by **gyrehead** » Mon May 4th, 2009, 6:13 pm

[quote=""Lauryn""]I always found that this story made me think of John Marshal, who (while not necessarily showing his equipment) told King Stephen he had the hammer and anvils to beget more and better sons than the young boy Stephen held hostage.[/quote]

I suspect that Marshal's fame in western Europe had a lot of people borrowing in some form or another. I doubt Caterina was the first or the last. And I've seen historical fiction writers use it for other characters that I 'm pretty sure have no basis whatsoever. Still waggling your pudenda is a unique reading of the lines and I think that is what interested me the most. The raucous and ribald delivery for what we today often think of as a prudish and straight-laced time. I mean even today the mainstream media goes gaga over a panty-less crotch split limo exiting crawl. Throw in the murder and mayhem and matrimonial madness that was Caterina and she kind of steals a bit of Marshal's thunder for me in terms of interest even if he did coin the phrase. I really think CW needs to consider Caterina as a future project!

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Mon May 4th, 2009, 9:45 pm

[quote=""gyrehead""]I really think CW needs to consider Caterina as a future project!

[/quote]

I can't confirm anything at the moment, but I will say this much: she's most definitely under consideration.

gyrehead · Post by **gyrehead** » Mon May 4th, 2009, 10:55 pm

Now be careful with vague possiblities. Otherwise I'll start posting a list of wants every month! Way too many pedigreed ladies of interest just in the Italian courts alone!

cw gortner · Post by **cw gortner** » Mon May 4th, 2009, 11:11 pm

There's a novel by Pamela Marchand, too, about Joan, called 'An Army of Angels.' I haven't read it but it's on my shelf; the cover was very pretty. I'm a sucker for blue foil . . .

As for the pedigreed ladies of the Italian court, well, I'm always open to suggestions. I honestly can't say much more about Caterina Sforza at this point, but as soon as I can, I promise I will!

gyrehead · Post by **gyrehead** » Mon May 4th, 2009, 11:59 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]There's a novel by Pamela Marchand, too, about Joan, called 'An Army of Angels.' I haven't read it but it's on my shelf; the cover was very pretty. I'm a sucker for blue foil . . .

As for the pedigreed ladies of the Italian court, well, I'm always open to suggestions. I honestly can't say much more about Caterina Sforza at this point, but as soon as I can, I promise I will!

[/quote]

The Gonzagas had a few. And I've always wondered about Bianca Visconti who married Francesco Sforza. Not much but in the right hands, the story could be great. And there are Orsinis, Colonnas, and a couple of Carafas and Pignatellis who were interesting. Going back further, MaroziaI and II are both fascinating and haven't really been done justice that I have seen. Matilda of Tuscany is another.

Shifting gears a bit, considering the still popular focus on ancient history, there were some interesting Persian queens. Parysatis comes to mind. I think in terms of females, the ancient world gets ignored except for Cleopatra VII and the occasional Zenobia and Hatshepsut book.

Chatterbox · Post by **Chatterbox** » Tue May 5th, 2009, 12:07 am

Suzannah Dunn's book about Mary is downright bad -- a wallbanger, to quote Misfit. The Lewis books, on the other hand, are quite good. She also plays a key role in Mary Luke's book about Katherine Parr (the two were schoolmates).

My primary interest right now is in a woman who lived during the Wars of the Roses and played a significant role, but never seems to have featured in any HF except as a very peripheral character. More long-term, I'd love to find a way to write about some significant cultural figures in Renaissance Italy (second half of 15th century) and that's all I'll say!

Marge Piercy's book about women in WW2, Gone to Soldiers, includes a character who is an aviatrix (as they used to call 'em).

Someone mentioned Christine de Pisan the other day; she has already been on my shortlist.

The people who pique my curiosity are those who kind of float between cultures -- think the Spaniards pre-Reconquista, the Normans in Sicily, the Byzantine Greeks who fled after the Ottoman conquest, the 'wild geese' (Celtic Catholics) who migrated to Europe in the 17th & 18th centuries. (I recall one Spanish or Portuguese general with an Irish surname who fought Napoleon's invaders alongside the Duke of Wellington -- talk about an odd match!

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Tue May 5th, 2009, 12:21 am

[quote=""Chatterbox""]

My primary interest right now is in a woman who lived during the Wars of the Roses and played a significant role, but never seems to have featured in any HF except as a very peripheral character.
[/quote]

Now you've got me curious!

Speaking of the Wars of the Roses, I'm in the revision stages of a novel about Katherine Woodville and Harry, Duke of Buckingham.

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue May 5th, 2009, 12:50 am

Posted by Chatterbox

--the 'wild geese' (Celtic Catholics) who migrated to Europe in the 17th & 18th centuries.

Ariadne reviewed an older novel called "Wild Geese" by Irish author Eliis Dillon on her Reading the Past blog last month which might fit the bill- I put it on my "to be tracked down sometime" list
http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2009 ... chive.html

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue May 5th, 2009, 12:57 am

Posted by Gyrehead

Still waggling your pudenda is a unique reading of the lines and I think that is what interested me the most.

That was an unusual gesture. Waving a bare ah (probably not allowed to say that!) rear at the enemy (mooning) has always been a traditional male gesture of contempt, but women tended to be less exhibitionist

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Mon May 18th, 2009, 5:53 am

Count Cagliostro, he sounds like a fascinating man with an equally fascinating life.

SM