Irish Brain surgeons, Vikings who recycle and spotting mistakes in churches: Medieval News Roundup

<div class="storify"><iframe src="//storify.com/medievalists/irish-brain-surgeons-vikings-who-recycle-and-spott/embed?header=false&border=false" width="100%" height=750 frameborder=no allowtransparency=true></iframe><script src="//storify.com/medievalists/irish-brain-surgeons-vikings-who-recycle-and-spott.js?header=false&border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/medievalists/irish-brain-surgeons-vikings-who-recycle-and-spott" target="_blank">View the story "Irish Brain surgeons, Vikings who recycle and spotting mistakes in churches: Medieval News Roundup" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div><br/><br/><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQMmlPno91NhjveJ5khhWzXSs9CILhz_wnWKyrEIewJ7CKUJQkJ4xq_G-NH8YZRXtbVoetgsxVQOvGoE3gnDK9Cp79TwjMgQCAC57zV5ne8UXPp3foxyyOTzmjbXQGhsi03xncKlC5Q0/s1600/medieval+news+roundup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQMmlPno91NhjveJ5khhWzXSs9CILhz_wnWKyrEIewJ7CKUJQkJ4xq_G-NH8YZRXtbVoetgsxVQOvGoE3gnDK9Cp79TwjMgQCAC57zV5ne8UXPp3foxyyOTzmjbXQGhsi03xncKlC5Q0/s1600/medieval+news+roundup.jpg" /></a></div>

Irish Brain surgeons, Vikings who recycle and spotting mistakes in churches: Medieval News Roundup

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An interview with Deborah Harkness, author of The Book of Life

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu2RNeo4QF6v4FYicL2XiM3CfXNggiMme3fhyphenhyphenak_5qr1KPgw39B71yTFKRHGydXE6Dht1WSQtW7yyoe5TsfEyGnhFdma96QFgQGm4-TVSIzqidKvkwhUDZP29fv-nK5Ku6VHF_0nlz2M/s1600/180px-The_Book_of_Life_US_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDu2RNeo4QF6v4FYicL2XiM3CfXNggiMme3fhyphenhyphenak_5qr1KPgw39B71yTFKRHGydXE6Dht1WSQtW7yyoe5TsfEyGnhFdma96QFgQGm4-TVSIzqidKvkwhUDZP29fv-nK5Ku6VHF_0nlz2M/s1600/180px-The_Book_of_Life_US_Cover.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>Deborah Harkness, professor of history at the University of Southern California, has just published the final novel in her <i>All Souls Trilogy</i>. It follows the story of Diana Bishop, a historian and modern-day witch, Matthew Clairmont, a 1500-year-old vampire, and an enchanted manuscript at Oxford University's Bodleian Library. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://dujour.com/article/deborah-harkness-the-book-of-life-interview/45740">Click here to read DuJour’s executive editor, Nancy Bilyeau, interview Deborah about <i>The Book of Life</i></a></b><br /><br />See also Deborah reading an excerpt from her novel:<br /><br /><object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/5OBRBuFfoRE?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/5OBRBuFfoRE?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

An interview with Deborah Harkness, author of The Book of Life

Deborah Harkness, professor of history at the University of Southern California, has just published the final novel in her All Souls Trilogy...

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Bruce Holsinger and Nancy Bilyeau talk about historical fiction

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IAs8L8hJDq_3dCAoPp7Ea8U6u6cea8OpsY96_HAPcd_0ssNYlAVqwiIFo4qSM8rFbdInrp8Hpf4-yX-jKg6pIMEFq2VKrz_xgSHd6ABzWSiAXHLe0rd0mgnsulkv4AiXujaBO4sYJJg/s1600/bilyeau+holsinger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1IAs8L8hJDq_3dCAoPp7Ea8U6u6cea8OpsY96_HAPcd_0ssNYlAVqwiIFo4qSM8rFbdInrp8Hpf4-yX-jKg6pIMEFq2VKrz_xgSHd6ABzWSiAXHLe0rd0mgnsulkv4AiXujaBO4sYJJg/s1600/bilyeau+holsinger.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Bruce Holsinger and Nancy Bilyeau, two of the leading medieval novelists, had the chance to meet up in New York City and have a conversation about writing historical fiction, how they went about researching their novels, and what stories and styles influenced their writing.<br /><br />For example, Bruce says to Nancy "you flesh out those aspects of daily life with remarkable skill, without a lot of hand waving or showing off of historical details. I actually struggled a bit with this at first. I knew the medieval period in terms of its literary history, but in terms of the details of everyday life, that was a brand new learning experience. I had to go back and relearn a lot of what I thought I knew. There are so many passages in the literature that will tell you about, say, the food at a feast, but I never really paid attention to those until I had to figure out what people ate in a scene I was writing."<br /><br />Nancy replies, "Exactly! I was never happier than when a curator at the Tower of London scanned in a diet sheet of an aristocratic prisoner in the 1540s and sent me a PDF. I had every detail down to how many pigeons eaten a week."<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/30/historical-fiction-a-conversation-between-bruce-holsinger-and-nancy-bilyeau.html">You can read their conversation from The Daily Beast</a></b>.<br /><br />Nancy Bilyeau's latest book is called <i><b><a href="http://www.nancybilyeau.com/books.php">The Chalice</a></b></i> - we will have a review about it on Medievalists.net very soon! Bruce Holsinger's novel is called <i><b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2014/02/26/burnable-book-novel-starring-chaucer-gower-gets-strong-reviews/">A Burnable Book</a></b></i>.

Bruce Holsinger and Nancy Bilyeau talk about historical fiction

Bruce Holsinger and Nancy Bilyeau, two of the leading medieval novelists, had the chance to meet up in New York City and have a conversation...

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Truth, lies and historical fiction; How far can an author go?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSsbEXYLCRvE1iBByK_jecgZKo4-dGHCnlkRTP7hH_PiNG2Tv7HcHgc0rsd5GW0a70QukL_gf7dzRIKRqppm6uLa7KWj7JJM6HDikVolKEJSWfgpIKq0sASZv6K3PqgUwnNf6Y1Pt0Q8/s1600/Image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSsbEXYLCRvE1iBByK_jecgZKo4-dGHCnlkRTP7hH_PiNG2Tv7HcHgc0rsd5GW0a70QukL_gf7dzRIKRqppm6uLa7KWj7JJM6HDikVolKEJSWfgpIKq0sASZv6K3PqgUwnNf6Y1Pt0Q8/s320/Image.jpeg" width="209" /></a></div>Authors Philippa Gregory and Wayne Johnston can tell you that historical novelists have to deal with some odd complaints, most of which stem from the fact that everyone from the living descendents of their fictional characters to the fans of medieval monarchs will cheerfully ignore the words “a novel” blazoned on the cover.<br /><br /> Gregory has written numerous novels about Tudor and Plantagenet women, including her latest, The Lady of the Rivers, about Jacquetta of Luxembourg, a figure from the War of the Roses. She has also co-authored a history book, The Women of the Cousins’ War, that includes a biography of Jacquetta.  <br /><br />Johnston’s bestselling 1998 novel The Colony of Unrequited Dreams controversially gave Newfoundland premier Joey Smallwood an unrequited love. Now, Johnston has published A World Elsewhere, which introduces fictional Newfoundlanders into a psychopathic household inspired by Biltmore, George Vanderbilt’s palace in North Carolina.<br /><br /> Globe and Mail arts writer Kate Taylor, herself the author of a novel based on the Dreyfus Affair, titled A Man in Uniform, asks Gregory and Johnston just how much a historical novelist is allowed to make up.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/truth-lies-and-historical-fiction-how-far-can-an-author-go/article4200302/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from The Globe and Mail</a></b>

Truth, lies and historical fiction; How far can an author go?

Authors Philippa Gregory and Wayne Johnston can tell you that historical novelists have to deal with some odd complaints, most of which stem...

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An Interview With Jeri Westerson, Author of Blood Lance and the Crispin Guest Book Series

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoj1aIjtCC4Tck3IQrnp08sg-SLEsDyIwx37XePyLnB3WNsxrYtZpr281mfGB5vW32HcK75SZUW8ULLm1NI3dkAcLSpD8hMXnTcY98ZWINWOTPPXCcMTCKZHJ4svvaz_xm7Gydco3MoI/s1600/blood-lance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfoj1aIjtCC4Tck3IQrnp08sg-SLEsDyIwx37XePyLnB3WNsxrYtZpr281mfGB5vW32HcK75SZUW8ULLm1NI3dkAcLSpD8hMXnTcY98ZWINWOTPPXCcMTCKZHJ4svvaz_xm7Gydco3MoI/s320/blood-lance.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Author Jeri Westerson has done it again: She's managed to craft another fascinating, entertaining, engaging book in a style that's been dubbed "medieval noir."<br /><br /><br />Her latest book, Blood Lance, is the fifth in her series of books about Crispin Guest, a detective of sorts during the medieval era, a man who was previously a knight.<br /><br />One of the many aspects of this book and series I enjoy is how Westerson combines history with fiction, even historical figures with fictional ones, with grace and eloquence.<br /><br />In our latest interview--I previously interviewed her about her book Troubled Bones--she also talks about her concerns about the state of the publishing industry and how it will affect authors including herself.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/An-Interview-With-Jeri-Westerson-Author-of-Blood-4063709.php" target="_blank">Click here to read this interview from the Seattle Post Intelligencer</a></b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/crispin.guest" target="_blank">You can follow Jeri Westerson (and Crispin Guest) on Facebook</a></b><br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1250000181&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

An Interview With Jeri Westerson, Author of Blood Lance and the Crispin Guest Book Series

Author Jeri Westerson has done it again: She's managed to craft another fascinating, entertaining, engaging book in a style that's b...

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How Medieval Arms Race Led to Swords Capable of Killing ‘Tin Can’ Knights

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZVHL90btwleFIRkxnoT9C5j21M8yuG-dtsu6ttuuxSBqqEW6_5104m0paNnJTUEpJR2myvESn7I5b8OLdC7V6ITxxEsguvSH069r-7Er31687d64eepJojfv8ROuIoKcQHa_bkhV4og/s1600/sword.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZVHL90btwleFIRkxnoT9C5j21M8yuG-dtsu6ttuuxSBqqEW6_5104m0paNnJTUEpJR2myvESn7I5b8OLdC7V6ITxxEsguvSH069r-7Er31687d64eepJojfv8ROuIoKcQHa_bkhV4og/s320/sword.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I grew up on an early edition of Dungeons & Dragons and John Boorman’s Excalibur. The image of the tin-can knight — clanking and rattling as he walked, hoisted onto his horse by a crane — was the first part of my childhood that had to go when I started working on <i>The Mongoliad</i>, an epic collaborative tale about the Mongol invasion of Europe in the early 13th century.<br /><br /><br />Part of our purview on the project, an interactive story that’s being turned into a book trilogy, was to portray Western martial arts correctly. Thus began my crash course in the evolution of arms and armor over several centuries of medieval life.<br /><br />One of the most fascinating aspects of this education was charting the changes that occurred as a result of this medieval arms race. Let’s start with the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, as recorded by the Bayeaux Tapestry, which is more than 200 linear feet of embroidered pictures of men in armor.<br /><br />They’re wearing hauberks, long shirts that hang nearly to their knees made from interlinked iron rings. They called it “maille,” plain and simple, and if the troubadours were getting all poetic about these battles, they might refer to this maille as a “net.” Never “chain.” Why? Well, because it was a net.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/11/the-medieval-arms-race/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Wired Magazine</a></b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/tag/military-history/" target="_blank">Click here to read more articles on Medieval Warfare</a></b><br /><br /><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B008A0E2RE&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

How Medieval Arms Race Led to Swords Capable of Killing ‘Tin Can’ Knights

I grew up on an early edition of Dungeons & Dragons and John Boorman’s Excalibur. The image of the tin-can knight — clanking and rattlin...

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The Sweet Girl: Annabel Lyon’s last volume on Ancient Greece

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWePamq5kb5qs_gRuTrQHUnTXeOn01luVlWtuiMtKDF0OrpmiRrcDoupj9bxf0NS9M8F3VLCMKsi5tw_QKL4A8C3D8Wn9q0xOudrNb4bRikTzhQz3BNiRbeQhvci8XODj-i-kjLfaePs/s1600/Sweet-Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWePamq5kb5qs_gRuTrQHUnTXeOn01luVlWtuiMtKDF0OrpmiRrcDoupj9bxf0NS9M8F3VLCMKsi5tw_QKL4A8C3D8Wn9q0xOudrNb4bRikTzhQz3BNiRbeQhvci8XODj-i-kjLfaePs/s1600/Sweet-Girl.jpg" /></a></div>Mercifully, Annabel Lyon has left her iPhone in her hotel room, which renders her unable to display a treasured photograph of the Iron Age vaginal dilator she snapped in a museum while visiting Athens to research her latest novel, a sequel to 2009’s award-winning, bestselling <i>The Golden Mean</i>.<br /><br />“It’s horrifying!” she exults, spreading her arms to show the size of the fearful artifact, technically known as a speculum. “And it’s got this big screw on it, and it’s just ohh….” The novelist shudders.<br /><br /><br />“And I loved it, of course.”<br /><br />Lyon loved it so much that she made the instrument a crucial prop in her new novel, <i>The Sweet Girl</i>, which returns to the ancient Greek world of philosophers and kings that she brought to life so successfully in The Golden Mean. But as the lovable speculum suggests, this is “a very different book” from her speculative biography of Aristotle, Lyon says. Chronicling the adventures of the philosopher’s precocious daughter after his death, <i>The Sweet Girl</i> is yin to the former book’s yang.<br /><br />Whereas <i>The Golden Mean</i> focused on men and public life – “politics, warfare, science and reason and all of that,” according to the author – <i>The Sweet Girl</i> is “much more female, much more interior.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/annabel-lyons-last-volume-on-ancient-greece/article4563797/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from The Globe and Mail</a></b><br /><br />See also <b><a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1261298--the-sweet-girl-by-annabel-lyon-a-brilliant-philosopher-s-daughter" target="_blank">The Sweet Girl by Annabel Lyon: A brilliant philosopher’s daughter from the Toronto Star</a></b><br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=085789952X&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0307740684&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

The Sweet Girl: Annabel Lyon’s last volume on Ancient Greece

Mercifully, Annabel Lyon has left her iPhone in her hotel room, which renders her unable to display a treasured photograph of the Iron Age v...

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Interview with Philippa Gregory on ‘The Kingmaker’s Daughter’

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxKdq5m2MeLY3UXK_VmBqcmGotA6Yk7KTrKMBxmyW9WggnCZIOT0XliKHFsuhZE8IjdkJm7CdO8CvXqBaeKFnstBP9RWwsuHxCSENqrHSf9mwaYmrzfwQSgLH4M4-V_RpraP8gG4ZMUI/s1600/Kingmaker's%2520Daughter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtxKdq5m2MeLY3UXK_VmBqcmGotA6Yk7KTrKMBxmyW9WggnCZIOT0XliKHFsuhZE8IjdkJm7CdO8CvXqBaeKFnstBP9RWwsuHxCSENqrHSf9mwaYmrzfwQSgLH4M4-V_RpraP8gG4ZMUI/s320/Kingmaker's%2520Daughter.jpeg" width="214" /></a></div><b>What made you choose to write about Anne Neville? </b><br /><br /> She absolutely embodies what happened to so many people in these turbulent 14 years of the War of the Roses. She’s on three different sides: York, then Lancaster, then York again. And she’s married to, or working with, the most powerful men of the period. And yet we hardly know anything about her. That makes her tremendously interesting to me, because once I put together her story, I can fictionalize it, I can bring it to life. In a way, I’m restoring a woman whom nobody knows and at least offering a version of her.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/philippa-gregory-talks-the-kingmakers-daughter-historical-british-fiction/2012/09/11/bb9eb534-f394-11e1-a612-3cfc842a6d89_story.html" target="_blank">Click here to read the full interview from the Washington Post</a></b> <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145162607X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=145162607X&linkCode=as2&tag=medievalistsn-20">Click here to see the Amazon.com page about The Kingmaker's Daughter</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=medievalistsn-20&l=as2&o=1&a=145162607X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></b>

Interview with Philippa Gregory on ‘The Kingmaker’s Daughter’

What made you choose to write about Anne Neville?   She absolutely embodies what happened to so many people in these turbulent 14 years of t...

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Writer wants Johnny Depp to play “his” Robin Hood

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPmHEB8Wl-f9dCNRheGhk6eEn9fSqJFZpUx9-1N62Ws5vljF-opVSw1FHffBgBai2SLpb_pLjiV8ZWmNRAvaFPsDOhkxxbdEWSlfO9F3CTCk1DatJDGoPRq73Vee9pPPw1EBJeo1j7og/s1600/9781847445070.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPmHEB8Wl-f9dCNRheGhk6eEn9fSqJFZpUx9-1N62Ws5vljF-opVSw1FHffBgBai2SLpb_pLjiV8ZWmNRAvaFPsDOhkxxbdEWSlfO9F3CTCk1DatJDGoPRq73Vee9pPPw1EBJeo1j7og/s320/9781847445070.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div>Best selling historical novelist Angus Donald from Tunbridge Wells is now on the fourth volume of his series concerning the exploits of Robin Hood.<br /><br /> <i>Warlord</i> is set in 1194 and sees Richard the Lionheart in Normandy engaged in a bloody war to drive the French out of his continental territory. Using the brutal tactics of medieval warfare – siege, savagery and scorched earth – the king is gradually pushing back the forces of King Philip of France.<br /><br /> By his side are Robert, Earl of Locksley, better known as the erstwhile outlaw Robin Hood, and Sir Alan Dale, his loyal friend, and a musician and warrior of great skill. Donald’s Outlaw series has become a fixture in the best seller lists and gained great reviews.<br /><br />His Robin is charismatic and a great leader, but a much more complex man than is usually portrayed with a far darker side – not really a “merry man” in any shape or form.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.kentnews.co.uk/leisure/writer_wants_johnny_depp_to_play_his_robin_hood_1_1441811" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Kent News</a></b><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.angus-donald.com/book/warlord/" target="_blank">Click here to visit Angus Donald's website</a></b> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1847445071&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Writer wants Johnny Depp to play “his” Robin Hood

Best selling historical novelist Angus Donald from Tunbridge Wells is now on the fourth volume of his series concerning the exploits of Robi...

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The Riddle Of Mark Twain's Passion For Joan Of Arc

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02Ocs4AlsI3b0sFCsEWrfWwa89PlQ2dRKXZRrGaMAfkIAHS_81_64F8ATlJUG6_vDtlzokByS7Zt2keQWz0k_Be-7Ts-bN84zg8L7-9L5CkpjAaX-kJtTRPcBSj7ED9LtaTwtzSE64Nk/s1600/mark-twain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02Ocs4AlsI3b0sFCsEWrfWwa89PlQ2dRKXZRrGaMAfkIAHS_81_64F8ATlJUG6_vDtlzokByS7Zt2keQWz0k_Be-7Ts-bN84zg8L7-9L5CkpjAaX-kJtTRPcBSj7ED9LtaTwtzSE64Nk/s1600/mark-twain.jpeg" /></a></div>Mark Twain’s obsession with Joan of Arc has to rank among the most baffling and least talked about enigmas in American literature. Even for those entrenched within the competitive world of Twain scholarship, stories like the one above are usually treated as interesting, but ultimately trifling, anecdotes, illustrative of the eccentricities of a predictably unconventional man.<br /><br /> The same might also be said of his book about the French heroine. Published in 1896, when its author was 61, <i>Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc </i>has long been viewed as something of an aberration, a curio—the type of genre-bending work that a bored, established writer often undertakes in order to buck audience expectations. Narrated by a fictionalized version of Joan’s servant and scribe, Sieur Louis de Conte, the book spans the majority of Joan’s life, beginning with her childhood in eastern France and ending with her questionable trial and execution. While other Twain novels such as <i>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court</i> and <i>The Prince and the Pauper</i> are also set in medieval Europe, far from the author’s more familiar milieu of mid-19th century Missouri, Recollections is unique in its somber tone. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.theawl.com/2012/04/the-riddle-of-mark-twains-passion-for-joan-of-arc" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from The Awl</a></b> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1619492792&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1936041774&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

The Riddle Of Mark Twain's Passion For Joan Of Arc

Mark Twain’s obsession with Joan of Arc has to rank among the most baffling and least talked about enigmas in American literature. Even for ...

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