#HistFicThursdays - Sisters of Castle Leod - Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard

#HistFicThursdays - Sisters of Castle Leod - Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard - Guest Post

Happy New Year, Readers!

For the first #HistFicThursdays blog of 2023, I'm delighted to be sharing a guest post from Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour for her book Sisters of Castle Leod. There is no history more enticing for me than the history of my local area, and I was delighted to discover that Elizabeth's book is not only set in the Highlands, but centres of the Mackenzies! Her guest post explores the Ghosts, Spirits, and Legends of the area which impacts on her book, but first here's the blurb to whet your appetite...

Blurb

**Finalist in the 2022 American Writing Awards**

Millions are fans of Diana Gabaldon’s popular Outlander books and television series, but few know that Gabaldon’s fictional Castle Leoch was inspired by a real Scottish castle, Castle Leod. The two sisters who lived there at the turn of the twentieth century were among the most fascinating and talked-about women of their era.

Lady Sibell Mackenzie is a spiritualist, a believer in reincarnation, and a popular author of mystical romances. Petite and proper, she values tradition and duty. Her younger sister Lady Constance, swimming champion and big game hunter, is a statuesque beauty who scandalizes British society with her public displays of Greek-style barefoot dancing. The differences between the sisters escalate into conflict after Sibell inherits their late father’s vast estates and the title 3rd Countess of Cromartie. But it is the birth of Sibell’s daughter that sets in motion a series of bizarre and tragic events, pitting sister against sister and propelling Sibell on a desperate mission to challenge the power of fate.

Sisters of Castle Leod, by award-winning author Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard, is the emotionally charged story of two sisters torn apart by jealousy and superstition, and the impossible leap of faith that could finally bring them together.

Sisters of Castle Leod is available via this Universal Link

Guest Post

GHOSTS, SPIRITS, and LEGENDS IN SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD: A NOVEL

Thanks so much for inviting me to talk about my new historical novel, SISTERS OF CASTLE LEOD. My research for this book was a great excuse for me to travel again to Scotland. I had been to Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, but never to the Highlands. Castle Leod is located in Strathpeffer, not far from Inverness, and I had the pleasure of a personal tour by its current resident, the 5th Earl of Cromartie. We talked about his grandmother, Sibell Mackenzie, 3rd Countess of Cromartie, who is the narrator of my novel. It was the earl who told me that his grandmother, a spiritualist and romantic novelist, experienced many sightings of the castle’s resident ghost, the Night Watchman. The earl confirmed that he, too, has witnessed the ghostly form of a 15th century sentry.

Castle Leod photo courtesy of Craig Wallace

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to try my luck at a ghost sighting, but I did make a side trip to London to further explore of the psychic realm, which was key to Sibell Mackenzie’s life and character. The earl shared that his grandmother was, for a short time, president of the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain (SAGB). I could find no official documentation of this, but there were many such societies in the early Edwardian period with similar names, so it is entirely possible that her involvement was with SAGB or another such group. I was excited about the possibility of communication with Sibell through a psychic, thinking that perhaps she might have some advice for me about the writing of my novel. So, while visiting the SAGB, I met with several psychics who tried to contact the departed countess. Though I came to the conclusion that bringing solace to grieving relatives may be what they do best, I found the experience informative.

Before traveling to the Highlands and London, I had already done extensive research on the history of British spiritualism, a fascinating chapter in our eternal search for answers about life and death, physical versus spiritual phenomena, and how religious beliefs and scientific inquiry can, or cannot, coexist. When I returned from my travels, I spent three years working on the book, including further research into the lives of my main characters, Sibell and Constance Mackenzie. Of course, when writing historical fiction, the research never really ends! There is always something additional, or unexpected, that requires delving into.

Among the most important resources for this particular novel were the bountiful newspaper archives. The Mackenzie sisters were favorites of the popular press. It is easy to see why. Sibell was a pretty, young countess and one of the wealthiest landowners in Scotland, later becoming a prolific writer of mystical romance novels that achieved wide popularity. But Constance was even more the focus of media attention, first for her impressive accomplishments as a sportswoman and, eventually, for a string of scandalous exploits that included public performances of Isadora-style barefoot dancing in the theaters of London, Paris, and New York—something quite shocking for a noblewoman, which is why Constance thereafter found herself banned from court society by King Edward himself. While Sibell’s sense of duty was an overriding force in her life, Constance was a committed free spirit. But that is only one part of the conflict between the sisters that drives the plot of my novel.

The folklore of the Highlands was an important aspect of my research and one of the things that attracted me to the sisters’ story. Here is an authentic newspaper snippet that led my plot in a surprising and rather spooky direction (for this preview, I’ve redacted any “spoilers”):

Lady Constance Mackenzie is sister and heir presumptive to the Countess of Cromartie, who also holds the titles Viscountess Tarbat, Baroness Castlehaven, and Baroness MacLeod. Lady Constance’s succession to all these titles, as well as the large family estates, depends upon the fulfillment of an old family legend whose truth in part has been demonstrated already, in a manner to arouse the awe of the superstitious, by a family tragedy that occurred last December. … [the legend states that] when a certain stream on the estates should be turned from its course, the succession would pass from the direct line. Only a few weeks before the [tragedy occurred], in making alterations on the estates, the course of the stream had been changed.

How exciting it was to discover this little-known piece of the historical record and such a delicious tidbit to feed a fiction writer’s imagination!

Many readers especially enjoy historical fiction based on real people and events. Do you, and, if so, why?

Now, let's meet the author:

A former touring musician/songwriter and public relations professional, Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: THE BEAUTY DOCTOR, "a compelling historical novel steeped in mystery with strong elements of a medical thriller" (Readers' Favorite, 5 stars), and TEMPTATION RAG: A NOVEL, a "resonant novel ... about the birth and demise of ragtime ... luxuriously crafted" (Publishers Weekly). Her books have been finalists for the Eric Hoffer Book Award, National Indie Excellence Awards, and Arizona Literary Contest; they have received 5-star ratings from Readers” Favorite, Book Readers Appreciation Group, and historical fiction Discovered Diamonds. Elizabeth and her family live near Phoenix, Arizona.