Skip to main content

#HistFicThursdays - Nero and Sporus by SP Somtow - Book Excerpt

 Today for #HistFicThursdays, I am delighted to once again be teaming up with  The Coffee Pot Book Club , this time to share an excerpt from  SP Somtow 's fantastic new book  Nero and Sporus ! First of all, let's meet the book... Finally available in one volume! The decadence of Imperial Rome comes to life in S.P. Somtow's Literary Titan Award-winning novel about one of ancient history's wildest characters. The historian Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Nero emasculated and married his slave Sporus, the spitting image of murdered Empress Poppaea. But history has more tidbits about Sporus, who went from "puer delicatus" to Empress to one Emperor and concubine to another, and ended up being sentenced to play the Earth-Goddess in the arena. Nero and Sporus  is available on #KindleUnlimited via  this  link . And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite: I suppose we were anxious to see who the surprise competitor would be, but no one was as surprise...

#HistFicThursdays - Things to Inspire - Religious Artefacts

 Writing historical fiction, it is impossible to ignore the overwhelming impact religion had on people's lives. It was not only the structure of organised religion, but the interwoven beliefs which dominated people's lives. Christianity, the religion which runs through most of my historical fiction, grew and survived with its ability to adapt as it spread from place to place and culture to culture, absorbing certain traditions as it powered on. I love Theology. I did my undergraduate degree in it, and it continues to remain a real interest of mine.

I also love the idea of holding hands across history, seeing what my characters saw, and holding the same objects in my own hands as they or their peers did. Given the significance of religion and superstition throughout history, these things were common - although not necessarily accessible - and would have been understood by all. Religious iconography dominated Pre-Reformation Europe, speaking as a universal language to all. These images were not all uplifting or positive, with the growing prevalence for Memento Mori (Remember Death) appearing in churches and on gravestones.

The tradition of saintly cults within Christianity led to people adopting a saint who matched or reflected their professions or interests. People would carry certain objects with them as a talisman, almost like being in a club. Of course, in Christianity, the most common of these emblems was a cross, like the one above.

Religious emblems and influence were everywhere. The spoon below is adorned with the cresent moon and star of Islam. I do not know what it was used for, nor am I able to read the writing on the bowl of the spoon, but it is a beautiful piece of craftmanship, and demonstrates the care with which this artefacts were made.

And it was not only artisans who created religious works of art. The samplers below were viewed as both an important skill and a good devotion for young women of the nineteenth century. I do not know who made these. I love to imagine who the stitcher was and, perhaps most fascinatingly of all, why she picked these verses to stitch and display. [As an interesting aside, check out the letter A in them. It is the only lowercase letter. What a great, quirky observation to include in a story!]

The Reformation in this country wiped out an unimaginable wealth of artistry and artefacts. I feel the same way about Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries as many historians feel about the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria. It is almost impossible to visit those ruins and imagine the overwhelming love, care, and extravagance of those buildings... Almost. I suppose that is where the imagination and creativity of writing comes in. But Henry's zealous war on the monasteries did not just see the buildings pulled down as people recycled to lead from roofs our the stones from walls. It also saw the loss of countless pieces of artwork and texts.  Words which were painstakingly crafted, pictures which were painted through nothing more than a sense of devotion, were all seized, destroyed, or lost.

So, whatever your views on or about religion, if you write historical fiction, remember: Daily life was governed by these beliefs. Reminders were everywhere, imagery was everywhere, religion was everywhere. I know much of this post has been concerning Christianity, but whenever or wherever your story is set, there will have been a substantial role for your characters' religion. So make sure you don't underestimate the role it played!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Masterworks: Legacy - Samantha Wilcoxson - Interview

  Today is the last of a series on nine interviews I'm sharing on the Crowvus Book Blog. These are from the authors of the short stories included in the  Masterworks  anthology by the  Historical Writers Forum . We're running through chronologically, some are video interviews, others are written. I am delighted to welcome the fantastic Samantha Wilcoxson, who is sharing the artist inspiration for her short story Legacy , as well as the appeal of James A. Hamilton, and the delights of researching. First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you write (besides Masterworks!), and what inspired you to begin writing. I was inspired to write by my love of reading. After watching me read, write reviews, and keep journals for twenty years, my husband asked me why I didn’t try writing, so I did! Without really planning on it, I ended up writing historical biographical fiction. I’m drawn to a tragic tale but also to lesser known historical figures with emotive stor...

#HistFicThursdays - Apollo's Raven - Linnea Tanner - Book Blast

 If you've been following this blog for a little while, you might remember me sharing a fabulous guest post about this book in 2022 (which you can read here ). It's always great to welcome Linnea Tanner onto the Crowvus Book Blog, and I'm delighted to be taking part in her Coffee Pot Book Club book blast blog tour. So, let's meet the book... A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people. AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break t...

#HistFicThursdays - The Historical Fiction Community (and why I'm so glad I'm a part of it!)

 Today is the arrival of #HistFicMay, now in its third year. When I started it, I did it because I had really enjoyed meeting new writers through a similar #IndieApril list of prompts. I had a quick perusal to see if anyone had done a Historical Fiction one, saw they hadn't, and decided to set one up. It had the desired effect, and I have "met" (only online!) and discovered some wonderful writers and their books over the last couple of years. Community is a bigger thing than most writers realise. The more detached individuals may refer to community as networking, but the writing community is so much more than that. Don't get me wrong, I'm as introverted as they come, but without those people I have met during #HistFicMay or the online community of historical fiction writers, there are so many things I would never have known - sometimes even things which have led me to write certain scenes or books. I'm not saying you can't be a fabulous historical fiction ...