This week has been a mad one. Close to the start of the Christmas period, we found out that Mum would be having a thyroidectomy on Candlemas (the final day of the Christmas season). Of course, this was not enough to spoil Christmas. As readers of this blog are no doubt aware, Christmas happens in a big way in this house. But when the day finally arrived it was nonetheless met with, if not fear, definite nervousness. I'm pleased to say that the procedure seems to have been a great success! And wouldn't it have been? Thyroid treatment has been developing for over four thousand years. You know me - somewhat obsessed with putting doctors, nurses, physicians and surgeons in my historical fiction - I made a (very brief) wander into the realms of researching the topic. I was surprised by the results. The earliest I could find a reference to treatments for thyroid issues (in this instance a goitre) came in 2697BC, when the legendary Yellow Emperor recorded the use of seaweed in treati...
Today's blog is a bit of a challenge...
Next week, there is an exhibition in Thurso Art Gallery (it's the back room of the library, for any people in the area who are are interested in going along!) entitled Caithness Connections. I've had a little sneak peek on social media and been amazed by the variety of ideas the artists have used to consider the theme. It set me thinking about how differently people see their home, and how greatly it differs to how other people see it.
Caithness is not a well-explored area, either in tourism (although this has improved since the NC500 route became popular) or in the arts, as its near neighbour Orkney. This is not always a bad thing - the Orkney which exists now is a far cry from the one I knew as home in my childhood thanks to the insane amount of cruise ship traffic, but when you say Caithness to most people from outwith Northern Scotland, most of them have no idea where it is if they've even heard of it.
A few years ago, I wrote a blog about history close to home, which was only months after moving here. Add on a few years, and I'm here with a first draft of a novel set right here some 1,300 years ago. But I am certainly not the first person to write historical fiction set in Caithness. In fact, Caithnessian history has featured in texts since the Norse sagas.
I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've never finished reading an historical fiction novel set in Caithness. I have dipped into the work of Neil Gunn (Caithness' literary giant) on countless occasions, but never actually read one from cover to cover. I have read short folktales of Caithness, but not a full novel. This is something I am determined to amend!
Have you read any historical fiction set close to where you live? How far do you have to go to find your local historical fiction setting? Perhaps you've never come across a novel set there, but there is almost certainly one waiting to be read - if not, write it yourself!
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