Ask the Author: Helena P. Schrader
Answered Questions (10)
Helena P. Schrader
Vytai,
Thanks for the question and I'm glad you enjoyed the Jerusalem Trilogy.
As for a novel on the First Crusade, I have to confess that, no, I've never been inspired by the First Crusade. These things are completely subjective and I never really know what will awaken the spark of excitement that grows into a novel. In short, it could still happen at some point, but so far my muses have been silent with regard to the first crusade.
Meanwhile, I hope you'll continue to follow Balian, Maria and their children in "The Last Crusader Kingdom," "Rebels against Tyranny," and "The Emperor Strikes Back."
Thanks for the question and I'm glad you enjoyed the Jerusalem Trilogy.
As for a novel on the First Crusade, I have to confess that, no, I've never been inspired by the First Crusade. These things are completely subjective and I never really know what will awaken the spark of excitement that grows into a novel. In short, it could still happen at some point, but so far my muses have been silent with regard to the first crusade.
Meanwhile, I hope you'll continue to follow Balian, Maria and their children in "The Last Crusader Kingdom," "Rebels against Tyranny," and "The Emperor Strikes Back."
Helena P. Schrader
The short answer is an emphatic NO. Without seeing the article, of course, I can't know if the statement was more narrowly defined in a way to make it valid for some portion of the female population in a specific place, time or context.
Speaking generally, women in the Middle Ages could be highly educated, literate and numerate, the higher the class and social standing, the higher their education -- just as for males. Queens (e.g. Maria Comnena, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to name just two I'm personally familiar with) could read and write in multiple languages and usually had a very extensive education in the classics and theology. (A good biography of almost any queen will record the meticulous and very extensive education they received, and document their ability to correspond with other rulers and churchmen.)
Noblewomen needed to manage their estates and were likewise highly literate and numerate. (See for example: Jennifer Ward's "English Noblewomen in the Middle Ages.") Keep in mind, too, that the great works of chivalry by Chretien de Troyes or Wolfram von Eschenbach were often commissioned by noblewomen such as Marie de Champagne -- who owned and read these books.
There are many examples of women running religious institutions and corresponding with the great thinkers of their age (Hildegard von Bingen comes to mind, the Abbess of Fontevrault was another). They too had to be good administrators as well as being intellectually sophisticated.
The wives of guild masters and merchants usually ran the office-aspects of their husband's business and were literate and numerate, although less likely to have had a classical education including theology, philosophy and literature. A good book that talks about all the professions that medieval women could and did pursue is Toni Mount's "The Medieval Housewife & Other Women in the Middle Ages."
There is clear evidence that women could be apothecaries and surgeons as well. (See Toni Mount: Medieval Medicine.)
In short, "women" most certainly were educated, often highly educated, in the Middle Ages. It is, however, probably correct to suggest that women were educated privately, at home by (often extremely qualified) tutors, or during an apprenticeship in a trade, by rather than attending public/religious schools.
I hope you will spread the word. It is ridiculous to suggest that Western/Christian "women" generally were uneducated during the Middle Ages.
Speaking generally, women in the Middle Ages could be highly educated, literate and numerate, the higher the class and social standing, the higher their education -- just as for males. Queens (e.g. Maria Comnena, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to name just two I'm personally familiar with) could read and write in multiple languages and usually had a very extensive education in the classics and theology. (A good biography of almost any queen will record the meticulous and very extensive education they received, and document their ability to correspond with other rulers and churchmen.)
Noblewomen needed to manage their estates and were likewise highly literate and numerate. (See for example: Jennifer Ward's "English Noblewomen in the Middle Ages.") Keep in mind, too, that the great works of chivalry by Chretien de Troyes or Wolfram von Eschenbach were often commissioned by noblewomen such as Marie de Champagne -- who owned and read these books.
There are many examples of women running religious institutions and corresponding with the great thinkers of their age (Hildegard von Bingen comes to mind, the Abbess of Fontevrault was another). They too had to be good administrators as well as being intellectually sophisticated.
The wives of guild masters and merchants usually ran the office-aspects of their husband's business and were literate and numerate, although less likely to have had a classical education including theology, philosophy and literature. A good book that talks about all the professions that medieval women could and did pursue is Toni Mount's "The Medieval Housewife & Other Women in the Middle Ages."
There is clear evidence that women could be apothecaries and surgeons as well. (See Toni Mount: Medieval Medicine.)
In short, "women" most certainly were educated, often highly educated, in the Middle Ages. It is, however, probably correct to suggest that women were educated privately, at home by (often extremely qualified) tutors, or during an apprenticeship in a trade, by rather than attending public/religious schools.
I hope you will spread the word. It is ridiculous to suggest that Western/Christian "women" generally were uneducated during the Middle Ages.
Helena P. Schrader
I guess I don't have one. I tend to read (and write) history and biographical fiction, so most of the characters I identify with are historical figures -- Leonidas and Gorgo (a fantastic couple!), Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (power couple), Richard III and Anne Neville (a tragic couple), Balian d'Ibelin and Maria Comnena (an exemplary team), etc. etc. Looking through my library, the first true fiction book I saw was "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," -- a book I loved as a child and recently re-read. That's a good couple, Kit and Nat, but I must be forgetting many more.
Helena P. Schrader
Ryan,
Unfortunately hiring readers and recording is an expensive process. The demand for my books does not justify it at this time. Hope you'll buy and read the books instead!
Helena
Unfortunately hiring readers and recording is an expensive process. The demand for my books does not justify it at this time. Hope you'll buy and read the books instead!
Helena
Helena P. Schrader
Marina,
I suggest you check out my website http://spartareconsidered.com which provides a list of sources both primary and secondary and well as recommendations for historical fiction (other than my own.) It also provides a wealth of information in small, digestible doses under "Spartan Society" and a link to my blog (http://spartareconsidered.blogspot.com), where I publish a new article each month. Hope both prove helpful to you.
Helena
I suggest you check out my website http://spartareconsidered.com which provides a list of sources both primary and secondary and well as recommendations for historical fiction (other than my own.) It also provides a wealth of information in small, digestible doses under "Spartan Society" and a link to my blog (http://spartareconsidered.blogspot.com), where I publish a new article each month. Hope both prove helpful to you.
Helena
Helena P. Schrader
The one that immediately comes to mind is, unfortunately, one I read in German and was originally published in French. It is about Isabella of France, Edward II's wife, and had the German title "Die Woelfin von Frankreich," (The She-Wolf of France). The author is Maurice Druon. You might try to see if there is an English translation somewhere.
Sharon Kay Penmann also usually portrays women realistically, so her novels in which Eleanor of Aquitaine appears and her portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in "The Sunne in Splendour" might be what you're looking for.
Last but not least, of course, there are my own books. Gorgo plays an important, highly independent role, in "A Peerless Peer" and "A Heroic King" of my Leonidas trilogy. Marguerite of France is a strong character in "St. Louis' Knight." Maria Comnena, Dowager Queen of Jerusalem, is a strong character in my current series on the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century starting with "Knight of Jerusalem."
Hope this helps.
Sharon Kay Penmann also usually portrays women realistically, so her novels in which Eleanor of Aquitaine appears and her portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in "The Sunne in Splendour" might be what you're looking for.
Last but not least, of course, there are my own books. Gorgo plays an important, highly independent role, in "A Peerless Peer" and "A Heroic King" of my Leonidas trilogy. Marguerite of France is a strong character in "St. Louis' Knight." Maria Comnena, Dowager Queen of Jerusalem, is a strong character in my current series on the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century starting with "Knight of Jerusalem."
Hope this helps.
Helena P. Schrader
I'm not sure what is meant by "writer's block."
I generally suffer from insufficient time to write. I'm not someone who can write if I only have a half hour here or there. I need time to get back into the time period and the story. So I generally set aside my weekends for writing. Then, when the weekend finally comes, I usually re-read the previous scene/section even chapter before I start work on the next, and I use the workweek to think ahead to what exactly I want to write on the coming weekend.
I have never sat down to write without knowing what I want to write. The worst that happens is I'm not sure what perspective to take or how to approach a certain scene and I may write several versions of the same scene before I feel satisfied.
But I honestly can't remember ever just staring at a blank screen without a clue about what to write. Maybe that comes from writing only on weekends and so having lots of time to think about what I want to write before I actually sit down. I hope that answers your question.
I generally suffer from insufficient time to write. I'm not someone who can write if I only have a half hour here or there. I need time to get back into the time period and the story. So I generally set aside my weekends for writing. Then, when the weekend finally comes, I usually re-read the previous scene/section even chapter before I start work on the next, and I use the workweek to think ahead to what exactly I want to write on the coming weekend.
I have never sat down to write without knowing what I want to write. The worst that happens is I'm not sure what perspective to take or how to approach a certain scene and I may write several versions of the same scene before I feel satisfied.
But I honestly can't remember ever just staring at a blank screen without a clue about what to write. Maybe that comes from writing only on weekends and so having lots of time to think about what I want to write before I actually sit down. I hope that answers your question.
Helena P. Schrader
First and foremost, a writer is someone with a story they want to tell and the craft to tell it -- not someone who fancies being "a writer." In other words, if you don't have a story in you clamoring to get out, don't try to write.
Second, remember that "writing about things you know" is not the same thing as writing about yourself. Unless you are a celebrity or have experienced very unusual things in your life, nobody but your family or friends is going to be interested in your life. If you need to work through your personal problems by writing about them, fine, but don't expect to sell your self-therapy to a wider public.
Third, if you aren't writing an autobiography, you are going to have to do a lot of research. It doesn't matter if you are writing about a different location, a different time period, or just a different profession from your own, there is always a great deal to learn. Do your research. Be sure you know the relevant jargon, culture, laws, climate, vegitation, foods, religious rituals, social customs, clothing, technology, transport and communications systems -- everything about the environment in which your novel is set.
Now, don't include everything you learned from your research in your novel! Use your knowledge to make your characters behave in a credible, realistic fashion for whatever society, country, time period, profession they are supposed to represent. Use your knowledge of their surroundings to create realistic plot twists and use your knowledge to judiciously describe the environment, but don't do a "data dump."
Last but not least, character not plot is what makes or breaks a novel.
Second, remember that "writing about things you know" is not the same thing as writing about yourself. Unless you are a celebrity or have experienced very unusual things in your life, nobody but your family or friends is going to be interested in your life. If you need to work through your personal problems by writing about them, fine, but don't expect to sell your self-therapy to a wider public.
Third, if you aren't writing an autobiography, you are going to have to do a lot of research. It doesn't matter if you are writing about a different location, a different time period, or just a different profession from your own, there is always a great deal to learn. Do your research. Be sure you know the relevant jargon, culture, laws, climate, vegitation, foods, religious rituals, social customs, clothing, technology, transport and communications systems -- everything about the environment in which your novel is set.
Now, don't include everything you learned from your research in your novel! Use your knowledge to make your characters behave in a credible, realistic fashion for whatever society, country, time period, profession they are supposed to represent. Use your knowledge of their surroundings to create realistic plot twists and use your knowledge to judiciously describe the environment, but don't do a "data dump."
Last but not least, character not plot is what makes or breaks a novel.
Helena P. Schrader
My current project is a biographical novel of Balian d'Ibelin, the man who defended Jerusalem against Saladin in 1187. I have to admit, it was Ridley Scott's film "Kingdom of Heaven" that inspired this book -- indirectly. Having seen the film, I wanted to know just how much was "Hollywood" and was amazed to discover that Balian d'Ibelin was a historical figure.
Furthermore, the story of real Balian was (in my opinion) much more interesting than the film Balian. The more I learned about the historical Balian, the crusader kingdoms, the Leper King and the Third Crusade the more inspired I became to write a novel about him, his Byzantine wife and this fascinating and colorful period of history.
The result is a biographical novel in three parts. The first part, "Knight of Jerusalem" covers Balian's life as the landless, younger son of a baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It describes his friendship with Prince, later King, Baldwin IV, the Leper King, and his spectacular marriage with the Dowager Queen Maria Comnena. This book is now in the final stages of editing and will be released this fall.
The second part, "Defender of Jerusalem," follows Balian, now Baron d'Ibelin, in the turbulent ten years between 1177 and 1187. As the Leper King dies limb by limb and Saladin's strength grows, the drum-beat of jihad sounds ever louder. Yet the Kingdom of Jerusalem is bitterly divided over the succession to Baldwin IV. I'm writing this book now, and hope to have it ready for release in late 2015.
The third part, title still TBD, will cover Balian and Maria after the fall of Jerusalem, during the struggle to regain the Kingdom of Jerusalem. These are the years when Maria's daughter becomes a rival claimant to the throne -- due in part to Balian's influence -- and when Richard the Lionheart comes to Outremer to reclaim Jerusalem. Balian and Richard are at first opponents, but in the end Richard turns to Balian to negotiate the desperately needed peace. The expected publication date of this book will be in 2016.
Furthermore, the story of real Balian was (in my opinion) much more interesting than the film Balian. The more I learned about the historical Balian, the crusader kingdoms, the Leper King and the Third Crusade the more inspired I became to write a novel about him, his Byzantine wife and this fascinating and colorful period of history.
The result is a biographical novel in three parts. The first part, "Knight of Jerusalem" covers Balian's life as the landless, younger son of a baron in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It describes his friendship with Prince, later King, Baldwin IV, the Leper King, and his spectacular marriage with the Dowager Queen Maria Comnena. This book is now in the final stages of editing and will be released this fall.
The second part, "Defender of Jerusalem," follows Balian, now Baron d'Ibelin, in the turbulent ten years between 1177 and 1187. As the Leper King dies limb by limb and Saladin's strength grows, the drum-beat of jihad sounds ever louder. Yet the Kingdom of Jerusalem is bitterly divided over the succession to Baldwin IV. I'm writing this book now, and hope to have it ready for release in late 2015.
The third part, title still TBD, will cover Balian and Maria after the fall of Jerusalem, during the struggle to regain the Kingdom of Jerusalem. These are the years when Maria's daughter becomes a rival claimant to the throne -- due in part to Balian's influence -- and when Richard the Lionheart comes to Outremer to reclaim Jerusalem. Balian and Richard are at first opponents, but in the end Richard turns to Balian to negotiate the desperately needed peace. The expected publication date of this book will be in 2016.
Helena P. Schrader
I wish I knew!
Inspiration is not something we control; it comes most unexpectedly but compellingly out of apparently no where and I can never answer why one historical event fires me with a thousand ideas for novels while another only speaks to my rational brain.
I know, however, that I have often been inspired by visiting someplace -- my first trip to Cyprus, for example, seeing the incredible ruins of Byzantine fortresses on the jagged mountain ridge and the lovely castle of Kolossi by the sea sparked my imagination and produced not one but four novels. Likewise, the castles and monasteries of the Languedoc inspired me. But sometimes it's another book, a film, or a fragment of history I run across while doing research on a completely different topic.
One thing is clear: the spark of inspiration is personal and individual. No none else can tell me what I ought to right about. When people ask: "Why don't you write about x?" My answer is: "Why don't you?" That's not a brush off. My point is, if a story strikes you as worthy of a book, then you -- not I -- have been inspired with the idea. It is your book, not mine. I must continue to write those books which I have been inspired to write.
Inspiration is not something we control; it comes most unexpectedly but compellingly out of apparently no where and I can never answer why one historical event fires me with a thousand ideas for novels while another only speaks to my rational brain.
I know, however, that I have often been inspired by visiting someplace -- my first trip to Cyprus, for example, seeing the incredible ruins of Byzantine fortresses on the jagged mountain ridge and the lovely castle of Kolossi by the sea sparked my imagination and produced not one but four novels. Likewise, the castles and monasteries of the Languedoc inspired me. But sometimes it's another book, a film, or a fragment of history I run across while doing research on a completely different topic.
One thing is clear: the spark of inspiration is personal and individual. No none else can tell me what I ought to right about. When people ask: "Why don't you write about x?" My answer is: "Why don't you?" That's not a brush off. My point is, if a story strikes you as worthy of a book, then you -- not I -- have been inspired with the idea. It is your book, not mine. I must continue to write those books which I have been inspired to write.
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