by Molly Owen | Jun 13, 2012 | Blog, Terry Blain
In 2004 my husband and I took a trip to England & Scotland. This was one of my dream trips as I have a MA in History (specializing in Tudor and Stuart England) and taught Western Civilization at the college level.
After a week in London, we rented a car and took off to tour the country, staying in B&Bs. At one point we stopped in a small village to get snacks, and the store keepers, knowing we were tourist by our accents, asked we we’d been to Bodiam Castle and recommended we see it. So next morning we went to see. As you can tell from the photo, Bodiam Castle was a moated castle built in the 14th century, the very iconic fairy tale castle with crenellated four towers. The castle was partly dismantled in the 16th, but in the 1829 was partially restored. Now it belongs to the National Trust and open to us tourist. The exterior is almost complete, and even the gatehouse has the original wooden portcullis.
Since we arrived early before the castle opened, we visited the souvenir shop. While in the shop we talked to one of the locals who ask about our visit. Learning I was a history teacher, he mentioned that later that evening the local historical society was having a reading of Rudyard Kipling and would we still be in the area. He asked, “Do you like Kipling?” A pause while my inner American/Groucho Marx took advantage of an opening too good to pass up. “I don’t know,” I replied, “I’ve never kippled?” Apparently even old American jokes are new in England and everyone laughed. Then I apologized as we would have to miss Kipling as we were leaving that afternoon.
The castle is only about half there as the timbers are and wooden or lath walls are gone. Was really interesting, you cross the moat, and at the barbican, the murders’ holes. Once inside, it’s quickly obvious that medieval people were much smaller that we are. I’m not a tall person (5’4”) anyone taller than I probably would have to duck to get through the door ways. Once inside one of the room that was still complete accept for the roof, it would have been very dark.
The really fun part was going up one of the towers. AS we’re going up the clockwise staircase (with very little steps, couldn’t get my whole foot on the steps), I’m explaining to my husband that the stairs are this way so that most people being right-handed, any invaders wouldn’t have room to swing their swords. And right after I said this, we met a husband and wife coming down the stairs, the husband swing his cane to show his wife how the defenders would have the advantage over any invaders. I forget if we backed down or they went back up, but there was no room to pass on those stairs.
Once we got to the top of the tower, here was a great view over the country side. You could have seen anyone who was coming a long way off. We had a great time at Bodiam Castle all because we stopped and talked to people in small shop.
Have you ever stopped and without planning found an interesting place?
by Molly Owen | May 13, 2012 | Blog, Terry Blain
Once our son’s grew up and left home, my husband and I got puppies. So now we do agility with our dogs, a Scottish terrier named Smokey and a Pembroke Welsh corgi named Bandit.
So now I’m thinking about how to incorporate dogs into my stories. Since I write (mostly) in the American west, there are plenty of opportunity to have a dog as a character. In one story the cowboy hero brings his new wife a puppy. Ranches often had dogs, as they were useful in helping drive cattle. My husband’s family had a dog, Buster, that would help his father round up the cattle. Our Welsh corgi would be over the moon if we had some cows so we could tell him to go get and drive them in for milking.
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by Molly Owen | Apr 13, 2012 | Blog, Terry Blain
Walk the walk to talk the talk.
I remember a comment a friend of mine made after reading a very inaccurate historical novel* (see below). She said there ought to be a rule that you can’t write a historical novel unless you’ve been camping at least once. I think she might have a point.
I think one of the goals of the historical writer is to bring the past alive for those in the present. You can do all the research in the world into the history, politics, customs, costumes, etc. And an imagination is a great thing, but the more ‘hands on’ experience you’ve had the better I think your story will be. Experience, even a little, can help you add the details that will make your scene come alive.
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by Molly Owen | Feb 13, 2012 | Blog, Terry Blain
Two things happened last week that prompted this blog. There was a discussion on our loop about the lack of history knowledge in today’s students, and I watched one of my favorite movies. The movie was Red River (1948), a western staring John Wayne and Montgomery Cliff. As a history professor tried to make history real for my students, and one of the ways I did this was to show the first twenty minutes of this film for a discussion of the westward moment in America history.
For those of you who haven’t seen the film, here’s a brief summary of what the students saw. Thomas Dunstan (John Wayne) and his friend (Walter Brennan) are on a wagon train west before the Civil War, 1851 when they pull their wagon out of line and head south to Texas to start a ranch.
Wagon Master: You can’t leave, you signed on.
\Dunstan: I signed nothing, if I had I’d stay say, no I didn’t, I joined the train after you left St. Louis. (He keeps looking over his shoulder down the line of wagons).
Wagon Master: But there are signs of Indians #1. The Comanche’s are welcome to you, but not your bull and cow, we need the beginning of herds in California. #2
Dunstan: I’m starting my own herd.
As they start to leave, the girl Dunstan has fallen in love with wants to go with them.
Dunstan: I decided last night.
Girl: I have too, I want to go with you.
Dunstan: I’ll send for you
Girl: I know you have work to do, Tom. I want to be part of it. I love you.
Dunstan: It’s too much for a woman.
She pleads with him, but he says no.
Dunstan: I’ve made up my mind. I’ll send for you. Will you come?
Girl: Of course I’ll come. #3
But Dunstan says he has work to do, and he’ll send for her when he gets the ranch set up. So Dunstan and his friend head south.
Dunstan and his friends, reach Texas, and in the middle of nowhere, they stop, brand their bull and cow to start their ranch.
Dunstan: This is it, good water and grass.
Garth (as a boy): Who this belong to?
To me. Someday this will all be covered with good beef
At this point two Mexican arrive from the south.
Mexican: Where do you travel
Dunstan: No where
Mexican: You may remain here on Don Diego’s land. You are welcome for day, a week, a year
Dunstan: Are you Diego?
Mexican: No senior
Dunstan: Where is he?
Mexican: At his home across the river, 600 kilometers south
Groot: How far is that?
Dunstan: About 400 miles
Groot: That’s too much land for one man. Why it ain’t decent. All this land aching to be used. It ain’t decent, I tell you.
Mexican: But it is for Don Diego to decide.
Dunstan: Where did he get the land
Mexican: In grant from the king of all the Spains
Dunstan: Took it away from those who were here first. Indians maybe. Well, I’m taking it away from him. #4
This is essentially the prologue to the rest of the movie which deals with the first cattle drive north after the Civil War. And, of course, there is a romantic element that comes into the story.
One of the things I tried to teach was critical thinking. After seeing this part of the film, I’d asks question as to what they’d seen. What might have been incorrect? What did you learn about the lives of the people of the time?
Here are some of the things I pointed out to the class (from the numbers above).
#1 – Indian attacks on wagons trains were not common before the Civil War, as the wagon trains were just traversing the Great Plains. Indians attacks happen mostly during and after the Civil Was as the Indians realized the people were planning on staying on the land.
#2 – they didn’t need cattle in California. The Spanish had brought cattle, and they multiplied until they were killed for hides and tallow. Hides went back to New England to make into shoes.
#3 At this point I asked the women in the class to think about this scenario – This man is the love of your life, you go on the Oregon. How long are you going to wait for him to send for you? A year? Two years? Forever? Eventually marry someone else and hope you don’t hear from him? For the men this is the scenario – This woman is the love of your life, and you’ve made a success of your ranch. How are you going to send for her? How are you going to send a letter or massager? Go yourself? Where is Oregon are you going to look? Say the heck with it and marry whoever’s available?
#4 this film (in addition to being a good movie –OK I admit it’s one of my favorites) has a good example of Manifest Destiny (you remember that from you history classes, right?). Land belongs to those who can utilize it.
Have you ever seen a movie (or read a book) that made history come alive for you? I hope I made my students think about who we are and where we come from that has shaped up into who we are today. And I think that what, in some way, all of us who write historical novels do – tell today’s readers about the past and make it come alive.
by Molly Owen | Dec 13, 2011 | Blog, Terry Blain
OK, if you’re reading this, then I won my latest battle with technology. You see, the way to post to this Hearts Through History blog changed from when I blogged last.
And if you’ve read my previous blog “I Love/Hate Technology” you know I often have trouble with technical things. One of my problems is that the instructions for technical devices are written by people who already know how to operate the device. And therefore their instructions seem to be a little sketchy for us non-technical folk. (BIG congratulations to who sent our instructions for the new blog – actually understandable to me!)
For example, as an early Christmas present, my husband gave me the new Kindle Fire. It came in a nice box, with a little card that said – turn on your Kindle, follow the instructions. Sigh – that’s just not enough for me. After two days of trying to get it to link to the wireless and register it finally went to the Geek Squad where we found out that all the trouble was because when my husband bought it, he registered it in his name, not mine so it couldn’t find my old Kindle.
Thanks to the young guy at the Geek Squad who helped me. This reminds me of another of my technical observations – the youngest person present has the most technical ability. Twenty years ago my mom and I were visiting her sister. My aunt has just bought a new-to-her car that has a cassette tape deck. So there I am leaning over the front seat showing my mom and aunt how to use the tape deck. As the youngest person there, I was the technology person.
And while I love technology that lets me write books, and get them out to readers, it’s always a fight when it comes to Terry vs. Technology.
How do you do with technology?
ruins of Carthage in North Africa. And he tells his companions about how the Romans destroyed Carthage, as says that he, Patton was one of the Carthaginians talking about his past lives.