After three years of being constrained by the title ‘Writing Historical Fiction’, this blog has had a makeover (Oct ’13). The aim now is to write about whatever gets my quill pen quivering, rather than just about historical fiction. Naturally there will still be a strong element of the past (hence the title inspired by Owen Barfield), as that is my chief interest, but I will not be constrained by it. So expect a rant about modern problems now and again! – but I shall always try and understand what bedevils us now by looking at the past.
I’d like the site to reflect my central belief, which is the oneness of all things. This covers all beings, from amoeba to universes, but of course, the main interest is in humanity. Whether a drunken Maenad in a dionysiac procession, a slave in ancient Cyprus, a king of Britain, a scribe in Renaissance Florence, all people in all periods and places share a common humanity. When people cast doubt on historical fiction and the ability of an author to imagine another age, or write about characters of the opposite sex, they have a very literal view of life.
All it takes to connect with humanity is self-knowledge (understanding those parts of yourself which are universal) and imagination.
In the quote from Barfield below, he is speaking of Sophia (ancestral voice) becoming transformed by Christ into an un-ancestral voice, the voice of the Imagination. However, I’m sticking with ‘Ancestral Voices’ as ‘Unancestral Voice’ – well, that is far from self-explanatory.
‘Once I was the ancestral voice of the Father-wisdom, the theosophia that spoke inarticulately through blood and instinct, but articulately through the sibyls, the prophets, the masters. But at the turning-point of time, by that central death and rebirth which was the transformation of transformations, by the open mystery of Golgotha, I was myself transformed. I am that anthroposophia who . . . is the voice of each one’s mind speaking from the depths within himself.’ (Owen Barfield, Unancestral Voice 221)
Karen
24 Apr 2011A wonderfully informative blog, Linda! Thank you for sharing with all of us about your writing – a genuine labour of Love. Just wondering if you might share a bit more about what the photo (above) is, where it was taken, and so on? It is very striking indeed…
Linda Proud
24 Apr 2011Thanks, Karen! The photo is an inscription above the door of Francesco Datini’s house in Prato (he was the eponymous ‘Merchant of Prato’). My yet-to-be-finished novel is about Fra Filippo Lippi whose great fresco cycle in Santo Stefano, Prato, was funded by a charitable body set up by Datini.
The script is Lombardic. Prato is pretty good on late medieval stuff and gives you a real feel for what, for our Renaissance heroes, were their every day surroundings (we always live with the past).
Twenty minutes from Florence by train – I highly recommend a detour should you ever be in the great city.
Louise Canfield
31 May 2014Great blog and love your unifying theme of the oneness of all things…
Linda Proud
10 Jun 2014Thanks, Louise. Back problems are keeping me from the computer these days but soon I hope to get back to blogging. Thanks for your encouragement.