Historical Fiction

A World Apart.
Aziza stood in the garden of her mother’s ancestral home. Humid air thick with hibiscus and frangipani clung to her skin. Gravel crunched under servants’ careful steps, baskets of laundry and trays of fruit balanced expertly in their arms. Whitewashed walls glowed in the late sun; balconies draped with bougainvillea brushing against carved stone. Bees darted through the blooms; a bird’s sharp cry cut the courtyard murmur.
By Gladys Kay Sidorenko3 months ago in Chapters
The Real Mirror Behind Snow White
Snow White’s evil queen and her mirror come from 16th-century Germany — and there was a real woman behind the story: Countess Margaretha von Waldeck, known for her beauty and a tragic death at 21.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
A World Apart
Aziza leaned against the doorway, watching the familiar chaos unfold around her like a favourite play rehearsed a hundred times. Her mother, Helen, glided through the hall with the elegance of a queen, her silk scarf trailing behind her like a banner. “Samuel, the passports—where are they? I won’t have us stranded at Heathrow because you think jokes are luggage,” she scolded, though her lips curved with affection.
By Gladys Kay Sidorenko3 months ago in Chapters
Rise and fall of a family business.
Finally, the head of the family and the glass hut called a family meeting, and laid out the problem and the solution. It had happened before to the family, once when they moved away from the Black Forest in Bavaria, many generations ago, and once here in the Jizera Hory, four generations ago. Then they just abandoned the house and glass hut and started again in the present location. But now, the forest was too far away, the roads were becoming impassable in the winter, and it wasn’t profitable to invest in repairing the road to the forest edge. And the village was too small to survive. He had spoken to several families and businesses in the village and they were willing to relocate with him and his glass hut to the new location. Now his bombshell announcement made sense. His secretive absence two weeks previously with four leading men of the village, the severe frown on his face. The boys were stunned, but excited. New adventures awaited them. The girls were shocked, and distraught. Two of the sisters had suitors calling on them, and now they were going away? Like all teenagers, throughout the ages, they were being dramatic. Their lives as they knew it were over. Their father sternly told them to get over it, the decision had been made. They were the leading family of the village, and this was for the good of the community. They were leaving just as soon as the new glass hut and furnace was built. Their mother had no opinion to add to the discussion. Everyone realized that around the village this news was being released. Everyone would be in turmoil.
By Guy lynn3 months ago in Chapters
Rise and fall of a family business.
This period of glass manufacturing was known historically as forest glass. Pale transparent green glass. The glass hut was located next to a mountain stream, surrounded by trees. The soil was sandy. Trees were cut down by hand and dragged to the glass hut to feed the furnace. Sand was needed to melt in the furnace with chemicals, potassium and whatever the glass makers could get their hands on to make the raw product they needed to mold into what they were creating once they had created the glass. And after they had made their magic, they would carry it to market to sell. Walking, normally, with a wheelbarrow carrying the weight of the finished product. Not only did the head of the house and the business need lots of sons to cut down trees, but also to feed the hungry furnace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But also to dig up and carry the sand. And then to walk to market with the wheelbarrow of glass bowls, cups, plates and windows. And when they got to Prague, or Vienna, negiotiate the sale to eager buyers. It was a major trip to undertake, with many pitfalls waiting to be overcome. Bandits, highway men, wild animals, treacherous terrain. There were legends of murders on the road to Venice, and thefts of money. But luckily, that never happened to this family. The boys were too strong, too big, too wary and smart. So the old man had to chose his son carefullyto lead the trip, because everything was relying on them to survive the trip and make money for the family and the business. So the duties were divided up between the sons. The oldest and smartest was in charge of selling and the money. The strongest and most trained in fighting were in charge of security. And they always carried sharp weapons to fend off attacks on the road. Once, they were attacked, and the boys were prepared for it. Shifts were made up for guard duty while the rest slept with knives and hammers at the ready. When the attack came in the middle of the night, the guard woke up the brothers and the fight was on. The bandits were not expecting resistance, and they quickly ran away. And never bothered them again. And there was always one or two younger sons along for training. Then, other sons stayed behind to work the furnace, making glass and running the business. It was never ending. But somewhere in all this hard work there was hard play, dances, dinners, hunting, fishing, and courting. Just down the stream and over the hill there were unmarried girls just waiting for a boy to come avisiting and courting.
By Guy lynn3 months ago in Chapters
The Rating Game
Everyone had a score. Your friendliness, your politeness, your tone — everything was rated instantly by others through their contact lenses. The average was displayed above your head in soft glowing numbers. The higher your score, the better your life.
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
Kia Ford: The Hammer Girl's English Premiere Production
With darkness invading the scene, encouraging shorter daylight hours, unpacking, settling into a long winter break, the Peacock concluded an international holiday, researching underground mountain climbing expeditions.
By Marc OBrien3 months ago in Chapters
What Makes Yul’s Spanish Tragedy a Landmark in Modern Historical Fiction
Each age provides us with a handful of novels that not only recount a tale, they redefine the way we feel history. They span the impossible distance between past and present, making old dust live and breathe. Jules Wright's Yul's Spanish Tragedy is one such remarkable work.
By Edward Molne3 months ago in Chapters
Kia Ford: The Hammer Girl's English Premiere Production
“Blue and gold, blue and gold, I am not that old,” hummed Kia Ford sending a rhythmic message while picking out an ensemble, “navy is ever so true when selecting, gold and blue”.
By Marc OBrien3 months ago in Chapters
Kia Ford: The Hammer Girl's English Premiere Production
Weekend commenced and the Peacock called it quits, concluding the bubble machine power struggle, diagnosing the situation, broken beyond repair. Deciding to pull the plug, ending the GP stimulating electricity goal getting energy source, proclaiming changes were already underway. Heading over towards the living room, the promotional fowl collapsed, couch breaking the fall, providing sweet home comfort.
By Marc OBrien4 months ago in Chapters
David Crockett, Scout AUDIO BOOK CHAPTER 1–5
David “Davy” Crockett (1786–1836) is one of the most famous folk heroes in American history. Often remembered by the nickname “King of the Wild Frontier,” Crockett’s life combined fact and legend. He was a skilled scout, soldier, and frontiersman whose adventurous spirit captured the imagination of his contemporaries and later generations. From his early life on the Tennessee frontier to his dramatic death at the Alamo, Crockett became a symbol of rugged independence and American courage.
By Kek Viktor4 months ago in Chapters
Uncontainable
As modernity emerged, rich families might be funding new neighborhoods outside the old city walls of Jerusalem with paper money from far away lands, but inside, in the twisted alleys where ways of knowing pressed against each other like old neighbors sharing walls, people traded their pasts.
By Jacob Isaac Abraham4 months ago in Chapters