Patricia Furstenberg, Writer of Historical Fiction, Children's Books
Travel via Stories
History does not crown its queens gently. It tempers them: through loss, through expectation, through demands of survival. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise… I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet appearances. Is resilience something we possess… or something we are forced to become?
Continue reading “To Be A Queen by Annie Whitehead: Forged in Duty”
There are stories that refuse to stay in one place. They move through empires and forests, from the hills of Rome to the endless grasslands of the steppe, carried not in stone, but in memory and blood. Again and again, across distant peoples, the same figure appears: not crowned, not tamed, but wild: the wolf.
From the White Wolf and the Lupercal cave in Rome, to the wolfish-blood origin of the Mongols, the She-Wolf Asena ancestry of the Turks and, of course, to the fearless Zalmoxis and the Great White Wolf of the Dacians let’s follow the wolf.
Continue reading “The White Wolf Ancestry of Romans, Genghis Khan, Turks, and Dacians”
History rarely buries its secrets cleanly. We often mistake quiet for innocence. But history and human nature also suggest otherwise. I’ve been exploring a remarkable group of historical voices lately and discovered what lies beneath quiet surfaces. When confronted with the past, is it the truth we seek… or the version we can live with?
Continue reading “A Mischief of Murder by Helen Hollick: Which Truth We Seek?”
We are lucky each winter to spot so many colorful birds in our garden, to have it turn into a theater of feathers and folklore. There are brilliant flashes of color, bold intruders strutting like conquerors, and quite a few picturesque personalities.
I am so happy to share with you not simply a list of birds, but a procession. And each one arrives with a story. Find more African birds and their legends here.
Continue reading “Colorful Birds in a South African Garden, International Bird Day”
The road curled around the valley like a silk ribbon that time itself could have dropped. And maybe it did. It was up to me to pick it up and discover where it will lead.
Continue reading “The Unique, Medieval Church of Sântămăria Orlea, Transylvania, Romania”