Patricia Furstenberg, Writer of Historical Fiction, Children's Books
Travel via Stories
In fifteenth-century Transylvania, marriage was not a private affair. It was a public instrument. A legal mechanism. A way of (finally) being seen.
Continue reading “A Proven Historical Pressure Cooker: Marriage as Surveillance”
We are creatures of imagination and we understand the world by telling stories about it. Before chronicles hardened into dates and rulers. Before ink fixed memory into law. Stories softened fear, explained loss, they gave shape to grief. In Transylvania, where mountains fold memory into stone and winter teaches patience, stories do not merely entertain. They endure.
Continue reading “If History Forgets, Who Remembers? Hidden Truths in When Secrets Bloom”
Venture through the gates of ages, dare to time-travel and choose one journey to one of the 18 cities where history still breathes. Pick a historical fiction novel from the list below and walk the streets of ancient Rome or Athens; jump into the middle ages in Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Madrid; explore Renaissance in London, Florence, Prague; enjoy early modern life in Amsterdam or Geneva, Victorian Edinburgh or fin-de-siècle Vienna and Venice; read yourself into post-WW1 Moscow, or WW2 Lisbon and Paris, or deep-dive into the historical fiction of Dubrovnik and Budapest as if you belonged there. And if you are ready for more, there’s also a bonus read.
Continue reading “18 Cities to Travel Back in Time and the Historical Fiction Books Opening Their Doors”
Between 1 and 25 December enjoy on my blog, all free on this page, my Christmas gift: an Advent Calendar of riddles leading you to Romanian winter legends, first snow songs, and recipes to a seasonal dish to feast on! May your Christmas be Merry and your winter full of peace!
Continue reading “Your Christmas Gift, an Unique Advent Calendar of Romanian Winter Legends, Snow Songs & Feast”
Every year, on the first morning of December, when villages wake under frost and the rooftops shine like glass, I find myself thinking back to a moment when Romania reinvented itself.
A little more than a century ago, in 1918, a handful of historic provinces decided they wished to speak with one voice. Their choice reshaped a country, Romania, but also the map of Eastern Europe and the future of millions.
Most people know December 1 as Romania’s National Day. Fewer know the story behind it; it is one of war, collapse, hope, but mostly of the determined will of ordinary people.
Continue reading “Celebrating 1 December, Romania’s Day”