New Look for the Blog!

Do you like the blog’s new look? I’ve been intending to change it forever but just haven’t taken the time. Today I decided to play a bit, inspired by the French setting in Refiner's Fire, and I really like this theme. (By the way, I just discovered that if you're looking at it on a smart phone, it looks somewhat different, and the image in the header doesn't show.)

A while back I happened across some wonderful paintings by Italian artist Arturo Ricci, and for the header image I decided to use one I particularly like, L’Attesa or “The Expectation”. It reflects my characters and parts of Refiner’s Fire quite nicely. I’m thinking the couple on the left could stand in as Elizabeth Howard on the arm of Lucien Bettár, le comte de Caledonne’s son and thus Jonathan Carleton’s cousin. Ideally her hair would be darker since it’s a dark auburn, but good enough. Her escort does look like I envision Lucien.

The little girl with the older woman could sure be Abby and Tess Howard, though Abby is 13 in the story so would be a bit bigger. Then the man seated behind them would be Caledonne, and the couple seated beside the doorway would be their hosts, Caledonne’s daughter and son-in-law le marquis and la marquise Cécile and Eugène de Sevieux. This is undoubtedly as close as I’m going to get to these characters.

The more I look at this painting, the more I’m thinking about using it for the Refiner’s Fire cover. It’s in public domain and I found a fairly large image on Wikimedia that Marisa might just be able to do her magic on and make work. 

I originally intended to use a naval battle painting for book 6, but what do you think? Would you like to see this scene gracing the cover of Refiner's Fire? Please leave your comments and let me know yay or nay—for both the cover and the new blog design.

Life at Versailles

Arial view of modern-day Versailles

In the forthcoming installment of the series, Refiner’s Fire, Elizabeth has been whisked off to France to keep her safe from British attacks. Meanwhile White Eagle is far out in Ohio Territory wrestling with the frustrating and tricky politics of negotiating with the Indians to prevent their allying with the British against the Americans.

My previous post gave a historical overview of Versailles, which is one of the story’s settings. One of the fun things about writing a sweeping historical saga is all the potential for intrigue on so many levels, and it’s so much better when history presents a treasure trove of factual material to work with, as in this case.

Versailles, just as every other royal court, was not only the nation’s power center, but also a hotbed of juicy rumors and delicious gossip. And there was plenty of fuel for the fire since even acts expected to be the most private—including personal bodily functions, dressing and undressing, sexual encounters, and births—were attended by courtiers and nobles who held various levels of rights of access. Naturally, the greater the Rights, the higher the individual’s personal prestige, so they were avidly flaunted. Louis XIV, France’s Sun King, developed these elaborate ceremonies in the 17th century as a way to control the nobles. By the late 1770s, when Refiner’s Fire is set, power struggles playing out on the field of etiquette were rife.

The most important nobles held Major Rights, which included things like being able to sit in the royal presence or to address the king as Monsieur instead of Monseigneur or Majesté, a privilege that indicated the highest intimacy. Lesser nobles and servants such as physicians and valets-de-chambres were granted only Minor Rights—much less impressive, but nevertheless an indication of a degree of royal favor that could be lorded over those less fortunate.

Marie Antoinette being dressed

Every day started with the ritual morning dressing, held separately for king and queen, beginning with a petit lever attended only by those who held Major Rights and followed by a grand lever open to those who held Minor Rights. The king and queen could not put on any item of clothing until it had been handed to them by whoever held that particular right. On one occasion, while Marie Antoinette waited stark naked and shivering, not to mention increasingly frustrated and humiliated, ever greater rights-holders kept entering the chamber, which meant that the person in possession of the article she was waiting for first had to hand it over to the one who outranked her. One presumes that by the time the grand lever began the king and queen at least had their underclothes on! The ritual undressing, the coucher, followed in the evening with the same formalities as the monarchs were put to bed—in separate chambers—with the assistance of the highest ranking members of the nobility.

Salon of the Grand Couvert

There was also a regular public dinner called the grand couvert, which pretty much anyone could attend to watch the royals eat. At left is the room where this took place at Versailles as it appears today. People did have to meet minimum standards for dress, such as a sword and hat for the men. If one came unprepared, however, the proper equipment was available for rent at Versailles’ gates. Surprisingly, considering the formality that reigned at the palace, the service at meals was usually haphazard, with special dishes for the royals sometimes going astray, only to be enjoyed by one of the servants later.

Marie Antoinette by Jean-Baptiste
Gautier Dagoty, 1775

At court ladies were expected to wear the cumbersome court dress like the one Marie Antoinette is wearing at left. It featured extremely wide hoops and a long train to display the expensive fabric it was made of. Men’s dress was no less ornate, and of course both men and women had to have their hair powdered. Pomatum was applied to the hair, then an enormous cape was draped over one’s clothing and powder was blown onto the hair. This made it impossible for men to wear hats, so they carried them under their arms at their sides instead! For ladies wool, tow, pads, and wire were added to their own hair to construct towering coiffures called poufs, which featured ornaments such as feathers and jewels. Imagine managing a really wide, long dress while wearing a tall monstrosity on one’s head for hours at a time! How would you sit down? Or go to the bathroom?

Madame de Pompadour

Wearing rouge was also de rigueur.
Because it was so expensive, it was seen as a badge of rank and distinction. No one outside the court was allowed to use it. There was nothing subtle about how it was applied either. You painted a precise circle of the stuff in a color pretty close to scarlet on each cheek, as shown in Madame de Pompadour’s portrait at right. (Look closely, and you can see the little case of rouge in her hand.) The effect was so…um, striking…that sensible Germans like Mozart thought it detestable and unbearable to the eyes.

Another interesting feature of the French court was that every subject traditionally possessed the right of access to the sovereign. This made security at the palace essentially nonexistent. The common people freely roamed through the palace’s salons, hallways, and chambers, and not necessarily in decent dress—which the poor certainly couldn’t afford. They even entered the king’s apartment as soon as he stepped out. Though the queen’s apartment was generally more or less off limits, the fishwives held an ancient right to address the queen on certain prescribed occasions. This eventually morphed into a general right of access for all the market women, and they would flock into the queen’s rooms and boldly admonish her and the princesses on their perceived failings.

What struck foreign visitors to Versailles in the 18th century most was the smell and the dirt. Much of it resulted from the royals’ numerous pets. Cats, dogs, monkeys, birds—you name it, they had it. You can imagine the chaos of animals bounding through the palace at will and doing their business wherever. To say nothing of the vagrants who settled into the palace’s many nooks and crannies in such numbers that they occasionally had to be routed out with spaniels. According to some reports, you could smell the place five miles out, though that seems a bit extreme!

All in all, life as a French king or queen wasn’t as glamorous as one might imagine. What’s your opinion of the “royal” life? How would you feel about having a whole crowd of people involved in your most private moments, including standing around gawking while you ate or even were in the process of giving birth?

The Palace of Versailles

The palace of Versailles is going to be one of the settings in Refiner’s Fire, so today let’s take a look at the home of King Louis XVI of France and his queen, Marie Antoinette.

Versailles was the royal residence and center of political power in France for little more than a century, from 1682 until the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. Now a world-class museum, this palace is famous not only as a building, but also as a symbol of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.

Before 1038 in the Charter of the Saint-Père de Chartres Abbey, Hugues de Versailles was listed as the seigneur of the insignificant village of Versailles, whose small castle and church lay on the road from Paris to Dreux and Normandy. The population of the village declined sharply after an outbreak of the Plague and the Hundred Years’ War, but in 1575 a Florentine citizen, Albert de Gondi, purchased the seigneury, and he invited the future Louis XIII on several hunting trips in area.

Versailles on a 1652 map by_Gomboust

The young dauphin was delighted with the forest and meadows that surrounded the village and the abundance of game he found there. The location was ideally situated between his principle residence at Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Paris, and after he was crowned king, he hunted there again several times, finally ordering the construction of a stone and brick hunting lodge in 1624. Eight years later, he obtained the seigneury of Versailles from the Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the lodge.

The king and his successors, Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI each renovated and enlarged the structure during their reigns, creating extensive gardens and adding numerous other buildings to the site until it became one of the most costly and extravagant palaces in the world. More than 36,000 workers were involved in construction, and when the building was completed it could accommodate up to 5,000 people, including servants. An additional 14,000 servants and soldiers were quartered in annexes and in the nearby town.

The short video below is a cool 3-D presentation showing the progression of the chateau’s enlargement and the development of the gardens and additional buildings. In all, about 37,000 acres of land were cleared to make room for tree-lined terraces, walkways, and thousands of flowering plants, with 1,400 fountains and 400 pieces of sculpture.

Versailles is most associated with the Sun King, Louis XIV, who personally took on the role of architect. He made the chateau the new center for the royal court in 1682, establishing all the power of France there: government offices and the homes of thousands of courtiers, their retinues, and all the functionaries of court. The nobles of a certain rank and position were required to spend considerable time there, which enabled Louis to solidify his control of the government by preventing them from developing their own regional powers that would compete with his. Thus the French government became an absolute monarchy.

Below is a longer and very interesting video documentary about the history and development of Versailles.

In Refiner’s Fire, Jonathan Carleton’s uncle le Comte de Caledonne brings Elizabeth Howard to France to keep her safe from British assassination attempts. While there she meets the American commissioners to Paris, among others, and is drawn into the intrigues at court.

In my next post, we'll take a look at what life was like at Versailles during the mid 18th century.

What attracts me to Versailles the most is those fabulous gardens and the works of art housed there. What fascinates or attracts you the most about this palace turned museum?

Northkill Amish Series

Voting for the Christian Indie Awards is now open, and Bob Hochstetler and I covet your vote for The Return, Book 2 of our Northkill Amish Series, closely based on the inspiring true story of our Amish ancestors. Voting is open through March 31, 2018. To vote, go here, click on the link, scroll down to The Return, in the Historical Fiction category, and submit your vote. Book 1, Northkill, won the 2014 Foreword Magazine Indie Award, and The Return has already won the Interviews and Reviews 2017 Silver Award for Historical Fiction. We greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word about this series, and contest awards are one of the best ways to do that.

Below are some of the latest 5-star reviews for the Northkill Amish Series. We thank all our readers for their encouraging feedback!

“This first book in the two-part Northkill Amish series was a reading experience unlike any other. What makes this novel even more gut-wrenching is that the story is based on true events that happened to the ancestors of the authors. In astonishing descriptions based on solid research, the authors bring to life the story of an Indian attack on an Amish family during the French and Indian War. It is brutal and painful to read, yet so astounding in the depth of the spiritual struggle of the captives that are forced to undergo suffering and separation from loved ones. It is a book I could not put down and will never forget. I am anxious to read the sequel.” —HistoryLover (Amazon)

“I stayed up till 2 am this morning so I could finish The Return ... the story of an Amish family whose lives were shattered when Indians attacked their home and three family members were killed while three were kidnapped. This novel ... is based on true events. It was also written by descendants of the family, who obviously poured themselves into the research behind this book and produced a stellar series.

“I barely know where to begin with my review because this book is more than a historical tale. It is a life-changing experience as you read about people of faith who must deal with the reality that God sometimes allows suffering. The why of it is not always plainly seen. Sometimes God’s truth and purposes in that suffering are revealed in time. Yet there are situations in life that make no sense from our earthly perspective and may never make sense in this life.

“Powerfully written and engaging, The Return is a must read for Christians who think that pain and suffering only happens to sinners. For indeed it does, because we all have sinned. Yet not all of us must go through such suffering. Read this series and be changed forever. Five plus stars.” —HistoryLover (Amazon)

“Beautiful story. It is like Swiss Family Robinson, The Odyssey, Daniel Boone and Light in the Forest all rolled into one.” —Bill Hostetler (Amazon).

“I have heard the stories about my Amish ancestors, but they always seemed more legend than reality. The authors have succeeded in filling in the gaps of the family folklore by giving flesh-and-blood reality to the characters in this drama. I was impressed with the thorough research that supported the narrative, and with the vivid description of frontier life for Amish immigrants. But I was most impressed by the quality of the writing that kept me engaged throughout.” —Arvilla (Amazon).

Nonhelema of the Shawnee

When thinking about women who played important roles in the American Revolution, I’ll bet a Native American warrior woman doesn’t spring to mind. But today we’re going to take a look at a female Shawnee chief and warrior who, surprisingly, played an important role on the side of the Americans in opposition to the majority of her people. Nonhelema will appear in book 6 of my American Patriot Series, Refiner’s Fire, bringing a warning of danger to Jonathan Carleton/White Eagle as she did in real life to American soldiers on the frontier during the Revolution.

Nonhelema's Memorial Stone
Logan Elm Park

Nonhelema was born around 1718, about 2 years before her most famous brother, Cornstalk. They had 2 younger brothers, Silverheels, and Nimwha. The family migrated to Pennsylvania from West Virginia or Maryland around 1730 as the Shawnee and other tribes were increasingly pushed westward by the expansion of white settlements into the continent’s interior. From there they relocated to Ohio Territory near present day Chillicothe on the Scioto River.

According to the journal of Indian agent George Morgan, their father was named White Fish, and Cornstalk seemed to confirm that in a 1775 speech. However, according to the records of the Moravian missionaries, Cornstalk was the son or grandson of a well-known Pennsylvania Shawnee chief named Paxinosa, or “Hard Striker”, who has been mistakenly identified by some writers as Tecumseh’s father. I’ve found some accounts online that link the two names, so both may be correct. Nonhelema first married an unnamed Shawnee man, and later in life married the Shawnee chief Moluntha. She had several children, including a son, Thomas McKee, from her relationship with Indian Agent Colonel Alexander McKee and another son, Captain Butler/Tamanatha, with Colonel Richard Butler.

Nonhelema stood nearly six feet, six inches tall and by all accounts was an imposing figure with a well-formed body and long, flowing hair that turned white in old age. When she was young she fought as a warrior and was known to be a fierce adversary in battle. She came to be called The Grenadier or Grenadier Squaw in reference to the height of 18th-century grenadiers. She was present at the Battle of Bushy Run in August 1763 and may have participated in it, painting her body black and fighting naked as was the custom of her people. Without a doubt the sight of such a warrior must have given her enemies pause!

Logan Memorial
Logan Elm Park, Ohio

The Shawnee had both male and female chiefs, and Nonhelema became chief of the largest Shawnee village on the Pickaway Plains in Ohio Territory. Her town lay on the south bank of Scippo Creek southeast of present-day Circleville, a short distance from Cornstalk’s Town on the creek’s north bank. The cabin of Nonhelema’s friend John Logan, a notable Mingo orator and war chief, also lay nearby. The unprovoked slaying of his entire family by Virginians at Yellow Creek precipitated Lord Dunmore’s War.

Nonhelema reputedly fought at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774, where the Shawnee force led by Cornstalk was defeated and the war essentially ended. Since Shawnee women played important roles in relations with other nations, she most likely attended the treaty with Cornstalk. The place where the treaty was signed and where Logan made his famous lament for his murdered relatives was less than 4 miles from Nonhelema’s Town. She and Cornstalk abided by this treaty for the rest of their lives, unlike the majority of the Shawnee.

Nonhelema’s participation in colonial frontier wars apparently convinced her that the survival of her people depended on living peacefully with the Americans. By the Revolution Nonhelema had become a peace chief, and she spent the rest of her life working toward that end. However, hers and Cornstalk’s peace proposals were opposed by a large faction of the Shawnee, who hoped to use an alliance with the British to reclaim the lands taken from them by settlers. By the winter of 1776, the nation was divided between those who advocated neutrality in the war between the Americans and the British, led by Nonhelema and Cornstalk, and those who allied with the British, led by men such as Black Fish and Blue Jacket, who will also appear in Refiner’s Fire.

The Power of the Gospel
David Zeisberger preaching to the Indians

In researching 18th century Native Americans, there are many contradictory accounts and dates that make it difficult to sift out the facts. What is clear, though, is that Paxinosa’s family was greatly affected by the ministry of the Moravians, whose missionaries initially served among the Indians in Pennsylvania, primarily among the Lenape, or Delaware. They eventually established a number of towns for Indian believers along the Muskingum and Tuscarawas rivers in Ohio where many Shawnee towns were located as well. According to The History of the Moravian Mission Among the Indians in North America, Paxinosa’s wife—who would be the mother of Nonhelema and Cornstalk—was converted by the preaching of the Moravians in 1755 and, with Paxinosa’s consent, was baptized by Bishop Spangenberg. The History also recounts that in 1771 the well-known missionary David Zeisberger traveled among the Shawnee and at the first village was kindly received by a son of the chief Paxnous (Paxinosa)—quite possibly Cornstalk—who offered to accompany them during their visit.

Some online accounts claim that Nonhelema was baptized in 1772 by Zeisberger and took the English name Katherine, with the nickname of Katy. This is quite plausible given the many connections between her family and the Moravians. The History records that in 1776 Cornstalk arrived at Gnadenhütten, one of the towns of the Indian believers, with more than 100 men, women, and children in his retinue, and that “His behaviour was courteous, and he shewed a particular friendship for the missionary Jacob Schmick.” Judging from the actions of Nonhelema and Cornstalk during the American Revolution in working for peace between the Americans and the native peoples, both were deeply influenced by the Moravian doctrine of nonresistance.

On July 25, 1777, Nonhelema warned the soldiers at Fort Randolph on Point Pleasant that most of the Shawnee were allying with the British and planned to attack other forts. Cornstalk came to Fort Randolph with another chief, Red Hawk, that November to warn the fort’s commander that he could not hold his warriors back from going to war against the Americans. The commander held the men as a hostages to ensure the Shawnee’s neutrality, and when Cornstalk’s son came to visit him, he was also held. On November 10, 2 American militiamen from the fort who had gone out to hunt were found killed by Indians. The enraged soldiers broke into the room where Cornstalk and his companions were being held and brutally murdered them in retaliation.

Fort Randolph

Nonhelema, who was also at the fort serving as interpreter, had been sent out with 2 scouts as spies to the waiting Shawnee war party to deliver a message from Captain McKee, that he could not comply with their demand to release the chiefs. She most likely was on her way with the message when her brother, nephew, and their companions were killed.

In spite of her brother’s murder, Nonhelema did not waver in her friendship for the Americans. In 1778 she again warned Fort Randolph of a coming attack. On May 20 a Wyandot and Mingo force under Dunquat, the Wyandot Half King, surrounded the fort and began a week-long siege, during which Nonhelema’s large herd of cattle and horses was destroyed. Unsuccessful in their effort to force the fort’s defenders to surrender, the Indians began to move up the Kanawha River to attack Fort Donnally. Nonhelema dressed 2 messengers, John Pryor and Philip Hammond, as Indians so they could carry a warning160 miles to the garrison at Fort Donnally, which then also withstood attack.

Present-day view at site of
Nonhelema's Town

With her herds gone and her people’s hostility toward her growing, Nonhelema was forced to flee for protection to the town of the Lenape’s principal chief, White Eyes, near the Lenape capital of Coshocton, Ohio. In 1780 Nonhelema served as guide and translator for the U.S. inspector general of cavalry, when he traveled to Illinois to treat with the Indians there. She petitioned Congress in 1785 for a 1,000-acre grant in Ohio, as compensation for her services during the Revolution. Congress denied this claim but granted her a pension of daily rations and an annual allotment of blankets and clothing. When General Benjamin Logan led Kentucky militia against the Ohio Shawnee the following year, Nonhelema and her husband and family surrendered to the troops. Even so, a soldier killed Moluntha, and Nonhelema was held at Fort Pitt. While there she helped the commander compile a Shawnee-language dictionary. She died sometime after her release in December 1786.

Historical Marker at Nonhelema's Town

Although Nonhelema was revered by many of the Shawnee as an influential chief, those of her people who allied with the British considered her a traitor. According to Nonhelema’s memorial plaque in Logan’s Elm Park south of Circleville, Ohio, “She spoke three languages, serving as peacemaker and interpreter between Indians and Whites. Because of her friendships, she accepted Christianity. After the peace treaty in 1774, she was disowned by her people and became a homeless exile.”

Nonhelema’s story includes many difficult and sad circumstances, but she was a great leader among her people at a critical time in their history and ours.