Delighted to be Exiled (with a bunch of fantastic authors)

Categories: 17th century · Author Spotlights · New Release · NewsTags: · · · · · · · Leave a comment

I have exciting news of a historical anthology that launches today! Historical Stories of Exile is a fantastic collection of original short stories that explores the theme of exile, written by best-selling and acclaimed authors. My contribution to this anthology is a story called Exiled Heart, which is about Susanne von Kuffstein, the daughter of an Austrian nobleman, who falls in love with her father’s high profile prisoner, Prince Rupert–yes, that Prince Rupert, of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms fame. Exiled Heart is about bittersweet first love and the duty that stands in a young couple’s way. I’m honoured…

Prince Rupert of the Rhine: Pirate Prince of the Caribbean #17thCentury #StuartAge

Categories: 17th century · Severed KnotTags: · · · · · 6 Comments

One of the most dashing and iconic figures of the War of the Three Kingdoms is Prince Rupert of the Rhine. The son of Frederick V, Elector of Palatine, and Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James VI of England, he fought for King Charles I’s against Parliament. The force and swiftness of his cavalry charge usually struck terror in the Parliamentarians (although it could have been more disciplined). To this day, portraits of Rupert still causes hearts to flutter.  While Rupert is mostly known as a Royalist cavalry commander, he did enjoy a brief sojourn as a Pirate Prince, sailing…

The Hudson’s Bay Company: a 17th century multicultural start up

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I’ve been thinking about how Canada became a nation and the long line of diverse people who paved the way. Curiously enough, Canada’s early story revolves a department store—the Hudson’s Bay Company. When you think Hudson’s Bay Company, you’re probably thinking of HBC, Bay Days sales and that iconic point blanket. I think of all that, but I also see an institution with a quintessential Canadian history, that started as a multicultural startup in the 17th century. It started with a dream. Two French Canadian trappers (coureurs de bois), Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers, were looking for the holy…

#OTD in 1645: The Battle of Naseby + an excerpt from Traitor’s Knot

Categories: 17th century · Traitor's KnotTags: · · · · · · · · · · 7 Comments

The turning point for the English Civil War happened on this date on Broad Moor, Naseby. Up until then, the Parliamentarians were struggling against the King’s forces, and the Royalists fully expected that victory was imminent. They were probably planning on returning home to their families in time for the fall harvest. And then Naseby happened. The days leading up to the battle were filled with constant rain which lifted late the previous night or early morning, leaving a thick fog to cloak the steady march of both armies. The Parliamentarians, led by General Thomas Fairfax and his Lieutenant General,…