History Exchange Letter
Jun. 11th, 2016 12:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakDear Writer of many talents,
you've volunteered to write some characters that intrigue me fo rme, and I'm happy and grateful! Here are some thoughts:
Juana of Castile, Henry VII, and/or Margaret of York:
The AU that's been haunting me ever since reading in The Winter King that Henry VII after Elizabeth of York's death wanted to marry Juana, whom he had met (and thought sane) during hers and Philip's earlier visit in England: what if Juana had become wary of her father that crucial bit sooner, had managed to escape and had taken Henry up on that offer? (Not for romantic reasons, obviously, but as crafty bastards go, Henry Tudor easily was anyone's match, including Ferdinand of Aragon's and it would have been in his best interest to keep insisting on Juana's sanity in order to support her claim on Castile over her son's.) How would Juana have fared in England? Her sister Catherine was there, but for how long? (Somehow I doubt Henry VII would have kept her as a possible match for future Henry VIII, since one Spanish princess was enough, and he'd have wanted to get a different profit from any future marriage of his son.) What's it like to be married to Henry VII in his later years, and dealing with young Henry (bound to be less than thrilled about all of this) not-yet-VIII as a stepson?
If Juana had gotten a child, especially a male child, before Henry VII died, what would Henry VIII. have done? (On the one hand: Castile, and the ever expanding Spanish empire, so just killing the kid who has a right to that would be out, plus all kings need a successor, and a younger brother is the traditional one - as Henry himself was - before there is one's own offspring. On the other hand: Henrv VIII even as a young man was really bad with competition...) If you tackle this AU, bit in one scene or a story, I'll be grateful forever!
If AUs just aren't your thing, then anything about Margaret of York (and Burgundy) trolling Henry VII through the years by supporting rival claimants would be welcome. Or just a take on Margaret, survivor (as opposed to her brothers) and successful ruler (ditto) for her stepdaughter. Margaret's childhood and youth during the wars of the roses would also be fine, or maybe just a scene from when Edward and Richard were the temporary powerless exiles at her court.
Artemisia Gentileschi:
Artemisia and her intense paintings have fascinated me for a long while. Anything featuring her would be welcome, as long as it's not based on the movie by Agnes Merlet that whitewashes her rapist. (Seriously: no Agostino Tassi whitewashing, please!). I'm familiar with some of the novels about Artemisia but neither in love nor in disdain with any of them, so if you want to use them, feel free.
How Artemisia dealt with the rape, the trial and the notoriety are obvious possible subjects, but if you choose to focus on Artemisa creating her paintings - an entire vignette just about Artemisia drawing and painting would be fine! - , or trying to make a life in Florence after leaving Rome, or visiting the English court when her father was there (Charles I was reigning - how much of the tense atmosphere in the realm did an outsider like Artemisia notice?), or her childhood in Rome - seriously, anything would be welcome to me. Orazia Gentileschi knew Caravaggio, whose style influenced both him and his daughter - did Artemisia ever met Caravaggio as a child? And speaking of people she met, she knew and corresponded with Galilei. She had two daughters: what was their relationship like? And so forth. Just pick an aspect that appeals to you.
Aphra Behn:
I'm resisting the temptation of using Virginia Woolf's famous quote about her. Restoration playwright, poet and (former) spy: Aphra is easily a match to Christopher Marlowe in that we know intriguing tidbits but not nearly enough, which is ideal for speculative fiction, yet Molly Brown's Aphra-as-detective novel aside, there doesn't seem to be any. Changing that would be awesome. Some ideas: Aphra knew Nell Gwyn (one of her plays supposedly was written for her), so how did they interact, either before or after Nell had become a royal mistress? What was it like to be a female playwright earning a living from this in Restoration London? Aphra spent some time overseas (where she supposedly got the inspiration for "Oronooko" from): maybe an experience there? And since she wrote about slavery: did she know any slaves in London later? Or, Aphra the spy: were her loyalties ever torn? Be it a James Bondian escapade or a Le Carré like shades of grey introspective vignette, any spy adventures would be good to read about as well.
Here, too, as with the other requests: anything goes.
you've volunteered to write some characters that intrigue me fo rme, and I'm happy and grateful! Here are some thoughts:
Juana of Castile, Henry VII, and/or Margaret of York:
The AU that's been haunting me ever since reading in The Winter King that Henry VII after Elizabeth of York's death wanted to marry Juana, whom he had met (and thought sane) during hers and Philip's earlier visit in England: what if Juana had become wary of her father that crucial bit sooner, had managed to escape and had taken Henry up on that offer? (Not for romantic reasons, obviously, but as crafty bastards go, Henry Tudor easily was anyone's match, including Ferdinand of Aragon's and it would have been in his best interest to keep insisting on Juana's sanity in order to support her claim on Castile over her son's.) How would Juana have fared in England? Her sister Catherine was there, but for how long? (Somehow I doubt Henry VII would have kept her as a possible match for future Henry VIII, since one Spanish princess was enough, and he'd have wanted to get a different profit from any future marriage of his son.) What's it like to be married to Henry VII in his later years, and dealing with young Henry (bound to be less than thrilled about all of this) not-yet-VIII as a stepson?
If Juana had gotten a child, especially a male child, before Henry VII died, what would Henry VIII. have done? (On the one hand: Castile, and the ever expanding Spanish empire, so just killing the kid who has a right to that would be out, plus all kings need a successor, and a younger brother is the traditional one - as Henry himself was - before there is one's own offspring. On the other hand: Henrv VIII even as a young man was really bad with competition...) If you tackle this AU, bit in one scene or a story, I'll be grateful forever!
If AUs just aren't your thing, then anything about Margaret of York (and Burgundy) trolling Henry VII through the years by supporting rival claimants would be welcome. Or just a take on Margaret, survivor (as opposed to her brothers) and successful ruler (ditto) for her stepdaughter. Margaret's childhood and youth during the wars of the roses would also be fine, or maybe just a scene from when Edward and Richard were the temporary powerless exiles at her court.
Artemisia Gentileschi:
Artemisia and her intense paintings have fascinated me for a long while. Anything featuring her would be welcome, as long as it's not based on the movie by Agnes Merlet that whitewashes her rapist. (Seriously: no Agostino Tassi whitewashing, please!). I'm familiar with some of the novels about Artemisia but neither in love nor in disdain with any of them, so if you want to use them, feel free.
How Artemisia dealt with the rape, the trial and the notoriety are obvious possible subjects, but if you choose to focus on Artemisa creating her paintings - an entire vignette just about Artemisia drawing and painting would be fine! - , or trying to make a life in Florence after leaving Rome, or visiting the English court when her father was there (Charles I was reigning - how much of the tense atmosphere in the realm did an outsider like Artemisia notice?), or her childhood in Rome - seriously, anything would be welcome to me. Orazia Gentileschi knew Caravaggio, whose style influenced both him and his daughter - did Artemisia ever met Caravaggio as a child? And speaking of people she met, she knew and corresponded with Galilei. She had two daughters: what was their relationship like? And so forth. Just pick an aspect that appeals to you.
Aphra Behn:
I'm resisting the temptation of using Virginia Woolf's famous quote about her. Restoration playwright, poet and (former) spy: Aphra is easily a match to Christopher Marlowe in that we know intriguing tidbits but not nearly enough, which is ideal for speculative fiction, yet Molly Brown's Aphra-as-detective novel aside, there doesn't seem to be any. Changing that would be awesome. Some ideas: Aphra knew Nell Gwyn (one of her plays supposedly was written for her), so how did they interact, either before or after Nell had become a royal mistress? What was it like to be a female playwright earning a living from this in Restoration London? Aphra spent some time overseas (where she supposedly got the inspiration for "Oronooko" from): maybe an experience there? And since she wrote about slavery: did she know any slaves in London later? Or, Aphra the spy: were her loyalties ever torn? Be it a James Bondian escapade or a Le Carré like shades of grey introspective vignette, any spy adventures would be good to read about as well.
Here, too, as with the other requests: anything goes.
