Here are some posts I enjoyed from around the web this week:
500-year-old English Bible reveals Reformation secrets. Usually elaborate scans and special software are used to look through ancient scrolls, but here these techniques were used on a Bible first issued by Henry VIII. In short, the conclusions these secrets reveal is how much more gradual and incremental was the transition from Catholicism to Protestantism than previously portrayed. That makes perfect sense to me. People do not instantly change their religious beliefs, even when threatened by powerful political forces. It makes great reading to find out how many bits of incriminating writing had been pasted over in the years following its publication. Someone can make a novel of the story of this Bible—Tudor writers, takers anyone? Click here for Queen Mary University of London “Historian Uncovers Secrets of the Reformation hidden in England’s Oldest Printed Bible”
Learning to write in Egypt. An ostracon with an alphabet table of practice letters fr 15th century BC pushes back the date of the earliest example by 2 centuries and possibly implies a bigger role for Egypt in the development of alphabet. An ostracon is a fragment of broken pottery used to write on—the scratchpad of the ancient world. The article in Archaeology has a great photo of the ostracon. Click here for Archaeology Magazine “Artifact: Egyptian Ostracon”
Looking for some good mystery reading? The Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative offers a 4 book set for 99 cents. These four mysteries range in time periods and settings from I. J. Parker’s The Hell Screen, set in Medieval Japan, to Anna Castle’s Murder and Misrule, set in Elizabethan England, to Libi Astaire’s Tempest in the Tea Room, set in Regency England, to M. Louisa Locke’s Maids of Misfortune, set in Victorian San Francisco. Click here for Historical Fiction “Murder and Mayhem: Four Historical Mysteries”
What immerses a reader in a novel, removes all the barriers between reader and story? This post on Writer Unboxed does a pretty good job describing that magic process whether you’re a reader or a writer: a seamless world, a complex cultural context and deep emotions. Click here for Writer Unboxed “The Art of the Plausible”
If you missed Nancy Bilyeau’s The Tapestry, it’s out in paperback today, so grab a copy of this “true historical thriller. It’s a Tudor novel full of suspense, intrigue, brutality, and death. It’s a well-researched page-turner. If you’re looking for an exciting historical read, this will be on your list.” –medievalists.net review Click here for Nancy Bilyeau “The Tapestry Goes on sale as Paperback”