Thursday, March 26, 2020

Five Facts From History the BryonySeries Taught Me, Part Two

In the first post of this kind, I'd mentioned how part of the fun of writing novels with a historical basis is, well, learning the history behind them.

Here are five more facts about history I didn't know before I wrote the BryonySeries prequel, Before The Blood.

1) I learned A LOT about one of the most brutal wars in human history, a war of which I had almost no knowledge before the research.

And that war is the 30 Years War.

2) A variation of vichyssoise can be made with two other ingredients - and now I want to try this version.

The ingredients are almonds and grapes.

3) I learned the lyrics more cowboy songs I ever knew existed - and two lines to one from the Civil War won't leave my head.

The lines are:

 I'm lonesome since I crossed the hill
And over the moor that's sedgy
Such lonely thoughts my heart do fill

Since parting with my Betsy

And I discovered the music to many of them on YouTube.

4) I can name a number of restaurants that no longer exist in Chicago - and tell you what they served.

Here's one: Henrici's.

5) I had never heard of cordgrass - but now I know what it is and where it grows - and why (even though the "why" didn't make it into the story).

You can see a photo here.



Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

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