The origins of France’s Third Republic; “It divided us the least”

Posted Posted in Uncategorized

Any portrayal of France in the first decades of the Twentieth Century  often shows societal divisions enhanced by the often bitter consequences of Gallic passion. Since politics is a primary vehicle to arbitrate disagreement, life in these often turbulent times can be better understood through an understanding of the Third Republic which provided the governmental framework for the French to quarrel- a practice for which they are widely famous. The […]

March 31, 1905- The Day Europe was Put on Alert

Posted Posted in Book Commentary, Historical Fiction, Uncategorized, World War I

Readers of William Whitaker’s Some Damn Fool Thing have been introduced to the events of March 31, 1905 in its first chapters, but from the perspective of over one hundred years it is difficult to appreciate the the basis and extent of the reaction that a speech by Kaiser Wilhelm  elicited that day. The seeds  for the dramatic response provoked by Wilhelm had been first sown some forty years previously […]

On Historic Fiction; Dealing with the force

Posted Posted in Book Commentary, Historical Fiction, Uncategorized

Readers surmise that fiction writers start a book with a blank page of limitless options. In reality every writer is constrained by past experience and predilection; nowhere are the limits more severe than in writing fiction based on history. To craft such a narrative, past events not only demand a fixed time setting but also a cast of characters integral to the historic events. More importantly the sum of their […]

On Writing; An Ode to Billy Faulkner

Posted Posted in Book Commentary, Historical Fiction, Uncategorized

In recent years I have often asked myself what is a man well into the autumn of his life doing writing historical fiction. It certainly isn’t for notoriety or fortune. I have spent the greater part of my life analysing probabilities, first as a cardiologist and more recently as an investor in fledgling companies, and from that experience I understand the probability of any writer gaining either is a mathematical […]