Stepping into the Past: On Castles, Spitfires, and Feisty Scots

Nancy Means Wright author photoRelevant History welcomes back historical novelist Nancy Means Wright, who has published fourteen novels with St Martin’s Press, Dutton, Perseverance Press, and elsewhere, including two historical mysteries featuring 18th-century Mary Wollstonecraft. Her most recent historicals are Walking into the Wild for tweens, and the multi-generational novel, Queens Never Make Bargains. Her short stories, both mystery and mainstream, appear in American Literary Review, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Level Best Books, et al. Her children’s mysteries have received an Agatha Award and Agatha nomination. Nancy lives in Middlebury, Vermont, with her spouse and two Maine Coon cats. For more information, check her web site, and look for her on Facebook.

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Some people move ahead with the times—I’ve been stepping behind. After a decade with a contemporary farmer sleuth, I journeyed back into the 18th-century and into the head and heart of real life feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. I relived Mary’s turbulent adventures as governess in an Irish castle and as author of the groundbreaking Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)—for which they called her a “philosophical wanton.” And I wrote a middle grade novel, Walking into the Wild, set in the 18th-century Republic of Vermont, in which three young siblings walk up into a wilderness filled with catamounts and Tories, in search of a captured father.

Now I’ve reached a stage in my life where I want to dig into my own family roots. In Queens Never Make Bargains, I tell the story of my Scottish grandmother, who as a young woman, alone, took ship aboard the Campania, a turn-screw, steel structure with a veranda café for first class (my granny rode third class) from Port Glasgow in Scotland to New York City. Her half-sister had died in childbirth and she was to be nanny to her uncle’s brood of seven children. She later married him and had six more—thirteen in all. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that I discovered in the Edinburgh, Scotland archives that my grandmother was illegitimate! It took a glass or two of Scotch for me to digest this stunning news—and then I wrote a novelette for Seventeen Magazine that ultimately turned into a full-blown novel.

Castle in the Highlands
Castle MenziesOf course I wasn’t alive when my grandmother took that ship. I have only basic facts, along with family stories sifted down through the years, and myriad visits to Leven Fifeshire where my mother’s family lived in Scotland near the Firth of Forth, and where archeologists had dug up the body of a Viking in full armor. And I placed scenes near the Menzies Castle in highland Weem where my father’s forebears lived. My daughter and a friend once sneaked into the elegant ballroom after the castle was locked and had a fitful night’s sleep filled with dreams of kilts and daggers!

The area is magnificent. The whole valley spins at the feet of the castle: braes, burns, the old houses and trees of Weem and Aberfeldy, Dull and Fortingall. This had been Menzies country since the thirteenth century when the laird was granted the lands and became in loco paternis to the people, renting them land, I was told, in return for certain favors. It was those favors, my father claimed, that spawned our branch of the family!

Life, Love, and Art in Cherry Valley, Vermont
After reaching America, my fictional Scots nanny, Jessie, moves with her uncle and his unruly brood to a town I call Cherry Valley, Vermont. The latter is based on the Vermont machine tool town of Springfield, which was allegedly on Hitler’s World War II “hit list” for bombing. Russian and Poland immigrants flocked there during and after WWI, and I’ve created a love affair between Jessie, who teaches English to the foreigners, and a young Polish poet. Her uncle, of course, does everything he can to separate the lovers.

So far as I know, my grandmother was never in love with a young Pole, who despite his pacifism, fights for his new country in WWI, but like my mother who never told about her illegitimate origins (if indeed she knew), my grandmother stored her secrets deep inside.

One of my characters is based on Joe Henry, a real life artist from Springfield, Vermont (1912-1973), whose paintings I’d seen in an art gallery. I was amazed at the quality of his work, for polio had left him with no use of his opposable thumbs. To paint, he would stand propped in braces before a cardboard table, and then sweep a painting onto canvas or the back of newspaper—for Joe had little money for art materials. I interviewed a compassionate veterinarian who took him on his farm rounds in the 1930s, and gave him subject matter for his work, which eventually found its way to N.Y.C. galleries. One of his paintings graces the cover of my book.

Banned Plays and War Planes
Since the novel tells the fictionalized story of three passionate Menzies women who carry on their lives through two world wars, a pandemic, and a Great Depression, I write from three different points of view. In Part 3, I’m in the head of Victoria, the youngest of Jessie’s charges, who grows into a rebellious young woman in love with the 30’s theater (a theater killed by fanatical congressmen), with her (married) Vassar College professor, and with the Spitfire airplane.

SpitfireAfter seeing Colonel Charles Lindbergh set down his famous Spirit of St. Louis in a nearby field (he truly did in 1927), she learns to fly, and ferries planes in wartime London. Women pilots are not allowed to carry guns, although like Victoria, they do encounter Messerschmitts in the embattled air. My older brother, a pilot and navigator, steered me through the mysteries of Victoria’s beloved Spitfire, with its snug single seat and overhead “bubble” which she calls “the dome of heaven—like flying out of the self.” Like the WWII female pilots I’ve researched, she has her share of misadventures—including a landing in foul weather in which a fellow pilot just ahead of her drowns in his plane.

So the narrative moves in and out of time (1912-1945). I’ve been researching it off and on for years, exploring the roles of immigrants and their conflicting cultures and religions. I’ve been particularly interested to see how external events shape and alter our lives, and how, like many of my ancestors—and yours as well, no doubt—we cope with and survive them, even when we lose what we most love.

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Queens Never Make Bargains book coverA big thanks to Nancy Means Wright. She’ll give away copies of Queens Never Make Bargains (ebook or paperback) to three people who contribute a comment on my blog this week. I’ll choose the winner from among those who comment by Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Delivery is available within the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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Comments

Stepping into the Past: On Castles, Spitfires, and Feisty Scots — 33 Comments

    • Thank you so much, Jacquie, for dropping by–and for reading my novel, of course! I’m deeply appreciative. I know that the novel you wrote with your son dipped into a fascinating bit of the past, as well.

  1. Nancy, I’m already in love with this new work. I respect the amount of research you had to deal with and look forward to reading this historical novel that had to be written from your heart.

  2. Nancy, this was mesmerizing. I enjoyed your whole piece, but being a lover of history during WWI and WWII, I found it so intriguing. And, how funny, I love the Spitfires of WWII, as well as the Corsairs. (sp?)
    I can only imagine the big-eyed shock when you found the illegitimacy in your history. My mother researched our lineage avidly until she found something she didn’t like :) When she shared it with me, I just laughed and said, well, I don’t think it “took”, there’s certainly no evidence of the occurrence now :) What’s that old saying? If it can’t be seen from a galloping horse, or remembered in one hundred years, don’t worry about it! I enjoyed this post very much, thank you for sharing with us. Lo

    • Well, Loretta, it turned my life and writing around, that’s for sure! Most likely my mother didn’t know–or if she did, she said nothing to her four offspring. I ultimately discovered that my great-grandmother’s husband had either died or disappeared and she fell in love with a man named Wallace who lived down the street.He was a clerk by profession, which might mean he was a writer of sorts, and in that case, would have given me some writing genes! Thank you so much for your comment.

      • I suspect that “shockers” lurk in most people’s ancestry. My shocker was finding out that my Revolutionary War patriot ancestor joined the Continental Line at the age of twelve (12), was issued a uniform and weapon, and was paid monthly. His unit was in several major battles and overwintered at Valley Forge. Yes, America has used child soldiers. My ancestor was one.

        • A soldier at 12 years old? Amazing, Suzanne! I’d be interested to know how you found this out. I’ve read about boy drummers–but 12 is so young to go into battle… You might use this experience in one of your own novels? Or write a YA? I’ve read books about women dressing as men in both the revolutionary and civil wars, but not about young boys. though I can understand the pull for a young fellow, a sort of coming of age trial.

        • Nancy, you can read about it by following the link in my reply. My family had the oral tradition that Joseph joined a militia unit at age 17 and at the end of the war. But I found out the truth when I was researching my ancestry for admission into the Daughters of the American Revolution. I did the math on his birth year several times because I didn’t believe it. Then I sat back and cried for Joseph. (The poor boy. What hell he must have seen. And he joined to help his widowed mama and two younger siblings.) When my sons came home from school that day, I sat them down and told them. They were only a few years older, so it was a very sobering moment. A few years later, my older son wrote a short story for a contest; it was from Joseph’s POV about being in a battle. (He didn’t win the contest. We suspect that the judges found the idea of a 12-y-o American soldier unbelievable.) In my latest book, A Hostage to Heritage, one of the sub-plots is about child soldiers, and I listed Joseph on my Acknowledgements page.

  3. Nancy, what a great blog post and I absolutely can’t wait to read your book. I spent a week in Aberfeldy which was not nearly enough. What a beautiful area. My grandparents all came over on big ships when they were in their early teens just before WWI. And let’s just say my mother discovered a similar history with you not that long ago!

    • So we share the same past, Cindy! Yes, Aberfeldy is my father’s home base, according to family legend, although like other crofters, his forebears were shipped over to northern Ireland in the late 1500s or early 1600s–to the consternation of the Catholic natives! I’d love to hear more about your teenaged ancestors who came here in the big ships! And yes, about that “similar history”…

      • Suzanne: I’ll certainly want to read A Hostage to Heritage. It sounds like a unique, poignant, yet exhilarating book! And how lovely that your son wrote a short story using Joseph’s persona.But don’t let him think of going to war!

  4. Terrific post, Nancy. Isn’t it amazing what we find in our past? Two shockers in mine–the tantalizing hint that one of my foremothers was Native American, and a relative 4 generations back convicted of corruption in NYC. Then there was my mother’s great-uncle, who sailed the prairies on a raft mounted on wheels.

    I look forward to reading both Queens Never Make Bargains and A Hostage to History. They sound fascinating.

    • Whoa, Nikki–you have some fascinating histories to follow up on. The native American ancestor and the great-uncle sailing the prairies on a wheeled raft. Amazing! through all that tall grass and grasshoppers! You must research them all past and write about it! Add a little fiction to what you don’t know. History is so crammed full of surprises–some, I fear, we’ll never know.

  5. Feisty Scots! That makes me smile! My father (Scott MacLeod) is in his late 80’s (don’t tell him I said so!) and I cherish all his stories of the Clan MacLeod. Which, literally translates from Gaelic as “son of the ugly”. So much history for us all to learn. I only wish history was more appreciated by all!

    • How lovely to hear from a MacLeod! Thank you. And with a first name redolent of heather–how Scottish is that! My first dog, a collie, was named Heather Angel,and three collies after that. And “son of the ugly”–what a fun translation. I tried to learn Gaelic, but it’s hard…I hope you’re writing down those family stories.

    • I only wish his­tory was more appre­ci­ated by all!

      Ah, Heather. You’re a woman after my heart. And that’s a whole other blog topic.

      Here in my state of North Carolina, the governor is trying to close down historical sites with the mistaken idea that it’ll help him balance his bloated budget. History in the public school system of all states is so often a step-child, turned into rote memorization of dates and battles. History, like science, needs to be taught and revered as the magic it is.

      • Oh, and that is SO true! I only wish I saw history for the magic it is while I was in school! I can’t get enough of it now!

  6. Nancy, wonderful to see that you have a new book out–you are so prolific! And it sounds fascinating. Amazing what one can find out about one’s family if one takes the time to look more closely, as you obviously did. Your research in Scotland must have been fun–it’s such a beautiful country. I was only there once, hitch-hiking with a friend back in the 60’s during my sophomore year in college, and loved every minute of it, despite rain almost every day. We went to Edinburgh, Loch Morleigh (sp?) in the Highlands, where the heather was in bloom, Inverness, and the Isle of Skye, which was my all-time favorite place. Like you, I have Scottish connections through my paternal grandmother, whose ancestors belonged to the White clan, but unlike you,
    I haven’t researched them. Maybe now I will. Anyway, look forward to reading your new book. Leslie

    • Yes, do research those ancestors, Lesley–you never know what nuggets of history you’ll dig up. The sensory description of your sixties’ Scottish visit makes my mouth water. I hope, too, that you’ll carry on with Edith Wharton–it doesn’t have to be a mystery. I hope, too, we might find you and your civil war books on this history site? Suzanne has been so generous to us history buffs. Oh yes, and I love the sheep-filled Isle of Skye–have written a long poem about it.

  7. Nancy: Your new novel sounds fascinating. I love historical fiction and can’t wait to read Queens Never Make Bargains. I enjoyed your Broken Strings novel immensely and admire your talent. Good luck with the newest work.

    • Thank you, Susan, and I’m anxious to read the sequel to your wonderful Red,Red Rose–speaking of Scottish Robbie Burns! Your novels are also filled with history. We can’t separate ourselves from our past, can we? Nor should we…

  8. Queens Never Make Bargains sounds like a wonderful book. And that family surprise! Perhaps everyone has one if they look. Mine was my mother’s actually. A cousin she never knew about visited her when she was in her 80s. Her father’s brother was completely ignored in her family (I suspect my grandmother had something to do with that). But the cousin knew all about my mom’s family. It seems his father ran a house of ill repute. Also, when the father married a second time, his new wife didn’t want the children, ages grade school and high school. So their father gave them a house where they took care of themselves. The cousin (one of the younger ones) remembered hiding under the porch when someone came from an early 20th century child welfare organization.

      • We mystery writers know that keeping a family secret from surfacing is a great motivation for murder. 😉

    • I agree with Leslie, Norma. That’s quite a story. How sad that the cousin’s family was ignored. I’ve seen some of that ostracizing in my own family. It, too, dates from the early part of the 20th century.

    • A fabulous story, Norma! I love these surprises! Put a dozen people in a room, and I’ll bet you’d hear a dozen quirky, breathtaking stories. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

  9. While doing genealogy research my cousin discovered, that my grandfather’s father married my grandfather’s mother (the second wife), when my grandfather was already in his late twenties.My grandfather was one of 18 children and was one of the youngest. On his marriage certificate, my grandfather’s father stated, that he was a widower. Yet, his first wife was still ALIVE and they were not divorced!Bigamist for sure!

    • Denise, not so long ago, agencies responsible for checking up on stuff like that either didn’t exist or weren’t efficient. It’s amazing what people could get away with just a century ago by moving to another country or even another U.S. state.

      • Oh, I love this, Denise. A bigamist! An amazing secret for you to dig up. I hope you sat down and had a nice stiff drink with your family. Now I’d love to know how your forebears dealt with this at the time–or perhaps they didn’t know it.