Reprinted from Brandy Purdy's Reviews and News
Elisabeth von Winterkirche, a tomboy in petticoats, would rather wield a sword than an embroidery needle, and cares more for war than the traditional life of a Bavarian noblewoman and wife. After her beloved twin brother Elias dies, and she is forced into a most unhappy marriage with a brute who repeatedly rapes her, Elisabeth dons her brother's armor, crops her hair, and with his squire and secret lover, Albrecht, sets out to join the doomed Crusade of 1101.
Along the way to Constantinople and then the Holy Land, she cleverly deals with all the tricks necessary to conceal her femininity and gains in confidence as she discovers that people "see what they expect. They see the armor and the cross and need look no harder," and readily accept her as what she seems to be--an innocent young nobleman embarking on a quest, his sword yet unbloodied.
The journey also proves enlightening in another fashion--Elisabeth, now calling herself Elias, discovers her attraction to her own sex, first in a chaste infatuation with the beautiful Ida, Margravina of Austria, and then in the arms of the beautiful whore Guiliana when her comrades in arms good-naturedly treat their young companion to a night of pleasure, to lose his suspected virginity. Guiliana keeps Elisabeth's secret and initiates her into the arts of love between women, which will stand her in good stead when, soon after, she finds the love of her life in the honey-eyed half Turkish, half Greek servant woman Maliha. But all too soon Elisabeth must leave her love behind and go on to face the blood, roar, and thunder of battle, and the heat, filth, and buzzing flies of an army of unwashed armor-clad bodies on the march and the deprivation and want they endure when supplies run low and the enemy burns the fields rather than have their crops fall into enemy hands.
Nan Hawthorne paints a vivid, living, breathing, and, when it comes to the travails of war, broiling hot and reeking portrait of what life was like for a pilgrim knight on crusade. Beloved Pilgrim is a grand tale of love and adventure, heartache and self-discovery that both male and female readers can enjoy.
For those concerned about sexual content in their reading matter: the lesbian sex scenes are vividly rendered, but they are not, in my opinion, gratuitous, as each expresses something about the characters involved--In this story, sexuality is also part of the journey.
Beloved Pilgrim breathes new life into the oft-told centuries old tale of "girl disguises herself as boy to go off to war" and is one of the best novels of this kind that I have ever read.
Q: I have always found the stories of women who doffed their petticoats, cropped their hair, and disguised themselves as men to go off to pursue an education, a career, like Dr. James Barry for instance, or to fight in wars, or even lead battles like Joan of Arc. What inspired you to write Beloved Pilgrim? Is your heroine/hero Elisabeth based on a real historical person or a composite of more than one real woman?
A: There are so many reasons a woman might want to live either like a man or actually as one. (I call these books “Grrlz2men” and set up a Facebook page to explore them.) In Joan’s case she felt she had to fight, and though it was not unheard of for women to fight, they were almost always peasant women who followed their men into battle. Joan, like Elisabeth, wanted to fight as a knight. In Barry’s case it was to be able to work in a field where women were not welcome. I have also read books, like Jae’s “Backwards to Oregon”, where the woman dressed as a man to avoid being victimized by men. But to me Elisabeth, who is by the way based on my own inner sense of myself, is simply being herself. In 2011 in the US she could do that more readily whether not adopting the identity of a man, but in 1101 the only way she could, in her class, was to actually put on her brother’s armor and masquerade. This is a time-honored choice, particularly in time of war. I for one am not surprised that many women have made this choice, since I simply do not believe a person is born predestined to behave in some way his or her culture deems characteristic of a man or a woman. Each individual is unique, basically genderless except for the mechanics, and chooses or has enforced those subjective characteristics. Writing Elisabeth allowed me to write a woman who simply was herself, not a “woman” nor a “man”.
Q; As I was reading your novel, I thought that Elisabeth's discovery of her true sexuality was as much a journey as her actual travels by ship and by road to Constantinople and the Holy Land. I personally thought this gave the story added depth and kept it from being just another "girl disguises self as boy and goes off to battle" book. Was this what you intended? One of the things I have discovered since being published is that some readers don't want to go behind the bedroom door or if they do they have their own ideas about what they want to find there. Were you at all worried that some readers might shy away from the book because of the sexuality of its heroine?
A; Of course, it was Elisabeth who told me she was a lesbian. She would not have put up with my making her fall in love with a man. But you are right, her realization of her feelings for women is as much a journey as the actual expedition. So is Elisabeth’s personal growth, her awareness that people may not really be who you think they are, that heroes can actually be villains, that mercenaries can be honorable, and that a crusade is not necessarily holy.
As for reader reactions, it went both ways, actually. On one hand I wondered if women who do not identify as lesbian would hesitate to read about one. I had one tell me that since she wasn’t a lesbian, she would have no reason to read a lesbian novel. I replied, “I don’t know why not. I am not a lesbian, and I wrote it.” I don’t understand why we are not surprised that gay men and lesbians read heterosexual books, but that GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) books are only for GLBT people. I am reading Sarah Waters Tipping the Velvet now and am sorry that very few people who are not lesbian will read it because it is such a deep and beautifully written book (and should be made into a movie as far as I am concerned.) I did not write the novel just for straight women. I am passionate about historical fiction and fascinated by nontraditional lives including GLBT historical fiction (like your marvelous Confession of Piers Gaveston, one of the first I came across). I hope lesbians are glad of my addition to that genre, and I hope straight people will get over themselves and broaden their own reading too.
Q: As a writer myself, I know that sometimes characters take on a life of their own and take us down paths we hadn't even thought of in our original outlines; did your characters surprise you or take you down any unexpected paths during the writing of this book?
A: Some characters? I think they all do! I knew Elisabeth and the others would have their way, so I can’t say they surprised me. Although I will say that Maliha was a lot stronger and sure of herself than I originally envisioned.
Q: Your scenes depicting the life of a pilgrim knight on the march and in the heat of battle were so vivid and real I actually had to turn on the air conditioner and put ointment on my mosquito bites and even paused to think how extremely grateful I am that I live in a time when the refrigerator and an ice cold Coke are only three or four feet away as I was reading your book. You put so much into these scenes, bringing them to life, what is the process like, besides a lot of research obviously, how do you do it?
A: That is indeed high praise!
I think this is part of being very much in the character’s head. I don’t know how you can be in a character’s head without being in her body too. Even a typical life in 1101 Europe would be uncomfortable by our standards. I thought about just how awful it would be to ride through a Turkish summer in armor, not bathing, not having enough to eat or drink, and dealing with vermin. I’ve read lots of crusades novels where all the characters think about is the romance of the situation, the glory, the honor, the nobility. That’s nonsense. Some readers believe that putting a woman in the situation allowed me to focus on these discomforts, but I don’t think that's true at all. I think writers assume the men would gloss over or ignore it. I don’t agree.
Q: What was the most interesting part of writing this book for you? What was the most difficult? The most surprising?
A: The most interesting was learning about the Crusade of 1101. Like most people, I had no knowledge of it, though it was the one crusade that changed Europe’s economy and society the most.
Most difficult was working to overcome what I k now are my own writing faults, wordiness, convoluted sentence structure.
Most surprising was adding these characters who were not, like those in my first novel, “An Involuntary King”, friends from my childhood, familiar and comfortable but all brand-new and finding I could do this.
Q: As a writer, do you have a particular routine or ritual for writing? Are you a disciplined writer who follows a set schedule like someone with a nine to five job or the "just when the moment's right or the mood strikes" type?
A: I wish I was more disciplined, but I suspect that routine would not work for me. I write when I am inspired, but fortunately it usually takes just getting started to become inspired. I have learned or developed numerous ways to spark that inspiration. On the other hand, I have just had to come to grips with needing quiet. My neighborhood kids are horribly noisy, so I simply will not be able to write when school is not in session. That makes me sad and more than a little resentful.
Q: You are very active in promoting Independent Publishing, which is in my opinion like a diamond mine, there are some genuine treasures buried beneath the various prejudices and stigmas attached to self-publishing, some talented authors with clever, creative, and unique ideas that profit-motivated mainstream publishing is unwilling to take a chance on and that readers won't usually find unless they go looking for them as many bookstores decline to stock these books unless the author can persuade them or buyers special order them. Why do you think Independent music and films are often celebrated but when it comes to books these are looked down upon and disdained, all of them lumped together as "vanity" projects.
A: I think that’s how the prejudice started, but I think practical issues are more at fault now. Bookstores for instance want to be able to return books if they don’t sell, and it is a rare self-published author who either wants to or can afford to buy back books. On the other hand, direct book buying is the coming thing. You know that some well-loved authors are starting to cut out the middleman and sell their own books on their own web sites, especially ebooks. I believe the reader should choose what s/he reads, but that perforce means lots of small market books, while publishers simply cannot afford to serve those small markets.
You ask why indie recording and films are accepted and not books. I really don’t know. Perhaps the markets are different people, and book buyers as a whole are stodgier. Beats me.
Q: Any plans for a sequel or spin-off? What's next from Nan Hawthorne? Where can readers learn more about you and your work?
A: Now that I have written a lesbian historical novel, I plan to write a gay one in a new era for me, the mid 1800s America. I may write a sequel to Beloved Pilgrim but I have not decided. I want to get back to my first love, medieval England, and have a paranormal mystery series planned. In the meantime I am playing with writing a book as a blog. People can follow my activities on my web site at www.nanhawthorne.com and also follow me on Facebook. I am there as Nan Hawthorne.
I really appreciate this chance to talk about my book with someone like you with whom I share a passion for looking at history and historical fiction with a fresh, more open vision. If people find our books uncomfortable, so much the better. They will learn and new writers will be braver and more willing to take chances because of writers like you and me.
Elisabeth von Winterkirche, a tomboy in petticoats, would rather wield a sword than an embroidery needle, and cares more for war than the traditional life of a Bavarian noblewoman and wife. After her beloved twin brother Elias dies, and she is forced into a most unhappy marriage with a brute who repeatedly rapes her, Elisabeth dons her brother's armor, crops her hair, and with his squire and secret lover, Albrecht, sets out to join the doomed Crusade of 1101.
Along the way to Constantinople and then the Holy Land, she cleverly deals with all the tricks necessary to conceal her femininity and gains in confidence as she discovers that people "see what they expect. They see the armor and the cross and need look no harder," and readily accept her as what she seems to be--an innocent young nobleman embarking on a quest, his sword yet unbloodied.
The journey also proves enlightening in another fashion--Elisabeth, now calling herself Elias, discovers her attraction to her own sex, first in a chaste infatuation with the beautiful Ida, Margravina of Austria, and then in the arms of the beautiful whore Guiliana when her comrades in arms good-naturedly treat their young companion to a night of pleasure, to lose his suspected virginity. Guiliana keeps Elisabeth's secret and initiates her into the arts of love between women, which will stand her in good stead when, soon after, she finds the love of her life in the honey-eyed half Turkish, half Greek servant woman Maliha. But all too soon Elisabeth must leave her love behind and go on to face the blood, roar, and thunder of battle, and the heat, filth, and buzzing flies of an army of unwashed armor-clad bodies on the march and the deprivation and want they endure when supplies run low and the enemy burns the fields rather than have their crops fall into enemy hands.
Nan Hawthorne paints a vivid, living, breathing, and, when it comes to the travails of war, broiling hot and reeking portrait of what life was like for a pilgrim knight on crusade. Beloved Pilgrim is a grand tale of love and adventure, heartache and self-discovery that both male and female readers can enjoy.
For those concerned about sexual content in their reading matter: the lesbian sex scenes are vividly rendered, but they are not, in my opinion, gratuitous, as each expresses something about the characters involved--In this story, sexuality is also part of the journey.
Beloved Pilgrim breathes new life into the oft-told centuries old tale of "girl disguises herself as boy to go off to war" and is one of the best novels of this kind that I have ever read.
An Interview with author Nan Hawthorne about her book Beloved Pilgrim
Q: I have always found the stories of women who doffed their petticoats, cropped their hair, and disguised themselves as men to go off to pursue an education, a career, like Dr. James Barry for instance, or to fight in wars, or even lead battles like Joan of Arc. What inspired you to write Beloved Pilgrim? Is your heroine/hero Elisabeth based on a real historical person or a composite of more than one real woman?
A: There are so many reasons a woman might want to live either like a man or actually as one. (I call these books “Grrlz2men” and set up a Facebook page to explore them.) In Joan’s case she felt she had to fight, and though it was not unheard of for women to fight, they were almost always peasant women who followed their men into battle. Joan, like Elisabeth, wanted to fight as a knight. In Barry’s case it was to be able to work in a field where women were not welcome. I have also read books, like Jae’s “Backwards to Oregon”, where the woman dressed as a man to avoid being victimized by men. But to me Elisabeth, who is by the way based on my own inner sense of myself, is simply being herself. In 2011 in the US she could do that more readily whether not adopting the identity of a man, but in 1101 the only way she could, in her class, was to actually put on her brother’s armor and masquerade. This is a time-honored choice, particularly in time of war. I for one am not surprised that many women have made this choice, since I simply do not believe a person is born predestined to behave in some way his or her culture deems characteristic of a man or a woman. Each individual is unique, basically genderless except for the mechanics, and chooses or has enforced those subjective characteristics. Writing Elisabeth allowed me to write a woman who simply was herself, not a “woman” nor a “man”.
Q; As I was reading your novel, I thought that Elisabeth's discovery of her true sexuality was as much a journey as her actual travels by ship and by road to Constantinople and the Holy Land. I personally thought this gave the story added depth and kept it from being just another "girl disguises self as boy and goes off to battle" book. Was this what you intended? One of the things I have discovered since being published is that some readers don't want to go behind the bedroom door or if they do they have their own ideas about what they want to find there. Were you at all worried that some readers might shy away from the book because of the sexuality of its heroine?
A; Of course, it was Elisabeth who told me she was a lesbian. She would not have put up with my making her fall in love with a man. But you are right, her realization of her feelings for women is as much a journey as the actual expedition. So is Elisabeth’s personal growth, her awareness that people may not really be who you think they are, that heroes can actually be villains, that mercenaries can be honorable, and that a crusade is not necessarily holy.
As for reader reactions, it went both ways, actually. On one hand I wondered if women who do not identify as lesbian would hesitate to read about one. I had one tell me that since she wasn’t a lesbian, she would have no reason to read a lesbian novel. I replied, “I don’t know why not. I am not a lesbian, and I wrote it.” I don’t understand why we are not surprised that gay men and lesbians read heterosexual books, but that GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) books are only for GLBT people. I am reading Sarah Waters Tipping the Velvet now and am sorry that very few people who are not lesbian will read it because it is such a deep and beautifully written book (and should be made into a movie as far as I am concerned.) I did not write the novel just for straight women. I am passionate about historical fiction and fascinated by nontraditional lives including GLBT historical fiction (like your marvelous Confession of Piers Gaveston, one of the first I came across). I hope lesbians are glad of my addition to that genre, and I hope straight people will get over themselves and broaden their own reading too.
Q: As a writer myself, I know that sometimes characters take on a life of their own and take us down paths we hadn't even thought of in our original outlines; did your characters surprise you or take you down any unexpected paths during the writing of this book?
A: Some characters? I think they all do! I knew Elisabeth and the others would have their way, so I can’t say they surprised me. Although I will say that Maliha was a lot stronger and sure of herself than I originally envisioned.
Q: Your scenes depicting the life of a pilgrim knight on the march and in the heat of battle were so vivid and real I actually had to turn on the air conditioner and put ointment on my mosquito bites and even paused to think how extremely grateful I am that I live in a time when the refrigerator and an ice cold Coke are only three or four feet away as I was reading your book. You put so much into these scenes, bringing them to life, what is the process like, besides a lot of research obviously, how do you do it?
A: That is indeed high praise!
I think this is part of being very much in the character’s head. I don’t know how you can be in a character’s head without being in her body too. Even a typical life in 1101 Europe would be uncomfortable by our standards. I thought about just how awful it would be to ride through a Turkish summer in armor, not bathing, not having enough to eat or drink, and dealing with vermin. I’ve read lots of crusades novels where all the characters think about is the romance of the situation, the glory, the honor, the nobility. That’s nonsense. Some readers believe that putting a woman in the situation allowed me to focus on these discomforts, but I don’t think that's true at all. I think writers assume the men would gloss over or ignore it. I don’t agree.
Q: What was the most interesting part of writing this book for you? What was the most difficult? The most surprising?
A: The most interesting was learning about the Crusade of 1101. Like most people, I had no knowledge of it, though it was the one crusade that changed Europe’s economy and society the most.
Most difficult was working to overcome what I k now are my own writing faults, wordiness, convoluted sentence structure.
Most surprising was adding these characters who were not, like those in my first novel, “An Involuntary King”, friends from my childhood, familiar and comfortable but all brand-new and finding I could do this.
Q: As a writer, do you have a particular routine or ritual for writing? Are you a disciplined writer who follows a set schedule like someone with a nine to five job or the "just when the moment's right or the mood strikes" type?
A: I wish I was more disciplined, but I suspect that routine would not work for me. I write when I am inspired, but fortunately it usually takes just getting started to become inspired. I have learned or developed numerous ways to spark that inspiration. On the other hand, I have just had to come to grips with needing quiet. My neighborhood kids are horribly noisy, so I simply will not be able to write when school is not in session. That makes me sad and more than a little resentful.
Q: You are very active in promoting Independent Publishing, which is in my opinion like a diamond mine, there are some genuine treasures buried beneath the various prejudices and stigmas attached to self-publishing, some talented authors with clever, creative, and unique ideas that profit-motivated mainstream publishing is unwilling to take a chance on and that readers won't usually find unless they go looking for them as many bookstores decline to stock these books unless the author can persuade them or buyers special order them. Why do you think Independent music and films are often celebrated but when it comes to books these are looked down upon and disdained, all of them lumped together as "vanity" projects.
A: I think that’s how the prejudice started, but I think practical issues are more at fault now. Bookstores for instance want to be able to return books if they don’t sell, and it is a rare self-published author who either wants to or can afford to buy back books. On the other hand, direct book buying is the coming thing. You know that some well-loved authors are starting to cut out the middleman and sell their own books on their own web sites, especially ebooks. I believe the reader should choose what s/he reads, but that perforce means lots of small market books, while publishers simply cannot afford to serve those small markets.
You ask why indie recording and films are accepted and not books. I really don’t know. Perhaps the markets are different people, and book buyers as a whole are stodgier. Beats me.
Q: Any plans for a sequel or spin-off? What's next from Nan Hawthorne? Where can readers learn more about you and your work?
A: Now that I have written a lesbian historical novel, I plan to write a gay one in a new era for me, the mid 1800s America. I may write a sequel to Beloved Pilgrim but I have not decided. I want to get back to my first love, medieval England, and have a paranormal mystery series planned. In the meantime I am playing with writing a book as a blog. People can follow my activities on my web site at www.nanhawthorne.com and also follow me on Facebook. I am there as Nan Hawthorne.
I really appreciate this chance to talk about my book with someone like you with whom I share a passion for looking at history and historical fiction with a fresh, more open vision. If people find our books uncomfortable, so much the better. They will learn and new writers will be braver and more willing to take chances because of writers like you and me.
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