CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
FROM THE BASTILLE TO CINDERELLA
In writing my historic romance novel, circa 1790s, I struggled to determine a starting point. After doing much research, I realized that all the characters appearing in the beginning of the novel had witnessed the Fall of the Bastille in France on July 14, 1789. I decided to have them sharing their experiences several weeks later as they imbibed in chocolate coffee, a popular drink in Paris at that time.
I researched eyewitness and news accounts of the event in preparation for writing their conversation. One comment intrigued me. It referred to the days of the warring as The Night and Orcus. What did this mean?
I typed “Orcus” into the computer search engine and learned that Orcus is an alternative name for Satan. Thomas Carlyl described the era as follows: From Sunday afternoon (exclusive of intervals and pauses not final) till Thursday evening, there follow consecutively a Hundred Hours. Which hundred hours are to be reckoned with the hours of the Bartholomew Butchery, of the Armagnac Massacres, Sicilian Vespers, or whatsoever is savagest in the annals of this world. Horrible the hour when (more…)
From the Bastille to Cinderella
Tags: "Orcus" mean the land of the dead, All posts, Bastille Day, Charles Perrault, Chocolate coffee, COMMENTARY, Contemplation, Dis Pater. Etruscan religion, Fairy tale, Fairy tale history, French literary history, History, If the Shoe Fits, July 14---1789---France, Latest post, Life, Misc., Miscellaneous, Musings, Night and Orcus, of the Armagnac Massacres, Ogre, Orco---the French ogre and the Italian orco, Orcus---alternative name for Satan, Orcus: god of the underworld, Orcus: the root of the French word ogre, Research the term ogre, Research the word orcus, Roman mythology, Sicilian Vespers, The "Tomb of the Orcus", The Bartholomew Butchery, The Egyptian Cinderella, The fall of the Bastille, The Night and Orcus, Thomas Carlyl, Thoughts, Writing
CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS
FROM THE BASTILLE TO CINDERELLA
In writing my historic romance novel, circa 1790s, I struggled to determine a starting point. After doing much research, I realized that all the characters appearing in the beginning of the novel had witnessed the Fall of the Bastille in France on July 14, 1789. I decided to have them sharing their experiences several weeks later as they imbibed in chocolate coffee, a popular drink in Paris at that time.
I researched eyewitness and news accounts of the event in preparation for writing their conversation. One comment intrigued me. It referred to the days of the warring as The Night and Orcus. What did this mean?
I typed “Orcus” into the computer search engine and learned that Orcus is an alternative name for Satan. Thomas Carlyl described the era as follows: From Sunday afternoon (exclusive of intervals and pauses not final) till Thursday evening, there follow consecutively a Hundred Hours. Which hundred hours are to be reckoned with the hours of the Bartholomew Butchery, of the Armagnac Massacres, Sicilian Vespers, or whatsoever is savagest in the annals of this world. Horrible the hour when (more…)