That single book influenced my decision to write, and defined my interest in history. I began to read history books and enjoyed them. As I researched, I gained a definite interest in history as a subject. I love to read. I love to research. AND, I love to write.
Do you ever wish you led the life of one of your characters?
Not the life of one of my heroines. Life was tough in 852, 1650 and 1863.
From the beginning, both Irish and Scottish women had more liberties in their countries than American women of those times. The Celtic countries had to rely on their women to be strong. The women were superstitious, believed in whatever religion their mothers taught them, and knew their place in the hierarchy of the clan. The stubborn women had few luxuries and weren't concerned with more. They worked in the fields alongside their men. Life was hard. They did not take abuse lightly and always had kin to help fix those problems.
Irishmen and Scotsmen always revered their mothers - even to this day. Celtic men had a different feeling about their women. The female life span was short. Many died during childbirth; and there were no birth control pills. Many had their children at home even in 1863. Some women had fifteen or more children, and often, the children didn’t live long. With so many children, wives and mothers were important to the status of the clan.
The people of that time period had the same illnesses as we do but didn’t call them the same names. Cures were rare, and they used herbs. There were few witchdoctors, elders, or healers. If someone were truly ill, the family and clan would try to help and if that didn’t work, they called the priest.
Not much changed in the lives of women until the 1900s. In the earliest days, the women had a say in the government of each clan. By the 1650s, they had lost some of their freedoms as governments became more civilized. By the 1860s, women kept their mouths shut with the exception of a few prohibitionists. In every generation, there have been women who stood up for what they believed was right. Generally, men despised them.
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