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Queens of the Wild (continued).

I finished reading Queens of the Wild. As I understand it, Hutton’s thesis challenges the belief that the Faerie Queen, Queen of the Night, the Green Man and all the witches and goddesses are descended from the ancient world. He believes they are more recent constructs and offers both scholarly and literary examples to prove it.

My problem with this theses, and he may be right that there is no direct line from the Goddesses of the ancient world to the current (after all, it is hard to interpret what was happening in prerecorded history), is that he seems to dismiss the existence or at least the importance of these Goddesses. Here is a quote: To a great extent, the vision of a prehistory in which human society had been violently altered from being led by and centered on women to being dominated by men, and in which religion had changed its focus from an earth goddess to a sky god was an obvious response to modern anxieties about gender roles in changing Western social orders.”

Am I the only one to see his belief that patriarch has always been dominant underlying his statement?

He draws Maria Gimbutas, a well respected archaeologist, into the discussion but dismisses her later work after she’d moved to California. “Gimbutas’ own work now gradually mutated to serve the beliefs and ideals of this movement (which stressed the importance of a female deity. . .”

I want to add that statuary, art work, Minoan seals and other artifacts do attest to the presence and importance of Goddesses in the ancient world. In the modern world matrilineal societies are not unknown. (see the Pueblo tribes in the southwest U.S.)

The book jacket says this book is thought provoking and it is. In my opinion, though, he wrote out of his belief in the primacy of male dominance.

I also read Holy Chow by David Rosenfelt.

This was a wonderful relief from the previous work. In this offering, Andy Carpenter reluctantly takes on the murder of a wealthy woman who had adopted a dog from his rescue operation: the chow of the title. Her stepson is arrested but Carpenter does not belief he is guilty. As usual, he professes his unwillingness to become involved but does and also, as usual, the mystery is more complicated than it at first appears.

Amusing and fun with a good mystery to boot.

Politics and cloth

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One of the things I have found so interesting is the way politics infuses everything; even the simplest article.

For example, cloth. We take it for granted. But cloth is important and has a very involved history.

But back to politics and calico.

Cottons, especially the calicoes, imported from India became very popular in the late 1700s. In Salem, calicoes were one of the primary imports into the new United States.

In England, however, which had always had a thriving wool trade, various protectionist laws were established to protect the woolen industry from this threat. First the printed calicoes were banned. This created trade in the gray unfinished cloth (fustian) which was sent to London to be finished.

A flourishing industry in India was almost destroyed to protect the English wool trade.

Then the wool trade objected when the imports of cotton recovered. Parliament passed a law fining anyone caught wearing dyed or ‘stained’ calico, but they exempted neckcloths and fustian.

In 1783 Thomas Bell invented a process to print cotton using copper rollers. At first only a few pieces were printed but by 1850 over 20,000 pieces were completed.

Now the Calico printers in their turn took steps to protect their product.  In 1916, they and the other printers joined and formed a trade association. This then set minimum prices for each ‘price section’ of the industry. This held until 1954 when it was challenged by the government Monopolies Commission.

Even printed cloth has a political history.

Currently Reading – and the whiff of patriarchy?

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The first book I read this week was A Simple Murder by Linda Castillo.

I chose it because it shares a title with my first Will Rees mystery series.

I also enjoy Linda’s books and have read them all. This work consists of five interlinked short stories, all starring Kate Burkholder and the Amish.U admit I prefer her novels but these were fun and were a little lighter than her novels. (It seems funny to consider murder mysteries ‘lighter’,)

The second book is Queens of the Wild; Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe. This is nonfiction; a study of Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, Mistress of the Night and the Old Woman of Gaelic Tradition. Hutton challenges most of the current scholarship in claiming these are NOT pre-Christian Goddesses.

I am reading it as part of my research for the new series I am working on. It will take place in Bronze Age Crete. Women figured prominently in this society and the mosaics, seals and other artifacts discovered seemed to indicate, not only a Goddess as the supreme being, but the importance of women.

Why do I find the Hutton work so disturbing?

When I began my research into what is popularly known as the Minoan Civilization, I began with a work by Nilsson, one of the first archaeologists to dig in Knossos. He was convinced that the many depictions of women in the mosaics, including a very famous one showing them participating in bull leaping, had to be showing Goddesses. Why? Because women simply couldn’t be that important. His prejudices were clear and informed his interpretation of this ancient civilization.

Granted, understanding a society that is separated from us by over 3000 years is very difficult, especially when one is working with mosaics, jewelry, seals and other artifacts, (no newpapers or written records to help) as the clues to interpret the inner workings of a culture. With that said, however, the lesson I took away is that we all judge based on the cultural mores we’ve internalized. It is important not to assume that because gender roles in the early twentieth century followed one pattern that they were set and unchangeable, and fit every human society. Most scholars now posit that women were indeed that important in that society.

So, back to Hutton. I admit I haven’t quite finished this work and maybe I will agree with him more when I’m done than I do now. His focus does appear to be more about the Christian world of the early Middle Ages and a discussion of how these pagan goddesses came to be in a Christian society. We shall see.

Communes – and Shakers

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The communal style of living which is now so much a part of our picture of the Shakers was actually not a part of their beliefs. When they moved to the Colonies, however, relocating around Albany, financial stresses compelled them to live in a communal setting

If you have begun thinking of tie-dye, put it out of your mind.

The equality between the sexes was a direct outgrowth of the Shakers’ belief in the dual nature of God; a masculine half and a feminine half. It did not hurt that the spiritual leader of the order was a woman, Mother Ann Lee. Her experiences during childbirth, and the death of her young children, persuaded her that all sin came from sex and that only by overcoming fleshly desires could true salvation be attained. Unlike many of the new faiths that sprang up at that time, the Shakers were celibate.

The sexes lived together in the Dwelling Houses, but were separated and lived on separate sides of the Dwelling House. Personal property was abolished as well, all the property being held communally. New converts brought with them and gave to the order all of their worldly possessions, including land. Even though the order accepted anybody, including those who were penniless, the order became quite wealthy from the property deeded to them.

By living communally, the Shakers also had a work force, necessary on the large farms they owned.

Their agrarian methods ceased to be competitive with the United States economy when it shifted from farming and handcrafts to factories. The Shakers couldn’t compete and their numbers began to dwindle. Celibacy was part of the problem. Since they had no children of their own, they relied on converts, both adults and children. Once there were governmental agencies that cared for the poor and for the abandoned children, formerly a conduit of people to ‘make’ a Shaker, and the number of converts declined, the number of Shakers diminished rapidly.,

Tthey remain once of the most successful ‘communes’ ever established. Currently, there are still two surviving members.

Currently Reading

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Week of May 8. I read the fourth Ozark mystery by Nancy Allen – The Wolf in the Woods, and my first Heather Weidner The Tulip Shirt Murders.

In the Wolf in The Woods,

Elsie’s friend Bree’s daughter is swept up in a human trafficking scheme. Elsie goes undercover and puts herself in danger to rescue Taylor and her friend. This is the fourth of the Ozark series, and there are several threads left unresolved. Unfortunately, there is not a fifth. I really enjoyed these mysteries even though Elsie, a flawed character, really needs to grow up.

While at Malice Domestic, I purchased the Tulip Shirt Murders.

Written in an episodic manner, the mystery follows the daily activities of Melanie Fitzgerald, P.I. The murders are not front and center, but a part of the many cases Delainie and her partner Duncan investigate. Very cozy. After reading this book, I am convinced I am not suited to be a private investigator.

Policing in Early America

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The rise of the modern police force in a relatively modern phenomenon. Policing in early America was a hodgepodge of constables, sheriffs , night watchmen and justices of the peace. The Boston Night Watch was established in 1631. These were usually poorly paid and untrained. Moreover, although they were paid, it was more of a stipend than a salary. All officers had to have another profession that put food on the table. In my Will Rees series, series, Rouge runs a tavern.

Bands of citizens, like a more powerful Neighborhood watch, was another system employed to keep order. Too often, they became groups of zealots who went after anyone of whom they disapproved.

As the populations increased, especially cities like Boston and New York, port cities where immigrants arrived, these patchwork systems were quickly overwhelmed.

Attempts as establishing some kind of security force were tried. The wealthy usually hired their own men to protect themselves and their possessions. A system that paid the men with rewards was also tried. But abuse was rampant. Innocent men were hanged for crimes so the ‘detective’ could collect the reward.

London was the first city to set up a trained, professional force: the Metropolitan Police. This was a country-wide force with trained officers and it quickly became a model for the United States. New York City became the first police force modeled on the ‘bobbies’. (The American system, however, was decentralized. Politicians chose the officers and they reported to a neighborhood precinct house. Cronyism and corruption were constant problems.) The police did not wear uniforms until 1853, in New York City.

Boston began experimenting with a police force modeled on the British in 1837. By 1860, all large American cities had established full time police forces.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, when Rees is investigating, there was no such thing as a police force.

Currently Reading – April 24

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There was so much going on this week, I only managed to read one book. But a good one it is. Murder in Second Position by Lori Robbins is the sequel to Murder in First Position (read last week.)

As in the first book, Leah Sidorova is faced with murder at the American Ballet Company. First to be found dead is Pavel, a new, and universally disliked, director. Leah founds him dead at the foot of the stairs and instantly comes under suspicion.

The administrative assistant, Savannah, is particularly nasty. Even Leah’s friend Olivia seems distant.

At the same time, the company is preparing for a new production. Besides practicing well known ballets, they are trying to learn a new, and in Leah’s opinion, mediocre dance. Several dancers wipe out and Leah begins to wonder if someone is targeting the company. When Savannah is murdered and then the Business Manager is attacked.

But Leah devises a way to reveal the malefactor with the assistance of her mother, her friend Gabi, Madame, and three balletomanes Leah affectionately calls the Weird Sister.

As with the first book, the birds-eyed view of the ballet world is fascinating. Recommended.

Malice 2022

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I urge everyone to attend Malice Domestic. It is not just for writers but for fans as well. Here, fans can meet their favorite authors and have their books signed.

A wonderful feature of Malice is the panels.I did not the pictures of all the panels I attended; I thought of it too late. But I do have a few.

The above is from The role of Cozies in a non Cosy World. Delightful!

One of the panels, on the Role of Identity in your characters, sourced quite dry. But it turned out to be fascinating.

Malice 2023 will be held in late April in North Bethesda, Maryland.

Currently Reading

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Week of April 5

Now that I have completed reading the books for my Malice Domestic panel, I am branching out. This week I read the newest book by an old and favorite author (Ann Cleeves – The Heron’s Cry), and a book by a new author, to me at least (Nancy Allen – the Code of the Hills).

Cleeves’s new book is the second in her Matthew Venn series.

Venn is called to an artist’s colony. Dr. Nigel Yeo has been stabbed to death by a shard of glass from one of his daughter’s glass creations. Dr Yeo is an unexpected victim. A good man, and very concerned about the treatment of mental health patients, he has been investigating the suicide of young man.

Then the owner of the artist’s colony is found murdered in exactly the same way. Since Matthew’s husband Jonathan is connected to this colony, he must tread carefully.

Although the Vera and Jimmy Perez mysteries are my favorites, the Matthew Venn books are very enjoyable as well.

The second of the two is The Code of the Hills by Nancy Allen.

Although she is probably more well – known as a co-writer with James Patterson, this mystery that she wrote alone is great as well. Elsie Arnold is a state prosecutor tasked with trying an incest case. Kris Taney has been accused of the rape of his two oldest daughters.

Everyone lies to Elsie, including Kris’s wife and the two daughters. Then a Evangelical group becomes involved – and Elsie is targeted. Her car is vandalized in some particularly horrible ways.

Elsie herself is not entirely admirable. She drinks too much and her choice of men leaves a lot to be desired. But she works on the case to the best of her ability.

The author, who spoke to my Sisters in Crime group via Zoom, referred to her early series as ‘Hillbilly noir” and noir it is.

Absolutely fascinating!

The Clotilda, last known slave ship

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Even though the U.S. banned the importation of the enslaved from Africa in 1808, slavery itself was not banned and the enslaved were not freed. Slavery continued to be critical to the economy, particularly in the south but in the north as well. The high demand for slave labor from the cotton trade (the cotton woven into cloth at New England textile factories) encouraged some plantation owners, such as Alabama plantation owner Timothy Meaher, to risk illegal slave runs to Africa. In 1860, his schooner Clotilda sailed from Mobile to what was then the Kingdom of Dahomey He bought Africans captured by warring tribes back to Alabama, creeping into Mobile Bay under the cover of night. Some of the enslaved were divided between Foster and the Meahers, and others were sold. Foster then ordered the Clotilda taken upstream, burned and sunk to conceal the evidence.

After the Civil War, the freed slaves wished to return to Africa but did not have the money to do so. They set up a town in Alabama, near Mobile, called Africatown. It is set up under the same system as the African villages with a chief, a system of laws, a church and a school.

Based on stories told by modern day descendants living in Africatown, a search for the ship Clotilde was begun. Ben Baines, a reporter, found a shipwreck but it was too large to be the schooner. A company that specializes in maritime shipwreck recovery took on the job. Although the wreckage of the Clotilda was not very deep in the water, maybe eight to ten feet, the visibility was so poor that it was hard to find. It was finally recovered in 2019.

The Clotilda is proof that the slave trade went on for far longer than it should have, by law, and far longer than most of us believe.