The poorest of peasants in France in the 17th century did not have horses, mules, carts, and carriages. They traveled on foot and, by necessity, carried whatever they could–but only what they needed. They used baskets, wooded frames, cross-body satchels, fardes (like a hobo’s bindle,) and sac à dos — literally, ‘bag for the back.’ … Continue reading Time Travel Tuesday
Tag: historical fiction
Friday Finds – The Cook County Poor Farm
Louis Rock Rochon, my great-grandfather, was a rolling stone.(Pun intended.)Â He was born in 1848 in Quebec. When he was 17, his father died; then Louis immigrated to Illinois in 1867. He was still single and living in as a boarder in Chicago in 1880, but moved back to Canada the next year to live … Continue reading Friday Finds – The Cook County Poor Farm
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Writer’s Wednesday – Marketing Tip
I’m old fashioned and use AOL for my emails. They may be ancient in tech terms, but they’ve given me an easy way to get the cover of one of my books in front of people likely to buy. Maybe your gmail or yahoo will let you do it, too. AOL allows me to customize … Continue reading Writer’s Wednesday – Marketing Tip
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Tuesday – Time Travel
Imagine a time when food was scarce. We could learn from our ancestors. If you were a hungry peasant trudging through the marshes of northwest France in 1650, you might look at cattails as dinner. The shaggy green spears of cattails could be dinner, dessert, mattress stuffing, and roofing shingles—all in one plant. Cattails (Typha … Continue reading Tuesday – Time Travel
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Mystery Monday
Why can't we build structures that last for centuries? My genealogical records show our Rochon family tree goes back to at least 1639 to Saint-Cosme-de-Vair in the Perth region southwest of Paris. That inspired me to start my historical fiction novel there on a poor peasant farm. The parish church is central to the story. … Continue reading Mystery Monday
Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 