Tag: History (Page 1 of 2)

Weaving Historical Facts Into Middle Grade Fiction

May 15, 2018 / Katie L. Carroll

Coming on the heels of discussing the real history and legends that inspired my middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND (see my post “The Real Pirate Lore That Inspired PIRATE ISLAND”) and while I’m currently deep in research mode for my next middle grade novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to weave real history into novels. And how to do this for children’s books in particular.

Much of the history I’ve researched both on famed pirate Captain William Kidd (for PIRATE ISLAND) and on witch trials in Connecticut in the 17th century (for my current WIP) deals with dark topics and violence. Both involve execution by hanging, murder charges, and other not-so-pleasant topics. I’m a firm believer that children’s writers should not shy away from writing darker stories, and that these stories are important, so long as the material is handled in a thoughtful way (see Newbery winner Kate DiCamillo’s essay in TIME “Why Children’s Books Should Be a Little Sad”).

The key is to keep it age appropriate, which is hard to do when kids anywhere from say 7 or 8 all the way up to 13 or 14 might be reading your book. That’s where subtlety comes in. You can include heavier themes and images in a subtle way where more mature readers will get them and less mature readers will simply gloss over them. I like to think of animated movies for a good example of this. So many drop in jokes that are for the adults but that children just won’t (even if they’re funny to the kids on the surface, they won’t get the innuendo behind it).

Beyond making the material age appropriate, I think it’s important to make the history relevant. Whether that means making it fun (which isn’t necessarily the case of the history I’ve included) or by making it personal. Captain Kidd’s history is personal to Billy, the main character of PIRATE ISLAND, because Billy becomes obsessed with Kidd and models Kidd’s behavior to be brave. The history of the hidden treasure drives the plot of the story, but Billy’s emotional connection to Kidd drives the emotional story line.

I’ve only scratched the surface on this topic, but in the interest of keeping my blog posts short, I’ll leave you all on that thought for now. But there’s so much more material I have on weaving history into stories, I have to revisit this topic. Anything in particular you all would like me to discuss on the next post?

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution #CaptainKiddHistory

October 9, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

Here is the final installment of #CaptainKiddHistory. These historical tidbits about Captain William Kidd are told by Billy, the main character of my upcoming middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND. Billy discovered and wrote down these tidbits while doing research to find Kidd’s lost treasure but before he actually looked for it on Pirate Island. Let’s give a big welcome to Billy!

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

by Billy Bonny

Credit: public domain, artist unknown.
Billy’s comment: You know you were curious about what gibbeting looked like!

On July 6, 1699, knowing that he was wanted for piracy, Captain Kidd went to Boston thinking that Lord Bellomont (the one guy who got him into the whole privateering mess) was going to grant him clemency—meaning Kidd would likely be shown mercy for the charges against him. Instead, he was thrown in jail, along with his wife, though she was released because she was completely innocent. After keeping Kidd in terrible prison conditions in Boston for over a year, the coward Bellomont turned on Kidd, sending him to England and saving his own butt in the process.

Kidd was then imprisoned in Newgate Prison until his trial. It was only at his trial that he learned he was being tried for murdering William Moore (see my entry “September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident”) in addition to piracy. Key evidence to support Kidd, including the French papers that showed the Quedagh Merchant was legal for him to seize (see my entry “1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy”). As I see it—as do other historians—Kidd’s trial was a sham from the start, and he was to be the fallout guy for all pirates so the English government could say they were doing something against piracy.

May 23, 1701 is the sad, sad date when Captain Kidd was executed in England. The rope broke after the first attempt at hanging him, which was usually taken as a sign from God that the guilty party was meant to live. Kidd’s former business partners, the ones who hired and backed him as a privateer, obviously had something to hide. They wanted Kidd dead so badly that he was strung back up and successfully executed on the second try.

His body was gibbeted on the Thames River for three years as a way to discourage others from becoming pirates. Many years later, missing evidence turned up that put into question Kidd’s guilt of piracy. I am among those who maintain he wasn’t a true pirate.

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they look for it on nearby Pirate Island, Billy thinks it’s just another one of their crazy adventures. It’s usually Billy who ends up in trouble as a result, but he goes along for the ride…like always. The more he delves into the life and death of Kidd, the more he thinks the treasure is real and that it might be buried on the small island in Long Island Sound. Billy—nope, call him William—becomes obsessed with the captain of the same first name. He even believes he’s possessed by Kidd’s restless soul. Now he and the spirit of a long-dead pirate are leading the crazy adventure on Pirate Island. And what they find is far bigger than the treasure they imagined.

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure #CaptainKiddHistory

September 25, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

Here is the next installment of #CaptainKiddHistory. These historical tidbits about Captain William Kidd are told by Billy, the main character of my upcoming middle grade adventure PIRATE ISLAND. Billy discovered and wrote down these tidbits while doing research to find Kidd’s lost treasure but before he actually looked for it on Pirate Island. Let’s give a big welcome to Billy!

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

by Billy Bonny

Credit: Doc Seals via flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/285538232/ Image of Gardiners Island
Billy’s comment: I’ve spent a good deal of time staring at pictures of a different island. Bet you can’t guess its name!

If you think I’m crazy for believing that Captain Kidd could have buried treasure (not pirate treasure because Kidd wasn’t a pirate—see my entry “December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate”) on a tiny island in Long Island Sound, I wouldn’t blame you…knowing you probably haven’t done the research. The proof of me not being crazy was found on Gardiners Island, a small island off the coast of East Hampton, NY, where Kidd really did bury some of his loot.

The stash included gold dust, silver bars, Spanish coins, rubies, diamonds, candlesticks, and porringers (shallows bowls with small, decorative handles). He also gave Mrs. Gardiner a gold cloth and a sack of sugar. Apparently, sugar was really valuable at the time, which is crazy when you think about how much sugar is in one can of mine and Andy’s favorite energy drink. And we buy those pretty cheap at the grocery store.

When Mr. Gardiner was ordered by the government to turn over the treasure as evidence against Kidd, one diamond somehow remained in Gardiner’s possession, which he ended up giving to his daughter. Sketchy stuff if you ask me, but nobody ever charged Mr. Gardiner with a crime.

In this time period, Kidd spent 20 days roaming the waters of Long Island Sound. If he had treasure in addition to what he buried on Gardiners Island, this would have been a great time to unload it. Just saying!

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy #CaptainKiddHistory

September 11, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

by Billy Bonny

Credit: Howard Pyle, via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.
Billy’s comment: This is pretty close to how I imagine Kidd looked while burying treasure, not doing himself but supervising.

Whole books could be written about Captain Kidd’s life (I know—I’ve read a bunch of them!). This was a particularly busy time for him, so I’m going to be brief and hit the highlights. In January 1698, Kidd finally catches a break when his crew spots a ship called the Quedagh Merchant off the tip of India. It was an Indian ship that was flying French colors and with French papers. England was at war with France at the time, so French ships were allowed to be taken by English privateers.

Turns out the captain was an Englishman, and Kidd tried to give the ship back to him. His restless crew wasn’t interested in that, so Kidd kept the ship and its good for him and his crew. Kidd’s ship the Adventure Galley had seen better days, so he set sail on the Quedagh Merchant and renamed it the Adventure Prize (another cool name for a ship!).

In April, Kidd arrived at Madagascar and ran into his old archenemy (the real pirate!) Robert Culliford. What actually happened between these two at this point is a bit of mystery with several different accounts being told of the events. The end result was that much of Kidd’s crew left him to join Culliford, and Kidd decided to go home. Meanwhile, rumors of Kidd having turned pirate had reach England, and he was in for a heap of trouble when he got back.

Kidd stopped in the Caribbean and learned he was a wanted pirate. He ditched the Adventure Prize, sold off some of his goods, and returned to New York. But not before making a stop on Gardiner’s Island and burying some real treasure!

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident #CaptainKiddHistory

August 28, 2017 / Katie L. Carroll

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

by Billy Bonny

Credit: Assassin’s Creed: Memories. Creative commons license.
Billy’s comment: Yup, this image of Kidd is from a video game and it’s pretty cool!

So Kidd sets off on the Adventure Galley for Africa with a criminal crew to try and seize enemies of England and actual pirate ships. An outbreak of cholera (a really nasty disease you can get from drinking bad water) further sabotages the mission. Kidd’s rich lord backers won’t be satisfied with failure and the remaining crew is getting restless when things turn deadly.

On October 16, 1697, a Dutch ship approached the Adventure Galley. The crew urged Kidd to give the go-ahead to attack. In particular a gunner named William Moore (good first name!) challenged Kidd to let them attack. In a heated argument, Kidd ended throwing a bucket at Moore and hitting him in the head. Moore’s skull was fractured and he died the next day.

I’m not justifying killing a man, but I’m betting Kidd was afraid of outright mutiny, so trying to keep his crew from attacking a ship they had no right to attack was not out of line. Maybe he shouldn’t have thrown a bucket, but I don’t think Kidd intended to kill anyone. In addition to charges of piracy, Kidd would later be charged and convicted of murder, even though he would never know of the murder charge until his actual trail started.

And as if the proof against Kidd being a pirate isn’t already mounting up enough, think about the fact that he kept his crew from looting the Dutch ship…not something a pirate—who would attack any ship—would do but something a privateer would certainly do.

The full list of #CaptainKiddHistory posts by Billy Bonny:

January 1654? – A Legend is Born

1688 to 1689 – Mutineer and Captain

1690 to 1695 – The Archenemy and the Wife

December 1695 to September 1696 – Privateer, Not Pirate

September 1696 to October 16, 1697 – The Bucket Incident

1698 to April 1699 – A Privateer Prize and the Return of the Archenemy

June 1699 – Proof of Treasure

July 6, 1699 to May 23, 1701 – Trial and Execution

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

Now available for pre-order! Get it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo, IndieBound, and many other of your favorite book sellers.