As I come down the revision home stretch, I would like to remind you, and welcome new readers, of how I came to write Rain Dodging:
In 2006, researching for my last literature paper at Oxford, I stumbled onto the late 17th-century court of Queen Mary of Modena, consort to James II. I was intrigued because she had so many female authors in her court—rare for the 17th century!
Maria Beatrice Anna Margherita Isabella of Modena was an educated, artistic princess growing up in a matriarchy of strong, prominent women. Nevertheless, in 1673, Mary was powerless, a 14-year-old unwilling political pawn, instructed to marry James II, then still the Duke of York, by proxy. She refused more than once. Eventually, family pressure intervened. Pope Clement himself convinced the young princess of her duty to spread Catholicism across the British Channel.
by William Wissig
In 17th-century Christian tradition, “Woman (were) seen as, personifying Original Sin and luring man to evil, not fully a human being, not endowed with a soul and not created in the image of God, who after all, was male.” However, as Duchess of York, then queen-consort, Mary created a place where women’s education and women’s imagination were taken seriously.
Rain Dodging follows my quest for a sense of Mary’s spaces, to breathe the same air, to imagine their lives, visiting palaces and manor houses in England and Scotland and exploring their sublime back roads. Rain Dodging is a kaleidoscope of memoir and mystery, a collage of images and events.
As I travel through Britain, I take you on a journey through my life and into a 17th-century royal court. You’ll watch the connections unfold, from tales of my troubled childhood to wild days of college and young adulthood, the music scenes in Los Angeles & Nashville, and to my growth as mother, teacher, lover, writer, and solo traveler.
COME RAIN DODGE WITH ME!
Rain Dodging: Connecting Royal History, Travel, and a Woman’s Personal Journey.
Fall, 2023
