Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Challenge: Historical Figures

(This post is part of the Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge. You can find links to other writers' answers over at Long and Short Reviews.)

Prompt: Favorite Historical Personage to read about

I don't have a particular favorite. I do read some history, but I don't generally read biographies. That said, I do sort of have a type: I enjoy reading about the wilder, less famous historical figures -- the ones who did outrageous, ridiculous things, and were frequently some sort of hot mess into the bargain. Consider, for example...

La Maupin, born Julie d'Aubigny: duelist, opera singer, cross-dresser, seducer of men and women alike, and absolute 100% drama magnet. 

The Chevalier d'Eon: diplomat, spy, soldier, and most likely what we would refer to today as a trans woman; at one point she was even blackmailing the King of France (and quite effectively, too).

Nelly Bly: pioneering investigative journalist, who among other things took Jules Verne's Around The World In Eighty Days as a challenge, set off, and made it the entire way in seventy-two days -- with a brief stop to meet with Jules Verne himself. 

I like reading about people who lived these utterly wild lives, in other words.

11 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of of any of these! Bly looks to be worth investigating.

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    1. Bly did a lot of other interesting stuff; her contribution to investigative journalism was actually very important.

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  2. I remember reading about Nelly Bly!

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  3. Nelly would have beaten the record by quite a few more days, but she was delayed in California because of she came from Japan, and all ships from Asia were quarantined. It took pressure from her publisher to get her out of it or she'd have been late.

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    1. Good thing, since they were the ones who put her up to it in the first place.

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  4. I always suspect that men overestimate the amount of sexual activity in a woman's adventures by at least 300%, but those three did have lively stories.

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    1. Honestly I wouldn't argue with you on that point.

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  5. Okay, so now I have a few more historical figures to look into! Thanks for that!

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  6. ooh yes, I do love a wild, outrageous person biography - especially if there's a good scandal involved.

    Have you read about Jane Digby? She was a British Lady, involved in a scandalous divorce, ended up having lovers including an Austrian prince, a Bavarian King, a Greek Count before ending up with the Bedouin!

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Feel free to leave comments; it lets me know that people are actually reading my blog. Interesting tangents and topic drift just add flavor. Linking to your own stuff is fine, as long as it's at least loosely relevant. Be civil, and have fun!