BarBar: Blog

I tried whenever I could to be historically accurate within the story. There are a few places where I knowingly diverged.

One is in names. The naming convention I have used is Virtue names for women and Biblical names for men. In fact, the Puritans used Virtue names for both men and women, but this gave me a more instant way for the reader to differentiate between male and female characters.

Also with names, the Puritans used first name/surname like we do currently in western countries. I liked the Ezekiel son of Samuel format because it gave more of an olde worlde feeling.

The obligations lists at the start of each chapter is all me, but it is based on Biblical tradition so it reflects the type of attitude the Puritans had.

The Puritan men also wore hats which I don't mention at all. The women covering their heads with bonnets is real.

The Puritans most often wore browns and indigos, as those dyes were cheap and readily available. They mostly wore wool or cotton clothing, but they also wore leather and furs.

I have described the villages as mostly farming communities but most of the Puritans in the 1660s relied as much on fishing and hunting for food as they did on farming. The climate in Massachusetts did not support complete reliance on farming. Potatoes weren't widespread until later.

The Puritans were monogamous and the men held all the power. The only way a woman could own anything in her own name was by becoming a widow. I don't think the Puritans practiced the approach of a brother or father taking in the widow of a dead kin as a second wife. That practice is described in the Bible and I have adopted it for the purpose of the story.

The houses out in the country were mostly how I described them.

The Puritans were highly literate. They were all taught to read so that they could read the Bible and try to live by its tenets.

Despite their reputation, the Puritans weren't completely austere. They enjoyed singing and dancing (though men and women wouldn't dance together) and drinking wine during celebrations. An active sex life was required between a married couple. There are examples of divorces being granted and men vilified for not being a 'proper' husband by having regular sex with his wife.

Hope you find all this interesting.

I have started posting a new story here. It is about a Puritan family living in the New England colonies in 1662.

It has very strong religious themes as well as transgender, lesbian and incest themes. Do not read this story if you will be upset by those themes being explored in a religious setting.

I implore you to read the Forward before starting the story.

This story is an improved version of a story originally posted on a different site under another pseudonym.

Hi all. I have posted a short story called The Choice, which is new here but was previously posted on a different site under a different pseudonym. If you haven't read it yet, please read it before you read the rest of this post.

A few people have asked for me to continue it as they feel it is unfinished. A good short story should have a beginning, a middle and an end but should leave the reader wanting more. Despite appearances, the story is not about the child, it is about how the parents handle this little bump in the road in the life of their child. The end is the mother giving their child a choice and the parents establishing that they will continue to love and support their child no matter which choice is made. As a result, what the child chooses is immaterial and the ending is supposed to emphasise that.

I hope you enjoyed my story. I have no intention of revisiting these characters in further stories.

Cheers, barbar

Just to let you know I'm still here and still kicking. I have a few ideas for the next Bec and have started picking out chapters but it is a slow process. What I mean is that there will be another Bec Book so it might be a while.

I've had a few emails wanting to know what happened in the last few chapters of Bec3 that would explain Bec's current situation.

The answer is that nothing in the last few chapters of Bec3 explains her current situation. Bec3 ends with Bec going to bed and in a good mood.

What happened to Bec that got her where she is now must therefore have happened on Monday.