Ch 4 Author's Notes
A Pyrrhic Victory - I forgot to discuss one vital topic I spent at least thirty minutes researching: vulgar gestures used by French people in the 1800s. The middle (American) and two-finger (English)
To get the most out of these author’s notes, be sure to read Chapter 4 first.
A quick p.s. to add to the Chapter 3 Author’s Notes:
I forgot to discuss one vital topic I spent at least thirty minutes researching: vulgar gestures used by French people in the 1800s. The middle (American) and two-finger (English) salutes were unpopular in France then.
You might recognize the infamous gesture as shown by the incomparable Gérard Depardieu. In France, it goes by the name Bras d’honneur. Elsewhere, it is known as the Iberian slap, forearm jerk, Italian Salute, and many more. In most cases, it is equivalent to the middle finger, but don’t do it in Japan expecting to send an insult, as you might be giving a compliment instead.
Into the valley of Chapter 4, they charged. ,
The big Mea Culpa: Until recently, all the research pointed to the Legion d’honneur schools all having been run by an order of nuns until the 1880s. I received definitive word that St. Denis, the school for the highest of French society, never had teaching nuns. So what is a writer to do?
In devising Louisa’s background for Ancient Civilizations, book 1 of Lamentations and Magic, I assumed that St. Denis, like the other two Legion-run schools, was run by nuns. You know what they say about ASS U Me ing. Inadvertently, false historical facts were inserted into the story.
Even with the truth revealed, I still believe the idea of the schools being run by nuns is more fun creatively. Had I known what I knew now, I would have sent Louisa to the middle-class school where there were nuns instead, but alas, like so much on this journey, I have compromised. Moving forward, in my stories, St. Denis will have a few teaching nuns, so the fact fits into both the Lamentations and Magic and The Last Chance Tour timeline. In another nod to creative license, all faculty monitors, known as dames surveillantes, shall be nuns moving forward.
I did my best to recreate an academic battle that pays homage to Eugénie Savant’s reference in her diary to just such a contest. In the journal, she revels in leading her troops to victory as battalion commander.
I spent a good amount of time devising a game that could work in the capacity described. So if you are a teacher or professor and would like to
In this contest, Louisa scores the winning point by answering a question about the causes of the Second Peloponnesian War between alliances led by opposing powers, Athens and Sparta.
Before I am accused of regurgitating an answer from some online source, I spent an hours reading multiple sources before coming up with Louisa’s solution. Now, someone might interject and tell me where Louisa was wrong, and I welcome the input.
If you possess advanced knowledge on any of the topics covered in the book, add your thoughts in the comments below. I’d be happy to correct any of those ASSUMPTIONS, I might have made.