Chera A. Cole, Ph.D.
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Header image: Early Modern German playing cards, Cushing Memorial Library & Archives, Texas A&M.

WINTERS bibliography

Below is a curated bibliography of the sources consulted for my ongoing creative writing project, WINTERS. The bibliography is arranged by the different countries featured in the novel(s) with fiction listed at the end. This list will be updated periodically as research continues.
  • Mesuria
  • Seldria
  • Durrestein
  • Nessina
  • Magic
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Fiction​
​ ​Last updated: 1 March 2021

 

Mesuria

Much of THE ARCANIST takes place in the fictional country Mesuria, called Meset in ancient times. This country is inspired by, though not intended to be a historical replica of, Egypt during the 18th century.
General
  • “Nile River: Climate and hydrology.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Nile-River/Climate-and-hydrology
  • Zeidy, Suzanne. Cairo Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes from the Middle East Inspired by the Street Foods of Cairo. Hardie Grant, 2014.
 
Ancient Egypt
  • Armstrong, Kate. "Walk Like An Egyptian: A Lady’s Life in Ancient Egypt." The Exploress (2019). https://www.theexploresspodcast.com/episodes/2019/5/1/walklikeanegyptian
  • Amstrong, Kate. "Who Runs the World: Ancient Egypt's Female Pharaohs." The Exploress (2019). https://www.theexploresspodcast.com/episodes/2019/5/14/who-runs-the-world-ancient-egypts-female-pharaohs
  • Brier, Bob. Ancient Egyptian Magic. New York, NY: Perennial, 2001.
  • Budge, E. A. Wallis. An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street (1920). https://www.um.es/cepoat/egipcio/wp-content/uploads/egyptianhierogly.pdf
  • Wilkinson, Toby. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2013.
Ottoman Egypt
  • Adams, Nettie. “Clothing and Textiles of of Ottoman Egypt: Examples from Art and Archaeology.” Textiles in Daily Life: Proceedings of the Third Biennial Symposium of the Textile Society of America, September 24-26, 1992. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/556/
  • Cole, Juan Ricardo. Napoléon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
  • Crecelius, Daniel. "Egypt in the Eighteenth Century." The Cambridge History of Egypt: Modern Egypt, from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century. Ed. M. W. Daly. 2 Vol. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 59-86.
  • Hanna, Nelly. "Culture in Ottoman Egypt." The Cambridge History of Egypt: Modern Egypt, from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century. Ed. M. W. Daly. 2 Vol. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 87-112.
  • Hanna, Nelly. Ottoman Egypt and the Emergence of the Modern World 1500-1800. Cairo, Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press, 2014.
  • Jabartī, ʽAbd al-Raḥmān al-. Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt. ed. Jane Hathaway. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2009.
  • Tignor, Robert L. "Ottoman Egypt, 1517–1798." A Short History of Egypt. Princeton University Press, 2010. 174-195.
  • Winter, Michael. Egyptian Society Under Ottoman Rule: 1517-1798. London: Routledge, 2003.
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Seldria

The Empire of Seldria had once commanded most of the lands encircling the Azure Sea, but the empire has been in a state of decline for over the last century. The country of Seldria is loosely inspired by a number of European countries in the 18th century, but is not intended to reflect any one country with historical accuracy. While Seldria does not feature heavily in THE ARCANIST, this country is the setting for ART AND ARTIFICE.
General
  • “Alps: Plant and animal life.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Alps/Plant-and-animal-life
  • Woloch, Isser. Eighteenth-Century Europe, Tradition and Progress, 1715-1789. 1st ed. New York: Norton, 1982.
 
Life and culture in 18th century Europe
  • “A History of Diamond Cutting.” Antique Jewelry University. https://www.langantiques.com/university/a-history-of-diamond-cutting/
  • Cooper, Paul. “Assembly Room Rules for Social Dancing.” RegencyDances.org. https://www.regencydances.org/paper025.php
  • Coward, Megan. “A Guide to Antique Georgian Jewelry.” International Gem Society. https://www.gemsociety.org/article/georgian-period-jewelry/
  • Cummins, Neil. "Lifespans of the European Elite, 800–1800." The Journal of Economic History 77.2 (2017): 406-39.
  • Donnelly, Shannon. “The Regency Post — A Pity We’ve Lost Letters.” Shannon Donnelly’s Fresh Ink (2010). https://shannondonnelly.com/2010/05/29/the-regency-post-a-pity-weve-lost-letters/
  • Ellis, Markman. “The spectacle of the panorama.” The British Library. https://www.bl.uk/picturing-places/articles/the-spectacle-of-the-panorama
  • “Georgian Jewelry: 1714-1837.” Antique Jewelry University. https://www.langantiques.com/university/georgian-jewelry-1714-1837/
  • Green, Matthew. “The Lost World of the London Coffeehouse.” The Public Domain Review (2013). https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-lost-world-of-the-london-coffeehouse
  • “History of Europe: Nobles and gentlemen.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Europe/Nobles-and-gentlemen
  • Hudson, Chuck. “Georgian Era Entertainments – Outside the home.” The Historic Interpreter (2014). https://historicinterpreter.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/georgian-era-entertainments-outdoor/
  • “The internet in a cup.” The Economist (2003). https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2003/12/18/the-internet-in-a-cup
  • Knowles, Rachel. “Finding your way around Vauxhall Gardens in Regency London.” Regency History (2019). https://www.regencyhistory.net/2019/03/vauxhall-gardens-finding-your-way-around.html
  • LeGrand, Douglas S. “Early History of Jewelry: Ancient Times to the 17th Century.” International Gem Society. https://www.gemsociety.org/article/myth-magic-and-the-sorcerers-stone/
  • Major, Joanne. “Battledore and Shuttlecock.” All  things Georgian (2018). https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2018/10/02/battledore-and-shuttlecock/
  • Mullan, John. “Courtship, love and marriage in Jane Austen's novels.” The British Library (2017). https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/courtship-love-and-marriage-in-jane-austens-novels
  • Murden, Sarah. “Anyone for 18th-century Tennis?” All Things Georgian (2018). https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2018/02/20/anyone-for-18th-century-tennis/
  • Stobart, Jon, and Mark Rothery, eds. Consumption and the Country House. First edition ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Web.
  • The Regency Town House. http://www.rth.org.uk/
  • Tucker, Holly. City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris. W.W. Norton, 2018.
  • White, Matthew. “Newspapers, gossip and coffee-house culture.” The British Library (2018). https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/newspapers-gossip-and-coffee-house-culture
  • Wykoff, Gerald. “The History of Lapidary.” International Gem Society. https://www.gemsociety.org/article/the-history-of-lapidary/
Childhood in the 18th century
  • Ariès, Philippe. Centuries of Childhood. London: Pimlico, 1996.
  • Bayne-Powell, Rosamond. The English Child in the Eighteenth Century. New York: E. P. Dutton and company, Inc, 1939.
  • Hilton, Mary, and Jill Shefrin, eds. Educating the Child in Enlightenment Britain: Beliefs, Cultures, Practices. Farnham, England; Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2009.
  • Hughes, Kathryn. “The figure of the governess.” The British Library (2014). https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-figure-of-the-governess
  • Immel, Andrea, and Michael Witmore, eds. Childhood and Children's Books in Early Modern Europe, 1550-1800. New York: Routledge, 2006.
  • Jensen, Austin. “The Education of Upper Class Young Men.” BYU presents PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2014). https://byuprideandprejudice.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/the-education-of-upper-class-young-men-2/
  • Müller, Anja, ed. Fashioning Childhood in the Eighteenth Century: Age and Identity. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2006.
  • O’Malley, Andrew. “The Eighteenth-Century Child.” Representing Childhood. https://www.representingchildhood.pitt.edu/eighteencent_child.htm
  • The Historical Pocket Library; Or, Biographical Vade-Mecum. Six Volumes. Consisting of I. the Heathen-Mythology. II. Ancient History. III. the Roman History. IV. the History of England. V. Geography. VI. Natural History. the Whole Forming A Moral and Comprehensive System of Historical Information, for the Amusement and Instruction of the Young Nobility of both Sexes. 1 Vol. Bath:ed by S. Hazard; for G. Riley, Stationer, Ludgate-Street, London, 1790. Eighteenth Century Collections Online; Gale.
  • Thornbury, Walter. "Westminster School." Old and New London: Volume 3. London: Cassell, Petter & Galpin, 1878. 462-483. British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/old-new-london/vol3/pp462-483
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Durrestein

Tess Winters trains to be an artificer in the former colony of Seldria, a small country on the same continent as Mesuria. The use of magic is unpredictable in Durrestein and its inhabitants have, for the most part, forgone using magic entirely. Considered backwards by some and uncouth by others, Durrestein leads the known world in technological advancement.
General
  • Armstrong, Kate. “Wild Western Women: Ladies on the American Frontier.” The Exploress (2019). https://www.theexploresspodcast.com/episodes/2019/1/6/wild-western-women-ladies-on-the-american-frontier
  • "Atlas Mountains". Encyclopedia Britannica (2020). https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlas-Mountains
  • Imbler, Sabrina. “The Forgotten Trans History of the Wild West.” Atlas Obscura (2019). https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/trans-history-wild-west
  • “The American West, 1865-1900.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/rise-of-industrial-america-1876-1900/american-west-1865-1900/
 
History of Science
  • Franklin, Benjamin. “From Benjamin Franklin to William Heberden, 7 June 1759.” Franklin Papers, National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-08-02-0099
  • “Discovery of Oxygen by Joseph Priestley.” American Chemical Society International Historic Chemical Landmarks. http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/josephpriestleyoxygen.html
  • Dolnick, Edward. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World. New York: HarperCollins, 2012.
  • Harkness, Deborah E. The Jewel House of Art and Nature: Elizabethan London and the Social Foundations of the Scientific Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
  • Holmes, Richard. The Age of Wonder: The Romantic Generation and the Discovery of the Beauty and Terror of Science. New York: Pantheon, 2009.
  • Lang, Sidney. “Pyroelectricity: From Ancient Curiosity to Modern Imaging Tool.” Physics Today 58, 8, 31 (2005); ​https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2062916
  • Sobel, Dava. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. London: Fourth Estate, 2014.
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Nessina

Another former colony of Seldria, the island city-state of Nessina is the most cosmopolitan city in the Azure Sea. Nessina is loosely inspired by Mediterranean islands and the Republic of Venice.
  • Baetjer, Katharine. “Venice in the Eighteenth Century.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2003). ​https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/venc/hd_venc.htm
  • Woodard, Colin. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. Boston: Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.
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Magic

The magic system in WINTERS has multiple inspirations.
  • Bottigheimer, Ruth B. Magic Tales and Fairy Tale Magic: From Ancient Egypt to the Italian Renaissance. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. 
  • Castelluccia, Manuel, and Roberto Dan. "Caucasian, Iranian and Urartian Bronze Bells." Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 20.1 (2014): 67-104.
  • Friedmann, Jonathan L. "The Magical Sound of Priestly Bells." Jewish Bible Quarterly 46.1 (2018): 41-6.
  • The Grimoire Encyclopedia. ​https://www.grimoire.org/
  • Willmott, Hugh and Daubney, Adam. “Of saints, sows or smiths? Copper-brazed iron handbells in Early Medieval England.” Archaeological Journal 177:1 (2020), 63-82.
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Biographies & Memoirs

  • Byrne, Paula. The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things. New York: Harper Perennial, 2014.
  • Duff Gordon, Lucie, Lady. Lady Duff Gordon's Letters From Egypt. Janet Ross, ed. London: R. Brimley Johnson, 1902. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/17816/17816-h/17816-h.htm
  • Gibb, Lorna. Lady Hester: Queen of the East. London: Faber, 2006.
  • Mernissi, Fatima. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Reading, Mass.: Perseus Books, 1998. 
  • Rossant, Colette. Memories of a Lost Egypt: A Memoir with Recipes. New York: Clarkson Potter, 1999.
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Fiction

Selected fiction relating to Europe and the Middle East during the 18th and 19th centuries, and beyond.
  • Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. George Justice. New York: Norton, 2011.
  • Austen, Jane. Mansfield Park. Ed. Claudia L. Johnson. New York: Norton, 1998.
  • Austen, Jane. Persuasion. Ed. Patricia Meyer Spacks. New York: Norton, 2013.
  • Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald J. Gray. New York: Norton, 2001.
  • Brennan, Marie. A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent. London: Titan Books, 2014.
  • Brennan, Marie. The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent. London: Titan Books, 2014.
  • Brennan, Marie. Voyage of the Basilisk: A Memoir by Lady Trent. New York: Tor, 2016.
  • Brennan, Marie. In the Labyrinth of Drakes: A Memoir by Lady Trent. New York: Tor, 2016.
  • Brennan, Marie. Within the Sanctuary of Wings: A Memoir by Lady Trent. New York: Tor, 2017.
  • Brown, Eli. Gunpowder and Cinnamon. New York: St Martins Press/Griffin, 2014.
  • Burney, Francis. Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World. Ed. Stewart J. Cooke. New York: Norton, 1998.
  • Catton, Eleanor. The Luminaries. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2013.
  • Chakraborty, S. A. The City of Brass. New York: Harper Voyager, 2017.
  • Chakraborty, S. A. The Kingdom of Copper. New York: Harper Voyager, 2019.
  • Chakraborty, S. A. The Empire of Gold. New York: Harper Voyager, 2020.
  • Chokshi, Roshani. The Gilded Wolves. New York: Wednesday Books, 2018.
  • Christie, Agatha. “The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb.” New York: HarperCollins, 2013.
  • Clark, P. Djèli. “A Dead Djinn in Cairo.” Tor.com, 2016. https://www.tor.com/2016/05/18/a-dead-djinn-in-cairo/
  • Forester, C. S. The Happy Return. Penguin Publishing, 2006. 
  • Forester, C. S. A Ship of the Line. 1st ed. GB: Penguin Books Ltd, 2011. 
  • Forester, C. S. Flying Colours. Back Bay Books, 1989.
  • Hamid, Mohsin. Exit West. New York: Riverhead Books, 2018.
  • Jemisin, N K. The Killing Moon. New York: Orbit, 2012.
  • Orczy, Baroness Emmuska. The Scarlet Pimpernel. New York: Modern Library, 2002.
  • Nix, Garth. Sabriel. New York: Harper, 2014.
  • Peters, Elizabeth. Crocodile on the Sandbank. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2013.
  • Sabatini, Rafael. Scaramouche: A Romance of the French Revolution. Boston: Houghton, 1921.
  • Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008
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All photographs were taken by Chera Cole unless credited otherwise.