Novelist
“I saw my whole life as if I d already lived it. An endless parade of parties and cotillions, yachts and polo matches. Always the same narrow people, the same mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great... Continue Reading The post Dinner Party Rules or Social Shackles: A Peek at Victorian Etiquette appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
If you haven’t heard me say it a million times already, I’m a podcast fan. There’s always something playing in my ear while I’m preparing dinner. History is my go-to topic, especially when the focus is on women. When I... Continue Reading The post The History of Women s Bodies in Four Parts: A Look Inside Helen King s Immaculate Forms appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
So, I’m starting to write a new novel. It would actually be more honest, or at least more accurate, to say that I’m preparing to write it. No, strike that. I am writing a novel. In the movies, we can... Continue Reading The post The Private Labour of Writing: Thoughts on Attention and Intuition appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
I’m a big believer in synchronicity. Many times, I’ve seen how it contributes to my writing. I plan stories in advance but always leave room for magic to happen. The gifts come—sometimes in the form of an unexpected book quote... Continue Reading The post When Storytelling and Art Intersect: In Conversation with Author Gwen Tuinman and Cyanotype Photomontage Artist Wes Peel appeared first on Gwen…
“This is a female text, composed while folding someone else’s clothes. My mind holds it close, and it grows, tender and slow, while my hands perform innumerable chores.” ~ Doireann Ní Ghríofa, A Ghost in the Throat A Ghost in... Continue Reading The post Women Writing: What Diaries Say About History and Erasure appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
The dead of night evoked a fear in our ancestors that’s hard for us to imagine today. Most of us would be hard-pressed to recall when we were last engulfed by absolute darkness. Imagine a corner with shadows so dark... Continue Reading The post There’s Gas Lighting, and Then There’s Gaslighting: History & the Personal Collide appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
I discovered Jen Manion’s powerful book, Female Husbands: A Trans History while perusing a feminist book club’s reading list. The history of anything piques my interest. As a citizen of the world and as someone with dearly held trans people... Continue Reading The post Female Husbands & Saltblood: A Perfect Pairing of Defiant Histories appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
Whether we’re anxious about a potential illness or expecting a baby, being cared for by a professional who’s empathetic and inspires our confidence is a comfort. My experience with women healthcare practitioners has been positive. There’s a built-in understanding when... Continue Reading The post Wandering Wombs, Births and Pessaries: Women s Health Mansplained Throughout History appeared first on…
The ultimate discovery is a found book with notes in the margins. It’s like passing secret messages in class. Such a book recently entered my life via a used bookstore. Their copy of The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence called my name. The post Magaret, Sylvie, Hagar and Me appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
In the summer of 1975, I was a shy, awkward girl obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I couldn’t get enough of her stories about 19-th century settler life. Her books were my gateway into historical fiction. Wilder’s writing opened my eyes to the hardships that people experienced on the frontier. She introduced me to homesteading women who faced…
The cover of UNREST, my recently released 19th century historical adventure, is art. Quite literally. This is a tale of coincidences. When book designer Talia Abramson incorporated the art of Toronto-based painter, Keight MacLean, I was over-the-moon excited. Of all the artists in the world whose work Talia might have selected, she’d been drawn to an artist I’d interviewed a few years earlier and…
UNREST, my 19-century historical novel has been released today! " Brash, duplicitous women, murder and mayhem, and illicit love abound in this wild adventure for fans of Outlander and The Home for Unwanted Girls, announcing a major new talent in historical fiction." —Random House Canada With greatest joy and pleasure, I share what the book is about and praise by renowned Canadian authors: Beith…
“I’m 98 years old.” A darling woman I met on the weekend proudly shared her age. My husband is part of a gardening club that volunteers to water flower gardens at a seniors home. I was waiting for him to finish dousing geraniums when I spotted this stylish woman crowned with snow-white curls. After she saw friends to their car, she spritely doubled back with her walker to say hello. I raised the…
Two hundred years ago, coal oil lamps were a rarity in the backwoods home. Hearth fires and candles were main sources of light. In heavily settled areas, a chandler might pass through once a year to sell their candles made with moulds. Most pioneer women preferred to make their own candles. The post Pioneer Life: Making Candles appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
I’m so darned happy! Today, I came across a 2021 article I wrote about our Little Free Library experience and the pleasures of reading. The piece was picked up by The Globe and Mail and an expanded version was later... Continue Reading The post Pleasures of Reading appeared first on Gwen Tuinman .
Since childhood, I’ve been interested in the “olden days” and how people lived. As a historical fiction author, I take delight in curating facts and impressions about people’s daily lives and how the times in which they lived impacted them. You can imagine the extensive research required to construct a believable world within a novel. For history lovers, this aspect of writing is pleasurable work.…
IF WE SAW SOULS INSTEAD OF BODIES is the title of an essay by author Brianna Wiest and appears in her book 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think. I quickly noted that the entire piece consisted of questions. Before reading further, I stared into the pine trees outside my window. Would my questions look much different from hers? Don’t we humans yearn for the same emotional comforts? I…
I recently had a conversation with a friend’s young grandsons, while visiting an independent bookstore to celebrate the launch of a fellow writer’s novel. One of the boys commented that, except for Chapters-Indigo, he’d never been in a bookshop. The children were impressed by the variety of available books and the general ambience of the space. Their wonderment took me back to remembrances of my…
Millions of women have shaped our world, but there’s limited representation of them in historical archives. These invisible women—who span differing ethnicities, regional economies, social statuses and age groups—have been reduced to passive bystanders in society. In the essay collection The Western Women, one researcher describes how historical women been painted over with three stereotypes…
My earliest diary memory is the sort popular on the birthday party circuit of my childhood. I never received one as a gift, but I remember looking with envy at those pink puffy covered diaries and their zippered closures. Little girls I knew flashed their miniature padlocks and keys like symbols of their importance. I attempted a diary on looseleaf paper when I was young. But at the ripe old age…