The Folklore Cycle: A Historical Fantasy of America

On this date occurred two different milestones in American naval history. First, on March 9, 1847, a fleet of seven gunboats and numerous landing craft carried the 1st Army Division to Collado Beach, about three miles south of the Mexican port of Veracruz. They made landfall late in the afternoon. The remainder of General Winfield Scott’s invasion force made it ashore by 11pm. This was the first large-scale amphibious assault ever conducted by the U.S. military — and a highly successful one. Scott would go on to march his army overland, defeat Santa Anna’s forces in several engagements, and capture Mexico City, bringing the Mexican-American War to its end. The Duke of Wellington, carefully following the campaign by reading dispatches in the London papers, proclaimed Scott to be “the greatest living soldier.” Fifteen years later, on March 9, 1862, the USS Monitor defeated the CSS Virginia off Sewell’s Point in the Hampton Roads of Virginia. This was the first battle between ironclad warships in naval history, and immediately galvanized the attention not just of Union and Confederate commanders but of political and military leaders around the world. The CSS Virginia had been constructed using the engines and lower hull of a previous U.S. Navy steam frigate called the USS Merrimack. That’s the more-familiar name today. When the Civil War broke out, the US Navy burned and scuttled the Merrimack while evacuating its naval yard at Hampton Roads. The Confederates raised it and rebuilt it as an ironclad ram.

Today’s wisdom from Poul Anderson: “Time is the bridge that always burns behind us.”

On this date in 1836, the Texians and Tejanos defending the rebel stronghold of the Alamo were overwhelmed by the forces of General Santa Anna. It’s a moment portrayed countless times since then — in newspaper accounts, oral histories, novels, plays, radio and TV programs, motion pictures, and games. Did David Crockett (he disliked being called “Davy”) go down fighting or was he captured and executed by Santa Anna? Should the commanders at the Alamo, Buck Travis and Jim Bowie, have followed General Sam Houston’s orders and evacuated what Houston considered an indefensible position? Were the defenders truly championing a noble cause? And did the 13-day siege of the Alamo consume so much time and effort — and so puff up Santa Anna’s already inflated ego — that it contributed to his subsequent defeat at San Jacinto and the resulting independence of Texas? Historians offer varying answers to these questions. Please read widely. But might we suggest you add another new volume to your list? John Hood’s latest novel “Water Folk” depicts the siege of the Alamo, as well, while including some local folklore you might never have heard. For example, after the fort fell, Santa Anna ordered a detachment back to the Alamo at night to destroy it. The apparitions they saw rise from the ruined mission — giant demons with flaming swords — so terrified the soldiers that they fled, babbling and screaming. Which is why the building still exists as a tourist attraction to this day. Who summoned the monsters? Ah, therein lies a tale...

Children crave heroism. Listen to what they say. Watch them play. This never really goes away as adults. Heroism’s definition just broadens.

On this date in 1591, Queen Elizabeth granted Edmund Spenser a lifetime pension of 50 pounds a year to reward him for writing his most famous work, “The Faerie Queene.” The first volume of that epic poem had been published a few months earlier. Spenser’s work on “The Faerie Queene” was likely sponsored by his friend Walter Raleigh, who was at this time still in Elizabeth’s favor. Spenser hoped the poem would accomplish something similar, firmly establishing him in the queen’s court. But a different Spenser book that came out later in 1591, entitled “Complaints,” contained thinly veiled ridicule of William Cecil, the first Baron Burghley, who as the queen’s treasurer retaliated by going after Spenser’s pension. “The Faerie Queene” was itself full of thinly veiled allusions to Elizabeth, the Tudors, the political and religious history of England, and a range of other subjects. It consists of a series of allegorical tales in which knightly adventures reflect the virtues of holiness, temperance, friendship (sort of), chastity, justice, and courtesy. The story features wizards, monsters, enchanted weapons, King Arthur — but, oddly, not the Faerie Queene herself, Gloriana, who stays offstage for the entire (incomplete) poem. She is the queen of Fairy land and Arthur’s love interest. She is also, of course, Elizabeth. So, now, here’s what some of you are waiting for: do Edmund Spenser or “The Faerie Queene” have anything to do with Folklore Cycle author John Hood’s own attempts at weaving together historical fiction, fantasy, and fairy lore? Quite a lot, actually. For example, one of the heroes of Hood’s novels, Goran the Sylph, is inspired to decisive action by one of Spenser’s most familiar lines: “Gather the rose of love whilst yet is time.”

On this date in 1943, Homer Hickam was born in Coalwood, West Virginia. Homer and his friends in high school formed a club, the Big Creek Missile Agency, to fly model rockets. They won the gold medal at the 1960 National Science Fair. Hickam went on to Virginia Tech, where he majored in engineering and designed “The Skipper,” a cannon famously fired at Hokie games. Winning a Bronze Star for his infantry service in Vietnam in 1967-68, Hickam then joined the Army Aviation and Missile Command and, later, NASA. He worked in spacecraft design and helped train crews manning the Space Shuttle. “Remember,” Hickam later wrote, “it isn’t the dreamers who have good lives — it’s the doers.” He also offered this advice: “The best way to learn to write is to read in the genre you might be interested in; then, you need to actually sit down and write. In a lot of cases, the first book you write will not get published. Do not get hung up on that. Start a second book.” If you haven't seen the delightful 1999 film "October Sky," based on Hickam's best-selling memoir "Rocket Boys” and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, we highly recommend it. And here’s a fun fact: the film title is an anagram of “Rocket Boys”!

Need a break from your Monday routine? There’s a 12-minute episode of NRO’s “Bookmonger” that you might find . . . fantastic. Link in the comments.

On this date in 1789, George Washington received the unanimous vote of the Electoral College to become the first president of the United States under the new US Constitution. By "unanimous," we do not mean to suggest that all the former British colonies in North America cast their ballots for Washington. Two states remained outside the new system when voters went to the polls for the first time the previous November. Rhode Island had not even sent delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Rather than holding a ratification convention like the other states, Rhode Island simply held a public referendum on March 24, 1788. The Constitution lost badly, 2708-237. The other state that cast no ballot for or against George Washington in the first presidential election was North Carolina. Its initial ratification convention concluded on August 2, 1788 when most delegates refused to say yes unless the Constitution was amended to add a Bill of Rights. Although enough states had ratified to put the Constitution into effect, the call for a Bill of Rights quickly gained adherents across the country. North Carolina would hold another convention the following year to ratify — but George Washington was already president at this point.

From this month’s Folklore Cycle newsletter by author John Hood: Because of what you’re doing right now, I know you don’t mind reading content on a screen. But when you sit down to enjoy a full-length novel, do you prefer a digital edition or a physical copy? Believe it or not, most readers in our very-digital age still prefer printed books. According to the latest revenue figures from the Association of American Publishers, more than three-quarters of all book sales come from print editions — hardbacks, paperbacks, special bindings, and mass market paperbacks. E-books account for less than 10%. Of course, printed books cost more than digital ones. But this isn’t just about revenue. Publishers sell vastly more print units than digital units. And in recent years, print sales have grown faster (in revenue and units) than digital sales. I may be accused of burying the lede, however. The fastest-growing segment of the book business doesn’t serve readers at all. It serves listeners. Last year, many more people listened to audiobooks than read digital ones. Revenue from Audible and other purveyors of digital audiobooks shot up 16% last year. Compare that to an 8% rise for paperbacks and just 3% for e-books. With audiobooks, I was an early adopter. In 1989, after working in magazine journalism in the nation’s capital for a while, I moved back to North Carolina — and immediately discovered a store near my new office that rented books-on-tape for a few bucks a pop. I had a long commute and a skinny wallet. So I gave the genre a try. It was love at first listen. I devoured history books, literary classics, short-story collections, and fantasy novels. Later I discovered audio dramas — some recently produced, others remastered episodes of old-time-radio standards such as Sherlock Holmes, the Shadow, and the sci-fi series “X Minus One.” Decades (and several format changes) later, I remain an audio junkie. When I’m not catching up on podcasts or listening to news radio for professional reasons — I fund audio projects and serve as vice chair of North Carolina Public Radio — you’ll often find me enjoying a good book while I’m driving, doing chores, or walking Woola the Wonder Dog. Five years ago, when I decided to redirect much of my writing energies from nonfiction to fiction, I dared to hope that one day some talented narrator would bring my Folklore Cycle heroes to life. Then it happened! Professional voice talent Benjamin Fife did a masterful job performing “Mountain Folk” (2021) and “Forest Folk” (2022). I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for his work. Fife himself called my stories “positively delightful to narrate” and has done much to promote them through his own channels and networks. I’m delighted to announce that Fife’s performance of “Water Folk” is now available from Amazon and Audible. If you’ve been waiting for the audiobook to continue your journey with the Folklore Cycle, I’ve got you covered. The links are in the comments.

On this date in 1709, the ships Duke and Duchess approached the island of Más a Tierra, one of the then-uninhabited islands off the coast of Chile now called the Juan Fernández archipelago. One of the men on the Duke, Captain William Dampier, was a longtime privateer who was the first Englishmen to explore Australia as well as the first person to circumnavigate the earth three times. On that fateful day in 1709, however, Dampier wasn’t discovering a new land or chasing a Spanish prize (privateering was essentially authorized piracy, in that captains would receive letters of marque to seize, loot, and sell enemy ships). Indeed, Dampier wasn’t even captain of the ship. He was merely the Duke’s pilot, having lost his own command a couple of years before due to a series of unfortunate events and his own mistakes. The Duke and Duchess had come to the island of Más a Tierra to resupply. But Dampier, at least, couldn’t sure the island was truly uninhabited. More than four years earlier, as captain of his privateering fleet, Dampier had left a man there, a Englishman named Alexander Selkirk. Back in 1704, Selkirk had refused to stay aboard one of the privateers’ prize ships, the Cinque Ports, because he considered it unseaworthy. Dampier put Selkirk ashore with nothing but a musket, a hatchet, a knife, a cooking pot, a Bible, bedding and some clothes. Ignoring Selkirk’s second thoughts and entreaties to be brought back on board, Dampier left him there. (Selkirk was right, by the way. The Cinque Ports sank.) The castaway was still there when the Duke and Duchess arrived on Feb. 2, 1709, having made skillful use of the resources of the island — including feral goats and cats left behind by prior sailors — to feed, clothe, and amuse himself. Overjoyed at the return of English ships, Selkirk helped resupply them and joined the crew, relishing a return to privateering and even become captain of one of the prize ships they seized. A 1712 book by a fellow crewman, “A Voyage to the South Sea and Round the World,” related Alexander Selkirk’s adventures to an astonished public. Seven years later, Daniel Defoe fictionalized the experiences of Selkirk (and possibly other inspirations) in “The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.” The island of Más a Tierra is now called Robinson Crusoe Island. Its neighbor is Alejandro Selkirk Island.