It's Ask-A-Wench Day at Word Wenches!
This time the AAW question comes from Nina P., who asks:
If you had a reliable time-machine and could visit any point in history, where would you go and why?
The time-machine scenario is always a fun one to play with -- and the Wenches came up with a wide variety of responses!
Mary Jo Putney:My mind always goes blank when I'm asked to answer time machine questions, like places or ideal dinner parties. Too many possibilities! My mental software crashes. <G>
A top-of-my-head possibility would be the Cabinet War Rooms in London. This was the British command center for much of WWII. I visited some years back, after part of it had been opened to the public, and it was rivetingly authentic. One could easily imagine Churchill and his generals in the map room, or picking up one of the old telephones. Churchill even had a small bedroom there.Mind you, I couldn't have stayed long because they all smoked like fiends. Churchill's cigars alone could rout a company of Nazis. <G> So after I'd had my fill of watching great men become great, I'd want to go to either Times Square or Trafalgar Square for the VE day celebrations just so I could feel that joy. Remember the famous photo of an American sailor sweeping a pretty girl into a kiss in Times Square? That image has become so iconic that I've seen huge statues of the couple in the naval towns of San Diego and Sarasota. Seeing the end of a great terrible war would be a nice place to visit.
Nicola Cornick:
I love this question! The difficulty would be deciding on which point in time to visit since there are so many different historical periods I would want to explore and people I would like to meet if we were able to be interactive as well. However if I had to choose one I think it would be to go back to England in about 1483 and try to unravel the mystery of who killed the Princes in the Tower. Was it Richard III, Henry VII or someone else? As a hopelessly devoted Ricardian I have been wrapped up in this historical mystery since I was a girl. I love the idea of leaping into my time machine and flying off to solve historical crimes that have puzzled people for centuries. A couple of problems occur, though. Since we don't know when exactly the murder happened I might program my time machine for quite the wrong year. And is it better to know or not to know? If I discovered that Richard III really was responsible, all my illusions would be shattered. I can't bear the thought of uttering the line: "Richard, you disappoint me..."
Jo Beverley:Surprisingly tricky, because one answer would be all points in English history!
I'd love to flit in and out as a fly on the wall. However, I'm not sure I'd want to be in the midst of anything.
All right. I'll pick a fairly
mundane one. I'd like to be an invisible observer at an Almack's Assembly
some time in 1814, just to see how far we have such a simple thing wrong in
Regency romance!
Patricia Rice:
Argh, this question requires some time and thought!
Would I travel back and try to warn Kennedy or Lincoln of their assassins? Would I want to sit in on the Constitutional convention and warn them to be a little more clear about the second amendment? (Can I go back as a man?)
Or if all I can do is observe, might I sit in on a conversation with Jane Austen?
Cara Elliott /Andrea Pickens:
Oh, it’s hard to choose! There are so many events in history that I would love to witness firsthand.
That said, I would have to pick an event from the Regency era. Trafalgar or Waterloo would be amazing. (NOT that I’m bloodthirsty, but I would like to comprehend the sheer scope and force of the Napoleonic Wars.) However, I think tops on my list would be the Congress of Vienna in 1814. It was a spectacular gathering of emperors, kings, princes and politicians, not to mention the influential women and scheming entourages. (The two reigning beauties of the day, Duchess of Sagan and Princess Bagration, held rival salons and vied to attract the most powerful men.)
The pomp and pageantry of the balls and fetes were legendary—there was a mock medieval joust in the Spanish Riding School, fireworks and a hot air balloon ascension at Prince Metternich’s villa, just to name a few. On top of that there were banquets, operas, ballets, and the guest lists included international celebrities from all walks of life. ... Food, wine, intrigue, fashion, sexual shenanigans . . . all taking place in a historic city that reflected the traditions of both East and West. What a tantalizing taste of the era it would be! Give me a ballgown and tiara—let the quadrille begin!
Oh, too much fun, and too many amazing choices, as the other Wenches have pointed out -- it's not easy for any of us to choose! I'd like to step into a very reliable time machine (a la Jules Verne or H.G. Wells) or sweep my hands in some lovely powerful spell that would take me back easily and quickly to any place I want ... and where would I go? Many, many places -- too many to list here, but here's what comes quickly to mind:
I've been to this place two or three times in the last few years, and I'd love to visit Sir Walter Scott's home, Abbotsford, in Scotland... when Sir Walter himself was at home and receiving guests. How cool it would be to be invited into his study and library for a long chat about his books and Scottish history, too.
And I would love to visit the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, before her marriage to Darnley (after that it was one sticky wicket after another, wasn't it) -- I'd like to spend some time there, traveling with her and learning what it was truly like then. Fascinating.
I'd also visit the courts of ancient Egypt and, bouncing way forward, the medieval courts of the Plantagenets (all of them, why not)... and to continue bouncing in and out of places, I'd check out the real Arthurian story in 6th century Britain ... then I'd hop over to France to meet Joan of Arc and then back to Britain again... where to next?
All the Wenches have endless lists of historical places we'd like to visit and people we'd like to meet!
Where would you go in time if you could? Would you go backward - or forward in time?
As a thank you to Nina for a fun question, she wins an autographed copy of my Sarah Gabriel romance, THE HIGHLAND GROOM, since I'm the Wench who pulled her question out of the proverbial hat, er, Wenchly bonnet. Congrats, Nina!
Happy time-traveling!
Susan
If I could go anywhere, anytime, it would be to Ireland on the eve of the 1916 Easter Rising. I'd meet and talk Irish freedom with such amazing people asPadraic Pearse, Michael Collins, and Eamon de Valera, and maybe even talk poetry with my favorite, W.B. Yeats. Talk about the old proverb, "May you live in interesting times!
Posted by: Cynthia Owens | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 03:41 AM
I love time travel novels, except Crichton's Timeline. Flora Speer wrote the same story before he did and it is much much better, but since she is a romance writer and he the serious scientist, his got made into a film. (Please read scathing into this, I am proud of reading Romance).
I have always wanted to go back in time, but realized early on that if I lost my glasses I would be helpless (20/400). Now if I could go back and not suffer the indignities, like a good vacation should be,then -- OK how many tickets do I have? Medieval, England 1400s, Italian Renaissance, London/Antwerp 1680s, Regency, Gatsby's 1920s.
My daughter has a slight take on this. She would use her time machine to go back and see great concerts. She would love to see Hendrix in London, The Doors, Woodstock and Nirvana.
Posted by: Lyn S | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 06:22 AM
First the comes to mind is the Savoy in London during the Blitz. They had rooms in the basement where everyone continued to party. I see myself sitting on the piano singing torch songs.
Or the Duchess of Richmond's ball the night before Waterloo. Like Cara, I'm fascinated by those great moments, and this was the cusp(and, of course, the trauma nurse would have been in those medical tents the next few days)
Posted by: Eileen Dreyer | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:20 AM
May I wish to visit all of those times and places mentioned? I've been to the War Rooms and could so easily picture Churchill and the other Cabinet members working and planning and worrying in those darkest of times. I read Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time" at an impressionable age and would love to solve the mystery of the Princes in the Tower. I'd save the library at Alexandria, go to the Duchess of Richmond's ball, live in Athens in the Golden Age, and have a seat at the Constitutional Convention to insist on a clearer 2nd Amendment and to warn them about the dangers of slavery (not that there weren't plenty of people at the time who did so). As noted, however, I'd need my glasses and would want all my immunizations up to date before I went.
Posted by: Susan/DC | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Very fun post, Susan. I hadn't thought about sleuthing, or changing the course of history, but that's intriguing. But from everyone's comments, it does look like we need to program the machine to make "local" stops through history, LOL!
Posted by: Andrea Penrose | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Please can I join you at the Congress of Vienna, Cara? Ballgown and a stack of invitations in hand, what an experience.
Posted by: Beth Elliott | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 02:00 PM
My first thought was Waterloo, but I want to talk to the people involved, not watch them try to kill each other, so sometime in the Napoleonic Wars with no active battles. And I want to meet Wellington, and probably also Michel Ney, though with him I'd be hampered by our lacking a common language.
I'd also like to travel with Lewis and Clark to see what they saw, in particular what the Pacific Northwest looked like then. I would've loved to have seen a salmon run from before the days of overfishing.
Oh, and a research trip to Stonehenge when it was first built to see how its builders used it.
I could do this all day, but those are the first three that come to mind.
Posted by: Susanna Fraser | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 05:20 PM
Beth, let's definitely make the rounds together!
Posted by: Andrea Penrose | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 05:42 PM
From Sherrie.
This is a great question, but it's like turning a kid loose in a candy factory! What to choose?!! The mind boggles.
That said, I really think I'd like to go back in ancient time and listen to Jesus preach one of his sermons and see him heal the sick. Given my faith, and my intense interest in history, I don't think I could top that.
Thanks to Nina for this question. (And prayers for Nina who had surgery today on her ankle. I hope all went well.)
Posted by: Sherrie Holmes | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 06:13 PM
Fun and inspiring answers, and I'm ready to choose again and yet again, jumping into that time machine to visit all the places mentioned here and more...
(If only I could decide where to begin!)
Get well soon, Nina, and thanks for the AAW question!
Susan
Posted by: Susan King | Friday, April 16, 2010 at 06:46 PM
Since I live in Hawaii, it would be interesting to be on board the HMS Resolution when Captain Cook sailed into Waimae Harbor, Kauai on January 18, 1778. He became the first European to have contact with the Native Hawaiians. Captain Cook arrived during a festival, so the local chief mistook him for a god. Just imagine the scene of a "refined" British explorer meeting the "savages" of a Pacific Island.
Posted by: Kim in Hawaii | Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 12:45 AM
I'm with Nicola and would want to know just WHO ordered the Princes in the Tower killed, and I don't think any fellow Richardians would be disappointed with the answer. I'm also with Susan King and would want to visit the court of each and every Plantagenet monarch (but especially to see Roger Mortimer). However, I am feeling exceedingly old now that Lyn S has said her daughter wants to go back to attend an historical event I was a part of - Woodstock. When does it stop becoming current and start becoming part of history and I must have been a babe in arms there?*G*
Posted by: ValerieL. | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Oh Jo and I would be doing double duty, I also vote for Almacks. I would love to see what all the fuss was about. I also would like to see how women in the Regency handled their periods. The dresses were so unforgiving and revealing. Did they literally become indisposed for the entire "period"? We have all experienced the unexpected "visitor" during a big event I'm sure, but with panty liners and tampons our lives don't stop. So maybe more than an event I'd choose a regular day (or week if I can get away with it!) Like the House on the Strand by Daphne Dumaurier.
Posted by: Sue | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 07:08 PM
Wow! Having one's question pulled from the Wenchly bonnet. What a wonderful thing to discover today. I loved reading about where everyone would go. The benefits of visiting current events like WWI or Woodstock never occurred to me. But seeing the real-time affects of those would be fascinating. Churchill said, “History is written by the victors.” But, IMHO, the collective results silently form the future.
My deepest thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. Friday’s surgery (removing one of the screws inserted on Jan 22) went off without a hitch. The anaesthesia proved a different story, but better than the last telling.
If I'd a time machine (though I would prefer some magical spell) I would first travel to 1314 Paris (to that island in the Seine river) and ask Jacques de Molay why he recanted his false confession knowing he would be burned alive by King Philip IV of France for the effort. What was Molay trying to protect that suddenly no longer needed protection?
Then, I go forward to the fields of Waterloo and ask Napoleon what the “big hold-up” was and if he intended to go after America upon claiming England? After that, I'd ride over to see Wellington, with a warning that a French troop of 12 pounders were sneaking up behind him and would decimate part of the RHA just as he called victory. (Do you think he’d believe me?)
With that effort done, I’d be off to 1798 America, where George Washington sat in his Mt. Vernon study penning a letter to the Reverend G.W. Synder of Maryland who was concerned that the harmful tenets of Jacobinism and the Illuminati had infiltrated the American lodges of the freemasons. Washington said he had no doubt, but did not think such “diabolical tenets” would be permitted to propagate. Was this great man simply blindly naive, or lying through his wooden teeth? That’s what I’d like to know.
Nina, looking forward to meeting THE HIGHLAND GROOM.
Posted by: NinaP | Monday, April 19, 2010 at 12:03 PM