Corte – Vanessa Couchman

Pasquale Paoli: forgotten Corsican revolutionary

This post is taking part in the Historical Writers Forum autumn blog hop, in which we each choose a historical figure and explain why we are drawn to him or her. I’ve chosen Pasquale Paoli, who led the Corsican republic from 1755 to 1769. Paoli probably never considered himself a revolutionary. To him, the struggleContinue reading “Pasquale Paoli: forgotten Corsican revolutionary”

Women in Traditional Corsican Society

Oppressed, subservient, insignificant? Does that accurately describe Corsican women in past times? Not always. That Corsica was a patriarchal society can’t be denied. But to portray the island’s women as downtrodden and overlooked is to over-simplify a complex situation. A previous post explored marriage customs in Corsica. This time, I look specifically at the roleContinue reading “Women in Traditional Corsican Society”

Views of #Corsica

Come with me on a photo journey through some of the places and views on Corsica that have inspired my writing during our six visits there. I have taken hundreds of photos on Corsica, but these are among my favourites. I can feel a seventh visit coming on…

Ten Inspiring Things About #Corsica: Part 2

Here’s part 2 of my post about aspects of Corsica that I find inspiring as a writer. Some of them appear in my novels The House at Zaronza and The Corsican Widow, but all of them are things I want to keep experiencing. In writing this post, I have realised that 10 is far tooContinue reading “Ten Inspiring Things About #Corsica: Part 2”

Ten Inspiring Things About Corsica: Part 1

Restricting this to just 10 things has been difficult. Below are five of my favourite Corsican things, places or experiences: find the next five here. They are all part of the landscape/history/culture that inspired my novels The House at Zaronza and The Corsican Widow and will continue to inspire my future writing about Corsica, whetherContinue reading “Ten Inspiring Things About Corsica: Part 1”