"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Pride Month 2022 – Christine de Pizan

Well, I said I was going to share some notes for Pride Month, didn’t I? Here they are.

I’d like to start with an amazing author and intellectual: Christine de Pizan, an Italian poet who worked in France at the beginning of the XV Century, is considered one of the first female professional writers and have us one of the most important accounts of a transgender character in Medieval fiction.
She indirectly features in my novel because one of the main characters was reading her Livre de la Mutation de Fortune and was forced to leave it behind while fleeing the French court.

Why did I pick her? Easy enough: her Livre de la Mutation de Fortune, authored in 1403, is considered one of the earlier texts featuring gender transition and my novel features a reading on shapeshifting that has a lot to do with self-affirmation.

You can read the whole story on my Patreon profile: it’s free.
Spooktober

Spooktober 27 – The Black Monk (2)

Chapter 3 After supper, when the visitors had gone, he went to his room and lay down on the sofa: he wanted to think about the monk. But a minute later Tanya came in. “Here, Andryusha; read father’s articles,” she said, giving him a bundle

Read More »
October 27, 2026 6:00 am
Spooktober

Spooktober 26 – The Black Monk (1)

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician, short-story writer and playwright, and I’m not particularly fond of him, though he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of modern short fiction and who am I to argue? His work is celebrated for its psychological

Read More »
October 26, 2026 6:00 am
art and fashion

Beauty and Ugliness: an exhibition

A few pictures from the recently closed exhibition on Beauty and Ugliness as an aesthetic paradigma in which what’s ideal and what’s grotesque melt together as sides of the same coin. The exhibition featured works by Brueghel (lent from the other exhibition at Palazzo Reale),

Read More »
October 25, 2026 9:00 am
Load More
Share on LinkedIn
Throw on Reddit
Roll on Tumblr
Mail it
No Comments

Post A Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS

Spooktober 27 – The Black Monk (2)

October 27, 2026

Chapter 3 After supper, when the visitors had gone, he went to his room and lay down on the sofa: he wanted to think about the monk. But a minute later Tanya came in. “Here, Andryusha; read father’s articles,” she said, giving him a bundle

Read More

Spooktober 26 – The Black Monk (1)

October 26, 2026

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian physician, short-story writer and playwright, and I’m not particularly fond of him, though he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest masters of modern short fiction and who am I to argue? His work is celebrated for its psychological

Read More

Beauty and Ugliness: an exhibition

October 25, 2026

A few pictures from the recently closed exhibition on Beauty and Ugliness as an aesthetic paradigma in which what’s ideal and what’s grotesque melt together as sides of the same coin. The exhibition featured works by Brueghel (lent from the other exhibition at Palazzo Reale),

Read More