history

Book Discussion: Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet

This entry was posted in Book discussion and tagged biography books history religion on by

When I started my research on The Magic Battery, I needed to find out about the Reformation in Germany. I’d picked that period because it was a time of change and technological advancement, a good background to set changes in magic against. Learning about Martin Luther was important, since I wanted to understand the ongoing conflict of ideas. At the same time, I wanted to learn about daily life in that period. It’s easy enough to get information on the emperors and electors, the wars and alliances, the states and borders. Finding out how people traveled, ate, and married took more work.

Lyndal Roper’s Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet turned out to be very useful for both purposes. It tells the story of Luther’s life while including lots of details about how he lived. It gives a lot of insight into how people thought in those days.
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The Faust legend 2

This entry was posted in History and tagged Faust history magic battery on by

In The Magic Battery, I play off the legend of Faust. There are many well-known versions of the story, including Marlowe’s play, Goethe’s play, and Gounod’s opera. Liszt was fascinated with the story and wrote a Faust Symphony as well as the Mephisto Waltzes. My treatment is a free one, but it starts from what’s known of the historical Faust. Or should I should say historical Fausts?

Sculpture in Auerbachs Keller

Sculpture above Auerbach’s Cellar in Leipzig, depicting a scene from Faust

Johann Faust was born in 1466, or maybe 1480. His name is sometimes given as Georg or Johann Georg. Several towns claim to be his birthplace. Could there have been two Fausts, both with a reputation for magic and born over a decade apart? This might explain the part of the story where he becomes young again.
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The Magic Battery and Martin Luther

This entry was posted in My writing Writing and tagged history magic battery on by

One of my first decisions in planning The Magic Battery was to set it in 16th-century Germany. Germany, because that’s the part of Europe I know best. The 16th century, because it was a period of dramatic changes. Copernicus had set out a new view of the universe. Paracelsus had challenged long-held ideas in medicine. Luther had taken on the Catholic Church and divided Christendom.

Luther never appears “on stage” in my novel, but he is frequently mentioned and quoted. Many of the quotes that I use are real; the ones on magic are made up, but I tried to make them true to his character. The main source in my research was Lyndal Roper’s Martin Luther: Renegade and Prophet. The book was also an excellent source on life in that period.
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