Pandemics through history
26-05-2021
Hi, this is Rehan. And this is the first in the series of a set of monthly blogs, where I’ll be giving you an update on questions I frequently get asked– such as what are you writing? What are you reading? What are you researching? Where have you been? Who did you meet? What writing tips can you pass on? And so on.
Obviously, I’m not going to tackle all of these questions every month, but I’ll certainly take on board a few.
So, let’s start with what am I writing. The first question people want to know about at the moment is what’s happening to Will and Awa. In other words when is Book Three of the Chronicles of Will Ryde and Awa Maryam Al Jameel coming out.
As you know A Tudor Turk, the first in the series launched in 2019. A King’s Armour came out in 2020. And all being well, the third book in the series – the name of which I will reveal in next month’s blog – will be out towards the end of the year, or possibly by spring of 2022.
The book itself is nearly ready. I’ve done most of the heavy lifting required on the manuscript and am now working through the fine detail with the editor. Typically, this stage of the document preparation is all about getting the sentence structure, grammar and other elements right, so that the novel reads smoothly.
Aside from my own writing, this month I’ve been reading a really interesting historical work by the Yale Professor, Alan Mikhail. The book is called God’s Shadow: The Ottoman Sultan Who Shaped the Modern World. When I initially came across the book, I thought the Sultan it must be referring to was Suleiman the Magnificent. It was in fact a book about his father Selim the Grim.
The author explains that: Surpassing all his predecessors, Selim nearly tripled the size of the Ottoman empire’s territories. When he died in 1520, the empire was stronger than it had ever been, far more powerful than any other state on Earth. What I also learned from the book, was how the expansion of the Spanish into the Americas can be framed in light of them wanting to counter the power of the Ottoman Empire. Columbus was after all searching for the Great Khan, somewhere between India and China, in a bid to convert him to Christianity and then surround the Ottoman’s from both east and west. God’s Shadow by Alan Mikhail is well worth a read.
This month I also had the pleasure of moderating a session at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, between two eminent historians. The session was entitled Plagues, pandemics and the influence on civilisations. I was speaking with Bettany Hughes, who is a well-known award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. She has many poplar books to her name, such as Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities, and Helen of Troy. Also, on the panel was local historian, Peter Hellyer who is an Adviser for the Ministry of Culture and Youth and author books on the UAE’s archaeology, history and environment.
We spoke about plagues through history: such as Athens and Sparta, the Antoine Plague, the Justinian Plague, the Black Death, the American Plagues and all the way through to the current pandemic. Though the topic was morbid, we ended on a positive note, as both historians reflected that following pandemics, there are periods of great creativity and human endeavor, in which societies come together.If you’d like to watch a replay of the talk, you can do so on the link provided.In the meantime, keep well, let me know if you have any questions about any of my books, or you have any questions about writing, and I will do my best to come back to you. Bye for now and peace be upon you.
