What is "Writing Fireland"?

What you can expect around here.

While researching my historical fiction project Fireland, I’ve been coming across all sorts of weird historical tidbits and fascinating characters from history that I’m not going to be able to include in the book. The novel needs to be focused on the momentum of the story…but some of this other stuff is too good not to share.

So this is a space for sharing my unapologetically nerdy fascination with historical facts I’ve learned about people, places, period technology, and cultural developments related to the southern tip of South America (and the US and Europe) from the 1860s to the 1970s. It’s like the outtakes or the behind-the-scenes commentary on my process of turning history into historical fiction.

If you enjoy a bit of wonder and curiosity in your day through brief travels to a different time and/or place, come join me! Or if you’re interested in a behind-the-scenes commentary on my process of turning history into historical fiction, come along for the adventure!

My novel is about the first white settlers in Tierra del Fuego and the indigenous people they worked with, amidst the colonization, epidemics, genocide, gold rush, and war that reshaped the region from the 1860s to the 1970s. So my research is particularly focused on this captivating, unique part of Chile and Argentina (and other places that intersected with it through the people who visited or settled there). Time-wise, we’ll be looking at the Victorian period to the 1970s—with some perspectives on Tierra del Fuego today, to put the history in context.

The Bridges family (left) and a Yahgan family in the 1880s; the Anglican mission in Ushuaia. (Center and right photos from the Mission Scientifique du Cap Horn, property of the Musée du Quai Branly.)

Once-a-week free posts will cover topics like:

• The surprising objects wealthy British people in the Victorian era used as baby teethers

• What Charles Darwin misunderstood when he labeled the Yahgan people as “miserable, degraded savages” he struggled to see as fellow humans—and why he changed his mind

• A profile of the Yahgan woman who helped shape the European understanding of her people in the 1920s

• How the author of the children’s book The Little Prince made a mark on the development of southern Argentina in 1929 and 1930

• A profile of the feminist lady adventurer/novelist who explored Patagonia by horse in 1880

• The real-life connection between The Crown and a member of the Fuegian family I’m writing about

Additionally, once a week I’ll be sharing personal stories from my research trip to Tierra del Fuego in posts for paid subscribers. I’m putting these posts behind a (minimal) paywall so I can be more vulnerable among friends—and because I’m curious to experiment with this form of community-funded art. (Note: Please let me know if you’re interested in joining that more personal part of the community but can’t swing the payments. I do have gift subscriptions available!)

Me with my Argentinian host during my 6-week research trip to Tierra del Fuego. It’s an incredibly beautiful place!

Wait…What part of the world are we talking about?

Tierra del Fuego is a grouping of islands at the southern tip of South America, split between Chile and Argentina. The archipelago is south of Patagonia and includes Cape Horn. The landscape is dominated by mountains, glaciers, channels, and fjords. It was the ancestral home of the Yahgans, a canoe-based nomadic group; the Selk’nam, land-based hunters; the Kawésqar; and the Haush. Today, most cruises to Antarctica depart from there, but large sections of the region are uninhabited and explored only by scientists and adventurers.

Maps show the location of Tierra del Fuego within South America and the distribution of indigenous people groups within Tierra del Fuego prior to 1860s.(Maps courtesy of Wikimedia.)

What about the novel?

I’m very much still in the writing process, but it’s coming! I’ve completed a (very rough) first draft and am now revising it to make it more readable. :-) After revision comes the process of searching for a publisher and then the publication process itself. That means it’ll be a while before the novel is available to readers, but—have no fear—I will for sure let you know when that happens!

By joining me here, you are very much becoming part of the adventure of bringing this book into the world, becoming part of this story as it develops.

Questions? Comments?

I’d love to hear from you! Simply post a comment below or (if you’re subscribed by email) hit reply to any email.

Thanks so much for joining me on this journey of geeking out over history!