A guest post from Rue Allyn
Today I want to talk about the difficulties period appropriate language can cause authors and readers alike. It isn’t that some words common in a given period may be unfamiliar to 21st century readers. The problem is much deeper. One key aspect of using period appropriate language is that meanings and connotations change.
The words used today to discuss the history of people of color in the United States are very different than those used in the past. Mostly this is so because the words used during the period while people of color were enslaved in the US of A have come to be regarded as offensive.
I ran into this problem when I decided to write The Creole Duchess. This novel is about A duke in disguise, a creole miss determined to get her own way, a curse, and the battle of New Orleans.
I sent my duke on a secret mission to try to halt the coming battle. While he was in New Orleans he fell in love with Miss Celestine St. Cyr Duval. That Miss Duval was American, and technically an enemy, was bad enough but she wasn’t just an American or just a Louisiana creole (a person whose family descends from one of the original settlers of that territory), she was also a quadroon.
Today, ‘quadroon’ is a highly offensive word, and with good reason. But in the United States in 1815, quadroon was one of a number of terms used both in everyday language and in legal documents to describe a person of color whose ancestry was composed of only one quarter color. The other 75 percent being white. Very often people with this sort of background exhibit extraordinary physical beauty and rarely are they obviously ‘black’ or ‘white.’
The definition of the term is credited to Thomas Jefferson, himself an owner of enslaved people of color. In a letter to a Mr. Francis C. Gray, Jefferson defined quadroon in purely mathematical terms. Proving, although no doubt without intention, how owners de-personalized enslaved people of color.
“let the 2d crossing be of h. and B. the blood of the issue will be h/2 + B/2, or substituting for h/2 it’s equivalent, it will be a/4 + A/4 + B/2. call it q (quarteroon) being ¼ negro blood …” https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-08-02-0245
Such was how the term was used in 1815.
However, I was writing a novel about human people. People who, regardless of what they might be called had hopes, dreams, working lives and families. How do I resolve this difficulty created by the changing meanings and connotations of words throughout history.
The easiest way might have been to simply avoid the problem and write a different story. But my research into the term and the people it described fascinated me. Celestine was a quadroon in the setting of the story, and she deserved in my opinion to have her story told. Yet, if I use those words throughout the story that offend modern readers, readers whom I pray will continue to purchase and read my books, I risk losing that audience. What to do?
I used a twofold approach. You will notice that the title of the book is The Creole Duchess. Celie was both Creole and quadroon. Why limit her to one descriptive term? So, I used the term ‘quadroon’ where absolutely necessary in the way early 19th century people would have understood it. However, I took great care to balance that descriptor with other terms that would show the range of Miss Duval’s personality and history. Quadroon. Daughter. Wife. Free woman of color. Creole. Freedom runner, for she did in the story assist a number of enslave people of color to escape their bondage. And eventually, Duchess.
Language is not the only area in fiction writing where history and modern sensibilities are at odds. My strong belief is that we owe it to ourselves, our readers and to history to represent that history with accurate plausibility no matter how unpalatable to 21st century readers.
About The Creole Duchess:
A duke in disguise, a creole miss determined to get her own way, a curse, and two nations at war, is love even possible?
New Orleans Creole, Miss Celestine St. Cyr-Duval refuses to live under the thumb of some man chosen by her parents. Celie will do everything to keep freedom of choice for herself and others. But fate interferes in the form of a duke disguised as British businessman, Caleb Elmond. A relationship with Caleb would find approval with her mother, but both Celie and Caleb have secrets that put them on opposite sides of a great conflict and could destroy them both.
With the Battle of New Orleans looming, can these two strangers from warring countries compromise and protect each other, or will fear and betrayal end both their lives?
The Creole Duchess, Duchess Series Book Three is expected to launch in late 2023. The pre-order price of $0.99 for this long-awaited conclusion to the Duchess Series ends on release day, Oct. 30, 2023
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About Rue Allyn:
Author of historical and contemporary romances, Rue Allyn fell in love with happily ever after the day she heard her first story. (She claims she was a precocious little brat who read at the age of two but could hear much earlier than that.) She studied literature for far too many years before discovering that writing stories was much more fun than writing about them. One of her greatest pleasures as an author is being able to read the story before anyone else. Rue is happily married to her sweetheart of many, many years. Insatiably curious, an avid reader and traveler, she loves to hear from readers about their favorite books and real-life adventures. Crazy Cat stories are especially welcome. You can contact her at Rue@RueAllyn.com. She can’t wait to hear from you.
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