The Hussar’s Duty
By Griffin Brady
Poland’s most valiant winged hussar is called to fight in a campaign ripe for disaster. But he must also protect those he loves from jackals waiting to pounce. How does he choose between duty and devotion when death is on the line?
When Sultan Osman II sends Poland's envoy packing, the Commonwealth must prepare for war against one of the largest armies the Ottomans have ever assembled. Tasked with repelling the invasion is Grand Hetman of the Crown Stanisław Żółkiewski, and he knows who to turn to: Jacek Dąbrowski, the Commonwealth’s most valiant Polish winged hussar.
Jacek has been idle far too long, and the call to arms is a siren’s song he can’t resist. But he has built a life far from the battlefield with his wife, Oliwia, and their children. If he pursues his quest for glory, who will safeguard them?
Oliwia knows her husband is restless. In fact, she’s been sending Jacek on cross-country errands for years in the hopes of quelling his lust for battle. When she realizes her efforts are futile, she resolves herself to letting him go—after hatching a scheme to accompany him.
Honor. Obligation. Devotion. These forces push and pull Jacek in different directions. His country needs him, but so does his family. Where does his duty lie? His choice will cause catastrophic ripples no matter which path he follows … and could very well bring the loss of his loved ones or his life.
Will the cost of defending king and country prove too steep for this warrior?
This is a standalone continuation in The Winged Warrior Series.
Research Undertaken for The Hussar’s Duty, by Griffin Brady
The three novels that make up the Winged Warrior Series take place in early 17th century Poland. Among the main characters are Polish winged hussars, an elite heavy cavalry that was used much like our shock troops of the modern era. While I find the subject fascinating, the time period and location I fell in love with don’t offer a lot of source material, especially translated into English! I am neither a Polish speaker nor a reader, which, when combined with the lack of resources, made uncovering what I sought a bit challenging at times.
Fortunately, the span between the books is ten years. Book 1, The Heart of a Hussar, begins in 1610, and Book 3, The Hussar’s Duty, is set entirely in 1620, which allowed me to use a lot of the same research between the three books. For instance, the politics, customs, and geography remained much the same during that decade.
I began my research on the Internet and discovered a wonderful resource in the Museum of Wilanow’s archives. Beyond that, though, much of what I found was in the form of blogs, which were interesting, though not necessarily accurate. From there, I began building a library of new and used books that varied from a current trails guide to a book about grain trade over the centuries to Polish sabre fighting. I began gathering cookbooks and books on dress and culture and nursery rhymes, along with works of fiction (Poland by James Michener, The Boy Who Wanted Wings by James Conroyd Martin, to name a few). One dedicated bookcase in my office now bulges with all things historical and Polish, including two notebooks with my hand-written notes and a binder containing articles and miscellaneous documents separated by category. For instance, I picked up an old-world Polish restaurant menu with descriptions of the various dishes, and that’s catalogued in the binder.
It didn’t take long before I realized I couldn’t afford to buy every book I needed, nor could I always find them. A research class taught me about tapping into one’s college town library, and from there, I emerged with a shiny, new one-year membership to the University of Colorado-Boulder’s library. Many days were spent scouring dusty books in remote stacks. In addition, the university has a program whereby one can order archived books. I became well acquainted with the librarian and the building’s layout!
In that same research class, I learned about the wonderful Academia.edu tool. After signing up and plugging in my areas of interest, I received notifications of articles that fit those categories. My computer now holds a variety of files populated with writings I’ve downloaded from that site, and today I still get notifications which I investigate and either save or discard.
From bibliographies, I accumulated names of historians, professors, and other authors with knowledge of my time and place of interest. Most were very generous with their time, answering my pesky questions or referring me to yet another contact who knew more than they about the era or some particular nuance. Tatars and firearms, for instance. One particular academic taught me that Tatars (who figure prominently in all three stories) hated using anything involving gun powder. Those duties fell to the Janissaries, who were experts in all manner of guns. Who knew? Not me before this professor clued me in!
I enjoyed all the research, often losing myself for hours, but the most fun I had was when I traveled to Poland. I made two trips over two years. The first time, by the luckiest of happenstances, I traveled with a group of American re-enactors, and we drove through the countryside, retracing the path King Jan III Sobieski and his army took in 1683 when they joined the Holy Roman Empire at the gates of Vienna and turned back the Ottomans.
I could so easily envision my hussars galloping across fields and hills as I took in the landscape and sniffed the air. While we were there, we visited museums and castles. Being so close to historical places and objects transported me back, and to this day, I’m able to get into that mindset when I write. I submerged myself in a culture I was unfamiliar with, and I came out with a new understanding. The trips were invaluable, as were the connections I made.
My re-enactor traveling companions invited me to join them in a re-enactment of the Battle of Jasna Góra in Doylestown, PA, and I got myself garbed up as a 17th century merchant’s wife and attended. That act alone taught me norms in culture and dress. Then I got to hang out in period-correct tents with other re-enactors, whom I discovered are wonderful historians in their own right. They’re exacting about details of the era and take great pride in not only studying but representing that time with historical accuracy, from firearms to mannerisms to food. They are eager to impart what they know, and I learned so much from them.
%20in%201655%20by%20Franciszek%20Kondratowicz.png)
For this last book, I returned to the Internet for a deep dive into the Battle of Cecora. Again, reliable information was scant, but I stumbled across a knowledgeable Polish blogger and non-fiction author who is passionate about the history in which I was interested. I reached out, and he responded right away. He pointed me to a chronicle on the battle, Cecora 1620, written by Ryszard Majewski in the 1970s. Majewski’s accounting is considered to be one of the most reliable of any writings on the subject, as he compiled and combed through letters, journals, and other records of the time, eventually piecing together events leading up to the battle and what transpired during and after. Unfortunately, it is all written in Polish.
I took Majewski’s 254-page chronicle and translated most of it line-by-line, with the help of an on-line translation program. The process was tedious but well worth it as it revealed a gold mine of details I wouldn’t have otherwise dislodged. Not all of those bits were possible to interpret, so I turned to the Polish author/blogger. He exhibited the utmost patience and helpfulness, explaining and interpreting different Polish passages or idioms that I struggled with. What a difference one person made in my research!
Though the chronicle was dry, it opened up a world that was fascinating and wonderful and horrible at the same time. The factual narrative allowed me to become enmeshed in this devastating battle and the people caught up in it. I found myself lamenting decisions made by the hetman and other commanders, as well as those made by short-sighted participants.
That one chronicle is a microcosm of my research journey. As historical writers, we set out to investigate a particular subject, and along the way, we unearth new and fascinating facts. We’re often led into a rabbit warren of what-ifs and what-abouts, but these fuel new investigations and tales which ultimately lead us to gather them up and cast them into stories to share with readers. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Griffin Brady is an award-winning historical fiction author with a keen interest in the Polish Winged Hussars of the 16th and 17th centuries. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Her debut novel, The Heart of a Hussar, was a finalist for the 2021 Chaucer Early Historical Fiction Award and a 2021 Discovered Diamond.
The proud mother three grown sons, she lives in Colorado with her husband. She is also an award-winning bestselling romance author who writes under the pen name G.K. Brady.
Website • Twitter • Facebook • BookBub • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads
Grab a copy HERE!
Thank you so much for hosting Griffin Brady today, Beatrice. Such a fascinating post!
ReplyDeleteCathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club