HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I know it's What We're Writing Week, and I am writing like mad, and getting ready to launch MOTHER DAUGHTER SISTER STRANGER --lookit that cover! (And we are still tweaking the final.) And you know you will hear all about that when the time comes.
But today I am turning over my day to our dear backblogger Diana. Because her post is--as we say--time-sensitive, because today is the only day this could be posted!
If you remember, she had mentioned in the comments one day recently that Deaf Awareness Week was coming up starting May 4 (although we celebrate that every day at JRW) and that April is Deaf History Month, and she asked whether we'd be doing a blog about it. Such a good idea! And I asked her to email me. Which she did, and turns out, her post was perfectly perfect, and especially perfect for today.
As a result, I am delighted to turn the floor over to the amazing Diana. (Here's her photo, too! Such fun to see!)
DIANA: Tuesday 21 April marks the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 to the Duchess of York and the Duke of York in London, England. The late Queen has several connections to Deaf history.
If you remember, she had mentioned in the comments one day recently that Deaf Awareness Week was coming up starting May 4 (although we celebrate that every day at JRW) and that April is Deaf History Month, and she asked whether we'd be doing a blog about it. Such a good idea! And I asked her to email me. Which she did, and turns out, her post was perfectly perfect, and especially perfect for today.
As a result, I am delighted to turn the floor over to the amazing Diana. (Here's her photo, too! Such fun to see!)
DIANA: Tuesday 21 April marks the centenary of Queen Elizabeth II’s birth. Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926 to the Duchess of York and the Duke of York in London, England. The late Queen has several connections to Deaf history.
Her father, Bertie’s grandmother Queen Alexandra was congenitally deaf. Another connection is Her Majesty’s mother in law.
Princess Alice of Battenberg was born in February 1885 at Windsor Castle in England. No one noticed that Alice was deaf at first.
Princess Alice of Battenberg was born in February 1885 at Windsor Castle in England. No one noticed that Alice was deaf at first.
Once her family learned that she was deaf, to quote a relative who was interviewed in a documentary, they decided that they would not treat her any differently, meaning they expected her to follow the royal protocol.
Her family worried more about Alice’s deafness than Alice herself. Her siblings would converse with her without concessions. Princess Alice learned how to dance and play the piano. Despite her deafness, Princess Alice learned to lipread in several languages, including English and German. She also learned how to read and write. Her mother worked with her to develop her lipreading skills.
A relative remarked that “you had to be very careful what you said” because her lipreading skills were very good.
Princess Alice met Prince Andrew of Greece at the coronation of King Edward VII. They fell in love and got married in 1903. Their only son, Prince Philip, was born in 1921. Many years before Prince Philip met Princess Elizabeth, the heiress to the British throne, his parents Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece visited the Duchess and the Duke of York and the new baby, Elizabeth. Princess Alice was also known as Princess Andrew of Greece.
Princess Alice met Prince Andrew of Greece at the coronation of King Edward VII. They fell in love and got married in 1903. Their only son, Prince Philip, was born in 1921. Many years before Prince Philip met Princess Elizabeth, the heiress to the British throne, his parents Princess Alice of Battenberg and Prince Andrew of Greece visited the Duchess and the Duke of York and the new baby, Elizabeth. Princess Alice was also known as Princess Andrew of Greece.
During the Second World War, she used her deafness to her advantage when she was sheltering a Jewish family from the Nazis. By the time her daughter in law became the Queen, she became a nun. At the 1953 coronation, she was wearing a grey nun’s habit. She spent the last few years of her life, living at Buckingham Palace. Princess Alice of Battenberg was a private person.
She is well known to the British Deaf community, who shared wonderful stories about her with me.
In addition to the late Queen’s birthday month, April is also Deaf History month. There is a book about the Princess written by Hugo Vickers, who also published a new book about the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece by Hugo Vickers can be ordered from bookshop.org, Apple Books online (ebooks) or your local booksellers.
In addition to the late Queen’s birthday month, April is also Deaf History month. There is a book about the Princess written by Hugo Vickers, who also published a new book about the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Alice, Princess Andrew of Greece by Hugo Vickers can be ordered from bookshop.org, Apple Books online (ebooks) or your local booksellers.
Hank: SO fascinating! And Diana has two questions for you, Reds and Readers. Answer as you will!
Question one: Reds and Readers, did you surprise yourself by doing something that you thought you were not able to do?
Or question two: Reds and Readers, do you enjoy reading about history? Fictional History, Romantic History or Scholarly History? Or do you have a favorite story about a favorite historical character?
More info:
Bookshop link:
Queen Elizabeth II. By Hugo Vickers can be ordered from Blackwell’s at this link:
https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Queen-Elizabeth-II-by-Hugo-Vickers/9781529355178
This is so interesting, Diana . . . thank you for sharing it with all of us.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do enjoy reading about history . . . it's fascinating to learn about people and events from the past.
[And, Hank, I am looking forward to reading "Mother Daughter Sister Stranger" . . . love the cover!]
Joan, thank you for your kind words. Yes, it is fascinating to learn about people and events from the past.
DeleteHank, thank you so much for posting my guest post today on the centenary of Queen Elizabeth's birthday. And Congratulations on your new novel! I look forward to reading "Mother Daughter Sister Stranger". Love the cover too. Though suspense/ thrillers are outside my usual genre, I always read your novels!
Thank you! And I adore your column today..I did not know that story about the Nazis! Whoa.
DeleteThank you for this post, Diana. There are so many fascinating stories throughout history - I love the chance to hear them. I’ve always loved reading history and historical novels. Learning facts and a chance to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
ReplyDeleteLisa in Nice, thank you for your kind words. It is so fun learning about history through stories and getting a chance to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.
DeleteOh, I never thought of it that way, but yes, it makes them all into real people.
DeleteGood-morning, Diana. How nice to see you on the top of the blog this morning. I love historical mysteries and historical romances, too, if the historical aspect is well-reseached. I just finished reading a book by Patrice McDonough, Murder by Moonlight, that featured some of the members of the royal family whom you mention in your essay. It is the third book in her series of historical mysteries.
ReplyDeleteJudy, thank you for your kind words. I love historical mysteries and historical romances. I remember reading the novels by Jean Plaidy. I also read about Mary, Queen of Scots by Lady Antonia Fraser. And I am adding the book by Patrice McDonough to my reading list.
DeleteMy TBR is getting higher and higher...and that's a good thing!
DeleteWelcome to the front of the blog, Diana! And thanks for sharing those fascinating historical bits. I always love learning about the past, especially the parts that were hidden or not widely taught.
ReplyDeleteEdith, thank you. History can be fascinating. I like learning about parts of history that was hidden or not widely taught. For example, I learned that despite the Congress of Milan's vote to eradicate Sign Language in the schools, there were certain schools in the USA that continued to teach Sign Language. Ironically, it was the segregated schools in the southern states of the USA that allowed sign language. Because of that, black schoolchildren educated in these schools developed Black Sign Language.
DeleteThat's fascinating, Diana. Can you recommend a book about that?
DeleteWow, that is fascinating! I had no idea..
DeleteFrom Celia: What a great choice Hank, you are always so thoughtful towards our community participation here.
ReplyDeleteHistory has always been my first love going back into full on fiction as a teen. One book that stands out - Josephine Teys -The Daughter of Time. And there Richard III was buried under the parking lot in Lincoln UK. For me, history is just part of my DNA. I am constantly reminded that not everyone is as interested as I am. Right now I'm exploring US history with the help of HCR and am so grateful. Lots here beyond the daily headlines.
The attitude of "brushing away the unwanted" was so popular and it's noticeable how strong in introspect we can see their personalities.
Thanks Diana for this.
Celia, thank you for your kind words. I loved what you said to Hank and I agree! I read Josephine Tey's Richard III and loved the book. I had a History professor who was pro-Tudor and did not agree with the book. I remember the story about Richard III and the parking lot in Lincoln, UK. I think history is part of my DNA too, with a dad who often weaved history into his stories and with a mom who taught History at her school.
DeleteOh, I so agree aboutThe Daughter of Time!
DeleteThank you for the post Diana, I didn't know and I do enjoy learning about little known historical facts.
ReplyDeleteDru Ann, it was great seeing you at LCC. It is fun learning about little known historical facts.
DeleteOh, I wish I could have seen you two together!
DeleteI found history to be much more interesting once I discovered historical fiction. Now, I do enjoy knowing more of about the facts these fictional works have woven into their plots.
ReplyDeleteEverything about the Royals is fascinating. Thanks for your special insight into Princess Alice, Diana.
Brenda, I get what you mean about history being more interesting in historical fiction. Your mention reminded me of when I read History at Uni. I had to take this History class, with very boring books. I knew I had to learn the information, though these dry books were challenging for me. I had a historical fiction novel about the same people by Jean Plaidy. However the lectures and the dry book left out a very important character. I asked my Professor if this person existed and he said yes. I asked because this person was mentioned in Jean Plaidy's book yet no mention of her in the dry history book. As I recall, the sister of Henry the 8th married first to the King of Scotland then second to Charles Brandon.
DeleteYes, think how different it would be if history were taught differently--although my experience is so long ago, I assume some teachers now embrace teaching history like a story, not a series of dates.
DeleteDiana - this is all totally fascinating; thank you. I especially love the bit about needing to be "careful what you said” around Princess Alice because her lipreading skills were so good. What a great super power to have! As for history, I love learning about history, but in fiction I am disappointed when facts are distorted for the benefit of the story -- whatever the story might gain, this tendency diminishes the reading experience for me.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, thank you for your kind words.. So true about lipreading and you get words that someone may not want you to know. I have a question for you regarding the distortion of facts for the benefit of the story. Did the author include an Author's Note explaining why? I find it helpful when the Author's Note explains why.
DeleteDiana -- yes, there is often a note from the author; however, that rarely mollifies me. I am a stickler: if the time or place is historical, then I want the story to reflect that time or place accurately. This is just my own peculiarity, as I love to learn history from stories but when some facts have been changed my learning is compromised.
DeleteOh, so agree--I think--why not just tell it the way it was? ANd my mental picture of the facts is always altered by fiction, which is annoying..
DeleteAmanda and Hank, I see what you mean. Historical fiction, for me, makes history come alive. It helps me understand history better. When an author gets the facts wrong, it prompts me to do research on my own.
DeleteLovely post. I learned so much. And yes, I love to read anything historical, fact or fiction (and any kind of historical fiction.)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, thank you. I love reading historical fiction too.
DeleteSO happy to host Diana today!
DeleteSo interesting Diana the link of deaf history with the royal family.
ReplyDeleteAlready in college I loved to learn about Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman civilizations.
My first love in reading was historical fiction, romance or mystery. It’s probably historical mystery that brought me to explore different kinds of mysteries
Danielle, thank you. In royal families, there were cousin marriages. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins. Because of cousin marriages, especially close as in first or second cousins, there were greater chances of either deafness or hemophilia.
DeleteAt Uni, I studied the Greek and Roman civilizations too. I believe historical mysteries are a boon to learning about history.
Love that!!
DeleteDiana, what fun it is to see you on the front of the blog. I especially enjoyed the opportunity to see your face! I was not attracted to history at all as it was presented to me in school, but later I realized that history is just the real stories of real people. When presented that way, I love it. So I am a big fan of well written, well researched historical fiction. For the past few years I have been devouring a lot of WWII history.
ReplyDeleteSusan, thank you for your kind words. Your story reminded me of something. When I was in high school, I had several friends who did not like history. I read vicariously and I remember reading historical romance novels that filled in missing parts from history books in school. And I grew up in a house with many history books. My Dad shared a lot of information from history too. And my Mom taught World History at her school. We would go to the Renaissance Faire and it was like living history for me. Have you read Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series? And Rhys Bowen wrote several stand alone novels set during the Second World War.
DeleteI think I have read all of Rhys's stand alone WWII novels. Love them! I have not read the Maggie Hope series -- may have to check that out!
DeleteSusan, I think you will enjoy the Maggie Hope series. Maggie is spunky and very brave. Also a math genius who graduated from Wellesley College - a top tier women's college in America.
DeleteSUCH terrific books!
DeleteHi, Diana! And thanks for sharing this history. Seems to me that I have read or seen some historical that included a lot about Alice in her period as a nun, and a kind of inconvenience to the royal family. She didn't quite fit the mold of a royal, did she? Wish I could remember where I learned about her, but I don't think it focused on her being deaf at all.
ReplyDeleteWe have a 42-year old friend who contracted deafness in his childhood, as you did. Matt reads lips in three languages, too. My nephew's first daughter was taught ASL in her crib because his first wife's father was deaf and their whole family signed. Teaching the baby turned out to be a real boon when her severe autism was discovered. Being able to sign what she wanted: milk, a toy, etc, made living with her incredibly easier than with most nonverbal children, who can become so easily frustrated at not being able to communicate their frustrations.
So I have a question for you, Diana. What is the history of Deaf Awareness Week/Deaf History Month?
Hi Karen in Ohio! True that there are stories about Princess Alice, which does not mention deafness. I am still learning about their cultural approach to deafness. Even as late as 1990 while I was living in England, someone asked me if I was "deaf and dumb". I was shocked! A deaf friend, who is Oral deaf, told me about their experiences living in Britain as a Deaf person.
DeleteIt seems that deaf people were treated like charity cases. I think it is starting to change now with the emergence of Yvonne Cobb, a Deaf lady giving cooking lessons on BBC TV and Rose Ayling-Ellis, a Deaf actress, in a Crime Drama on Britbox TV and she was a regular on either Coronation Street or EastEnders.
Thank you for sharing about your friend, your nephew's former father in law who was deaf and sign language.
Here is another interesting trivia. At the Congress of Milan in 1880, there was One delegate from Britain who supported Sign Language.
Two major historical events in the Deaf world occurred in April. The first school for the deaf was founded on 15 April 1817 and the establishment of Gallaudet University was on 8 April 1864 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Charter. It was known as Gallaudet College. It changed from College to University in the late 20th century.
Interesting! I once had a professor from Gallaudet order a couple of my books on sewing for profit for their library. I wonder if they are still there. That must have been around 1995.
DeleteI didn't know about Rose Ayling-Ellis, but Sophie Stone, also a deaf actress, plays a coroner on The Chelsea Detective.
Karen in Ohio, thank you for reminding me! Sophie Stone also played Princess Alice in the first or second season of THE CROWN on Netflix. Sophie Stone was also the lipreader in a scene from Midsomer Murders. She was also in another Midsomer Murders episode as a parent with Muchansen's syndrome by proxy though her character was not deaf in this episode. Yes, I remembered you mentioning a deaf person or a child of Deaf adults CODA in your sewing class.
DeleteOh, I had no idea...thank you, and will watch these now! (or, soon....:-))
DeleteRose Ayling-Ellis has had a huge impact on Deaf awareness in the UK due to her participation--and win--in Strictly Come Dancing. Also, the actress Rachel Shenton, who plays Helen in All Creatures Great and Small, has, if I remember correctly, deaf parents and has been a big campaigner for Deaf awareness.
DeleteDebs, Rachel Shelton played the girlfriend then wife of Lucas Graabel’s character on SWITCHED AT BIRTH. It was an American tv series on ? Freeform channel for several years. I think Rachel produced a short film, which won an award, several years ago. Rose is amazing!
DeleteHank, congratulations! Diana, thanks for the history lesson! I was a history major, so I do enjoy reading popular history and biographies.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Gillian B. I remember reading biographies of my favorite actors when I was a kid.
DeleteI love that you are still so interested!
DeleteFascinating, Diana. Thank you. The older I get, the more I am interested in history, especially realizing that things I learned in school were not always the way things were. Or that some things were simply omitted for one reason or another.
ReplyDeleteAm I correct with my memory that Alice was the princess who had a camera and loved photography, at which she was very good? Not sure where I read that and of course there is a very good chance I got her mixed up with someone else.
Judi, that is a great question. I remember it was Queen Alexandra, who was congenitally deaf, with a Brownie camera. There was a big exhibit of her photography at the Royal Mews when my family visited England. It was my first trip to England. I get what you mean about History.
DeleteThank you, Diana, for setting me straight!
DeleteJudi, it’s possible that Alice carried a camera too and took pictures. I’m still learning more about Princess Alice.
DeleteThanks first to Hank for inviting Diana - and thanks to Diana for this fascinating history.
ReplyDeleteI want to add with a question. Can you give us a little bit of info about yourself Diana?
DeleteAnon, thank you. And Hank, thank you. Trying to think of what to say about myself that would not sound boring, ha ha. I read History at Uni in the States, studied abroad at Oxford and now I'm writing my debut novel with a historical slant to my amateur detective story. I am also learning several foreign languages. Learning American Sign Language at the age of 6, after years of Baby Sign Language, led me to learning about foreign languages. When I learned ASL, I thought ASL meant Adult Sign Language. Now I know it means American Sign Language. We learned Baby Sign Language after I lost my hearing before I was 2 years old.
DeleteDid you grow up in the states and spend time at Oxford - do you live in England now?
DeleteCongrats to Hank and Diana - thank you so much!! I read this about Diana, Princess of Wales.
ReplyDelete"Diana served as the Royal Patron of the British Deaf Association from 1983 until 1996.
She learned British Sign Language to communicate directly, which was considered rare for a high-profile figure at the time, bringing significant media attention to the importance of sign language.
In 1990, she signed a speech for over 800 delegates at the BDA's 100th Anniversary Celebration Congress in Brighton, demonstrating her commitment and skill.
She was highly regarded by the Deaf community for her genuine efforts and was known to visit numerous schools for deaf children"
Thank you for sharing, Anon! Diana, the Princess of Wales, was ahead of the times in many ways. Her children Prince William and Prince Harry know some sign language too. Here is a funny story. I was at the airport when someone heard my Deaf accent. This guy with ginger hair started signing to me. This was the same day as the pandemic lockdown. At first I thought he was Prince Harry until he signed "My parents are Deaf" then I knew he was not H.
DeleteOh, that would have been amazing!
DeleteLove the post Diana, thanks for teaching us so much today! I had no idea about Princess Alice's deafness and how her family decided to treat her. Fascinating! Also love the 'faux' Prince Harry story:)
ReplyDeleteLucy, thank you. This often happened in hearing families deciding Not to treat their deaf child differently. And that faux Harry story is too funny. It would be hilarious if I actually met Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex in real life. I once met Prince Edward years before he met and married Sophie. I saw the Queen and her lady in waiting in Scotland.
DeleteThank you, Diana - this was fascinating! I appreciate you doing a post for us on Deaf Awareness month. There's such a rich history in the community, and I always love learning more of it!
ReplyDeleteJulia, thank you for your kind words. In Victor Hugo's THE HUNCHBACK OF NORTE DAME, the Hunchback was also deaf because of the noises from ringing the bells! Please forgive me for bringing this up. April is Deaf History Month. September is Deaf Awareness Month. I made a mistake a while ago thinking that September was Deaf History month, only to find out later that it was April. There is a new tern "Deaf gain" instead of "Hearing loss".
DeleteWanted to add something here. Currently we are learning about "Deaf gain". We often see these words "hearing loss". While it is true that Some people, like me, have Hearing loss, I wanted to acknowledge that there are other Deaf people who were BORN deaf and never heard sounds in their lives.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of "Deaf gain", I often think about the book "How the Irish saved Civilization" book. Nyle DiMarco was signing on social media about the Gallaudet Eleven. In the late 1950s, NASA had a problem. They needed to understand what weightlessness does to the human body. But every test subject kept on getting violently motion sick. NASA needed to figure out fast during the space race! So they went to Gallaudet and recruited 11 people. Because a number of deaf people lost their hearing to spinal meningitis as children, which also damaged their vestibular systems. Their inner ears could not be over whelmed. They were immune to motion sickness."
"No Gallaudet Eleven? Then No Mercury? Then No Apollo? Then there would be no Artemis II"
Kerry O'Malley Cerra wrote a book THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN: the Story of NASA's Deaf Bioastronauts. This book can also be ordered at bookshop.org.
WOw, that is completely fascinating! What a story. Thank you so much for this!
DeleteDiana, I saw Nyle DiMarco signing about the Gallaudet Eleven on Instagram. Amazing story, and watching his signing was as graceful as dancing!
DeleteHi Diana, Thank you for this post, I learned alot from it! And yes, I do enjoy reading about History, it is so very interesting! You know when I was in school, History was Not one of my favorite subjects, I just could not get into it and I just did not care for it, but big Thanks to you and other authors that write books with History in them, I now love reading books with history in them, you all make it so much easier for me to understand and also make it fun. Thank you so much for this Awesome History lesson. Have a great day and a great week. Sincerely, Alicia Haney. aliciabhaney(at ) sbcglobal (dot )net
ReplyDeleteHi Diana, so wonderful to see you here today (great photo!) and what a lovely post. Here's an interesting tidbit for you--my ten-year-old granddaughter is learning ASL in her Technology and Keyboarding class as a way for the students to increase their dexterity. What a fun way to combine skills.
ReplyDeleteI love history and historical novels and was fascinated by your account of Princess Alice.