So novel and yet so old

[ljwrites]

Rogan of lb_lee asked:

What drove you to start the Soseono novel?

(See my masterpost for basic historical information about Soseono)

Growing up I've always been fascinated by her; she was one of the few women whose names and lives were known in ancient Korean history, and she was so badass! To the best of my knowledge she's the only person of any gender in Korean history who was recorded as a founder of two kingdoms. When her stepson succeeded to her first kingdom instead of her sons she came south to the Korean peninsula rather than start a civil war, uprooting her entire life at nearly fifty years of age when she had just been widowed for the second time. She died about twenty years later at the age of 66, possibly in a civil war between her two sons that claimed the life of her elder son, making her story one of tragedy as well as triumph. Yet her life was so full and interesting, and she remained a beloved and revered figure; she was one of the three major ancestors worshiped throughout the history of Baekje, something you don't see so much with ancestress figures.

Naturally I was interested in reading about her, especially fictional accounts that filled the gaps in the sparse historical record with the intelligence and verve she deserved, but most fictionalizations that featured her had her as a supporting character to her second husband Jumong. There was a small spate of novels that featured her as the protagonist--at least nominally--probably spurred by the popularity of the 2006 TV show Jumong,(1) but the quality of the books was far from inspiring.

I had been thinking about writing a novel about Soseono for some time, in no small part because even cursory research showed me that modern fictionalizations of ancient Korean history were getting a lot of things wrong, but the total lack of even halfway decent novels featuring her helped solidify my resolve. I decided she had to get the kind of book she deserves, and if the task had to fall to my imperfect hands so be it.

I've spent the better part of the past decade researching, outlining, and rewriting my vision of her story over and over. Sometimes I look at the magnitude of the task and don't believe I'll ever finish. I also don't want to stop, though, because it's the only way I can think of to honor her memory. Also I kind of told a famous ancestor at his grave that I would do it, and I have enough embarrassments in my life without a 700-year-old ancestral ghost judging me for being a quitter.

Notes
1. No offense to anyone who liked it, it's an entertaining enough fantasy show that draws heavily from the work of legendary manhwaga Kim Hye-rin and in particular her masterpiece The Sword of Fire, (the manhwa actually features a character named Soseono, though she is unrelated to the historical figure) but Jumong is not actually a period drama. It seems to be much less offensive than the novels about Soseono I saw, though.

Comments

[lb_lee]

I kinda want crossover fic with her and Hapshepsut! She sounds pretty great. And man, do I feel you on the "projects that take forever and seem far beyond your skill". But they're still fun to have!

[ljwrites]

Funny you should bring her up, because I have in fact written Hatshepsut fic. There' a millennium and half or so of time difference but nothing time travel won't cure--and for that matter I've used intercutting to put characters in completely different times/places in the same story as I did for this ATLA fic with Ursa and Mai.