We’re excited today to welcome Emma Sterner-Radley to the Hive!

Emma’s new historical romance fantasy Snowblooded is inspired by Swedish history, and so Emma joins us today to explore the period in particular that influenced her, the Gustavian period. Before we find out more, let’s check out the official blurb for Snowblooded:

Valour and Petrichor are esteemed members of the Order of Axsten, an assassin’s guild tasked with keeping order in the rough city of Vinterstock. Plucked from the streets as children and raised to compete for their guild’s approval, Valour uses her brawn to survive, while Petrichor strives to be a gentleman assassin. When they’re given their biggest job yet—to kill Brandquist, the mysterious leader of the city’s illegal magic trade—it’s a recipe for disaster. If they can quell their rivalry long enough, the reward will be enough to settle their debts with the Order and start new lives.

If this job wasn’t dangerous enough, Valour is saddled with protecting the aristocrat, Ingrid Rytterdahl. Valour finds her dangerously attractive, but Petrichor can’t wait to be rid of them both. He begrudgingly accepts Ingrid’s knowledge and connections as they navigate the city’s criminal underbelly in pursuit of Brandquist.

As secrets bubble to the surface, the duo must outwit the thugs on their tail, keep Ingrid alive, and—hardest of all—work together without murdering each other.

Snowblooded is available now. You can order your copy HERE

Writing Swedish historical fantasy – Gustavians vs Vikings

by Emma Sterner-Radley

What comes to your mind when someone says Sweden? Certain music bands/acts? Actors from blockbuster movies? Free universities? Gender equality? Endless lakes and forests? Right-wing extremists? Snow and reindeer? Buxom blondes? Ikea? Or is it… Vikings? 

If it’s the last one, I won’t judge. It’s so much better than if it’s the Swedish Chef. (I love The Muppets, but honestly, Swedish doesn’t sound like that. Also, we measure our ingredients meticulously, I’ll have you know!) However, when I set out to write my swashbuckling fantasy novel Snowblooded, I wanted to explore a different part of Swedish history: the Gustavian era. Named after the then ruling king – Gustav III – the Gustavian era ran from 1772 – 1809 and was a very different time to the Viking age.

The truth is that Sweden is an old country. It has existed as “Sweden” for over a thousand years and prior to this it had been a part of the Norse world. Little Sweden has won wars against colossuses like Russia, has (shamefully) ruled other countries, has been seen as a culturally significant country in Europe despite its relatively low population, and has left its footprints in many parts of international society. It’s even left its mark on the English language, to the point where you have weekdays named after our gods and surnames containing By, Dal, Quist, Berg, Son, etc. 

So, when I wrote Snowblooded, I asked myself: How do I show an 18th century Swedish city without the cold, the dirt, the violence, the dark, the boozing, and the general rowdy behaviour painting pictures of Vikings in the reader’s head? I had to base the setting firmly in the late 1700’s. So, I started with basics:

1. Climate. The Viking era (approx. 800-1050 AD) was actually comparatively warm. Therefore, 18th century Sweden should be shown to be colder. 
2. The setting. No rustic landscapes of meadows, fjords, forests, and dusty little villages, instead set it in a towering city with coffeehouses, brothels, and theatres. 
3. Gender equality. The Vikings were, according to modern historians, likely to be more interested in the person’s wealth, skill set, and physical prowess than their genitals and pronouns. In the late 1700’s, however, things had become more restricted and this world belonged to a highborn white man and everyone else was a second-class citizen at best. 

On the last point I ran into an issue. I didn’t want that in this book. As a homosexual tired of reading historical fantasy books filled with triggering content, I had already removed homophobia from my world building. So why not subtract (most of the) misogyny for the same reason? The class injustices had to stay, though, since rebelling against that is a main theme of the book (and a main theme of that era, considering this was the heyday of the French Revolution.) It was at this point when I started to worry about how much I was still portraying Swedish history or if I was actually just making my own version of it. In the end though, it’s a fantasy book. It’s full of magic tonics, scrying, and deals with gods, so where should the line between historical reality and fantasy be drawn? Well, that’s a matter for another article. Let’s return to our list:

1. Imports. Less gems and fabrics raided from nearby countries and instead more traded goods from further afield, like cinnamon, cardamom, and coffee.
2. The French influence. Gustavian Sweden had developed an infatuation with the fashion, architecture, and culture in France while Viking Sweden liked its own aesthetic, thank you very much. 

That final point brings us to the touchstone of the Gustavian period: Gustav III (1746 -1792).  Just as Louis XIV had been the sun that everything revolved around in France a generation ago, Gustav III was the star Sweden circled in the late 1700s. Any historical era has traditionally been portrayed by talking about who was in power, but with this period it becomes even more important to talk about the monarch. The whole period took its cue from Gustav III and his way of life, which changed Sweden profoundly. 

For once, Sweden didn’t change chiefly due to wars. Instead, Gustav III’s three claims to fame are that he brought Sweden into the modern European age, his troublesome marriage (including the titillating sex life), and his dramatic death – being shot at a masked ball by a political rebel. When Gustav III was born, during frihetstiden—translated as the Freedom Period— Sweden wasn’t an absolute monarchy but not quite a democracy either (everyday folk had little say in anything). The country was run by the ståndsriksdag and riksråd – both made up by powerful aristocrats. Any ruling king (or queen) had a final vote, but that was basically the end to their input. The nobility had all the real power and often the commoners paid the price for that. Corruption was rife and the two political parties, hattarna och mössorna, quarrelled and so often struggled to get anything done. Gustav wanted that to change, both for his people and for himself – considering that improving his beloved country would not only help the people but reclaim some of the royal power that had been lost by past, weaker monarchs. 

Gustav III successfully completed a coup (or rebellion as he called it) and took back more power. He dissolved the two political parties but kept the elected council of nobles who still had substantial power, voting on possible wars and any overarching changes. Gustav was however free to make less substantial changes to the country and he set about doing that with relish. (Thereby creating a shifting, interesting time period to write historical fiction about.) For example, Gustav III made Sweden a powerhouse of culture, putting previously never seen amounts of money into education, fashion, and the arts. He founded several academies and even wrote plays himself (earning him the nickname The Theatre King.) He brought in a (limited) freedom to worship as you wish, allowing Catholics, Jews, and people of other faiths to live and worship openly (if not always safely). He abolished torture as a form of interrogation and shut down the country’s infamous torture chamber. 

However, he also limited the freedom of the press and precured a small colony in the Caribbean, so we can’t see him as some unproblematic hero. Nonetheless, he limited the huge privileges of the nobility and allowed commoners access to jobs and roles that they had never even been considered for before. As well as increasing the education, financial prosperity, and amounts of accessible entertainment for the whole country. In short, the Swedish people liked him, but the aristocrats (particularly those who desired political power) hated him. And that’s how the coup that led to him being shot at the masquerade came about. 

I won’t go further into Gustav III’s death or his roller-coaster marriage to the beautiful Danish Sofia Magdalena here (which are all amazing and straight out of a soap opera) as I worry this is turning into an article about Gustav III. Here, we’ll return to me writing Snowblooded. 

In this novel I didn’t just want to write about Swedish history that for once didn’t revolve around the Vikings. I also wanted to shift the focus from the glitz, excess, and scandals of blue-blooded people to the morbid melancholy, delight in debauchery, and stubborn survival of Swedish 18th century working class (Valour and Petrichor) as well the upper middle class (Ingrid) which covered affluent, educated people who still worked for a living. 

As you can see from even this little article, we know a lot about people like Gustav III. However, the lived accounts we have from everyday folk in the late 1700’s are limited, much of it stemming from the work of the contemporary poet and musician Carl Michael Bellman – and some would say that his work only survived because Gustav III saw past that Bellman wrote about the smallpox-ridden, the starving, the drunks, and the sex workers and appointed him court musician (with the caveat that the lyrics about booze and sex had to stop and instead become highbrow.) So, I suppose we’ve again come back to Gustav III, whether we wanted to or not. 

Anyway, my point is that history books can tell you about royals and nobles. When it comes to the other classes, not as much has been written down and we need people with imagination to fill in the blanks. That’s (hopefully) where people like me come in. It was my honour and pleasure to get to write about those people and about a Swedish time period that wasn’t the Viking age. With that being said, yes, I still get comments about those salt-smelling sailors known as Vikings. Particularly as the Norse gods (so often seen as a part of the Viking age, even though our gods have constantly been present) are a big part of Snowblooded. With that in mind, I decided that if you can’t beat them, join them. 

Yes. That’s right. My next book has Vikings in it. 

But, like my Gustavians in Snowblooded, they will be the forgotten everyday folk who had to toil to put food on the table. And in that, despite their era-related differences, they might actually have a lot in common.  

Snowblooded is available now. You can order your copy HERE

Emma Sterner-Radley is an ex-librarian (with the student debt and caffeine addiction to prove it) turned fantasy author. 

Originally Swedish, she now lives with her wife and two cats in Chester, Great Britain.

She spends her time writing, reading, daydreaming, lifting weights, hanging out online, and watching the gayest TV shows she can find.