Justin Newland – The Book Diva's Reads

The Coronation

by Justin Newland

March 6 – 24, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Good day, book people. I’ve recently been on a historical fiction reading kick, namely re-reading historical romance. One of the many things I enjoy learning is why the author chose this particular time period and/or what events prompted that specific story. I’m happy to welcome Justin Newland, author of the historical fiction novel, The Coronation, to the blog this morning. Mr. Newland will be sharing with us some of the historical events that influenced his novel. Thank you, Mr. Newland, for joining us today. The blog is now all yours.

Guest Post graphic featuring a stack of books above the words GUEST POST in a scripted font

The Coronation is my third novel. It’s a historical fiction adventure story with supernatural undertones.

What about the title? Well, a coronation is a powerful religious ceremony which culminates with the placing of a crown on the head of a sovereign. But in my novel, there is no such ceremony. No one is crowned, or are they? Or should they have been?

The root of the word coronation is corona. A corona is defined as the rarefied gaseous envelope that surrounds the sun. It’s an incredible sight, visible during a total solar eclipse.

Photo of solar corona The imagery of a corona is suggestive of a halo, a bright circle of fire that both graces and illuminates. A halo is a ring or disc of light that often appears in religious art surrounding or above a person’s head. It’s a mark of achievement in a genius or a saviour or a hero that indicates the person is capable of performing extraordinary acts of leadership or compassion.

Now The Coronation takes place in the 1760s during the period called the Great Enlightenment. It’s set against the backdrop of the Seven Years’ War, a conflict between the new burgeoning Protestant nation of Prussia – which as embryonic Germany – against the old established Catholic empires of Russia and Austria.

Black and white drawing/painting of James Watt — iwattja001p1

The 1760s was a turning point in human affairs. Because it was in that decade that a certain Scotsman by the name of James Watt made a discovery that significantly improved the efficiency of the steam engine. Until that time, there were no large cities, no mass migration, no mass consumption, no factories, and no industrialisation. Industry was located in the cottage and the barn, the mill and the brewery. People mostly lived in rural communities and so were close to the land and its natural cycles. Their lives were governed by the passage of the seasons, and people celebrated that simple communion with song and dance, prayer and thanksgiving, ceremony and pageant, just as their ancestors had done for centuries before.

James Watt’s discovery changed all that, because it marked the birth of the single most important event of modern times – the Industrial Revolution. It heralded an unprecedented and exponential increase in population. In the 1750s, the world population was estimated at 800 million people. Today, in 2023, it’s estimated at 8,000 million – a ten-fold increase.

THE CORONATION by Justin Newland cover Now if you read The Coronation, you’ll encounter a German word called zeitgeist or spirit of the times. It’s defined as an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Now some men and women are in tune with the zeitgeist, others are not. Perhaps those that are we call geniuses, saviours, or world leaders, people like Moses and the Buddha, Julius Caesar and Napoleon Buonaparte, Queen Elizabeth I and Marie Curie, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Either way, they are agents of significant change.

How does the zeitgeist work? What’s its mechanism? Well, it’s probably some sort of blueprint, in the way that there’s an architectural blueprint for the construction of a building, an outline plan to be followed with an end result in mind. If so, it suggests that the forces that come with the zeitgeist are designed to be used for a specific purpose, with a specific result.

The question that hovers like a Sword of Damocles is this: can that force be misused or misinterpreted? In our case, was James Watt’s discovery in tune with the spirit of the times or did it end up as a departure from some intended path for humanity? Was the invisible force of that epoch meant to get used to industrialise the whole world, or was it a blueprint for some other purpose?

To phrase the question another way, was James Watt’s discovery a brilliant spark of enlightenment – or coronation – for humanity or not?

To find out, you’ll have to read my novel. ♦

Synopsis:

It is 1761. Prussia is at war with Russia and Austria. As the Russian army occupies East Prussia, King Frederick the Great and his men fight hard to win back their homeland.

In Ludwigshain, a Junker estate in East Prussia, Countess Marion von Adler celebrates an exceptional harvest. But this is soon requisitioned by Russian troops. When Marion tries to stop them, a Russian Captain strikes her. His Lieutenant, Ian Fermor, defends Marion’s honour, but is stabbed for his insubordination. Abandoned by the Russians, Fermor becomes a divisive figure on the estate.

Close to death, Fermor dreams of the Adler, a numinous eagle entity, whose territory extends across the lands of Northern Europe and which is mysteriously connected to the Enlightenment. What happens next will change the course of human history…

Book Details:

Genre: Secret History Thriller
Published by: Matador
Publication Date: November 2019
Number of Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781838591885
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Apple Books | Goodreads

Praise for The Coronation:

“The novel explores the themes of belonging, outsiders, religion and war… all filtered through the lens of the other-worldly.”

A. Deane, Page Farer Book Blog

“This wonderful historical fictional tale will hold your attention as the author weaves a storyline that has different creative plots, along with a spiritual message.”

Gwendalyn’s Books

“Some authors deposit their characters in the midst of history, showing how their lives parallel historic events. Then there are authors like Justin Newland who bend history to their will and use fantastic elements to show us what could have been.”

Jathan and Heather

“This was a wonderfully told story that I thoroughly enjoyed.”

Baby Dolls and Razor Blades

The Coronation Trailer:

https://videopress.com/v/WsiJWIUp

Author Bio:

Justin Newland is an author of historical fantasy and secret history thrillers – that’s history with a supernatural twist. His stories feature known events and real people from history which are re-told and examined through the lens of the supernatural. He gives author talks and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Bristol’s Thought for the Day. He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.