I think it’s time to start introducing the characters who are becoming so real to me. I’ve fallen in love with them – both the historical characters and the people who are stirring my imagination as I’ve researched, written about, and dreamed of Birgitta. I’m nervous about saying that I am writing historical fiction about a real person – especially an opinionated saint – but the deeper I go with her story, the more it becomes an interplay of fact and imagination. And the farther I take the story, the more I am aware that my best understanding of history actually comes through good storytelling. I don’t think I am the only one.

Embroidering the events of someone’s life seems tame enough, but as I do that, new characters have begun wandering into my narrative and (strangely) that is giving the story new life. I was not expecting that. I’ve dragged my feet and even threatened to walk away from my work, but I can’t ignore the sheer excitement of what’s unfolding. Filling in the holes of Birgitta’s story is making the whole thing sparkle. Magic is happening in a very old biography.

I’m not the first person to do this by any means, and some of the authors who stretch biography into historical fiction are well-known for their academic expertise and/or knowledge of history. Claire Gilbert, who wrote I, Julian (about Julian of Norwich) is one of my inspirations, and there are plenty of others. I suspect every one of us has had to gulp when taking that first step into the imaginal realm. I can only tell you from my own experience that it is also exhilarating. And fun!

St Birgitta was, by all accounts, a formidable woman. Her medieval asceticism scares me, and it is at odds with my rather progressive 21st century spirituality – I actually find it off-putting, and yet I love her. The more I read about her, and the more I have reached out to her across the centuries, the more I feel like I actually know her. Most of the details of her daily life have been lost in time, but she would have had friends and a life of daily experiences that never made it into any of the hagiographies written to promote her sainthood – they were written by those who wanted to see her sainted as quickly as possible.

But me? I have the benefit of hindsight. I know she was declared a saint in record time – 18 years after her death in 1373. And that she is widely remembered and respected to this day. Her order has survived and thrived. Researching her life so carefully and extensively has had a huge impact on my life, 700 years later. I find that extraordinary! I know her well enough that I am beginning to be able to tell some of her stories through my eyes. As an academic writer and memoirist, I had no idea that character creation could be so compelling. I am now writing the story of her first pilgrimage, and three main characters have now strolled onto my pages:

• Margareta – a companion/lady’s maid who was born and raised on the estate where Birgitta lived with her husband, Ulf
• MaBel – Margareta’s godmother who also lives on the estate
• Leuthar – a monk who is suspect of Birgitta’s abilities and visions

I was excited when Leuthar showed up – a rather unpleasant man, an ideal antagonist! And MaBel… oh I had no idea that there was anyone like her back in those days. There is no holding her back! My characters came alive when I let them start speaking for themselves – I became an eavesdropper, only to find the three women were whispering about me! You can read their conversation here in The Freedom of Fiction on my Substack.