DO you think history should be left in the past?
One Islander doesn’t think so – and is bringing a particularly brutal time in our sister island’s history back into focus in her new historical fiction novel.
While studying for her post-graduate degree, Dreena Collins stumbled upon a tale believed to be true of savage religious persecution in Guernsey during the Reformation.
Decades later, and with many novels already in the public eye, the Jersey-born creative writer and former teacher decided to go back to that tale to inspire her debut historical fiction novel, ‘Perotine’.
Not yet published, the story aims to bring the voices of ‘The Guernsey Martyrs’ – three persecuted Protestant Guernsey women from the fourteenth century – into the present day, a process Mrs Collins will be discussing with an audience in September at the Jersey Festival of Words.
Mrs Collins first came across the tale during her PhD study in Wales, which was focused on representations of witchcraft in Renaissance drama. During that time, she happened upon sorrowful pictures of her fellow Channel Island women in The Actes and Monuments by Jone Foxe, a historical text of Protestant suffering under the Catholic Church commonly known as ‘Foxe’s Book of Martyrs’.
The story goes that in 1556, women called Perotine, her sister Guillemine and their mother Catherine were brought to trial for the theft of a silver cup or goblet.
They were found innocent, but it was during this trial that it became clear they weren’t going to Catholic Mass, which was the beginning of their demise.
While many accept the story to be true, some believe it was fabricated by John Foxe to force his Protestant agenda over the Catholic regime.
But as her debut historical project, delving into the lives of women who lived so long ago, and whose existence was limited in official records, was all but easy, the writer explained – let alone the gruesome experiences they were subjected to.
“I felt it was really important that the story was about the women and their alliance,” Mrs Collins said. “These women were common women and so it was really important for me to try and showcase them as real, full people,” Mrs Collins said.
“But that was the problem. Their records don’t exist, so it was difficult to find those hidden voices.”
“I would keep stressing that I’m not a historian, but I have tried my absolute hardest [to get the period right] and have taken a lot of advice. Although, the story is still a form of fiction,” the writer added.
But she explained there were two things that happened in the process of research and writing, thanks to support from ArtHouse Jersey and Guernsey Arts, that Mrs Collins said changed her approach and “opened up the world” of 1556 Guernsey (or Guernesey as it was at times then written).
“I essentially made field trips to the island,” she said. “I think I’ve been four times, and my long-suffering husband has been with me on each.”
Mrs Collins said she used the trips to visit the existing sites in Guernsey where many of the events about the women chronicled in “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs” took place, was an opportunity she described as “monumental” for her and the story.
“I was able to stand in the places where the women had been and exploring the island brought it to life for me,” Mrs Collins said.
She gave an example of Castle Cornet, now a tourist attraction, but which was originally a prison cut-off from land that records attest Perotine, her sister Guillemine, and their mother Catherine were kept in, before they were put on trial for not fleeing the island or converting to Catholicism under the infamous reign of Queen Mary.
Standing in the “tiny, cold granite room” overlooking the island in the distance, now a children’s fancy dress space, was “amazing”.
But the experiences she had were tinged with melancholy, as Mrs Collins said she remembered the suffering these women endured due to what they believed in.
Another research milestone that she said changed her perspective on the story she was retelling – which has so far taken two-and-a-half years – was an experience with an archivist who introduced her to an individual’s will from the period.
“I realised at the time that people really valued ordinary things such as plates and spoons or beds and bed covers and livestock,” Mrs Collins said.
“Before that I’d been viewing that part of research as making sure all the background was accurate. But when I read the will, I flipped that round,” the writer explained.
“Rather than making sure I’d used the right type of wood for a table, I would start with the table and build the world around it, for example.”
Without giving away any spoilers but with a nod to the historic drawing on this page, Perotine, Guillemine, and Catherine do not have a happy story. The titular character also harbours a secret that is revealed dramatically at the novel’s conclusion.
But reflecting on the “tumultuous” period they lived in, under the reign of various monarchs and their respective religions, Mrs Collins said visiting the sites of the women’s story was “really sad”.
“These women were living under Queen Mary who died less than two years afterwards,” she said. “Which it’s such a short window they fell into where they ended up being on trial for basically not going to church.”
And even though the pages reflect the lives of those living almost half a millennium in the past, the story of religious persecution has various comparisons around the world today.
“[Perotine] is not a political piece of work but the reality is that both religious intolerance and religious persecution are something a lot of us are aware of around the world,” Mrs Collins said.
Looking ahead to her event in September, the writer – who also teaches writing and author marketing at Highlands Adult Education– wants to use the time to inspire others to write.
“I’m always keen to encourage people to not be too scared about trying different things, because sometimes when you talk to people about writing, they’ll say they’d love to write but don’t know where to start,” Mrs Collins said.
“But it’s not like a piece of writing ever comes fully formed to anybody,” she added.
“It’s not easy, and it does involve craft and persistence, but it also is worth it,” she said. “There’s always a degree of pride in something that comes solely from you.”
Hoping to inspire others to put pen to paper or finger to keyboard after her event in September, Mrs Collins also wants to use the platform to share the long-forgotten and tragic story of Perotine and her family.
“I can’t believe that people don’t know the story,” she said. “And I didn’t know the story at first and happened to come across it by chance, but it feels like something that you would expect everybody [in the Channel Islands] to know.”
“But everyone I’ve asked about it has said they’d never heard of The Guernsey Martyrs,” she added.
Describing herself as a “prolific” writer, Mrs Collins is already concocting her next project while she awaits progression on the publication of ‘Perotine’.
Keeping to her newfound historical fiction style, her next novel is set to be around Jersey’s Occupation.
Dreena Collins will present ‘Perotine – On the Trail of the Guernsey Martyrs’ in the Maria Ritchie Room of the Jersey Arts Centre on Sunday 28 September.
You can purchase tickets and view the full programme of events by heading to www.jerseyfestivalofwords.org.
