Paul Jariabek
Box Hauling in Naval Historical Fiction: A Dangerous Sailing Maneuver
A behind-the-scenes research note on the sailing maneuver known as box hauling, and how it shaped a scene in the historical fiction novel Sic Parvis Magna. Inspired by the exciting club hauling scene from Pirates of the Caribbean, I attempt to work out if a sixteenth-century galleon could plausibly execute the maneuver.
Which Anna Karenina quote best explains Tolstoy's idea of "light and shadow"?
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow."
How does Karenin's "to love those one hates is impossible" reveal his character?
"Love those that hate you, but to love those one hates is impossible."
Why does Rebecca say she refuses to sell herself for coin in The Blade of Milan?
"I don't have two grossi to my name, and I refuse to sell myself for coin ever again."
Which Anna Karenina Quote Captures Oblonsky's Love of Life?
"I don't count life as life without love."
Why does Anna Karenina begin with "Happy families are all alike"?
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
What the Oblonskys' House Quote Reveals in Anna Karenina
"Everything was in confusion in the Oblonskys' house."
What does "The world is a bigger place than the stews" mean in The Blade of Milan?
"The world is a bigger place than the stews. It would be a shame to die here."
Sic Parvis Magna Draft 3 Update
A quick update of Draft 3 of Sic Parvis Magna—the origin story of the future Sir Francis Drake, and Book 1 in my Adventures of Francis Drake historical fiction series. Read below for more information about the book and for the link for more information.
My October 2025 Newsletter is available
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Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey: The Last Knight of a Dead Age
My upcoming historical fiction short story, A Fool's Errand, is set in the summer of 1544. As the English cannons thundered against the walls of Montreuil-sur-Mer, the drama and death of the external conflict masked the head-on collision of two visions of duty and honor---between the romantic chivalry and the harsh realities of a Tudor war. The principal tragic antagonist of the story is the brilliant and volatile Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, whose virtues, twisted by pride and circumstance, nearly destroyed him and catalyzed another man's awakening.