Little Fortress

Little Fortress is a work of fiction based on the real lives of three women: Inger-Marie Jüül (1886–1973), Ofelia Fabiani (1892–1960) and Sveva Caetani (1917–1994). I am grateful to each of these extraordinary women and have strived to honour the legacy of their remarkable stories. I grew up a kilometre and a half up the hill from the house where the women secluded themselves on Pleasant Valley Road, walking by it countless times as a child and teen. It wasn’t until I was at university that I discovered Heidi Thompson’s collection of Sveva Caetani’s art and writing, Recapitulation: A Journey (Coldstream Press, 1995). Published the year after Sveva passed away, it was my first introduction to her story, and I referred back to it again and again as I wrote this novel. My major source materials in researching this novel were the personal papers and archives of Miss Jüül and the Caetani family, left to the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives by Sveva Caetani’s estate. Thank you to Barbara Bell, Liz Ellison, Jean Manifold and the staff who provided a warm, welcoming space to read through file upon file, box upon box of Caetani archives left in their care. Joanne Georgeson’s enthusiasm, in particular, was unflagging as I returned year over year. Hélène Morgan translated much of Miss Jüül’s correspondence and journals from Danish into English for the Greater Vernon Museum and Archives. Had it not been for her, I would not have had access to the stories and thoughts that lay within those papers in Marie’s own words. My gratitude to Hélène for volunteering her time and skill in translation, and for meeting with me to talk about her first homeland, Denmark. Other material that was invaluable to my research was Caetani di Sermoneta: An Italian Family in Vernon, 1921–1994, edited by Catherine Harding, with essays by Karen Avery, Melissa Larkin, Sarah Milligan and Carla Yarish (Greater Vernon Museum and Archives/Vernon Public Art Gallery, 2003); and Jim Elderton’s film Sveva: Prisoner of Vernon. I had fascinating conversations with Daphne Marlatt on our literary projects based on the Caetani archives. Marlatt’s own process led to the powerful collection Reading Sveva (Talonbooks, 2016). I spoke with two women who had close friendships with Marie Jüül: Joan Heriot (1911–2012) and Kay Bartholemew (1920–2018). Each shared memories of their time with Sveva and Marie with love, warmth and humour. I feel fortunate to have been able to meet these amazing women and to have been offered a glimpse into their own remarkable lives, as well. Several people were generous with their time and willingness to share their memories and stories of the Caetani family and the three women: Jude Clarke, Jason Dewinetz, Sharon Lawrence, Christine Pilgrim, Murray Sasges, Andrea Schemel, Peter Shostak, Sue Steinke and Larry Thompson. My sincere thanks to each of them for entrusting their own stories to me. Several other Vernon residents offered anecdotes and observations on the family – I am grateful for every snippet and story shared. The house on Pleasant Valley Road was left by Sveva to become the Caetani Cultural Centre (www.caetani.org) in Vernon, BC. I wrote an early draft of this novel as writer-in-residence there and have returned several times to write, teach and attend cultural events. Thank you to Susan Brandoli, the staff and the board of directors for respecting Sveva’s vision in making her home an artistic and cultural hub in the Okanagan. Thank you to all who helped me take this research, obsessive interest and years of my life and make it into a book: the BC Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts for providing vital and appreciated funding for earlier drafts of this novel; Martha Magor Webb, more than a literary agent, an early editorial voice, as well as one of encouragement and persistence; Noelle Allen, Ashley Hisson and Paul Vermeersch and all those whose editorial, publishing and design acumen and expertise come together to make beautiful books at Wolsak & Wynn and the Buckrider imprint; Emily Dockrill Jones for thoughtful, spot-on copy-editing; and Jen Sookfong Lee, who was the perfect editor for this book – not only are her insight and intellect measured with humour and respect, but she loves these women as much as I do and knew how to guide me to tell their stories in the best way possible. My first splendid, intrepid readers – Natalie Appleton, Kerry Gilbert and Karen Wall; all the thoughtful, astute readers who followed – Marita Dachsel, Aaron Deans, Jason Dewinetz, Jennica Harper, Lorna Rosnau and Jill Wigmore; Nancy Lee, who went above and beyond and read three different versions of this novel; the spokes on my writing-community wheel who keep me going forward even when I backpedal – Hannah Calder, Michelle Doege, Kristin Froneman and Karen Meyer. My children, Jonah and Amalia, who cannot remember a time in their lives when I wasn’t researching, writing or rewriting this novel, and who keep me going with their humour and love; my parents, Lorne and Lorna Rosnau, who provided not only emotional support but very practical, hands-on child care support, taking the kids for countless hours over the years that I was writing this. As always, every imaginable kind of thanks to Aaron Deans, who has lived with Ofelia, Sveva and Marie for nearly a decade and has never doubted that I would bring their stories into the world in my own way. I write this from a desk in what was once Ofelia’s bedroom in the Caetani Cultural Centre. Late afternoon light streams through the bay windows. Two young deer bound across the front yard of the Caetani property, then walk out the front gate. Pleasant Valley Road is much busier than it was when the women first arrived in Vernon in 1921, and when Sveva and Miss Jüül emerged from seclusion in 1961. Car after car drives by, and the deer watch them, look both ways, then step out onto the sidewalk and walk gracefully away from the house. Some things you just can’t make up. Laisha Rosnau, Vernon, BC, 2019