Fact vs. Fiction in Shadows of Lancaster County What Shadows Darken the Quiet Valleys of Amish Country? In any story where facts are used to mold and shape fiction, sometimes it becomes hard for the reader to tell the two apart, particularly when learning about a history or culture that isn't overly familiar. This page explains which parts of Shadows of Lancaster County are based on fiction and which are based on fact. However, and this is important:  DON'T READ THIS PAGE UNTIL YOU HAVE READ SHADOWS OF LANCASTER COUNTY! Otherwise, you'll learn some important plot points that might spoil the story for you. Have you read Shadows of Lancaster County yet? If not, read it first and then be sure to come back here for this info. If so, then feel free to proceed now. Following is a list of the fact vs. fiction in this book: The Amish divide themselves into communities, and some of their rules can vary from district to district. Though some communities are more conservative than others, the Amish district depicted in Shadows of Lancaster County is representative of the region, especially in the following ways: They do not allow their members to own cameras or take photographs. Their teenagers are given a period of rumspringa, during which they must decide whether to come to the Amish church as consenting adults and be baptized or leave the Amish faith and forge a new life on their own. Members who choose not to join the church are not shunned. Shunning is reserved for those who are baptized into the Amish faith and later change their minds. Shunning is also used as a disciplinary too for those who have sinned in some other unacceptable way and refuse to repent. I have always thought of shunning as a cruel act, but after researching this book, at least I was able to understand the reasoning behind it. While its effects are painful to the person being shunned and their loved ones, most shunning is done from a sincere desire to lead the sinner to see the err of their ways, repent, and return to the fold. The Amish are not encouraged to study their Bibles, and in some districts Bible study is actually forbidden. They are also not allowed to be assured of their own salvation but can only "hope" that they are going to heaven. The Amish have no prohibitions against seeking medical care. In some poorer communities, they may opt for home remedies before seeking out professional medical treatment. But there is no prohibition against, or stigma for, seeking good medical help. Similarly, the Amish are very cooperative with DNA researches. There are a number of clinics in the Lancaster County region where researchers study Amish DNA and the genetic disorders that plague the Amish. The Clinic for Special Children is an actual place, one that has been a true blessing to the Amish community. Click here to learn more about it. To learn more about the Amish, click here to check out my favorite Amish-related website, Amish America, a blog written by Erik Wesner. Stephanie de Beauharnaise was a real person, the adopted daughter of Napoleon and the wife of Karl Ludwig Friedrich, Grand Duke of Baden. Click here to see a painting of her, the same painting that is described in the final chapter of the book. Stephanie's journal accounts and other historical documents in this book were fictionalized, though they were based on her life at that time. In her lifetime, the real Stephanie gave birth to three daughters and two sons. Though her daughters survived to adulthood, both of her sons died shortly after they were born. Given that, it was widely rumored that the boys were killed by family members who coveted the throne. The chief suspects in her firstborn son's mysterious death were her step-grandmother-in-law Luise and Luise's eldest son, Leopold. Rumors also circulated that the royal child was swapped for a peasant child, who died and was buried in place of the young prince, and that the royal infant was spirited away to be raised or killed elsewhere. No charges were ever officially made. Though rumors of foul play really did exist, the idea that the royal child was swapped for a dying Amish infant was purely my own invention. There were Amish families living in the region at that time, so it would not have been an unreasonable assumption. In the end, whether Luise and Leopold were culpable in the infant's murder or not, they "won" the battle for the throne. Because Stephanie was never able to produce a living male heir, her husband changed a ruling that would have prevented the common-born Leopold from assuming the throne. In 1830, much to Stephanie's dismay and Luise's delight, Leopold became the fourth Grand Duke of Baden. Had either of her sons lived, this would not have happened. Stephanie was widowed in 1818. She lived another 41 years after that, dying in 1860 in Nice at the age of 71. In her lifetime, she never publicly commented on the existence of Kaspar Hauser or whether or not she thought he might be her son. Kaspar Hauser was a real person whom many thought to be the rediscovered son of Stephanie and Karl. There was much mystery surrounding Kaspar and his background, and his story makes for very fascinating reading. There is an abundance of information about Kaspar Hauser, though much is contradictory and downright incorrect. In the end, the most reliable source I found was the book LOST PRINCE: The Unsolved Mystery of Kaspar Hauser by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. The song Wooden Horse, by Suzanne Vega, was written about Kaspar Hauser. When I learned this, I bought the lovely, haunting melody from iTunes and played it often as I wrote. Napoleon really did give his adopted daughter Stephanie a beautiful set of jewels known as the Beauharnaise emeralds. These emeralds are now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Click here and then scroll down to see photographs of the earrings and necklace. The "sister set" of Beauharnaise Rubies is fictional and was invented for this story.