| Anne Jefferson | |
| |
| Fictional Character | |
| 1632 series POD: May, 1631 | |
| Appearance(s): | Ring of Fire "A Matter of Consultation" Grantville Gazette I, "Portraits" Grantville Gazette II, "Steps in the Dance" Grantville Gazette III, "Postage Due" 1634: The Bavarian Crisis 1634: The Baltic War Grantville Gazette IV, "The Anatomy Lesson" Grantville Gazette VI (paper), "The Masque" |
| Type of Appearance: | Direct |
| Nationality: | United States of Europe (formerly United States) |
| Religion: | Methodism (not active) |
| Date of Birth: | 1972 |
| Occupation: | Nurse |
| Parents: | Don Jefferson (deceased pre-RoF), Deborah Jenkins |
| Spouse: | Adam Olearius (m. 1635) |
| Relatives: | Chad Jenkins (stepfather), Willie Ray Hudson (grandfather), Vera Hudson (grandmother), Chip Jenkins (half-brother), Missy Jenkins (half-sister); Bruce and Lily Jefferson (grandparents, left up-time) |
| Created by: | S. L. Viehl; further development by Eric Flint |
Anne Jefferson was a registered nurse from West Virginia, with an MSN degree from Johns Hopkins. When the Ring of Fire transported Grantville back to the year 1631, she was studying to be a physician assistant in critical care obstetrics. It appears that she was not staying in Grantville when the Ring fell, but was in town shopping at the time. [1]
In "A Matter of Consultation"[]
Jefferson soon learned of the superstitions of her new time. She was nearly burned as a witch for herbally treating a failing patient who had a congenital heart condition. The English physician Dr. William Harvey was present, and was all too ready to stand by and let Jefferson and a local herbalist, Tibelda, be burned, as he recognized that foxglove was being used and assumed they intended to poison the patient. Anne drank some of Tibelda's potion intending to show it was safe, but did not realize what was in it, as Tibelda had referred to foxglove as "fairy's glove".
Fortunately, Anne had sent Adam Olearius to Grantville to bring back help, and he arrived in time, possibly because Hans Richter was driving. Just as fortunately, one of the people he brought was Committees of Correspondence leader Gretchen Richter, who easily quelled the mob. Shortly afterward, though, the effects of the potion hit her. Balthazar Abrabanel, who had come because James Nichols was in surgery, recognized the plant, and after consulting with Tibelda about the dosage, was able to determine that Anne would recover.
Despite what had happened between her and Harvey, Jefferson told the latter that she still had some respect for his historical role in medicine, which Harvey somewhat returned with gratitude.
In Amsterdam[]
After that brush with death, Jefferson took part in the negotiations set inside the Siege of Amsterdam. From 1633 into the following year, Jefferson's role in the negotiations grew more influential as she officially sought to improve communications in Europe by expediting a trans-European common postal system. This was hoped to undermine the USE's opposition. Even the canny Cardinal Richelieu failed to appreciate the danger a freer flow of ideas and concepts across borders posed to the established aristocratic hierarchy. Hence Jefferson's role became very important to Mike Stearns' long range schemes to build democracy upon the graves of aristocratic institutions, putting Jefferson at the heart of the revolution in thought behind the sweeping neohistorical events.
During the siege, Anne sat for a few portraits by well known painters, Peter Paul Rubens and Rembrandt included. When the United Provinces were setting up a modern postage system, her painting became the blonde face of the Dutch stamps.
By the mid-summer of 1634, Jefferson and Olearius were betrothed and planning a life together in Amsterdam, where Jefferson had established herself as a doctor and had built a family practice amidst the siege, while many of the city's established doctors had fled the city. Jefferson hoped that, with the help of the now firmly established Dutch Committee of Correspondence, her position as one of the remaining physicians would help break the doctor's guild, another authoritarian institution.
References[]
- ↑ Ring of Fire "A Matter of Consultation". Where she was staying and her reasons for being in the area at the time are not mentioned.