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ljwrites:research:unforgotten_sisters:start

**This is an old revision of the document!**

Unforgotten Sisters investigation

From an unfortunate need to investigate fictional or baseless claims about Queen Seondeok/Cheomseongdae being presented as fact in Gabriella Bernardi's The Unforgotten Sisters: Astronomers and Scientists before Caroline Herschel (2016 Springer Praxis)

Cosmos Magazine article

The unforgotten sisters: Sonduk, the astronomer queen Archived version https://archive.is/j7d1n

  • Same problems as the book chapter on Seondeok in presenting details from Sheri Holman's novel Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars (2002 Scholastic) without credit to Holman or adequate notice of the fictional content

Fediverse thread

Women of Korea as a possible source

  • Yung-Chung Kim, Women of Korea: A History from Ancient Times to 1945 2nd ed. (1977)
    • Index of Queen Sonduk references: 23, 24, 27, 42 (Apparent mistake for 25, 26, 27, 42)

This book does not appear to have any mention of Seondeok's passion for astronomy, her having a Tang ambassador as a tutor, etc. See Passages on Seondeok from Women of Korea (1977).

Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars

  • Sheri Holman, Sŏndŏk: Princess of the Moon and Stars (2002)

This middle-grade novel has many striking similarities with the assertions about Seondeok that I could not trace to any non-fiction source. There are even passages with very similar wording. See Comparison with Princess of the Moon and Stars.

ljwrites/research/unforgotten_sisters/start.1743460473.txt.gz · Last modified: 2025/04/01 07:34 by ljwrites