Nora Bostwick

**Nora** is a secondary character in *You Feel It Just Below the Ribs*. She was the founder of the Arboretum and one of the first people elected to the Societal Council towards the end of the Great Reckoning. She was a good friend and mentor to Miriam Gregory.

## Biography

Nora was the granddaughter of African American slaves and grew up in Philadelphia, USA. On Nora's eleventh birthday, her parents took her to New York, and she saw *Pirates of Penzance* on Broadway, her first show, inspiring a love of theatre. As a Black woman, she could not study at university formally, but she got a job as a teacher's assistant at Temple University in 1910, and her boss let her sit in on courses and graded her work, allowing her to study psychology unofficially and without credit towards an advanced degree.

Her dissertation was titled '*Anti-tribalism in a New Societal Methodology*.' Harold Olson, a white professor who thought of himself as Nora's mentor and father-figure, apparently argued for her to be allowed to formally pursue a doctorate, but was outvoted. Nora decided to pursue her education elsewhere, traveling to Europe, which her friends thought was crazy because the war had not yet come to the USA itself, and it thus felt comparatively safe. However, Nora was determined, and left Temple in 1917.

Unfortunately, the war had rendered many European universities inoperable by the time Nora arrived, and also made it more difficult to travel. By chance, Nora met Alice, a botanist who worked at Oxford University until it was bombed in 1919. The two of them decided to camp out together, and wandered for a while before stumbling on an abandoned farmstead. Until 1921, they squatted there, and when no one appeared to turn them out, they settled down more permanently. They began to work the land, and invite others to join them. Most of the people who stayed were scientists or academics, and the group began giving lectures to each other, debating, and speculating on the future. This would later become the Arboretum, and Nora was the natural leader of the group.

After the Great Reckoning, several members and former-members of the Arboretum became important political figures in the New Society. Nora herself left the Arboretum in spring of 1931 to go to Munich, where she hoped to meet Anand Balakrishnan and help him reestablish some government functions and begin rebuilding society. She tried to get in contact with old friends and acquaintances, but didn't get many replies, though she managed to stay in touch with Miriam. Nora was elected to the German Provisional Government in 1941 and joined the Global Council, or Societal Council, with Balakrishnan as its Chief upon its establishment in 1945. She also spent time in Geneva in the late 30s and at some point got married to Ekaterina Yelchin, who had come with her from the Arboretum. She voted in favour of the Age Ten Laws in 1948.

In 1955, Nora won a third term on the Societal Council, and while passing through Baltimore on Society business, visited Miriam Gregory, recently married to her wife Teresa. It was only the second time they had seen each other since the Arboretum, and the first where they could truly catch up. By this time, Nora and Ekaterina were living in Vienna. While implementing travel grants across the Society in the 50s, Nora was quoted as saying, “It’s not enough to tear down our borders. We must step across the faded lines. And we must bring food, music, and stories with us.”

In 1963, Nora retired from politics. Despite her declining health, she used her remaining connections to help Miriam secure grants for her research into postpartum depression and long-term effects of the Repopulation Initiative. She also published a memoir, *A Farmhand's Throne*, about her time at the Arboretum and the impact it had on her political career. Nora died a few months after Miriam began her initial research, and she felt the loss of her support, both public and emotional.

## Additional info

* The name "Nora" is usually a shortened form of another name, for example Eleanor, Elnora, or Honora.
* Elena Jiménez believed that her friend Kirana in Jakarta had named her dog, a blue heeler, after Nora Bostwick.

## References

1. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.81
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p. 75-79
3. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.277
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.132-4
5. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.85
6. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.119
7. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.108
8. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.130
9. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.163
10. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.158
11. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.227
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Season 7, Episode #4: Jakarta
13. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.249
14. ↑ You Feel It Just Below the Ribs, p.256