The stories are set in a fictional country somewhere in Central Europe. Stories happen between 1150-1965. "Orsinia"is in Le Guin's earliest writings, Le Guin invented Orsinia when she was a young adult learning to write. The names Orsinia and Ursula both come from the Latin word "ursus" meaning "bear" ("ursula" = diminutive of "ursa" "female bear"; "ursinus" = "bear-like"). Le Guin once said that since Orsinia was her own country it should have her name.