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The Sword and the Lady, or the Mysterous Castle
For your reading pleasure, the result of the Regency Group Write is below. Thank you to everyone. The comments were great!
Miss Jessica Darby had long ceased minding that Fred, a dog of indeterminate ancestry, had curled his body around the heated bricks on the floor of the carriage. Fred, she decided, made a decent enough substitute. Naturally, her mind soon wandered to thoughts of pi.
“Are we there yet?” said Miss Sally Elizabeth, looking up from her embroidery hoop.
“Another eleven point four minutes, if I’ve correctly calculated the slope of the terrain, the speed of the horses and the weight of the carriage.”
“Well,” Sally said. “Of course you have!” Jessica, Darby to those who loved her, knew her dearest friend would support her no matter if she had a few dog hairs clinging to her slippers. The knowledge gave one a certain sense of contentment. To be loved unconditionally, that, indeed, was a life lived in all the right angles.
As the carriage made its way further into the depths of Cumbria, Sally interrupted Darby’s musings on the properties of the hypotenuse. "I think perhaps you'll be forced to accept Hartless's proposal," Sally Elizabeth said, keeping her gaze carefully on her embroidery. "If his worst fault in your view is that he didn't take a first in maths, I'm afraid you'll have to keep digging for a legitimate reason to say no."
“I’ll think of something.” Oddly enough, at that very moment, something occurred that completely disrupted Darby’s attempt to recalculate their estimated time of arrival. Darby and Sally knew the road that led to Harlech Castle had been plagued by a notorious highway man that the authorities had yet to catch. They sighed their relief as the castle came into view and no one had yet relieved them of their jewels, but then the carriage came to a lurching stop and hoof beats could be heard.
“Blast,” Darby muttered.
The fracas outside had Sally too worried take Darby to task for her language. To the accompaniment of what sounded like a gunshot, Darby checked her watch and noted the hour, minute and second at which the carriage slowed. She must know the exact duration of their delay if she was to correctly derive the moment of their arrival.
“Heavens!” Sally cried.
Fred slumbered on.
At the very same time that Darby and Sally were in considerable danger of their lives, a devastatingly handsome man stepped out of the castle where he was awaiting the woman he intended to marry and the woman he intended to seduce. Hartless Hartley studied the blue sky, and wondered if the square root of eleven could possibly predict tomorrow's weather. No, he didn't think so, and wondered why Darby would imply such a thing; she must have decided his blond hair indicated his intelligence, to his detriment.
He’d rather enjoyed her letters until she began casting aspersions. He ought never to have sent her the miniature of Excaliber, as he so fondly called his nether part. So many women lost their heads when they saw him for the first time that he’d wanted all parties involved to be prepared for their first encounter. He ran his fingers through his blond hair. Excalibur an extraordinary weapon, and he would be well pleased to demonstrate that essential truth to Miss Darby and anyone else who doubted him.
Downhill from the castle where Hartless, the eleventh duke of his line contemplated both the art of war and Eros, Darby was saying, “No you certainly may not!”
"I think you’d best let him have the thing," Sally whispered. "It’s not worth your life." She put her mouth closer to Darby’s ear, never taking her eyes off the masked man. “A gentleman highwayman, I promise you."
"Oh, very well." Darby tossed her reticule at the highwayman who caught the dainty bag in midair and, with a kiss into the air, turned his steed and thundered away.
The carriage started its uphill journey again.
Sally, overcome by emotion, burst into tears. "There, there," Darby said, wishing it were possible to give her friend a handkerchief, which it was not on account of the item having been in the reticule now in the possession of the highwayman. "Have no fear, dear Sally. We shall arrive at the castle in precisely fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Provided there are no more interruptions."
The carriage rumbled through the gates that marked the nearest border of the estate, passing, unbeknownst to the ladies, a curious scene. William FitzAndrew ducked behind a hedge trimmed into the shape of a duck and, holding the reticule at arm's length, gently tugged it open. Inside were various...female things. Also a note, on crisp ivory paper sealed in scarlet wax. He broke the seal and read outloud, "Any man so unfortunate as to share the names both of Sir Walter Scott and his ponderous novel has good cause to be disagreeable."
He also withdrew from the reticule, an exquisite miniature loving framed in gilt oak. As he stared at the painting, a gentleman in fawn breeches and a coat the color of rain on Sunday emerged from behind the duck’s herbaceous tail feathers. In the background, it was possible to see the carriage making its way up the hill.
“What can Hartless possibly see in this chit? She's plain as a Quaker's cat."
With difficulty, FitzAndrew withdrew his gaze from the object he held. "She's a damned sight better than his last wife and no mistake."
"How so?"
"At least the chit has both of her eyes and most of her wits."
"Point taken." A few of the leaves that formed the duck’s wing brushed the back of the mysterious gentleman’s neck. But he took no notice as he was busy tucking a pistol into the waistband of his breeches. "What is that thing you're holding?" He snatched the painting and paled.
"You recognize the weapon, sir?"
At the top of the hill up which the carriage was yet making its way was a dark and mysterious castle. To the left was a mansion designed by none other than Capability Brown himself. And inside, where Adam had left his mark, Sir Waverly Scott was not used to being made to wait on the master's 'pleasure' or anyone else's pleasure for that matter. Yet, there he was cooling his heels in the drawing room doing just that.
That left only one thing to do. Pour himself a dram or two of FitzAndrews' Scotch. Ach, but there was not enough time to become the sodding bastard everyone saw him to be.
At half past four, Sir Waverly had finished the Scotch. He was a wee bit annoyed. He faced down the butler with the courage of half a bottle of bootleg whisky under his belt. “I won’t stand for this, do ye ken?”
By half past six, Sir Waverly was at the castle which he accessed through a secret door that led to the kitchen if he went downstairs and, should he go upstairs, to a locked room to which he possessed the only key. He went down. "Tint the mashed carrots red tonight, Cook!" instructed Waverley, "Let's see how long it takes Miss Darby to notice! I have a bet with Miss Elizabeth about the means by which she'll seek to dispose of them!"
"Here we go again," thought Cook. The good woman was far more right than she knew.
The weather, William FitzAndrew thought from the comfy confines of his carriage, was as appealing as a plate of cooked carrots--which is to say, he thought gleefully, dreadful for his best friend's fiancee and delightful for FitzAndrew. Because it was raining and the entire wedding party was headed to the only open-air castle in England owned by Sir Waverly Scott. And FitzAndrew did not like Darby, not at all, not since she corrected his maths from Oxford while visiting FitzAndrew's best friend Hartless.
What right had she possess a likeness of Excalibur, after all? If she loved Hartless, and what woman did not, Excaliber would even now be pressed to her bosom with fervent ardor. He checked his watch. Damnation, he was going to be late for his own party.
Rain streamed down the windows as Jessica Darby gloomily contemplated the boiled carrots that were all that remained of the lavish dinner served in honor of the Duke of Hartley. Hartless he might be; certainly his grace was not stomachless. What other appetites might the Duke possess? Jessica Darby poked the red mass on her plate suspiciously. Sure as 0,1,1,2 would be followed by 3, these were no beets.
"What on earth is that?" she cried.
Sally shrieked.
'Thank Heavens for Fred and Sally!', thought Miss Darby as she calculated impact and trajectory before surreptitiously tossing her pork chop into her best friend's mashed carrot, causing it to splash on her bodice, causing her to shriek, causing all diner's eyes (but One) to turn to that unfortunate miss as Miss Darby used the opportunity to dump her carrots under the table for the dog.
'Blast inventive women, anyway!' thought Waverly, staring at Miss Darby, resigned to having to pay up on his bet.
"Come my dear," Hartless said, including Sally in his invitation. "Allow me to show you ladies my private--"
"Oh!" Darby said with a charming blush shared by Sally. "Do you mean--"
"Yes." Hartless smiled in that way that had so famously made seven ladies swoon. "Excalibur in the flesh."
Darby snapped open her fan. "I confess I have been longing to admire it."
The ladies joined Hartless, both of them eager to see the famed weapon. A black cat ambled across the cold stone floor of the castle's huge hall, directly in their path.
Fred let loose a low growl and the black cat ignored him as only cats can. "Colin!" Sally cried. The duketightened his grip and hauled back on Fred's collar and the hound instantly obeyed, sitting at his feet. In as lady like a manner as Jessica could manage, she dropped her uneaten carrots at Fred's panting mouth.
The butler scuttled forward. "Leave the bloody hound be, won't you? He can't lead you somewhere he's never been."
"Quite right," Hartless said as he led the ladies upstairs.
In the dinning, room, FitzAndrew at last joined Sir Waverly. They engaged in a conversation that sent chills down the footman's spine. "We'll set Darby to work. No doubt there's a relationship between the width of the crenellations and the number of rejected proposals. We'll call it the Hartless Constant."
"Oh, he's constant, all right," the footman thought. "Constantly showing off that damned weapon of his.
Like the cook, the footman was more correct than he knew.
The Adventures of A Blade Named Excalibur
Miss Jessica Darby had long ceased minding that Fred, a dog of indeterminate ancestry, had curled his body around the heated bricks on the floor of the carriage. Fred, she decided, made a decent enough substitute. Naturally, her mind soon wandered to thoughts of pi.
“Are we there yet?” said Miss Sally Elizabeth, looking up from her embroidery hoop.
“Another eleven point four minutes, if I’ve correctly calculated the slope of the terrain, the speed of the horses and the weight of the carriage.”
“Well,” Sally said. “Of course you have!” Jessica, Darby to those who loved her, knew her dearest friend would support her no matter if she had a few dog hairs clinging to her slippers. The knowledge gave one a certain sense of contentment. To be loved unconditionally, that, indeed, was a life lived in all the right angles.
As the carriage made its way further into the depths of Cumbria, Sally interrupted Darby’s musings on the properties of the hypotenuse. "I think perhaps you'll be forced to accept Hartless's proposal," Sally Elizabeth said, keeping her gaze carefully on her embroidery. "If his worst fault in your view is that he didn't take a first in maths, I'm afraid you'll have to keep digging for a legitimate reason to say no."
“I’ll think of something.” Oddly enough, at that very moment, something occurred that completely disrupted Darby’s attempt to recalculate their estimated time of arrival. Darby and Sally knew the road that led to Harlech Castle had been plagued by a notorious highway man that the authorities had yet to catch. They sighed their relief as the castle came into view and no one had yet relieved them of their jewels, but then the carriage came to a lurching stop and hoof beats could be heard.
“Blast,” Darby muttered.
The fracas outside had Sally too worried take Darby to task for her language. To the accompaniment of what sounded like a gunshot, Darby checked her watch and noted the hour, minute and second at which the carriage slowed. She must know the exact duration of their delay if she was to correctly derive the moment of their arrival.
“Heavens!” Sally cried.
Fred slumbered on.
At the very same time that Darby and Sally were in considerable danger of their lives, a devastatingly handsome man stepped out of the castle where he was awaiting the woman he intended to marry and the woman he intended to seduce. Hartless Hartley studied the blue sky, and wondered if the square root of eleven could possibly predict tomorrow's weather. No, he didn't think so, and wondered why Darby would imply such a thing; she must have decided his blond hair indicated his intelligence, to his detriment.
He’d rather enjoyed her letters until she began casting aspersions. He ought never to have sent her the miniature of Excaliber, as he so fondly called his nether part. So many women lost their heads when they saw him for the first time that he’d wanted all parties involved to be prepared for their first encounter. He ran his fingers through his blond hair. Excalibur an extraordinary weapon, and he would be well pleased to demonstrate that essential truth to Miss Darby and anyone else who doubted him.
Downhill from the castle where Hartless, the eleventh duke of his line contemplated both the art of war and Eros, Darby was saying, “No you certainly may not!”
"I think you’d best let him have the thing," Sally whispered. "It’s not worth your life." She put her mouth closer to Darby’s ear, never taking her eyes off the masked man. “A gentleman highwayman, I promise you."
"Oh, very well." Darby tossed her reticule at the highwayman who caught the dainty bag in midair and, with a kiss into the air, turned his steed and thundered away.
The carriage started its uphill journey again.
Sally, overcome by emotion, burst into tears. "There, there," Darby said, wishing it were possible to give her friend a handkerchief, which it was not on account of the item having been in the reticule now in the possession of the highwayman. "Have no fear, dear Sally. We shall arrive at the castle in precisely fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Provided there are no more interruptions."
The carriage rumbled through the gates that marked the nearest border of the estate, passing, unbeknownst to the ladies, a curious scene. William FitzAndrew ducked behind a hedge trimmed into the shape of a duck and, holding the reticule at arm's length, gently tugged it open. Inside were various...female things. Also a note, on crisp ivory paper sealed in scarlet wax. He broke the seal and read outloud, "Any man so unfortunate as to share the names both of Sir Walter Scott and his ponderous novel has good cause to be disagreeable."
He also withdrew from the reticule, an exquisite miniature loving framed in gilt oak. As he stared at the painting, a gentleman in fawn breeches and a coat the color of rain on Sunday emerged from behind the duck’s herbaceous tail feathers. In the background, it was possible to see the carriage making its way up the hill.
“What can Hartless possibly see in this chit? She's plain as a Quaker's cat."
With difficulty, FitzAndrew withdrew his gaze from the object he held. "She's a damned sight better than his last wife and no mistake."
"How so?"
"At least the chit has both of her eyes and most of her wits."
"Point taken." A few of the leaves that formed the duck’s wing brushed the back of the mysterious gentleman’s neck. But he took no notice as he was busy tucking a pistol into the waistband of his breeches. "What is that thing you're holding?" He snatched the painting and paled.
"You recognize the weapon, sir?"
At the top of the hill up which the carriage was yet making its way was a dark and mysterious castle. To the left was a mansion designed by none other than Capability Brown himself. And inside, where Adam had left his mark, Sir Waverly Scott was not used to being made to wait on the master's 'pleasure' or anyone else's pleasure for that matter. Yet, there he was cooling his heels in the drawing room doing just that.
That left only one thing to do. Pour himself a dram or two of FitzAndrews' Scotch. Ach, but there was not enough time to become the sodding bastard everyone saw him to be.
At half past four, Sir Waverly had finished the Scotch. He was a wee bit annoyed. He faced down the butler with the courage of half a bottle of bootleg whisky under his belt. “I won’t stand for this, do ye ken?”
By half past six, Sir Waverly was at the castle which he accessed through a secret door that led to the kitchen if he went downstairs and, should he go upstairs, to a locked room to which he possessed the only key. He went down. "Tint the mashed carrots red tonight, Cook!" instructed Waverley, "Let's see how long it takes Miss Darby to notice! I have a bet with Miss Elizabeth about the means by which she'll seek to dispose of them!"
"Here we go again," thought Cook. The good woman was far more right than she knew.
The weather, William FitzAndrew thought from the comfy confines of his carriage, was as appealing as a plate of cooked carrots--which is to say, he thought gleefully, dreadful for his best friend's fiancee and delightful for FitzAndrew. Because it was raining and the entire wedding party was headed to the only open-air castle in England owned by Sir Waverly Scott. And FitzAndrew did not like Darby, not at all, not since she corrected his maths from Oxford while visiting FitzAndrew's best friend Hartless.
What right had she possess a likeness of Excalibur, after all? If she loved Hartless, and what woman did not, Excaliber would even now be pressed to her bosom with fervent ardor. He checked his watch. Damnation, he was going to be late for his own party.
Rain streamed down the windows as Jessica Darby gloomily contemplated the boiled carrots that were all that remained of the lavish dinner served in honor of the Duke of Hartley. Hartless he might be; certainly his grace was not stomachless. What other appetites might the Duke possess? Jessica Darby poked the red mass on her plate suspiciously. Sure as 0,1,1,2 would be followed by 3, these were no beets.
"What on earth is that?" she cried.
Sally shrieked.
'Thank Heavens for Fred and Sally!', thought Miss Darby as she calculated impact and trajectory before surreptitiously tossing her pork chop into her best friend's mashed carrot, causing it to splash on her bodice, causing her to shriek, causing all diner's eyes (but One) to turn to that unfortunate miss as Miss Darby used the opportunity to dump her carrots under the table for the dog.
'Blast inventive women, anyway!' thought Waverly, staring at Miss Darby, resigned to having to pay up on his bet.
"Come my dear," Hartless said, including Sally in his invitation. "Allow me to show you ladies my private--"
"Oh!" Darby said with a charming blush shared by Sally. "Do you mean--"
"Yes." Hartless smiled in that way that had so famously made seven ladies swoon. "Excalibur in the flesh."
Darby snapped open her fan. "I confess I have been longing to admire it."
The ladies joined Hartless, both of them eager to see the famed weapon. A black cat ambled across the cold stone floor of the castle's huge hall, directly in their path.
Fred let loose a low growl and the black cat ignored him as only cats can. "Colin!" Sally cried. The duketightened his grip and hauled back on Fred's collar and the hound instantly obeyed, sitting at his feet. In as lady like a manner as Jessica could manage, she dropped her uneaten carrots at Fred's panting mouth.
The butler scuttled forward. "Leave the bloody hound be, won't you? He can't lead you somewhere he's never been."
"Quite right," Hartless said as he led the ladies upstairs.
In the dinning, room, FitzAndrew at last joined Sir Waverly. They engaged in a conversation that sent chills down the footman's spine. "We'll set Darby to work. No doubt there's a relationship between the width of the crenellations and the number of rejected proposals. We'll call it the Hartless Constant."
"Oh, he's constant, all right," the footman thought. "Constantly showing off that damned weapon of his.
Like the cook, the footman was more correct than he knew.
Adventures in Theater
I've been doing lots of reading/research lately for my new projects, a new full-length novel and an "Undone" short story to go with it set in the Elizabethan theater scene! (Alas, they're both still untitled...) In my reading I noticed that on this day in 1613 the first Globe Theater burned down (this won't be happening to my fictional theater in the book!). So I thought I would share a bit of my notes for this Tuesday post.Old property records and the discovery of some of the archaeological remains indicate the Globe was sites from the west side of modern Southwark Bridge, east as far as Porter Street and from Park Street south to the back of Gatehouse Square. (Its site was only speculation until part of the foundation, including one original pier base, was found under the Anchor Terrace car park on Park Street in 1989. The materials and some of the shape could be analyzed and preserved, but since most of the foundation lies under another listed building it couldn't be further excavated).
The Globe was the playing house of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, a troupe owned by actors/shareholders. The main shareholders, brothers Richard and Cuthbert Burbage, owned 25% apiece with four actors owning 12.5% each (Shakespeare, John Heminges, Augustine Phillips , and Thomas Pope. Originally the comedian Will Kempe was intended to be the 7th partner, but he left and sold out his shares to the 4 minority holders. New sharers were added over time). It was built in 1599 using the materials from The Theatre in Shoreditch, built in 1576 by the Burbages' father James on land which originally had a 21-year lease (but the building he owned outright). But the dastardly landlord, Giles Allen, claimed the building became his on the expiration of the lease, leading to a protracted legal battle. Thus on December 28, 1598, while Allen was out of town for Christmas, the actors dismantled The Theatre and transported it to a warehouse near Bridewell. With the arrival of warmer spring weather, the pieces were ferried over the Thames and reconstructed as The Globe on some marshy garden plots south of Maiden Lane in Southwark!
The Globe's actual dimensions are unknown, but evidence suggests it was a 3-story, open-air space about 100 feet in diameter that could fit in about 3000 spectators. In a famous sketch of the period done by Wenceslas Hollar it's shown as round, but the excavations show it was actually a polygon of 20 sides. At the base of the stage is the pit, or yard, where for a penny the groundlings would stand on the dirt, rush-covered floor to watch the play (and eat and drink and fight). Around the yard rose 3 levels of stadium-style seating, each level more expensive (audience members would pay at the door of their chosen level). There were also private boxes for very wealthy people.The stage, an apron-style thrust stage, went out into the middle of the yard and was about 43 feet wide, 27 feet deep, and raised about 5 feet from the ground. In the middle was a trap door for ghosts and such to enter the scene. Large, faux-marble painted columns on either side supported the roof over the rear of the stage (the ceiling of this was called the "heavens" and was painted to resemble the sky. There was another trap door here where actors could be lowered using a harness--literally a deus ex machina!). The back wall had two or maybe three doors at the main level, with a curtained inner stage in the center and a balcony above. These doors went into the tiring house, a sort of green room where costumes could be changed and actors waited for the cues. Musicians used the balcony and it could also be used as scenery (like the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet).
This Globe had a glorious run, seeing the premiere of most of Shakespeare's great plays as well as hundreds of works now lost (or at least more obscure!). But on June 29, 1613 the thatched roof was set on fire by a cannon fired in a performance of the play Henry VIII and the Globe burned to the ground (though no lives were lost!). By then Shakspeare was mostly in retirement in his fine new house in Stratford, and would die 3 years later. The Globe was built again in 1614, with a tile roof replacing the thatch. In 1642 the new Puritan government closed down all the country's theaters and the Globe was pulled down to make way for tenements. It came back to life in 1997, about 750 feet from the original on the banks of Thames.
In my book, the heroine's father is an entrepreneur theater owner (much like James Burbage or Philip Henslowe) and the hero is an actor/playwright/troublemaker/spy, so I've been having a wonderful time reading about the bawdy, wild, genius world of the Elizabethan theater! Originally I had the idea on my trip to London a couple years ago, when I got to attend A Midsummer Night's Dream at the new Globe. I knew I would have fun there, but I didn't expect how magical it all would feel! If I ignored the modern dress of the audience, and the fact that really they were all very polite (no throwing of anything on stage or stuff like that!) I could almost imagine being transported back to the 1590s. It's a very different feeling from modern theater-going, it seemed more intimate, as if the audience was part of the action onstage. And the actor playing Lysander was very dishy. :))Here are a few books I've been using as I get into the story:
JR Mulryne and Margaret Shewring, Shakespeare's Globe Rebuilt (1997: lots of great, in-depth info about the evidence of the original Globe and how it was used and adapted for modern requirements in the new Globe)
Julian Bowsher and Pat Miller, The Rose and the Globe--Playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark (2010--a brand new publication from the Museum of London which someone kindly sent me, it's great)
James Shapiro, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (2005)
Thomas Dekker, The Gull's Hornbook (1609, reprinted in 1907--a fabulous source for the very colorful life of the Elizabethan underworld!)
Andrew Gurr, The Shakespearean Stage 1574--1642 (1991) and Playgoing in Shakespeare's London (1987)
RA Foakes and RT Rickert, eds, Philip Henslowe's Diary (1961--a must-read for anyone interested in the theater of this period)
Richard Dutton, Mastering the Revels: The Regulation and Censorship of English Renaissance Drama (1991)
The Cambridge Companion to English Renaissance Drama (1990)
Park Honan, Christopher Marlowe, Poet and Spy (2005)
The Globe website
Shakespeare Resource Center
The Old Globe Theater History
What's your favorite theater-going memory? Any favorite plays (Shakespeare or otherwise!)??
Regency Websites and Blogs
We all have favorite websites and blogs, those places we go to be entertained or to learn things. Here are five of mine, all dealing with the Regency, at least sometimes. It is not an exhaustive list, but five sites I return to fairly often, either because I need them or because they entertain me.
So off the top of my head, 5 websites or blogs I like:
The Georgian Index - so much information here. One of the things I love about this site is I can always find some shop to insert in my books, but there's so much more here. Here's an example:
House of Millard/ Millard's warehouse/draper - No.16 Cheapside - Bengal Muslins, flannels - advertised in La belle Asemblee 1812-3 - (locale) City
- I can have my heroine walk into a draper shop that really existed!
Number One London - this is Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw's blog and they never cease to amaze me with the information they provide. And it's always fun, too. Here's Kristine's first report from the Battle of Waterloo reenactment.
Regency Ramble - This treasure is the creation of my fellow Harlequin Historical author, Ann Lethbridge, aka Michelle Ann Young. Ann hails from the UK and she does something I love! She tells us about the flora and fauna of the Regency period, among other things Regency, including fashion prints. Here is her latest. Have you ever heard of a bustard?
Cogitations and Meditations - This is our friend Keira Soleore's blog and by some magic I cannot perform on my own, Keira made it so I receive her blog in my email, so I never miss a thing. Keira has a miriad of things on her blog, very intelligent things oftentimes. Or very exotic, like this latest Picture Day Friday. Not always Regency, but always interesting.
Wikipedia - I know I know I know. You can't trust Wikipedia because not all the information is cross-referenced and thus it is susceptible to being false, but, gee, there's nothing like it to quickly find that elusive fact that probably is not false. I've used Wikipedia extensively to find out stuff like Like - When did Queen Charlotte die? (Nov 17, 1818) because I know it happens right in the time period I might be writing about. Or, I recently needed to know something about carriages. I started by looking at Wikipedia. (gig). My Three Soldiers Series required knowing details of the Battle of Waterloo. Wikipedia had great information on the battle and, from my other reading of the subject, it looked accurate.
What are your favorite blogs and websites? Besides Risky Regencies, I mean!
Visit me Thursday on Diane's Blog where I will show off the bookcover of Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Lady AND give away two prizes - a signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady and the entire set of Amanda's Muse Trilogy!
So off the top of my head, 5 websites or blogs I like:
The Georgian Index - so much information here. One of the things I love about this site is I can always find some shop to insert in my books, but there's so much more here. Here's an example:House of Millard/ Millard's warehouse/draper - No.16 Cheapside - Bengal Muslins, flannels - advertised in La belle Asemblee 1812-3 - (locale) City
- I can have my heroine walk into a draper shop that really existed!
Number One London - this is Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw's blog and they never cease to amaze me with the information they provide. And it's always fun, too. Here's Kristine's first report from the Battle of Waterloo reenactment.
Regency Ramble - This treasure is the creation of my fellow Harlequin Historical author, Ann Lethbridge, aka Michelle Ann Young. Ann hails from the UK and she does something I love! She tells us about the flora and fauna of the Regency period, among other things Regency, including fashion prints. Here is her latest. Have you ever heard of a bustard?
Cogitations and Meditations - This is our friend Keira Soleore's blog and by some magic I cannot perform on my own, Keira made it so I receive her blog in my email, so I never miss a thing. Keira has a miriad of things on her blog, very intelligent things oftentimes. Or very exotic, like this latest Picture Day Friday. Not always Regency, but always interesting.
Wikipedia - I know I know I know. You can't trust Wikipedia because not all the information is cross-referenced and thus it is susceptible to being false, but, gee, there's nothing like it to quickly find that elusive fact that probably is not false. I've used Wikipedia extensively to find out stuff like Like - When did Queen Charlotte die? (Nov 17, 1818) because I know it happens right in the time period I might be writing about. Or, I recently needed to know something about carriages. I started by looking at Wikipedia. (gig). My Three Soldiers Series required knowing details of the Battle of Waterloo. Wikipedia had great information on the battle and, from my other reading of the subject, it looked accurate.What are your favorite blogs and websites? Besides Risky Regencies, I mean!
Visit me Thursday on Diane's Blog where I will show off the bookcover of Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Lady AND give away two prizes - a signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady and the entire set of Amanda's Muse Trilogy!
Guest Blogger Cara Elliott!
The Riskies are happy to welcome back Cara Elliott, who kindly agreed to blog about the background of book 2 her "Circle of Sin" series--To Surrender to a Rogue! Comment for a chance to win a copy...Hi everyone,
It's a pleasure to be back visiting the Riskies! Yes, yes, I know--I was just here in March, but after a long interlude between series, the first two books of my new trilogy have been released close together. So I'm back to talk about To Surrender to a Rogue, which takes place in Bath amidst an archaeological excavation of Roman ruins.The "Circle of Sin" features 3 beautiful, brainy female scholars who each has a dark secret in her past. The first book, To Sin With a Scoundrel, highlighted Ciara, the chemistry expert. The current release tells Alessandra's story. She's an expert on ancient antiquities, a subject that has fascinated me since I saw a PBS documentary on the Pyramids when I was very little. (I disntinctly remember many days of climbing the hill behind my elementary school during recess, pretending that I was an intrepid explorer scaling the rough-cut rocks to the pinnacle!)
I also have a soft spot in my heart for the hero's passion. Jack is a highly talented watercolorist, and as art is my background, I'm going to eschew talking about the techniques of digging in favor of painting a brief picture on the subject of pigment and papaer. So without further ado...
Most Regency stories depict watercolor painting as a proper pursuit for young ladies--which it was. However, it was also a subject of serious study for young men. One of the leading watercolorists of the 1700s, Alexander Cozens, taught at Eton for years. In addition to producing hauntingly beautiful works of his own, rendered in an austere, monochromatic palette, he shaped the artistic tastes of a whole generation of English aristocrats. Two of his pupils, Sir George Beaumont and William Beckford, are reocgnized as two of the greatest collectors and connoisseurs of their age.
The Royal Academy, which was founded in 1768, recognized the medium, but for the most part its practitioners were treated as second class citizens by the artists who worked in oil paints. Tired of being dismissed as mere craftsmen rather than creative talents, a group of artists banded together and made a bold move, establishing the Society for Painters in Water-Colours in 1804. (In previous centuries, watercolorists traditionally worked with mapmakers and were seen as recorders of topographical scenes). They held their own shows, which proved to be a critical and financial success. From JMW Turner and Thomas Girtin's evocative use of color and texture in landscapes to David Roberts's striking depictions of exotic travel destinations, Regency watercolorists were embraced by the public as true artists. (Roberts in particular served as a model for my hero--his paintings of classical sites in the East were wildly popular with a British audience whose travel opportunities were severely limited by the Napoleonic Wars).Okay, so many of you have probably dabbled in "watercolors." But the stuff of grade school art class is a far cry from the "real" thing. So here is primer on the materials and techniques that Regency artists used to create their richly nuanced paintings:
As opposed to oil paints, watercolors are transparent, and an artist builds color, texture, depth and shadow by layering washes of pigment. (There are opaque watercolors, which are made of pigments mixed with white zinc oxide--these are called "body color" by the English, but are more commonly known by the French name of gouache. However, that's another subject!). Transparent watercolor "paint" is made up of finely ground mineral or organic particles, bound together with two maind additives: gum arabic, which helps adhere the pigment to the paper, and oxgall, a wetting agent which helps disperse the pigment in an even wash. In Regency times, the pigments were formed into a solid square or cake, which would be carried in a wooden paint case. (Tubes of viscous paints were invented by Windsor and Newton in 1846).
An artists would dip his brush in water, then dab it over the block of pigment to dissolve it. The amount of water used determines the intensity of the color. Most artists start with very light washes to lay in the basic elements of their composition, then build depth and details. There are a vast array of pigments, and their names are wonderfully evocative on their own--alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, Vandyke brown, cerulean blue, to name but a few.
If you look closely at a watercolor painting, you may see a faint tracing of lines beneath the color. Many artists used graphite pencils to make a preliminary sketch of the subject. Charcoal (the solid carbon residue from charred twigs heated in an airtight chamber) or black chalk (carbon mixed with clay and gum binders) were also used. They produced a softer, but usually darker line. For some artists, these line sketches were deliberately strong and were used as an intergral part of the finished painting.Paper is an important component of a watercolor painting because its texture affects the look of the washes. James Whatman created "wove" paper in the 1750s, which quickly became popular with the artists. Wove paper uses a fine wire mesh screen as a mold, making a finer surface than the earlier "laid" papers. This allowed a more uniform wash. (Whitman is still a highly regarded brand today!). The paper made by Thomas Creswick, which offered a rich assortment of textures, was also popular. Another favorite was "scotch" paper, made from bleached linen sailcloth. It had a more rustic feel, and featured imperfections such as specks of organic matter that some artists felt added more interest to their paintings.
Brushes are made from a variety of furs. During the Regency, squirrel was favored for soft, wide brushes designed to lay in broad washes. But the very best ones were made of asiatic marten--or Russian sable--as they held their shape very well and could be twirled to a very fine point in order to paint in detail.So, now that you're all art experts, which do you prefer--watercolor or oil painting? And do you have a favorite artist? I'm a big fan of Turner and Constable (both of whom painted wonderful images in both mediums).
To celebrate the release of To Surrender to a Rogue, I'll be giving away a signed copy of the book to a lucky winner!
Silk & Scandals Winners!
Our three winners on the Harlequin Historicals Silk & Scandal posts are--Kirsten, Barbara E, and Louisa Cornell! Please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com, and thanks for visiting!
Making a Point
As our and future generations dive further into the electronic technological age, some folks worry that good grammar, spelling, etc. will suffer.
And yes, it is true that 1 is frced to shrtn cert. wds in order to fit them into Twitter or a text.
But as long as there are writers, there will be attention to writing's form.
And one thing I am Very Fond of is Random Capitalization. I use it in my own writing, particularly the humorous Regency-set stuff I write (I just finished one project this week, woot!). I believe I first encountered it in reading P.G. Wodehouse and Georgette Heyer; I'm not sure if the latter intended to Make a Point with her capitalization, but I know the former did. Wodehouse was excruciatingly particular when it came to his writing, including the capitalization.
I love it. It makes a normal sentence POP and SHINE, and really adds a dry wit (my favorite kind!) to the prose.
Capitalization is used in SF/F as well, only it's not Random; it usually signifies a specific place (like Chaos in Meljean Brook's Demon series, or idea that is particular to the book, and of course I can't think of an example, only I know they're out there).
But when applied with a deft touch, and to Make a Point? Sublime perfection. And if authors and readers appreciate it--and other nuances of writing--I don't think we'll have to worry too much about how our language is getting degraded. It's changing, for sure, but that's not necessarily a Bad Thing.
Do you have a new favorite thing to write, read or say? What's the best and worst part about new ways of communication?
Regency Police Raid
Inspired by discussion on various loops and at History Hoydens...
Mayfair, London
Sirs,
I wish to complain about the recent Regency Police raid on my property. My household is in an uproar and I have scarcely been able to escape to my usual dens of vice for entertainment. I wish to know the whereabouts of various items of clothing and, frankly, since the baking powder and whiskey were seized, breakfasts have been hell.
My mistress skulks around the house, furious that her red silk nightgown and her gown with the tiny buttons down the back, both of which we enjoyed immensely, have been taken. I am immensely distressed that, barring extraordinary circumstances and an appeal to the courts, I cannot propose marriage to her, which I wish to do following more mutual psychological torture to prove that I am indeed worthy of her.
My housemaid, who has lost the prestige of opening the front door wearing a black silk gown and white cap, skulks downstairs in her shift. Furthermore, my formerly doddering butler, who had forty years lopped off his age, seems more interested in exploring the fleshpots of London than attending to household duties.
On the other hand I must commend the police for removing all of my skintight breeches which means that for the first time in years I can sit when clothed, and do not split them every time I ride. You need not return these, or the implement (the "can opener") which was necessary to their removal. My thanks also for reminding me that there is a war on, and I believe I have some younger brothers involved therein; also for the reminder that if they return pathetically scarred in mind and body, my fraternal advice will be to get over it.
The business of the shirts, however, is problematic. Since they all opened the wrong way, to my astonishment, and naturally I own no nightshirts, I am to all intents completely unclothed in my house. Despite assurance that I am now properly heroic, I find the continual attentions of my mistress exhausting. Following your advice, I am applying lemon juice daily to remove the tan and allowing my chest hair to grow back.
I remain, sirs, your most obdt. servt.,
Slut
What else did the Regency Police seize?
A Damned Good Contest continues; enter to win Jane and the Damned stuff!
The London residence of the Duke of S-- was raided by the Regency Police and a large number of items, including a quantity of white powder in the kitchen, was seized. The Duke is subject to various offenses covered by the Regency Anachronism Act.
Mayfair, LondonSirs,
I wish to complain about the recent Regency Police raid on my property. My household is in an uproar and I have scarcely been able to escape to my usual dens of vice for entertainment. I wish to know the whereabouts of various items of clothing and, frankly, since the baking powder and whiskey were seized, breakfasts have been hell.
My mistress skulks around the house, furious that her red silk nightgown and her gown with the tiny buttons down the back, both of which we enjoyed immensely, have been taken. I am immensely distressed that, barring extraordinary circumstances and an appeal to the courts, I cannot propose marriage to her, which I wish to do following more mutual psychological torture to prove that I am indeed worthy of her.
My housemaid, who has lost the prestige of opening the front door wearing a black silk gown and white cap, skulks downstairs in her shift. Furthermore, my formerly doddering butler, who had forty years lopped off his age, seems more interested in exploring the fleshpots of London than attending to household duties.
On the other hand I must commend the police for removing all of my skintight breeches which means that for the first time in years I can sit when clothed, and do not split them every time I ride. You need not return these, or the implement (the "can opener") which was necessary to their removal. My thanks also for reminding me that there is a war on, and I believe I have some younger brothers involved therein; also for the reminder that if they return pathetically scarred in mind and body, my fraternal advice will be to get over it.
The business of the shirts, however, is problematic. Since they all opened the wrong way, to my astonishment, and naturally I own no nightshirts, I am to all intents completely unclothed in my house. Despite assurance that I am now properly heroic, I find the continual attentions of my mistress exhausting. Following your advice, I am applying lemon juice daily to remove the tan and allowing my chest hair to grow back.
I remain, sirs, your most obdt. servt.,
Slut
What else did the Regency Police seize?
A Damned Good Contest continues; enter to win Jane and the Damned stuff!
Regency Group Write
OK, so I had this crazy idea and I'm going to try it out on you guys.
I'm going to cobble together a brief Regency-set story using (practically) nothing but the comments to this post, which story I will post next Wednesday unless the whole thing turns out to be an embarrassing fiasco, in which case I will um ... do something else unless they kick me out of the Riskies for having dumb ideas and then carrying them out.
By which I mean, you-all will have written the story whilst I do the cobbling and rearranging of your Regency Group Write sentences.
So, a few parameters (watch out! I'm making this up as I write!).
Go.
I'm going to cobble together a brief Regency-set story using (practically) nothing but the comments to this post, which story I will post next Wednesday unless the whole thing turns out to be an embarrassing fiasco, in which case I will um ... do something else unless they kick me out of the Riskies for having dumb ideas and then carrying them out.
By which I mean, you-all will have written the story whilst I do the cobbling and rearranging of your Regency Group Write sentences.
So, a few parameters (watch out! I'm making this up as I write!).
Choose from the following for your comment. Please limit yourself to 1-2 sentences per response. You can leave more than one comment, or put in the same comment if you want, just make it clear there's more than one.
- The hero's name is Colin Exeter-Smith, the Duke of Hartley. He is 27, unmarried and looks EXACTLY like Alexander Skarsgard, only possibly he is not a vampire. His close friends and enemies call him Hartless.
- The heroine's name is Jessica Darby. She is 24, plays the piano and is a mathematical genius who hates cooked carrots. Her friends call her Darby.
- The hero's best friend is William FitzAndrew, 28, the earl of Featherlock.
- The heroine's best friend is Sally Elizabeth, 23
- There is a dog named Fred.
- The antagonist is Sir Waverly Scott, 30 and he may well be sequel bait.
- There is a mysterious castle
- If you can see a coffee cup from where you're sitting, write about the weather.
- Is your hair blond (naturally or otherwise) or do you think you'd be smashing as a blond? Write a sentence in which you use one of these words or phrases: penultimate, Loch Ness, square root of 11, reticule, shark
- If your name contains the letter E, your setting is a carriage ride
- If you know someone named "James" write some (unattributed) dialogue (can go beyond 2 sentences, unless they're long sentences)
- Look out the window. Can you see the sky? If it's blue, write about the antagonist, otherwise write about the hero's best friend
- If you thought about chocolate at any time today or yesterday, write about the heroine's best friend.
- Check the other comments and ad lib with the idea of helping me out or filling in gaps
Go.
Costume=Character?
Last weekend, I spent some time digging through my Big Research Box, looking for info for the RomCon workshop I'll be taking part in at Denver in a couple weeks ("Stripping the Heroine," all about what the historical heroine would be wearing!). My Big Research Box is, well, just what it sounds like--a big plastic storage tub with folders holding notes and articles and inspirational images. I try to be organized and divide them up by era and subject, i.e. "Regency--Architecture" or "Elizabethan--Music," but often I get lazy and stuff things in wherever there's room. So there was info on Regency fashion in several folders, and hours had gone by before I knew it!
It made me think about the importance of fashion and style to character and story. Even when I don't describe what characters are wearing in a scene or what they have in their armoire, I can see them in my mind. What people choose to wear says so much about them--whether they know it or not. (One of my favorite style blogs, formerly-known-as-Project Rungay, have been doing an in-depth study of the costumes on Mad Men and how they delineate a character's progress and state of mind. Great stuff!)
I also thought of this recently when I saw a great exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, "From Sketch to Screen," featuring a lovely selection of film costumes, from an elaborate court dress worn by Greta Garbo in Queen Christina and a white Givenchy suit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, to superhero outfits from X-Men and Superman, it covers a wide spectrum. This concept of costume=characters is, of course, totally vital in a visual medium like film. Here are just a few of the costumes that were there (photos weren't allowed so these are just movie stills; there are a few pics of the exhibit itself at the museum's site):
This purple gown from Elizabeth: The Golden Age
This little beaded leotard from Moulin Rouge (plus the hat and shoes!)
This dinner gown from Titanic (even more gorgeous in person! They also had the blue velvet suit)
Three costumes from Gone With the Wind, including this one (though they are reproductions; the originals didn't survive)
The famous green dress from Atonement, one of my favorites! (It wasn't displayed very well, though, at least not for people who want to see details of design! The straps are too fragile for a mannequin so it was just sort of pooled in a little glass case with only the bodice able to be seen clearly. I wish it had been laid out full-length)
Some sparkly jumpsuits from Mamma Mia!
One of Renee Zellwegger's sequined dresses from Chicago
Two of the little sailor suits from The Sound of Music (so wee and cute!)
The white furred cloak Vanessa Redgrave wore on her way to Camelot
You can see how clearly these costumes represent the characters wearing them (and not just how annoyingly skinny Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett are!). Elizabeth I, Rose from Titanic, Guinevere, Scarlett, Cecelia from Atonement, are all right there in these garments, wrapped up in lace, beads, and silk. I found it to be a very helpful lesson in my own search for my characters. (And even though I would have loved to see a Regency movie included in the selection, I also liked the variety!)
What are your favorite movie costumes, or memorable clothes read about in a book? (I always think of Villiars in Judith Ivory's Untie My Heart and the scene in the bank--that has to be the sexiest coat ever!). What do you think clothes say about characters?
(And if you're in Oklahoma City before August, I highly recommend a look at this exhibit!)
It made me think about the importance of fashion and style to character and story. Even when I don't describe what characters are wearing in a scene or what they have in their armoire, I can see them in my mind. What people choose to wear says so much about them--whether they know it or not. (One of my favorite style blogs, formerly-known-as-Project Rungay, have been doing an in-depth study of the costumes on Mad Men and how they delineate a character's progress and state of mind. Great stuff!)
I also thought of this recently when I saw a great exhibit at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, "From Sketch to Screen," featuring a lovely selection of film costumes, from an elaborate court dress worn by Greta Garbo in Queen Christina and a white Givenchy suit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, to superhero outfits from X-Men and Superman, it covers a wide spectrum. This concept of costume=characters is, of course, totally vital in a visual medium like film. Here are just a few of the costumes that were there (photos weren't allowed so these are just movie stills; there are a few pics of the exhibit itself at the museum's site):
This purple gown from Elizabeth: The Golden Age
This little beaded leotard from Moulin Rouge (plus the hat and shoes!)
This dinner gown from Titanic (even more gorgeous in person! They also had the blue velvet suit)
Three costumes from Gone With the Wind, including this one (though they are reproductions; the originals didn't survive)
The famous green dress from Atonement, one of my favorites! (It wasn't displayed very well, though, at least not for people who want to see details of design! The straps are too fragile for a mannequin so it was just sort of pooled in a little glass case with only the bodice able to be seen clearly. I wish it had been laid out full-length)
Some sparkly jumpsuits from Mamma Mia!
One of Renee Zellwegger's sequined dresses from Chicago
Two of the little sailor suits from The Sound of Music (so wee and cute!)
The white furred cloak Vanessa Redgrave wore on her way to CamelotYou can see how clearly these costumes represent the characters wearing them (and not just how annoyingly skinny Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett are!). Elizabeth I, Rose from Titanic, Guinevere, Scarlett, Cecelia from Atonement, are all right there in these garments, wrapped up in lace, beads, and silk. I found it to be a very helpful lesson in my own search for my characters. (And even though I would have loved to see a Regency movie included in the selection, I also liked the variety!)
What are your favorite movie costumes, or memorable clothes read about in a book? (I always think of Villiars in Judith Ivory's Untie My Heart and the scene in the bank--that has to be the sexiest coat ever!). What do you think clothes say about characters?
(And if you're in Oklahoma City before August, I highly recommend a look at this exhibit!)
Rothschild and Waterloo
A week ago, I told you what Wellington and Napoleon were doing on that date 195 years ago. Today 195 years ago, a young Nathan Rothschild, who had been instrumental in providing and delivering gold to pay for the war, stood by a pillar in the Stock Exchange. His efficient network of communication had delivered to him news of the Allied Victory at Waterloo. Legend has it that he deliberately gave the impression that Wellington had lost the battle, by looking gloomy and selling Consols (bonds) precipitating a panic of selling. Then he supposedly bought up the Consols at a depressed price, knowing their value would soar when Wellington's courier finally reached London. If I'm remembering correctly, Heyer used this version of events in A Civil Contract.
But the truth of Rothschild's involvement was somewhat different, as you can see in this YouTube video:
The Rothschilds assumed, as did everyone else, that England and its allies were facing a protracted war once again. Nathan Rothschild had bought up gold to provide to Wellington to pay for the war effort, but after the surprising decisive victory, the price of gold would plummet and Rothschild would suffer a great loss. Instead he gambled on the rise of the bond market. He bought up bonds and sold them two years later at a whopping 40 per cent profit. So he did make money, but he'd taken a great risk and had not exploited the country. His provision of gold, after all, financed the war effort. Of course he made a profit from that, too, originally.
Wellington's dispatch arrived forty hours later than Rothschild's. Here's an account from The Telegraph's review of Peter Hofschröer's book, Wellington's Smallest Victory:
Think of how instantaneously information reaches us today!
I really do hate to think about investments and bonds and profiteering now or in the Regency, although I think the sending of information so quickly, like Rothschild arranged, would make for an interesting episode in a book. That would be exciting!
I'm not sure I'd find banking in the Regency the stuff of Romance. Would you?
Come join the conversation on Diane's blog on Thursday when Mary Blayney and I talk about the Regency and her new release (as of tomorrow, June 22) Courtesan's Kiss. Mary will be our guest here at Risky Regencies on July 18.
But the truth of Rothschild's involvement was somewhat different, as you can see in this YouTube video:
The Rothschilds assumed, as did everyone else, that England and its allies were facing a protracted war once again. Nathan Rothschild had bought up gold to provide to Wellington to pay for the war effort, but after the surprising decisive victory, the price of gold would plummet and Rothschild would suffer a great loss. Instead he gambled on the rise of the bond market. He bought up bonds and sold them two years later at a whopping 40 per cent profit. So he did make money, but he'd taken a great risk and had not exploited the country. His provision of gold, after all, financed the war effort. Of course he made a profit from that, too, originally.
Wellington's dispatch arrived forty hours later than Rothschild's. Here's an account from The Telegraph's review of Peter Hofschröer's book, Wellington's Smallest Victory:
News of the Battle of Waterloo was rushed to London by Harry Percy, Wellington's only surviving unwounded ADC. He carried the despatch in a velvet handkerchief sachet an admirer had thrust into his hand as he hurried from the Duchess of Richmond's famous Brussels ball on the eve of battle. He had no sleep that night, nor the five nights following, and had to row himself ashore from the middle of the Channel. His scarlet and gold tunic was still torn, dirty and blood-stained when he burst into a St James's ballroom, a captured French standard in each hand, and dropped to one knee before the Prince Regent. It was Shakespearean.
Think of how instantaneously information reaches us today!
I really do hate to think about investments and bonds and profiteering now or in the Regency, although I think the sending of information so quickly, like Rothschild arranged, would make for an interesting episode in a book. That would be exciting!
I'm not sure I'd find banking in the Regency the stuff of Romance. Would you?
Come join the conversation on Diane's blog on Thursday when Mary Blayney and I talk about the Regency and her new release (as of tomorrow, June 22) Courtesan's Kiss. Mary will be our guest here at Risky Regencies on July 18.
Silk & Scandal Part II!
PART II
Keeping characters straight through a number of books is hard. But in the end, each story must stand on its own, its hero and heroine bound together by a unique, sigh-worthy, compelling love. Always, there are aspects of personality that make the trail to that happy ending more difficult. For each story, let’s find out which traits advanced and which complicated that journey.
Strengths and flaws of your hero and heroine:
From Louise Allen:
My two heroes are brothers – Marcus (Book 1) and Hal Carlow (Book 7)– and they appear, on the surface, to be very different. Marcus is serious and responsible and very conscious of his duty to the family whereas Hal is a complete rakehell and only serious about his duty as an army officer. But get them together and they both reveal hidden sides to their characters. Marcus is actually as physically courageous and reckless as Hal, whereas Hal, at the first sign of a threat, is as protective of his family as his elder brother.
I did fall for Marcus’s almost constant frown – a deep groove between his brows. His family is enough to make any man frown, and it takes a while for Nell Latham to see that deep groove as a symbol of his caring and not bad temper. As for Hal, I love the fact that under his appearance of hard-bitten soldier and heartless rake he is actually putty in the hands of small children.
Nell Latham, the heroine of the first book, appears supremely competent and has managed to support herself by her skill as a milliner in a very hard world. But I was amused to discover her areas of incompetence – especially her almost lethal approach to firearms.
As for Julia Tresilian, Hal’s heroine, my favourite thing about her is the rebellion that is hidden beneath the well-behaved façade. Julia is all that is dutiful – which is probably why, when she decides to behave completely outrageously, her poor mama hasn’t got a clue what is going on until it is too late to do anything about it.
As for flaws, Marcus has to learn to go with his instincts and his heart and to discover that sometimes trust is more important than doing what is apparently the right thing. Hal has to stop believing in his own image and discover that under the rake who lives for fighting and for pleasure without commitment there is actually a serious and sensitive man who wants to love and be faithful.
Nell’s great flaw – although she would never admit it – is pride. She’ll starve in her garret rather than accept help from a man she sees as an enemy and when her hand is forced she will be reckless rather than ask for help.
Julia suffers from a lack of self-confidence. She believes that she must compromise over marriage and accept any man who will have her. Fortunately Hal manages – unwittingly? – to sabotage every dull and eligible suitor’s courtship. Even then, it takes a lot before she can believe she is loved.
From Christine Merrill:
I just finished reading Louise Allen’s The Lord and the Wayward Lady, and was pleasantly surprised to find my heroine Diana Price ice skating in it. But I could totally believe that she would. Diana is a practical girl who, when she shows up in my book, is given to healthy exercise and walking in the park. She is moderation in all things, until she meets Nathan Wardale.
Nathan’s best quality is probably his steadfast nature. He can survive just about anything that life throws at him in the way of physical hardship, and come away stronger for it. There isn’t really anything that can scare him. The only weakness he has left is for Diana Price.
Considering what happens in the rest of the books, Stephano Beshaley can be a bit hard to love. But when not being an avatar of vengeance, he’s a jewel merchant with a safe full of precious stones and is looking for the right girl to wear them.
My favorite thing about Verity Carlow is probably her sense of adventure. By the time we get to book eight, she’s been sheltered from the action of the whole series. But I kidnap her (twice) and take her to a Gypsy camp and a brothel. I’d hesitate to say she enjoys it, but she proves very resilient.
From Julia Justiss:
For my heroine Lady Honoria, it’s her gritty resilience. With the ruin of her reputation, she’s lost everything a well-bred virgin considered important: her position as the most courted Diamond of the Ton, the admiration and envy of women and the adulation of men, the certainty of making a brilliant marriage that will maintain her position in society. Rather than shut herself away, railing against the unfairness of fate, she takes a hard look at who she is and who she can be, despite her loss of status. She begins to appreciate the considerable resources that remain to her and what she can do with them for the people around her.
Gabe Hawksworth, hellion black sheep and despair of his very proper family, has racketed around life, finding satisfaction only in his army service. Becoming temporary captain of a smuggling vessel for the army friend who saved his life is just the latest in his adventures. Initially, he is only intrigued by--and hopeful of seducing--the mysterious young lady who appears in
For flaws, Honoria has to learn to control the impulsive recklessness that permitted an unscrupulous person to ruin her and figure out how to channel her courage and determination to a higher cause. Gabe has to realize that pledging yourself to one special person is more liberating than adventuring through life without ties or family.
From Gayle Wilson:
I have a history of creating very flawed characters, but Rhys Morgan and Nadya Argentari are, perhaps, exceptions to that rule. Rhys suffers from physical injuries sustained during the Peninsula Campaign, but seems undamaged emotionally by the brutality he witnessed there. His burning desire is to extend his service to his country, a hope that precipitates the journey on which he encounters the beautiful Romany healer. Nadya is a practical and rational woman, a valued member of her family group, secure in her role there and very happy with her life. Their physical attraction takes them by surprise, and both acknowledge the impossibility of any relationship between them. Rhys’s desire to protect Nadya from an unknown enemy, however, forces them into an ever-closer intimacy. The flaw that leads to the climax of the novel is not found in these characters, but rather in the prejudices of the societies in which they live, prejudices they must overcome to find a lasting happiness.
From Annie Burrows:
I got a real buzz when my editor admitted she was just a little bit in love with Monty. And Louise Allen’s comment, after reading my story (which she got in a special offer bundle from Mills & Boon) that she thought Midge was an original absolutely made my day.
Greatest flaws – ok, both my main characters have plenty. Midge has no confidence in herself as a woman. In fact, because of her mother’s obsession with her sons, she finds it hard to believe in her worth as a person at all.
And as for Monty – well, his own childhood was not much better than Midge’s. He has experienced deep hurts and rejections, which have left him determined never to appear as though he needs anyone. Least of all a woman.
So neither is quite sure what to make of it when they can’t keep their hands off each other. It would not take much for them to make a complete hash of their relationship.
Which is just the point where Stephano steps in…
From Margaret McPhee:
Thief-taker Will Wolversley, or Wolf, as he is known, is definitely a man I would fall for, but then I’ve always had a soft spot for bad boys and outsiders.
What I like best about Wolf is that as mean, moody and dangerous as he is to the world at large, when it comes to the woman he loves it’s a completely different story.
As for my heroine, lady’s companion Miss Rosalind Meadowfield, what I like about her is her warm heart, her gentleness and, most of all, her ability to see through Wolf’s tough exterior.
Their greatest flaws? Wolf’s prejudice against the aristocracy, the gentry and women like Rosalind Meadowfield.
And Rosalind’s determination to run away from the sensual attraction that exists between her and the big bad thief-taker.
Regency Silk & Scandals!
Today at the Riskies we welcome not one but six Harlequin Historicals authors to talk about their new miniseries "Regency Silk & Scandal"! They have so much to say on the creation of these books that they'll be with us two days, today and tomorrow, and they'll be giving away some great prizes--two copies of The Lord and the Wayward Lady and one early copy of The Smuggler and the Society Bride...MURDER…SCANDAL…REVENGE? WHY, IT'S REGENCY SILK & SCANDAL!
Three friends and rival spymasters, two scandalous affairs, one murder, and an innocent man hanged on the testimony of his best friend set the stage for the next generation to try to solve the mystery of the murder and redeem lives shattered by disgrace.
Series, miniseries, continuities…by whatever name, these linked stories are perennially popular with readers.Those not written by a single author, however, are generally contemporaries and generally created by an editorial team who determine an overall story arc, individual plots and continuing characters, then contract authors to write the designated stories.
The REGENCY SILK & SCANDAL miniseries, which began this month from Harlequin Historical/Mills & Boon with Louise Allen’s THE LORD AND THE WAYWARD LADY, is quite different. First, the stories are set in Regency rather than modern times. Instead of having editors predetermine the significant factors, the six-author team was given free rein to develop the story arc, invent the recurring characters and determine the plot for each of the eight books, then each author picked which story she wanted to write.
The creation of SILK & SCANDAL was an adventure that lead to a Yahoo group currently clocked in at over 3000 e-mails, spreadsheets presenting family trees, detailed timelines, and a “bible” created and maintained by author Annie Burrows that logged weekly all the significant facts developed about the recurring characters as the authors simultaneously wrote their stories.With six authors, even simple replies get lengthy, so we’re dividing this post into two segments. Today, the authors will talk about the process of writing the continuity; tomorrow’s post will focus on how they developed characters when some were members of the miniseries families and some were not.
Part 1: What were the best and worst things about writing this continuity?
Louise Allen, author of Book 1, THE LORD AND THE WAYWARD LADY and Book 7, THE OFFICER AND THE PROPER LADY:
The opportunity to help create something on a much wider canvas than usual was the first positive that struck me – and despite the difficulty of trying to keep it all straight, that remained enormously satisfying.
What was a worry at first, and then rapidly turned into an absolute joy, was getting to know the other continuistas. The stimulus of working with five other very creative writers, all with a different style and approach and yet all willing to work together to a common end was great and it is such a satisfying way to acquire five wonderful new friends.
The worst thing was realising I was writing the first book and the terror – usually at 3am – that I wouldn’t get this off to a coherent, let alone readable, start. It did get less worrying as time went on though!
Then there was the anxiety that I had done something that would have an effect on other books in the continuity – perhaps developing a character, who was minor in my stories but major in someone else’s, in the wrong direction and not realising this would create a problem that would have serious consequences later on. This didn’t happen, thank goodness, because we all tried very hard to keep checking and Annie Burrows kept a vast file of every email decision or comment.
Christine Merrill, author of Book 2, PAYING THE VIRGIN’S PRICE and Book 8, TAKEN BY THE WICKED RAKE:This will be tricky, because it sounds like shameless pandering to say that there was no “worst thing.” Unless I count the absolute terror I felt at the beginning, when we didn’t know each other, and had absolutely nothing to start with. I felt pretty dry of ideas at that point, and very intimidated to be working in such a talented group.
But the worst thing turned out to be the best thing, when I began to enjoy the freedom of it, and the creative rush of new ideas, as the story started to develop. By that time, we weren’t strangers any more. More like a tight knit group of friends. Then it became more like playing than working.
Julia Justiss, author of Book 3, THE SMUGGLER AND THE SOCIETY BRIDE:
For The Best, What Louise and Chris Said! With the scope of eight books, we wanted to write about a wide variety of characters, and so came up with the idea of three aristocratic families rocked by a scandal that sees one family remain at the top of the ton, members of a second slip down into the middle reaches, and those of the third, whose father is convicted of treason, cast out altogether and scattered to the four winds. So among our heroes and heroines we have viscounts and governesses, paid companions and thief-takers, Diamonds of the Ton and milliners.
My greatest hope? That the series will do well enough that the editors will consider commissioning other projects like this in future.
The absolute best? Having five other authors with whom to brainstorm, revise and commiserate!
The worst? Worrying that I wouldn’t finish on time, or that my book wouldn’t rise to the high standard of the others.
From Gayle Wilson, author of Book 4, CLAIMING THE FORBIDDEN BRIDE:
The most difficult thing for me in writing was plunging back into the Regency world after six years of exclusively writing romantic suspense. Although early in my career I easily switched back and forth between these two disparate genres, I hadn’t done that in quite a while. Knowing how knowledgeable Regency readers are, I was also apprehensive that I might make some glaring historical error or not be able to find my “Regency voice” again.
As it turned out, those fears were allayed somewhat by the discovery that I would be writing with a group of Regency pros who were more than willing to share both their expertise and their resources.I’m sure I made some of those period mistakes I had dreaded, but if so, that was only because I didn’t ask my fellow authors the right questions. Their creative generosity, their endless patience, their enthusiasm for this project, and their friendship was, in the end, the very best part of this experience for me.
From Annie Burrows, author of Book 5, THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIRGIN:
I hate to sound unoriginal, but the best thing was, without doubt, getting to know the other authors. At first I felt a bit shy about working alongside writers whose books I have on my shelves. But they were all so open and friendly that I soon began to look forward to logging into my inbox each day, and bouncing ideas around with them all.
Worst thing? The sheer volume of work required. We all had to keep the plots, characters, and timings of seven other stories clear in our heads whilst creating our own individual stories, with no editorial “bible”to guide us.
Before long, I started to record joint decisions as we made them, so I could keep things straight in my head. And before much longer, someone else owned up to having trouble remembering exactly what we’d agreed, after all the to-ing and fro-ing of ideas that went on, so I volunteered to upload the weekly progress to a file in our Yahoo group. There went my Friday nights.
From Margaret McPhee, author of Book 6, UNLACING THE INNOCENT MISS:
The best was the experience of working with the other continuistas; it was both interesting and inspirational to discover the ways other authors work. I’ve really learned so much from these lovely and generous ladies.
The worst was, like Julia, the two-fold worry that: I wouldn’t finish on time and b) my book wouldn’t meet the series’ high standard.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part II of our interview!
Finally Facing My Waterloo
It should surprise no-one that my first introduction to the concept of Waterloo was from Abba:
My my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender
Oh yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way
The history book on the shelf
Is always repeating itself
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - finally facing my Waterloo
My my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Oh yeah, and now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - knowing my fate is to be with you
And how could I ever refuse
I feel like I win when I lose
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - promise to love you for ever more
Waterloo - couldn’t escape if I wanted to
Waterloo - knowing my fate is to be with you
Waterloo - finally facing my Waterloo
The extended etymological sense of "a final, crushing defeat" was first referenced in an 1816 letter of Lord Byron. And yes, it was a final, crushing defeat, but as Janet so eloquently posted yesterday, one in four soldiers died.
Meeting one's Waterloo is something to be avoided. I've had a few near misses, but thus far have dodged any final, crushing defeats (although temporary ones are in abundance).
In books, the potential 'final, crushing defeat' is what is more normally called the Black Moment--that time in the book when neither the author nor the reader sees a possible way out of the situation that won't result in misery, loss of love, loss of life, or eternal heartbreak. What makes our books so revelatory is that we do always find a way out, a way to vanquish that defeat with love, or a compromise, or a sacrifice. Literary fiction doesn't always give us the Happy Ending, at least not the unabashed Happy Ending; romantic fiction does, thank goodness, so we can see hope amidst the fighting.
Have you ever had your own Waterloo? What happened? Are you a fan of the 'gasp, clutch your chest and wonder how they'll get out of it' books, like I am? Who's your favorite Black Moment author?
Megan
Almost Waterloo, almost history
It's the eve of the Battle of Waterloo and we Riskies have been discussing offlist whether we should the battle again or not. The topic is both finite and infinite; there is so much material but for me it comes down to one fact that I wrote about here a couple of years ago here
And that got me thinking about how we distill and sort historical information as writers and readers. What does the Regency represent to us?
For instance it's a period of fashion and elegance, fabulous clothes, gorgeous architecture and interior design. Yet the simplicity and gorgeous drape we associate with gowns of the period really belongs to an earlier era, well before the Regency proper (1811-1820), as does most of the classic Georgian architecture. Consider the evolution of fashion from this 1795 gown (right) to the fussiness of the 1822 one (left).
We also associate the period with a certain amount of freedom and glamor and the Romantics--except by the 18-teens it wasn't a great time to be a poet, particularly a poet of radical leanings. Shelley and Byron fled the country, but more because of their scandalous personal lives than their writing (except their lives and writing and political beliefs were bound together).
Their friend Leigh Hunt, journalist and co-founder of the Examiner, a periodical that mixed radical politics and the arts, was imprisoned for two years in 1813 for saying rude, if true, things about Prinny.
In addition, Lord Liverpool's government passed some extraordinarily repressive legislation cutting down on civil liberties as a result of the uproar that followed the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, when local militia cut down a peaceful demonstration in Manchester. As a sidenote, the city is seeking a more permanent tribute on the site, as reported by the Guardian:
How do you reconcile the historical truth with the fantasy when you're reading or writing?
I'm blogging today at Supernatural Underground and giving away ARCs of Jane and the Damned as prizes, and there's a Damned Good Contest on my site, plus various excerpts etc. Check it out!
Today I'm talking about the ordinary soldiers, the kids who signed up for the king's shilling out of patriotism, were fooled by unscrupulous recruiters, or because they had so few options ... One in four soldiers died that June day in 1815. Read moreForget the ball and the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon and the dashing uniforms. One in four.
And that got me thinking about how we distill and sort historical information as writers and readers. What does the Regency represent to us?
For instance it's a period of fashion and elegance, fabulous clothes, gorgeous architecture and interior design. Yet the simplicity and gorgeous drape we associate with gowns of the period really belongs to an earlier era, well before the Regency proper (1811-1820), as does most of the classic Georgian architecture. Consider the evolution of fashion from this 1795 gown (right) to the fussiness of the 1822 one (left).We also associate the period with a certain amount of freedom and glamor and the Romantics--except by the 18-teens it wasn't a great time to be a poet, particularly a poet of radical leanings. Shelley and Byron fled the country, but more because of their scandalous personal lives than their writing (except their lives and writing and political beliefs were bound together).
Their friend Leigh Hunt, journalist and co-founder of the Examiner, a periodical that mixed radical politics and the arts, was imprisoned for two years in 1813 for saying rude, if true, things about Prinny.
In addition, Lord Liverpool's government passed some extraordinarily repressive legislation cutting down on civil liberties as a result of the uproar that followed the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, when local militia cut down a peaceful demonstration in Manchester. As a sidenote, the city is seeking a more permanent tribute on the site, as reported by the Guardian:
One of the lasting memorials of Peterloo crosses the former site of St Peter's Fields daily, tucked under the arms of passers-by or downloaded to their computers and iPods.The government's reaction was to pass legislation in addition to the suspension of Habeas Corpus, the Six Acts of 1819:
It is the Guardian itself, which was founded by a group of moderate Manchester reformers as a direct result of the massacre, when it became clear that demonstrations and direct action were not going to change the government's mind on widening the vote.
- Training Prevention Act or Unlawful Drilling limited any sort of military training to local jurisdictions, punishable by transportation.
- Seizure of Arms Act gave local magistrates the authority to search any private property for weapons and to arrest the owners.
- Misdemeanors Act reduced opportunities for bail and allowed for speedier court processing.
- Seditious Meetings Prevention Act made meetings of fifty or more people illegal unless authorized by a sheriff or magistrate.
- Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act. If Hunt had libeled Prinny in 1819 he could have been sentenced to fourteen years transportation.
- Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act imposed taxes on publications that published opinion in addition to those that published news, and publishers were required to post a bond for their behavior.
How do you reconcile the historical truth with the fantasy when you're reading or writing?
I'm blogging today at Supernatural Underground and giving away ARCs of Jane and the Damned as prizes, and there's a Damned Good Contest on my site, plus various excerpts etc. Check it out!
Carrie Lofty Winner
The winner of Carrie Lofty's Song of Seduction is...Alison! Please send us your contact info at Riskies AT yahoo.com
Random Stuff About Like, Stuff
First, let me pile on to Amanda and mention that I will be at the RomCon conference. I will be chairing a panel on the anti-hero so woot! Awesome! If you're going to be at RomCon, come find me and say hi so I don't feel lonely. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I will have to wear something besides jeans. My hair, however, should be pretty spiffy as I have a beautifying appointment this weekend.
I also learned yesterday that my 2004 historical The Spare is being re-issued in October 2010. I found this out when I came home to find a stack of cover flats in the mail that were, how odd, a little different from the original cover. The original print run of this book was on the very small side, so small that I heard from people right away that they could not find the book even when it was freshly released. I've not seen used copies at a very reasonable price, so buying the re-issue might be cost-effective for some of you. (HINT!!)
Google Books for Waterloo, 1814 to 1820 -- LOTS of poetry. Today, the public response to something like this would be YouTube videos. And, of course, there would have been reporters embedded with the troops.
The Journal of the Three days of the Battle of Waterloo by an Eyewitness. Translated from the French. This book is from Oxford's Bodelian library. ::swoon:: Having scanned through, I suspect the hand of an Englishman in this French journal.
Parliamentary Debate -- on Waterloo prize money. Damn. Politics.
Anecdotes of the Duke of Wellington from The Scots Magazine,
Official Bulletins of the Battle of Waterloo - Not English ones, all the other guys.
I also learned yesterday that my 2004 historical The Spare is being re-issued in October 2010. I found this out when I came home to find a stack of cover flats in the mail that were, how odd, a little different from the original cover. The original print run of this book was on the very small side, so small that I heard from people right away that they could not find the book even when it was freshly released. I've not seen used copies at a very reasonable price, so buying the re-issue might be cost-effective for some of you. (HINT!!)
Stuff about Waterloo
Google Books for Waterloo, 1814 to 1820 -- LOTS of poetry. Today, the public response to something like this would be YouTube videos. And, of course, there would have been reporters embedded with the troops.
This is Sir Cecil Cakebeef reporting live from the camp of the Guard Dragoons just outside the charming little village of Waterloo. I'm speaking here with M. Albert DeFrenchman who's just told me that he's moved his cows out of Belgium and locked the barn. He's written a poem entitled, Les Miserables complete with lyrics. My translator, Henri here (wearing the false mustache) explains that the poem is a lamentation on butter gone bad.
The Journal of the Three days of the Battle of Waterloo by an Eyewitness. Translated from the French. This book is from Oxford's Bodelian library. ::swoon:: Having scanned through, I suspect the hand of an Englishman in this French journal.
Parliamentary Debate -- on Waterloo prize money. Damn. Politics.
Anecdotes of the Duke of Wellington from The Scots Magazine,
Official Bulletins of the Battle of Waterloo - Not English ones, all the other guys.
History/Historicals
Happy Tuesday, everyone! It's a busy day here, bailing out from some heavy rains and flooding yesterday (my garage is a mess) and recuperating from my ballet class's recital last weekend. My little students danced their routine perfectly, and were adorable in the bargain, and I'm so proud of them! Now I have to take more dance classes myself so I can keep up with them when lessons resume in July...I'm also starting a new book which needs lots of research (it's set in the world of the late Elizabethan theater!), and have been reading a lot lately, so I had a hard time summoning up the brain power to think of a blog topic for today. After reading Diane's great history post yesterday, I thought of something I'd love to hear Risky visitors' opinions about. I recently came across a review of my Laurel McKee book Countess of Scandal that said the reviewer didn't like anything about it because she hates "real history" in historicals.
Now, like every writer, I wish every single reader would love-love-love all my books--as impossible as that dream is! But I certainly know there will always be people who don't--I don't like every book I read by any means, after all. But I puzzled over this one. If a reader doesn't like history, wouldn't they read romantic contemporary comedy, or romantic suspense, or vampire stories, or something else? I don't like stories about serial killers, so I don't read them.But then I realized something--I tend to get lost in my own world of weird obsessions a lot (True Blood, salad caprese, finding the perfect pair of leopard-print shoes, or whatever), and my biggest obsession of all is history. It's why I read historical romance and historical fiction and most of the non-fiction I choose. I love falling deep into a different world and feeling like I'm really there. As a reader, and a writer, it's what I enjoy the most--using real events to create conflict and drama (as Diane did with Waterloo, or as my Laurel books do with Georgian Ireland!), and to believe in a setting and the characters who belong there (even if they're the rebels of the era).
Yet maybe I do get lost too much in my own interests. Maybe other people want pretty clothes and fancy estates and that's it. As I start this new project, though, it's something I need to think about more as I work out the plot. Is this something people would want to read?So, now it's your turn! Why do you read historicals? What do you like to see in the stories? What plots or characters do you find yourself drawn to? What would you like to see more of?
And speaking of history--next month I'll be at RomCon in Denver, and will be taking part in a workshop called "Stripping the Heroine," all about what the well-dressed romance heroine will be wearing (I do like pretty clothes in historicals, too!). I'm so excited about it--it means I get new gowns!!! If you're there too, come and find me and say hi (Risky Carolyn will be there, as well...)
June 14, 1815
This week marks the 195th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, a battle that figures prominently in history and also in our Regency Historicals. The first book in my Three Soldiers Series, Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady, ends at Waterloo. Book number two, Chivalrous Captain, Rebel Mistress, begins there, smack in the middle of the battle.
I wondered what the two men whose names are nearly synonymous with the battle were doing on June 14, 1815. Both, I discovered, were writing dispatches.
Napoleon's was in the form a a proclamation to his troops.
Napoleon had the advantage. He knew he was on the attack. The Allies knew only that engagement was imminent; at this point, they did not know where or when Napoleon would meet them.
Because of this, Wellington's dispatches of June 14, 1815, deal with more practical matters. On this day he wrote to other Allied leaders, including Prince Metternich. In his dispatch to Metternich, Wellington, like Napoleon, is looking forward in time and planning for the occupation of France. He proposes a plan that will increase the cooperation of the conquered people, ceding control to Louis XVIII. He also reiterates his characteristic policy of reimbursing the citizenry of any property the army may need to take from him.
Wellington writes:
It appears that Wellington had no intention for the Allies to "swallow up" France, but rather to restore the country to the monarchy.
Neither Napoleon nor Wellington could have known the outcome of the ultimate battle. Moreover, neither one could have known that this battle would take a prominent place in history as one of the greatest battles of all time.
My friends Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw are attending this year's Waterloo reinactment and I'm so envious I could just.....something. Check out their activities on Number One London blog.
So...what are you writing today? Any dispatches or proclamations?
Don't forget to visit me at Diane's blog on Thursday when I'll give away another signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady. I'll announce last week's winner there tomorrow.
I wondered what the two men whose names are nearly synonymous with the battle were doing on June 14, 1815. Both, I discovered, were writing dispatches.
Napoleon's was in the form a a proclamation to his troops.
"Soldiers: This day is the anniversary of Marengo and Friedland, which twiceNapoleon knew he was days away from engaging the Prussians and one can understand his need to inspire his troops. Still, his words are brimming with arrogance, of the certainty of his superiority.
decided the destiny of Europe. Then, as after the battles of Austerlitz and
Wagram, we were too generous. We believed in the protestations and oaths of
princes to whom we left their thrones. Now, however, leagued together, they
strike at the independence and sacred rights of France...After having swallowed up twelve millions of Poles, twelve millions of Italians, one million Saxons, and six
millions of Belgians, they now wish to devour the States of the second order
among the Germans. Madmen! one moment of prosperity has bewildered them. To
oppress and humble the people of France is out of their power; once entering our
territory, there they will find their doom. Soldiers: We have forced marches
before us, battles to fight, and dangers to encounter; but firm in resolution,
victory must be ours. The honor and happiness of our country are at stake! and,
in short, Frenchmen, the moment is arrived when we must conquer or die!"
Napoleon had the advantage. He knew he was on the attack. The Allies knew only that engagement was imminent; at this point, they did not know where or when Napoleon would meet them.
Because of this, Wellington's dispatches of June 14, 1815, deal with more practical matters. On this day he wrote to other Allied leaders, including Prince Metternich. In his dispatch to Metternich, Wellington, like Napoleon, is looking forward in time and planning for the occupation of France. He proposes a plan that will increase the cooperation of the conquered people, ceding control to Louis XVIII. He also reiterates his characteristic policy of reimbursing the citizenry of any property the army may need to take from him.
Wellington writes:
...It tends to make partisans instead of enemies of those who shall have
given their property for the subsistence of the several armies. Every man who
shall have in his possession a voucher or receipt on the part of the officers of
Louis XVIII. will feel an interest in the success of the cause, in proportion as
he shall value the property taken from him.
...It will put an end to very disagreeable discussions between the Commanders of the several armies, myself particularly, and Louis XVIII. His Majesty...will naturally claim to take possession of the country which shall fall into the hands of the Allies... His Majesty Louis XVIII. and the Allies, will appoint officers to govern that country....By adopting this system, which is the most simple and, as I have above shown, the most beneficial to the allied armies, we should at the same time hold out something to France to which the public opinion might attach itself....We should avoid the evil of seizing the public treasures in France; an evil which it will be very difficult to avoid under any other system, and which will be fatal to the discipline and reputation of the allied armies, and will give but too much reason to the French people to believe that the Allies have forgotten, or have omitted to act upon, the system laid down in their public declarations and their
treaties.
It appears that Wellington had no intention for the Allies to "swallow up" France, but rather to restore the country to the monarchy.
Neither Napoleon nor Wellington could have known the outcome of the ultimate battle. Moreover, neither one could have known that this battle would take a prominent place in history as one of the greatest battles of all time.
My friends Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw are attending this year's Waterloo reinactment and I'm so envious I could just.....something. Check out their activities on Number One London blog.
So...what are you writing today? Any dispatches or proclamations?
Don't forget to visit me at Diane's blog on Thursday when I'll give away another signed copy of Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady. I'll announce last week's winner there tomorrow.
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