Sunday, September 5, 2010
Book Review re-schedule...
Just a little note to let everyone know that my review of The Countess and the King by Susan Holloway Scott will be rescheduled for Tuesday Sept. 7.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Guest Post with Susan Holloway Scott author of the newly released The Countess and the King...
It is a great privilege to present this awesome guest post from Susan Holloway Scott the author of the newly released The Countess and the King about Katherine Sedley who becomes the mistress of King James II the brother of King Charles II. It's an extraordinary story and Ms. Scott does an awesome job in presenting it. I am sure you will enjoy her post on Two Brothers, Two Kings...
Two Brothers, Two Kings
By Susan Holloway Scott
As a visitor here at All Things Royal, it seems only fitting to discuss the two king in The Countess and the King. Charles II (1630-1685) and James II (1633-1701) were the last two Stuart kings to sit on the English throne. They were also brothers. Charles was the elder, ruling from 1649 until his death. With no legitimate son and heir, James inherited the throne, though his reign was considerably shorter. But more about that later….
It’s unusual for royal brothers to both become kings, but then the lives of these Stuart brothers didn’t follow the customary plan for royal princes. The eldest sons of Charles I and Henrietta Marie, Charles and James were part of a large family of healthy, handsome children, including another brother and three sisters – a rarity for any family, high-born or low, in 17th century England. (They’re preserved with heartbreaking beauty in the lovely group portrait by court painter Anthony Van Dyck.) Even more rare, the king and queen weren’t distant parents, but dearly loved one another and their children as well. All three young princes were educated to be potential kings. English history was sadly filled with young heirs who died before their fathers –– Henry VIII was a second son, as was Charles I himself –– but no one expected the family to be broken apart as it was.
For although Charles I was an excellent father, he was a lamentable king who resisted the desires of his people. Most disastrously, he believed his monarchy was divinely appointed, and refused to listen to Parliament’s wishes regarding taxation and religion. His defiance led to the two English Civil Wars between his own Royalist supporters and the Parliamentary forces led by General Oliver Cromwell. The Royalists lost and the king was captured, tried for treason, and, on a cold January morning in 1649, beheaded.
While the teenaged Charles, Prince of Wales, fought for his father in the early stages of the Civil Wars, by 1646, he was sent abroad for safety’s sake. He never saw his father again. James, Duke of York, was seized by the Parliamentary troops and held as a prized political pawn. But the fifteen-year-old prince boldly managed to escape his captors and join his older brother in exile. The queen also fled to France with Henrietta, the youngest princess. The last brother, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was only nine when his father was executed. Unlike his older brothers, he remained in England as a prisoner with his sister Elizabeth, who died in captivity 1650 at fifteen. At last, in 1652, Henry was released to join his mother in France.
The exile was devastating to the once-close royal family. Scattered among several royal courts in Europe and pawning jewels for living expenses, the Stuarts survived largely on hope. When Cromwell died, Charles II was invited back to London to be restored to his throne in 1660. Charles and his two brothers returned to the joyful celebration known as the Restoration. But the personal sorrow wasn’t over. Their oldest sister, Mary of Orange, died in 1660, and their youngest brother, Henry, died of smallpox the same year. The youngest sister, Henrietta, was unhappily wed to the younger brother of Louis XIV, and she, too, died too young at 26. Queen Henrietta Maria died in 1669. By 1670, Charles and James were the only ones left.
So much tragedy left its mark on both men, but in surprisingly different ways. Charles was determined not to repeat his father’s errors. He resolved not to keep himself apart from his people, but moved freely among them, in parks, playhouses, and churches. Ever-charming, he avoided conflict if he could help it, whether with his mistresses or with Parliament. To keep himself as independent from Parliament as he could, he engaged in elaborate secret diplomacy with France and other countries, even accepting private subsidies as part of his backstairs diplomacy. While known to history as the Merry Monarch, Charles had an inescapable air of melancholy about him that shows in his portraits. For a king who lived so publicly, he was also very private; though he most likely converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, he had always remained an Anglican for the good of England.
James, however, reacted very differently to the family’s misfortunes. Just as Charles was dark-eyed and olive-skinned while James was blue-eyed and fair, their personalities, too, were equally at odds. While James was known for his hearty bluster and bravery in battle, he lacked his brother’s wit and intelligence. He could be stubborn and inflexible, much as their father had been. Also like their father, James believed in the divine right of absolute monarchy, and regarded Parliament as something to be bent to royal will. When he followed his conscience and publicly converted to Catholicism, his popularity among Protestant England sank, and he refused to see the reason why. He endorsed a large standing army, and defensively wished to eliminate any sort of dissension among the people.
It was all the proverbial recipe for disaster, and when James became king at the childless Charles’s death, the disaster was not long in coming. After three years of James’s reign, he was chased from his throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and replaced by his son-in-law and daughter, William and Mary. Yet James was not a bad man (and certainly not the monster that many later historians have painted him.) He followed his conscience, however misguided the results, and he believed that he was acting for the good of England. He was, quite simply, the wrong man for a vastly complicated job.
When Katherine Sedley fell in love with a Stuart brother, it was not the charming Charles who caught her heart, but the challenging James. And that is the story of The Countess and the King.
Here’s a link (http://www.susanhollowayscott.com/books/countesspreview.htm) to an excerpt from The Countess and the King on my website (www.susanhollowayscott.com).
I hope you’ll also stop by my blog with fellow author Loretta Chase, where we discuss history, writing, and yes, even the occasional pair of great shoes: http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com
Many, many thanks to Susie for having me here today!
Two Brothers, Two Kings
By Susan Holloway Scott
As a visitor here at All Things Royal, it seems only fitting to discuss the two king in The Countess and the King. Charles II (1630-1685) and James II (1633-1701) were the last two Stuart kings to sit on the English throne. They were also brothers. Charles was the elder, ruling from 1649 until his death. With no legitimate son and heir, James inherited the throne, though his reign was considerably shorter. But more about that later….
It’s unusual for royal brothers to both become kings, but then the lives of these Stuart brothers didn’t follow the customary plan for royal princes. The eldest sons of Charles I and Henrietta Marie, Charles and James were part of a large family of healthy, handsome children, including another brother and three sisters – a rarity for any family, high-born or low, in 17th century England. (They’re preserved with heartbreaking beauty in the lovely group portrait by court painter Anthony Van Dyck.) Even more rare, the king and queen weren’t distant parents, but dearly loved one another and their children as well. All three young princes were educated to be potential kings. English history was sadly filled with young heirs who died before their fathers –– Henry VIII was a second son, as was Charles I himself –– but no one expected the family to be broken apart as it was.
For although Charles I was an excellent father, he was a lamentable king who resisted the desires of his people. Most disastrously, he believed his monarchy was divinely appointed, and refused to listen to Parliament’s wishes regarding taxation and religion. His defiance led to the two English Civil Wars between his own Royalist supporters and the Parliamentary forces led by General Oliver Cromwell. The Royalists lost and the king was captured, tried for treason, and, on a cold January morning in 1649, beheaded.
While the teenaged Charles, Prince of Wales, fought for his father in the early stages of the Civil Wars, by 1646, he was sent abroad for safety’s sake. He never saw his father again. James, Duke of York, was seized by the Parliamentary troops and held as a prized political pawn. But the fifteen-year-old prince boldly managed to escape his captors and join his older brother in exile. The queen also fled to France with Henrietta, the youngest princess. The last brother, Henry, Duke of Gloucester, was only nine when his father was executed. Unlike his older brothers, he remained in England as a prisoner with his sister Elizabeth, who died in captivity 1650 at fifteen. At last, in 1652, Henry was released to join his mother in France.
The exile was devastating to the once-close royal family. Scattered among several royal courts in Europe and pawning jewels for living expenses, the Stuarts survived largely on hope. When Cromwell died, Charles II was invited back to London to be restored to his throne in 1660. Charles and his two brothers returned to the joyful celebration known as the Restoration. But the personal sorrow wasn’t over. Their oldest sister, Mary of Orange, died in 1660, and their youngest brother, Henry, died of smallpox the same year. The youngest sister, Henrietta, was unhappily wed to the younger brother of Louis XIV, and she, too, died too young at 26. Queen Henrietta Maria died in 1669. By 1670, Charles and James were the only ones left.
So much tragedy left its mark on both men, but in surprisingly different ways. Charles was determined not to repeat his father’s errors. He resolved not to keep himself apart from his people, but moved freely among them, in parks, playhouses, and churches. Ever-charming, he avoided conflict if he could help it, whether with his mistresses or with Parliament. To keep himself as independent from Parliament as he could, he engaged in elaborate secret diplomacy with France and other countries, even accepting private subsidies as part of his backstairs diplomacy. While known to history as the Merry Monarch, Charles had an inescapable air of melancholy about him that shows in his portraits. For a king who lived so publicly, he was also very private; though he most likely converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, he had always remained an Anglican for the good of England.
James, however, reacted very differently to the family’s misfortunes. Just as Charles was dark-eyed and olive-skinned while James was blue-eyed and fair, their personalities, too, were equally at odds. While James was known for his hearty bluster and bravery in battle, he lacked his brother’s wit and intelligence. He could be stubborn and inflexible, much as their father had been. Also like their father, James believed in the divine right of absolute monarchy, and regarded Parliament as something to be bent to royal will. When he followed his conscience and publicly converted to Catholicism, his popularity among Protestant England sank, and he refused to see the reason why. He endorsed a large standing army, and defensively wished to eliminate any sort of dissension among the people.
It was all the proverbial recipe for disaster, and when James became king at the childless Charles’s death, the disaster was not long in coming. After three years of James’s reign, he was chased from his throne in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and replaced by his son-in-law and daughter, William and Mary. Yet James was not a bad man (and certainly not the monster that many later historians have painted him.) He followed his conscience, however misguided the results, and he believed that he was acting for the good of England. He was, quite simply, the wrong man for a vastly complicated job.
When Katherine Sedley fell in love with a Stuart brother, it was not the charming Charles who caught her heart, but the challenging James. And that is the story of The Countess and the King.
Here’s a link (http://www.susanhollowayscott.com/books/countesspreview.htm) to an excerpt from The Countess and the King on my website (www.susanhollowayscott.com).
I hope you’ll also stop by my blog with fellow author Loretta Chase, where we discuss history, writing, and yes, even the occasional pair of great shoes: http://twonerdyhistorygirls.blogspot.com
Many, many thanks to Susie for having me here today!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Upcoming HFBRT Event The Countess and the King by Susan Holloway Scott...
We at the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table are proud to announce our upcoming event featuring Susan Holloway Scott's new release The Countess and the King beginning Sept. 1 through Sept. 7th. We each will be sponsoring a giveawy of this great book at the end. There will be the usual guest posts, an interview and our book reviews. Should be a great week.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Announcing Winner of For the King!!!!
Congratulations SouthernBelle you are the winner of For The King by Catherine Delors.
Friday, July 16, 2010
The new man in my life...
Here he is Kilraeke's Hold The Wall Boys, Stonewall Jackson (Jackson for short). He came home with me last Saturday. I am so in love. He is my Markie's grandson. He is our future Mr. Golden Stud at Kilraeke Kennels.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
For the King by Catherine Delors giveaway...
I am excited to announce this giveaway for a brand new hardback edition of For the King by Catherine Delors. Great book! Here's your chance to get a free copy.
~ Must be a follower
~ Giveaway only for U.S. and Canada
~ To enter just post a comment and make sure you include your email address.
Giveaway will end on Wedensday July 28. Winner announced Thursday July 29.
Good Luck!!!!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt Book Review...
I read this book for the first time in the summer of 1978. I was pregnant with my 3rd child and was having complications. I was ordered to be on bed rest for 4 months. It was really a tough time with two children age 3 and under running around. To brighten up my day a friend brought over a big bag of books. They were mostly Victoria Holt books. I had never even heard of her. What a treat. Mistress of Mellyn was the first one I read and fell in love. I devoured Victoria Holt that summer and now 32 years later I'm devouring them again.
I just finished Mistress of Mellyn for the 2nd time. I had forgotten most of it so it was really fun to read it all over again. What could be better than a suspenseful romance set in Cornwall. Martha Leigh "Marty" is forced into taking a position as a governess in Connan TreMellyn's household. Her charge is the bright, but sassy 7 year old daughter, Alice, of Lord TreMellyn. Martha has never been to Cornwall and is completely mesmerized by the place, so far away from every where else. Mellyn Manor is a huge house with spooky dark corners and hiding places. There are hushed secrets between the servants that Marty is dying to find out. What really happened to the late Mrs. TreMellyn? Was she really an adulterer or a victim of a murder? Marty will make it her mission to find the answers even if it will put her own life in danger. She can't help but notice how unhappy Alice and her father are and maybe uncovering the truth will help them move on with their lives.
What a fun and fast read this is. Mistress of Mellyn was the first book that Elenore Hibbert wrote under the pen name of Victoria Holt in 1955. As she continues to write as Victoria Holt the stories will get even more intricate and suspenseful. Ms. Holt wrote several books that will take place in Cornwall, Mistress of Mellyn, Bride of Pendoric, and Lord of Far Island. She must have loved the place. I can understand her love and fascination with the country. I had an opportunity last summer to stay in Boscastle, Cornwall. It's breathtaking. A place where land meets the sea. There is an aura about the place that is a little spooky no matter how beautiful it is. It is a place filled with stories and legends of smugglers, pirates, and witchcraft.
There is an amazing Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle that my daughter and I went in. We thought it was probably going to be silly, but I am here to tell you there was nothing silly about it. It was seriously spooky and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
Smuggler caves are all over the place. You can see how Daphne De Demauer was able to create Jamaica Inn and Frenchman's Creek.
Do yourself a favor and take an afternoon or two and sit back and enjoy Mistress of Mellyn. It's on sale right now on Amazon for $5.99.Enjoy!
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