Monthly Archives: February 2012

By The King’s Design by Christine Trent

Updated on February 12, 2012 by Diane Gaston

We usually do an interview or a guest blog for our featured Sunday authors, but my friend Christine Trent, who is scheduled to talk about her February book, By The King’s Design, today, wound up having family stuff (not family crisis–just stuff) that made it impossible.

Christine still wants to give away one signed copy of By The King’s Design to one lucky commenter, though. We’ll do the selection by Monday night.

Here’s the back cover blurb of By The King’s Design.

Annabelle “Belle” Stirling inherited the family draper shop from her late father, only to have it sabotaged by her ne’er-do-well brother, Wesley. Belle travels to London to seek redress, and while there, the Prince Regent, future King George IV, commissions her to provide fabrics for his Royal Pavilion. As Belle’s renown spreads, she meets handsome cabinetmaker Putnam Boyce, but worries that marriage will mean sacrificing her now flourishing shop. When Wesley plots to kidnap the newly crowned King, Belle finds herself entangled in a duplicitous world of shifting allegiances, where every choice could have unexpected consequences for her future, her safety, and her kingdom…

Read the Reviews:

The book’s greatest strength is its sympathetic and interesting heroine, who manages to be capable and indomitable without being anachronistic…a fine quiet evening read, with a rare Regency heroine who loves her work and does it well.–Publishers Weekly

Four Stars!
In the tradition of Rosalind Laker, Trent pens stories that illustrate the role women played in the world of art and commerce. She draws readers into the life of a 19th- century interior designer with an enticing backdrop of a love story between a strong woman and a man who is her equal.–RTBook Reviews

Want more?

Read the Excerpt!

And comment for a chance to win a copy!

Christine’s By The King’s Design, as do her other books, includes real historical figures–the Prince Regent, Jane Austen. What historical figure would you like to see in a historical book?

Off topic, but gorgeous men…

Updated on February 11, 2012 by Elena Greene

It’s been a rough week between a sick child, a printer breakdown, plumbing and insurance issues. Feeling tired, drained and uninspired, I couldn’t even draft a post until I thought about happier days—that is, this past Super Bowl Sunday.

My husband was delighted with the Giants’ win, but my daughters and I enjoyed the evening in our own way. We watched the first part of The Lord of the Rings, since my youngest just finished the book.

I was struck again by how many gorgeous men are in LOTR.

There are the Hot Men: Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Boromir (Sean Bean) and his brother Faramir (David Wenham, who joked that he got the part because both he and Sean Bean have big noses), and Eomer (Karl Urban).

Then you’ve got the Hot Elves: Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Celeborn (Marton Csokas).

And finally, perhaps a bit old and a bit short respectively, but still attractive in their own way: the Hot Wizard, Gandalf (Ian McKellan), and the Hot Hobbit, Frodo (Elijah Wood).

I’m feeling better now. So I hope I’m forgiven for going a bit off topic from the Regency!

Are any of you Lord of the Rings fans? Who’s your favorite guy from the series? Have I missed any?

Elena

www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged The Lord of the Rings | 7 Replies

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Updated on February 10, 2012 by megan

So I have a son. A 12 year-old son. And he is currently in seventh grade at a gifted and talented school (the Proud Mom says) studying creative writing (New York City has middle school kids do ‘major’s, and that’s his).

He is super-creative, super-talented, and has a huge vocabulary. So far, so yay.

But–be careful what you wish for, since he is as big a reader as I was at his age. Which is to say, he reads to the exclusion of most other things, including taking a bath within 30 minutes, retrieving something from his room (“I got distracted!”), and concentrating on doing homework. There’s always a book nearby, and we just redid his room to accommodate his huge collection of manga.

So when I find myself griping about how much he reads, I have to hit myself. How great is that? Were all of you like that, too?

Megan

PS: Still waiting for the potentially excellent news I was hoping for last week. Fingers still crossed.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Megan | 7 Replies

Visit to England

Updated on February 9, 2012 by Janet Mullany

A week ago I was in England for a funerary visit (a very jolly affair, meeting up family members) but despite a cold (mine) and the cold (it was freezing over there!) I did do a few fun things.

First a visit to the Ashmolean museum in Oxford, which was wonderful. Here I am with my daughter and one of two pics I took before my battery died (as usual).

Exactly a week ago I was snuffling my way around Bath in very frigid temperatures–don’t let that blue sky fool you. We visited the Roman Baths and Pump Room and particularly enjoyed the warm, steamy inside parts of the tour.

You can buy a glass of disgusting Bath water for 50p but I think it just isn’t the same when it’s not drawn from water where people with various unpleasant ailments are bathing. We didn’t have afternoon tea at the Pump Room but we did have a Sally Lunn bun with lemon curd which we inhaled without even thinking of a photo opp.

Out into the cold again for a look at the Circus and Royal Crescent. Brrr.

At this point we were so cold and our train on which we had supercheap (as cheap as rail travel gets there) reservations was a long way off, so we went to see a movie, The Artist, which I highly recommend.

We also had time to drop in to William Herschel’s house, one of my favorite places in Bath. I have a soft spot for Herschel, who was a brilliant wacko (he thought people lived on the moon) and his house is beautifully restored.

He started his career as a musician and several of his instruments, including a serpent, are on display as well as artefacts relating to his career as an astronomer.

Here’s a gown belonging to his sister Caroline, a brilliant astronomer (a better one, according to the museum staff, than her more famous brother). She must have been tiny!

And I have to show you this pic of another English eccentric, my brother demonstrating his marmalade making exploits–yes, that’s a chair upended on the kitchen counter to drain the pulp. It’s Seville orange season, a busy time of year in England.

Have you visited any of these places? Ever made marmalade?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged City of Bath, marmalade, Oxford | 9 Replies

Accession Day

Updated on February 7, 2012 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

Yesterday, February 6, marks Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession Day, and the start of a momentous Diamond Jubilee year! Though I imagine it’s a day of some personal sadness for her (marking the death of her father, George VI, who she was quite close to), it’s an extraordinary achievement for an extraordinary woman who has seen and done so very much during her long reign. I wish I could be in London for some of the festivities this year (especially the Jubilee River Pageant on the Thames on June 3)!!!

Princess Elizabeth was only 25, a young wife with two small children (Charles, 3, and Anne, 1) when she and Prince Philip were sent off on a Commonwealth tour in February 1952. She probably didn’t expect to assume the responsibilities of queen for some time yet. Her parents waved her off, and only a few days later her father was dead. She was in Kenya, and hurried home to be proclaimed Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith before the Privy Council at St. James’s Palace. It was a solemn occasion, as the king was being brought from Sandringham to lie in state at Westminster Hall and then to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor, where the funeral was held and he was buried, to be joined many years later by Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother.

The coronation didn’t take place until June 2, 1953–I’m sure I will be talking more about that later! In the meatime, I’m in the middle of reading Sally Bedell Smith’s new bio, Elizabeth the Queen…will let everyone know how it is when I finish…

Are you going to be in England this year?? What festivities would you attend if you were there?