I almost forgot that To Kiss a Count is not the only book I have out in June! I also have a re-issue of two of my older Signet Regencies, Lady Rogue and Star of India, out together as Rogue Grooms. Star is possibly my very favorite of the Signet Regencies I wrote, with a heroine who appeared in an earlier book (she was the hero’s sister in Lady Rogue, and I fell in love with her!), a half-Indian hero, and a mystery surrounding a “cursed” sapphire (the Star). So I’m very glad to see it out there again!

I also have a UK release, High Seas Stowaway, which has a bonus of my “Undone” short story Shipwrecked and Seduced included. (It can be ordered here). And there are some updates on my website, with more info on the “Muses” and some future releases. In the meantime, it’s on to the next project! And a summer of watching new episodes of my favorite shows, True Blood and Mad Men! Yay!

In researching possible topics for today’s post, I found out that the actress Sarah Siddons (possibly the most famous theatrical figure of the Regency period) died on June 8, 1831. I’ve been reading a lot about the theater of period for a new project, so dug out whatever I could find on her life and did some reading.

Siddons was born Sarah Kemble in the town of Brecon in Wales on July 5, 1755, into a famous theatrical family. Her father was the actor-manager Roger Kemble and his wife, the actress Sarah (Sally) Ward. The junior Sarah was the elder sister of actors John Philip Kemble, Charles Kemble, and Stephen Kemble. Though initially her parents were a bit reluctant to see her enter the family profession, her obvious talent won them over. She had her first great success as Belvidera in Otway’s popular Venice Preserved in 1774, which brought her to the attention of the famous actor David Garrick, who engaged her to perform at Drury Lane. But she was still young and inexperienced, and her appearances as Portia and other Shakespearean heroines flopped. In her own words she was “banished from Drury Lane as a worthless candidate for fame and fortune.” Poor Sarah!

She went on tour in the provinces for the next few years, and worked in York and Bath, building up a reputation and honing her craft. When she went back to Drury Lane in 1782 things were very different. She had a huge and immediate hit in Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage, adapted by Garrick. She then took on her most famous role, as Lady Macbeth, which held audiences in rapturous silence (an oddity in those exuberant theater-going days!). She had a tall, striking presence that was perfect for the part. She also had hits as Desdemona, Rosalind, Ophelia, Volumnia, and Queen Catherine in Henry VIII (which she said was her own favorire role).

For over 20 years she was the tragic queen on Drury Lane. She maintained a scrupulously respectable reputation (she married actor William Siddons in 1773, at 18, and even though it was not a happy marriage she maintained appearances. They had 7 children before separating) and had intellectual friends in high places, including Samuel Johnson, Hester Thrale, Edmund Burke, and William Windham. It was said that “even the Duke of Wellington attended her receptions, and carriages were drawn up before her door nearly all day long.”

In 1802 she left Drury Lane and went on to appear from time to time at its rival theater Covent Garden while being mostly retired. On June 29, 1812 she gave her farewell performance as Lady Macbeth. The audience refused to allow the play to go on after her sleepwalking scene and persisted in loud applause and tears until she appeared and gave a speech. (Though she did still make special supporting appearances in plays once in a while until 1819). She died in London in 1831 and was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery at Paddington Green.

If you’re interested in learning more about her life, here are a few sources:
Thomas Campbell, Life of Mrs. Siddons (1834)
Roger Manvell, Sarah Siddons: Portrait of an Actress (1971)
Priscilla Bailey, Sarah Siddons (1953)
Brigid Duffy Gerace, Sarah Siddons: A Tragedienne’s Rise to Fame (1970)

If you could go back in time and see any artistic performance in history, what would it be? And what are you looking forward to this summer???

The winner of Amanda’s giveaway is—Kim in Hawaii! Congratulations! Please send us your snail mail address at Riskies AT yahoo.com

I’m so excited this month (June) to see the launch of the last volume of “The Muses of Mayfair” trilogy–To Kiss a Count! It’s been quite a whirlwind trip with the Chase sisters and their gorgeous heroes, and I’m happy to see them all settled with their HEAs–though I’ll also miss them a lot. I had a lot of fun in their Regency world, and maybe one day I’ll be able to re-visit them and see how they’re faring. To celebrate today, I have a prize for one lucky commenter– a signed copy of To Kiss a Count, plus a copy of Maggie Lane’s A City of Palaces: Bath Through the Eyes of Fanny Burney (I found two copies of this on my shelf when I cleaned out my books this winter!).

To Kiss a Count is the story of Thalia Chase, the third of the Muses, and what happens when she’s reunited with the dark, dimpled, charming–and mysterious–Marco, Count di Fabrizzi. Thalia is the most beautiful of the sisters (the heroine on the cover actually looks very much as I pictured her while writing the book! Marco–not so much. My Marco was Rodrigo Santoro!). She’s also the most musical and artistically talented. But being the youngest, her older sisters tended to protect and cossett her, keeping her away from their adventures when all she wanted was to help them and do her part as Chase Muse. Clio finally realized this at the end of To Deceive a Duke and utilized Thalia’s talent as an actress to catch a villain (almost). When Thalia met Marco in that story, she certainly got more adventure than she bargained for! And she also fell in love with him. But they had to part, and she returned to England to try and mend her heart. But fate isn’t done with Thalia and Marco just yet.

Thalia journeys to Bath with her eldest sister Calliope (from To Catch a Rogue). Cal is recovering from the difficult birth of her daughter Psyche and goes to Bath to rest and take the waters. Thalia wants to help her with the baby, as well as find some fun distractions from her memories of the excitement of Sicily. Then Marco appears in the Pump Room–with the villainess Lady Riverton on his arm! (Lady Riverton also appeared in To Deceive a Duke…) Thalia knows things are not what they seem–and she won’t rest until she finds out what’s going on. She and Marco have to unite to save the ancient silver hoard while they try not to fall even more in love. But of course that is impossible!

I loved writing this story, especially since it’s set in the gorgeous city of Bath. By the time of this story, Bath was a bit past its prime, but it seemed like the perfect place for these scholars of antiquities, with its rich Roman and medieval history. (It also has some secret spots in the hills and caves just right for hiding contraband–and having secret trysts!). The museum of antiquities Thalia and Marco visit is my own invention (though the objects they look at are based on some found in the Roman Baths museum), but I used many real sites as well–the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms, the Theatre Royal, Sydney Gardens, and Mollands pastry shop. One of the most fun research books I came across was Walks Through Bath by Pierce Egan, published in 1819, which gave me some fun tidbits to use in the story. For instance:

“Upon gala-nights (in Sydney Gardens) the music, singing, cascades, transparencies, fire-works, and superb illuminations, render these gardens very similar to Vauxhall. The Orchestra is close to the back of the Tavern, neatly arranged and elevated, with a large open space before it well-gravelled…The walks are all well rolled and gravelled; and seats and places for refreshment are to be met with in various places of the gardens. There are also several swings, adapted for the ladies, and others for gentlemen.”

There are also great descriptions of the Labyrinth (which Thalia and Marco walk through), which “might puzzle any cunning person if left to himself and without a clue, for six hours.”

(At the end of this post I’ll list a few sources I enjoyed for Bath! I’m working on an article about the history of the city, and one about the history of the Italian independence movement which Marco is a part of, for my own website. Thanks to the Deadline From Hell, finally nearing its end, I’m behind on that. But be sure and visit anyway for a chance to win the whole trilogy and a gorgeous Muse pendant from Tartx! Only a few days left on this contest…)

And that concludes my Springtime of Muses! What are some of your favorite Regency settings (Bath, London, country estates, Waterloo)? Have you visited Bath–what’s your favorite site there? And which Muse would you want to be yourself?

Some Bath sources (and one Italian!):

George Holmes, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy
Joyce Reynolds & Terence Volk, The History of Sulis Minerva at Bath
Maggie Lane, A City of Palaces and A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Novels of Jane Austen
Walter Ison, The Georgian Buildings of Bath
RS Neale, Bath 1680-1850, A Social History
William Lowndes, The Theatre Royal at Bath
Guidebooks for the Museum of Costume and Assembly Rooms, Number One Royal Crescent, and the Pump Room

Deadline! Deadline! My brain hurts, can’t think. So let’s just look at some pretty dresses. That always makes me feel better. (These are just some random images from my “Fashion” folder. What time periods do you think they are? What are you own favorite historical periods for fashions? If you could have one of these, which would it be?)

And next week I’ll have more to say as I launch the last of my “Muses” trilogy, To Kiss a Count, and give away a copy! And there’s still a few days left to enter my website contest–the trilogy plus a gorgeous Muse pendant from Tartx…