Amy Kathryn, you’ve won an autographed copy of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker! Send your snail mail address to us at riskies@yahoo.com

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you’ve all survived the holiday weekend and are looking forward to autumn weather as much as I am (considering it’s above 90 degrees here today, it’s not ready to arrive yet). In the meantime, my Great House Clean-Out goes on (though is almost done), the WIP moves forward (almost half finished!), and next week I will do my Birthday Prize post. Today I’ll take a look at one of history’s great mysteries, the death of Amy Robsart Dudley, which happened on this day in 1560.

Amy Robsart was born in Norfolk on June 7, 1532, the daughter of a prosperous landowner named Sir John Robsart and his wife Elizabeth. When she was about 18, she married Robert Dudley (later Earl of Leicester), a younger son of John Dudley, first Duke of Northumberland. (Robert’s brother Guilford later married Lady Jane Grey, the “Nine Days Queen,” and was executed with her after the failure of their families’ coup. The marriage to Amy perhaps saved Robert from that fate, since he was not available to marry Jane). The betrothal appears to have been a love match, since they had first met about 10 months before and there was little financial or connection gained, and William Cecil (Dudley’s great enemy, or one of them) later called it “this carnal marriage.” The wedding, attended by King Edward VI, took place on June 4, 1550.

They didn’t have much time for marital bliss, though. Robert’s father joined with his in-laws to try and overthrow Queen Mary Tudor on the death of King Edward. Northumberland and Guildford were executed, and Robert spent 18 months in the Tower in 1553-54 (when Amy asked the permission of the Privy Council to visit him). They appear to have never had children, no matter how “carnal” they might have been.

Amy’s husband was also a very ambitious man, especially after the downfall of his family. Following the accession of Elizabeth I, an old friend of Robert’s, he spent most of his time at Court and it became clear the two of them were in love. Many people speculated Elizabeth would marry him, “in case his wife should die.” It was also said “she (Amy) had a malady in one of her breasts” in 1559.

Amy managed to come to London and Windsor for Robert’s investiture as a Knight of the Garter in May/June, 1559, with 12 horses and a sumptuous wardrobe provided by her husband, but by 1560 she lived always in the country, at Cumnor Place in Berkshire, looked after by friends of her husband. She continued ordering fine clothes and household fittings, as revealed by the household accounts and her letters of the period.

Her life is much less well-known than her death, which happened at Cumnor Place on Sunday, September 8, 1560, the day of the great fair at the village of Abingdon nearby. Amy gave her permission for all the servants to go, and got angry and insisted when some refused. Her companion, Mrs. Odingsells, refused to go and stayed at the house, along with a Mrs. Owens, the elderly mother of the previous owner, and perhaps a few servants in the kitchen. No one saw what happened, though, and when the others returned from the fair they found Amy lying dead at the foot of the stairs, her neck broken. Her husband was then at Windsor with the Queen, and immediately sent friends to Cumnor to see what was going on. An inquest took place; the verdict was death by accident. Amy was buried in the chancel at St. Mary’s, Oxford, in a lavish funeral. (Her husband did not attend, as was the custom at the time)

Many at Court believed Dudley ordered the murder of his wife in order to marry the Queen. This seems unlikely, as he was not a stupid man and he would have known this would mean a terrible scandal. It was also speculated that perhaps Cecil, who felt his position as secretary and chief advisor to the Queen threatened by Dudley’s ascent, might have orchestrated her death, or at least exploited the rumors that were spreading. In any event, the scandalous death was enough to keep Elizabeth from marrying her “sweet Robin,” though they remained close until his death in 1588.

Another aspect of her death is that “malady in the breast,” probably breast cancer. Recent research has shown that osteoporosis is often a side effect of the illness, which could have caused her neck to break on a fall. It’s also said that she might have committed suicide, because of the pain of her illness or her sadness at the rumors of her husband and the Queen. This would explain her insistence on sending the servants away that day.

As early as 1584 speculative works appeared about the mysterious death, in a libelous pamphlet called Leycesters Commonwealth; a 1608 play called A Yorkshire Tragedy centered around a fall from a staircase and a political scandal. In the 19th century people again became fascinated by Amy’s story thanks to Sir Walter Scott’s novel Kenilworth, which turned her into a tragic heroine (as you might guess from the fact that all the illustrations I could find were sentimental Victorian scenes!). Recently several books have also featured the incident, including Fiona Buckley’s To Shield the Queen, Philippa Gregory’s The Virgin’s Lover, and Judith Saxton’s The Bright Day Is Done: The Story of Amy Robsart. While there are many non-fiction accounts, I like Sarah Gristwood’s 2008 biography Elizabeth and Leicester. I also found a book coming out in 2010 on Amazon.uk called Death and the Virgin: Elizabeth, Dudley, and the Mysterious Fate of Amy Robsart.

So, what do you think happened? I tend to think it was a tragic accident, though it does have several puzzling aspects which have made it fruitful topic for historical speculation. If she had died peacefully in her bed, would Elizabeth have married Leicester? (I think probably not–she wasn’t really the “marrying kind,” and he went on to marry the Queen’s cousin, the very vivid Lettice Knollys and got into trouble for it. But that’s another story…)

Riskies: Hello, Leanna! Welcome to Risky Regencies. Tell us about your debut book, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.

Leanna: Hello Riskies! I love this blog and its writers and I’m so thrilled to be here–thank you!

This book represents an aching, intense journey of nine long years from idea to publication. This is a cross-genre work that combines my favorite themes into one series, making the project very dear to me. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is a ghostly, Gothic Victorian Fantasy Romance with paranormal, mythology, suspense, light horror and YA cross-over elements. It begins my Strangely Beautiful series with Dorchester.

From the back cover: “What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexei Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent–and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…”

“The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is Bullfinch’s Mythology and Harry Potter and Wuthering Heights mashed in a blender” –New York Times Bestselling Author Alethea Kontis for Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show

Riskies: Sounds fascinating! What was the inspiration for this story? Did you come across any interesting research tidbits?

Leanna: In college I majored in theater and focused on the Victorian era with a particular eye for Gothic literature, one of my first great loves. My senior year I began adapting 19th century literature for the stage. I graduated, interned with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company working mad hours surrounded by great theater, and fell head over heels in all with all things JK Rowling and Neil Gaiman and somewhere, after having watched Sense and Sensibility for the thousandth time, in the thick of night…in walks ghostly young Miss Percy Parker into a 19th century school office, speaking in a British accent, wearing Victorian clothes and saying something about Greek mythology and Shakespeare. I knew the day she appeared to me I would never be the same.

Mt favorite research tidbit: an old newspaper article around the time of the Ripper murders bemoaned how street-lamps ended at Commercial and Whitechapel streets. The author cried that if there was just more light, these murders would not have happened as they did under the shroud of darkness. One of my favorite research sites is Casebook.org.

Riskies: What is your background (aside from theater!) that led you to writing?

Leanna: I’ve been writing since I could hold a pen and finish a sentence. I started my first novel around the age of 12, also a Gothic novel set in 1888, so I have themes! Writing has always been the thing I do. I had a discipline about writing early in my life due to the sheer love of it. But until Miss Percy Parker arrived in my mind, I’d never considered being a career novelist. Her story compelled me more than any other, veering me away from continuing my career as a professional actress. (I still work occasionally in television, member of AEA, SAG, AFTRA, etc), away from playwrighting and other ventures. In the end, it’s become clear to me by a lot of trial and error that my books are my most important artistic pursuit.
Riskies: Tell us about your Haunted London blog tour! What is your favorite haunted site?
Leanna: I’ve been celebrating release month with a Haunted London Blog Tour to introduce readers to some of the real, documented London haunts who “ghost star” in my book! I’ve had a lifelong love of 19th century England and ghosts. When I first set foot in London, I felt history sweep over me like a strong wind. Secondly, I felt sure the city was alive not only with the pulsing energy of the living, but the restless energy of the dead. When the character of Alexei Rychman and his Guard of spectral police make their rounds, it is to any number of familiar London phantasms. Since these characters are familiar to The Guard, I don’t get the opportunity to tell their complete story. But these tales are too good not to tell in their full, spooky splendor.

So each day I’ve presented a different ghost story, and each day has been a new chance to win a signed copy of Miss Percy Parker. There are a few days left on the schedule, you can visit the Haunted Tour page on my website. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve gotten a lot of great response! My essential research book on ghosts has been Richard Jones’ books on Haunted London (which you can see here)
Riskies: Diane and I had such a good time at Lady Jane’s Salon last spring! How did this great organization come about?
Leanna: And we were so very glad to have you! It’s my turn on the 7th and I can’t wait, it’s my official release party. The Salon began via instigation from Beatrice.com‘s Ron Hogan. I was the connective tissue that brought several authors into a bar to talk historical novels. Halfway through the evening Maya Rodale asked Hope Tarr, Ron, and I why there wasn’t a reading series in New York City devoted to romance and women’s fiction. We didn’t have a good answer, so we started a salon. A fabulous bar called Madame X (my favorite Sargent painting, BTW), covered appropriately in red velvet, hosts us. We feature a few readers per evening to read from their latest work. Not only do we hope to celebrate the diverse offerings of our genre (even as historical authors, Hope, Maya, and I represent vastly different sub-genres), but we all have a penchant for philanthropy, and Maya just so happened to have a fitting charity to tie in with our events.

Admission is $5 or one gently used romance/women’s fiction novel. All proceeds and books go to Maya’s Share the Love foundation that donates books to women in need, crisis, prison, transition, etc. Lady Jane’s Salon began this February and has received great press locally and in the national romance community, and I feel blessed to be a part of it.
Riskies: And what’s next for you?

Leanna: Working on the rest of the Strangely Beautiful series! Book II will pick up exactly where Book I leaves off, with Percy and Alexei in focus with a greater glimpse into the Guard and a looming, huge spectral fight. Book III is a prequel and Book IV continues in time with the Rychman family until World War I.

Thanks for letting me drop by, Riskies! Keep up the great scandals and flair!
Be sure and comment on today’s post to win your own autographed copy!

My first order of business is to apologize for the brevity and lack of visual interest for this post, but I am on the Jersey shore, and typing on an iPhone. The second is to say I have been reading a lot, since that’s what you do vacation (or any spare moments, actually). I am currently relishing every minute of former Risky interviewee Tessa Dare’s Goddess Of The Hunt. Wow. It is amazingly delicious, and the characters are so real. While on the beach, I have noticed nearly everyone–including adults–reading Stephenie Meyer. Some of the male holdouts are still reading Patterson et al. But they’re reading, and that’s cool. We have only a few more days here, so I’ll scoot, but ask before I go: what is the book you associate with your best holiday? Mine would be Pamela by Samuel Richardson, which I read on my honeymoon.

I found out this week that my house is filled with junk. Oh, it doesn’t look too bad–I’ve lived here about 6 years, and things have found niches and hidey-holes so it can at least appear a sane person lives here. Behind cupboard doors, it’s another story. I’m doing a major cleaning-out, and it’s not going too badly if you discount all the angst about giving away some books, and the tragic afternoon I found my prom dress and made the mistake of trying it on. (It has shrunk! That’s my excuse, anyway…)

I need Diane’s favorite show Clean Sweep to come and help me out.

So, it seems appropriate that tomorrow marks the anniversary of one of the biggest ‘clean sweeps’ in history, the Great Fire of London. It began around midnight on September 2, 1666 in the Pudding Lane bakeshop of Thomas Farynor (baker to King Charles II). The baker and his family escaped, but one panicked maid was not so lucky.

In the 16th century most London houses were made of wood and pitch, packed close together, and after a dry, hot summer it took no time at all for the fire to spread. It leaped to the hay piles in the yard of the Star Inn at Fish Street Hill and spread to the Inn itself. A strong wind was also blowing that night and spread the sparks to St. Margaret’s Church and Thames Street, with riverside warehouses and wharves just filled with food for the flames (hemp, oil, hay, timber, coal, and liquor). By the next morning the fire had spread halfway across London Bridge, and the only thing that stopped it from moving into jam-packed Southwark was the gap caused by a fire in 1633 and never rebuilt.

The standard firefighting procedure of the day was create “fire breaks” by destroying structures in its path. The Lord Mayor, though, was too worried about the cost of rebuilding the demolished houses, and by the time a royal command came down it was too late. The fire blazed on for another 3 days before halting near Temple Church. Then it sprang to life again, continuing toward Westminster itself. The Duke of York had the presence of mind to order the Paper House destroyed, and the fire finally died out.

Shockingly, the loss of life was fairly minimal (some sources say about 16, though recent studies have said the lower classes were not counted so it could be much higher), but the loss of property was immense. 430 acres, about 80% of the city, was destroyed, including some 13,000 houses, 89 churches (including St. Paul’s Cathedral), and 52 Guild Halls. One positive effect was the halting of the plague, which had ravaged London the year before, due to the destruction of the rat population.

Charles II quickly appointed 6 Commissioners to redesign the city, with plans providing for wider streets and buildings of brick. By 1671, 9000 houses and businesses were completed and Sir Christopher Wren set out to oversee construction of 50 churches (including the rebuilt St. Paul’s, with the dome we know today). Wren also designed a monument to the Fire, said to stand at the site of the bakery where it started.

I have a few sources of info about the Great Fire on my shelf, including:
Neil Hanson, The Dreadful Judgement: The True Story of the Great Fire of London
TF Reddaway, The Rebuilding of London After the Great Fire
Adrian Tinniswood, By Permission of Heaven: The Story of the Great Fire of London

So, does anyone have any advice for me about the most-organized way to clean out a house? Any criteria for keeping/getting rid of a book? Any interesting facts about the Fire???