When I returned from Somerset, I found this box waiting for me. I was THRILLED! I have been postponing buying historical shoes for a few years because I couldn’t find anything that was even near my budget. Thank goodness for American Duchess, a company specialising in historical footwear from Reno, Nevada, USA. I got these black Pompadour shoes which… Read on
This week, I was very fortunate to be able to go to Somerset. My husband celebrated his fortieth birthday last weekend and we were given a two night stay in East Bower, Bridgwater. It couldn’t have been more perfect because, as some of you know, I have been working on a novella about the Duke of Monmouth for… Read on
[This is available as a podcast on iTunes] He was unquestionably one of the handsomest of the Stuart men. Tall, dark, and seductive, James Crofts, later James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, was born in Rotterdam, the Dutch Republic, on the 9th of April 1649, to an exiled King Charles II and his mistress Lucy Walter. James had a… Read on
Code Red – we have a 17th Century Rake Alert!!! John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, who in his thirty-three years of life was one of the most dissolute, reckless, cocksure members of Charles II’s Merry Gang – a collection of the most lusty, debauched personages at the Restoration court. Born on 1 April, 1647, he was an… Read on
During my research for my novella about Monmouth and Henrietta Wentworth, I have been wading through tons of newspapers from 1680-1699, and I came across this a few weeks ago in the adverts section of Post Man and the Historical Account (London, England) for Tuesday, September 14, 1697, Issue 370, and I thought it worthy of posting here:… Read on
James I of England, VI of Scotland, died on the 27th of March, 1625. He ruled over what is commonly referred to as the Jacobean era, which witnessed a continuance in the flourishing of art and theatre with the likes of William Shakespeare. Sir Walter Raleigh was executed under James I, and the infamous Gunpowder Plot of 1605 occurred during the… Read on
Queen Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Good Queen Bess, daughter of Henry VIII & his second wife, Anne Boleyn, was the last of the Tudors, and died on this day 24th March, 1603. One of the greatest queens in English history, Elizabeth had come to the throne aged twenty-five, following a dangerous and challenging upbringing. How could… Read on
Famous female Baroque composers are so rare that this post is of particular importance. Élisabeth Jacquet, French musical prodigy who sang, played harpsichord, organ, and composed beautiful pieces of Baroque, was born on the 17th of March, 1665, in Paris, France, to a musical family. You probably haven’t heard about Élisabeth, but she was such an extraordinary individual,… Read on