Please welcome award-winning novelist Piers Alexander to The Seventeenth Century Lady! Dura lex sed lex: The law is harsh, but it is the law. For Huguenots in the 1600s, royal edicts were instruments of hope and despair, both in France and in England. Slaughtered for their faith in the sixteenth century (the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572… Read on
The Darling of Kings is a brilliant historical novel which charts the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most legendary personages in British history. I was intrigued and excited when I was offered the chance to read this novel about George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and his relationships, first with King James I and then King Charles I. The Duke of Buckingham has been a source… Read on
This is the short story I recently submitted to the Historical Novel Society Conference on Saturday 6th September. The conference was really interesting and it was fun to meet up with fellow writers and great to learn from the most successful in our genre. There’s always so much to learn, and I was grateful to be able to… Read on
(en Espanol abajo) Contains spoilers! Yesterday, I was fortunate to able to go see the 2pm performance of Lope de Vega’s brilliant 17th-century play of forbidden love and terrible revenge, El Castigo Sin Venganza. This play was written by de Vega in 1631. Lope de Vega is one of most celebrated writers from the Spanish Golden Age – a… Read on
Yesterday on Hoydens and Firebrands, I submitted a short post about He Who Commissioned Castle Howard – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle. Following on from that post, which gives an overview about the life of the Charles Howard, I would like to share what I learned there this weekend and some photos from my visit, if I… Read on
I hope you all enjoyed our first selection for the 17th-Century Book Club, which was William Wycherley’s play, The Country Wife! This was the second time I read the play, and I wish I could have performed in it. I would like to apologise to you all for not having the forum up-and-running as I said I would, but… Read on
I had a glorious trip to the lovely Blakesley Hall yesterday and I had a truly spiffing time. The sun was out, it wasn’t raining or blowing a gale, so I was well pleased. I was, as some of you know from my tweets, quite disappointed to discover that most historic houses here in the Birmingham area are… Read on
There is little doubt that Rupert of the Rhine is still capable of attracting admirers – even after being dead for over 300 years. Not only is he known as one of the Handsomest Men of the 17th Century, but he also was an excellent soldier, scientist, artist and more. And he happened to be a Prince, too.… Read on