Julia Herdman's Blog: Julia Herdman Books, page 11
June 29, 2017
Flaubert’s True Love – Louise Colet
From 1846 to 1854, Gustave Flaubert, the creator of Madame Bovary, had a relationship with the poet Louise Colet. The relationship turned sour, however, and they broke up. Louise was allegedly so angered by her breakup with Flaubert, she wrote a novel, Lui,(Him) in an effort to target Flaubert. However, Colet’s book has failed to have […]
June 28, 2017
The Extra-ordinary life of opera singer Gertrude Mara
Gertrude was one of the greatest singers of the Georgian Period. She was born at Kassel, Germany in February 1749. Her mother died soon after the birth. Her father was a poor musician, named Schmeling. Under nourished from birth she always suffered from ill health. Schmeling contrived to increase his income by mending musical instruments. […]
June 27, 2017
Coco, Blue Jeans and Fashion’s Glass Ceiling
The origins of Haute Couture are English! Charles Frederick Worth established the first haute couture house in Paris in 1858, championing exclusive luxury fashion for the upper-class woman and coining the term ‘fashion designer’ and upgrading himself from a basic dressmaker. Ten years later Le Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture was first established as […]
June 26, 2017
The Indian Joan of Arc
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (1828-1858) was the queen of India’s Jhansi State, and one of the leaders of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as India’s First War of Independence against British rule. She is sometimes referred to as “the Indian Joan of Arc.” Born in the holy town of Varanasi into a […]
June 24, 2017
Messalina – The most notoriously promiscuous women of Rome
Messalina was born around 20 AD. She was a cousin of Nero and Caligula, and became empress when she married Claudius. Along with Augustus’ daughter Julia (who he had banished for sleeping with so many different men), Messalina is probably one of the most notoriously promiscuous women of Rome. In 37 AD, Messalina married Claudius, […]
June 23, 2017
Ching Shih – The world’s most successful pirate was a woman!
Ching Shih, the world’s most successful pirate was born in 1775. Although not much is known about her birth, she was a known prostitute who worked in floating brothel in the city of Canton where she caught the eye of the renowned pirate Zheng Yi. Some stories say that she was taken by force, others […]
June 22, 2017
Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress
Benjamin Franklin was a lover of knowledge; after all, he was the quintessential Renaissance man. He gave us the lightening rod, the Franklin stove, bifocals, and Poor Richard’s Almanack. He was also an indispensable politician and civic activist who not only helped lay the groundwork for the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution […]
June 20, 2017
Royal Ascot – Horses, Hats and Lots of Money
Ascot Racecourse pronounced /ˈæskət/, by those in the know is close to Windsor Castle and is the Queen of England’s favourite racecourse. Today is the start of Royal Ascot, a series of flat races with the most prestigious being The Gold Cup. Ascot Racecourse was founded in 1711 by Queen Anne. The first race, “Her […]
June 19, 2017
The Queen who Gave up her Crown for a Husband and her Country
Queen Ulrika Eleonora the Younger (1688 – 1741), was Queen regnant of Sweden from 5 December 1718 to 29 February 1720, and then Queen consort until her death in 1741. She was the youngest child of King Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark. She had an elder brother and sister so never expected to […]
June 15, 2017
Anna Godiche, the publisher who survived Denmark’s political earthquake
Anna Magdalena Godiche née Høpfner (January 11, 1721 – February 22, 1781) was a Danish book printer and publisher. She managed the biggest printing company in Denmark as the Danish political scene combusted. Born to judge Høpfner in Haderslev Anna married Andreas Hartvig Godiche (1714-1769) of Copenhagen in 1736. Godiche owned one of the biggest […]
