Ruth Hull Chatlien's Blog, page 15
March 23, 2014
Looking for Writers to Participate in a Blog Chain
In two weeks, I’m going to take part in a blog chain about the writer’s process. At the time I post my entry, I also have to list three other writers who’ve agreed to participate. So I’m asking you, my readers, if you’d like to take part. The blog entry consists of answering four questions about your writing process.
Any takers? It could be a chance to get some new traffic to your blog. First three volunteers are in.
March 21, 2014
March 18, 2014
March 17, 2014
Book Review: Queen’s Gambit
Queen’s Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle tells the story of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and final wife. For several reasons, she is an unlikely choice of bride. Katherine is no unmarried maiden when they wed. Henry is actually her third husband! In addition, Katherine is not young; when she marries the king, she is thirty-one (considered middle-aged in the 1540s). Her age makes her a surprising choice for a man who is desperate to sire more sons to secure the Tudor possession of the throne.
Fremantle does a good job of demonstrating the personal qualities that causes Henry to marry Katherine despite her seeming disadvantages. She can be sensible and tactful, yet she is also intelligent and brave. For example, she is not afraid to beat the king at chess. In a court full of sycophants, that honesty and courage make her stand out in the king’s eyes.
As Fremantle interprets Katherine, however, she is not always prudent. Between the death of her second husband and the offer of marriage from the king, she is swept away by passionate love for Tom Seymour, even though her first impression is that he’s too glib and self-regarding to trust. Much of the tension of the novel derives from Katherine’s fear that Henry will somehow learn of this prior love. After all, other queens before her have been sent to the block for unchastity and infidelity—real or imagined.
Several secondary characters added greatly to my enjoyment of the novel. My favorite of these was Katherine’s servant Dot, who is unschooled yet wise, observant, and fiercely loyal to her mistress. Dot’s longing for the court musician William Savage provides romantic interest during the chapters when Tom Seymour is out of the picture.
Fremantle is adept at plotting and characterization. Her descriptions offer enough period details to ground the reader firmly in the historical place and time without bogging down the prose. I can honestly say that I much preferred this book to the last one I read by Philippa Gregory, whom many regard as the queen of Tudor fiction. I’m looking forward to many more good reads by Elizabeth Fremantle.
March 14, 2014
Review at Queen of All She Reads
The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is reviewed today at Queen of all she reads. You can read it here.
March 13, 2014
Review for The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte
Another review of The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte can be found at The Happy Reader by clicking here.
March Haiku
As I was driving back from an appointment yesterday, I saw something which made me write this haiku:
Small clumps of late snow
fall from outstretched tree branches
like drifting petals.
March 12, 2014
The First Page, Featuring Author Ruth Hull Chatlien, The No. 3 First Page Writer
Originally posted on Susan Wingate:
After years being online in social settings, many amazing people have come into my life. “Some are even librarians!” She shouted. So, it pleases me today to welcome Ms. Ruth Hull Chatlien, librarian-turned-author to The First Page with a 300-word excerpt from the first page of her latest novel, THE AMBITIOUS MADAME BONAPARTE. You will find this novel slotted in the historical fiction genre.
THE AMBITIOUS MADAME BONAPARTE
Taking the footman’s hand, eighty-five-year-old Betsy Bonaparte gingerly alighted from the carriage and readjusted her voluminous skirts. How she hated the current bustled fashions, so much more cumbersome than the slim empire gowns of her youth.
As Betsy labored up the marble steps of her son’s mansion, her daughter-in-law opened the door. Susan May’s round face was lined with worry, and her dark eyes were sorrowful. She stepped back to allow Betsy to enter and then bent to kiss the tiny older…
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March 11, 2014
Interview at “Enchanted by Josephine”
Today is a two-fer. Not only is there a book review of The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte, posted below, but I was interviewed over at Enchanted by Josephine. You can check it out here.
Review: The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte by Ruth Hull Chatlien
Another review for my novel:
Originally posted on Making My Mark:
Today I’m participating in the France Book Tour of The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte. For all the tour stops, please visit this page.
The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte
Release date: December 2, 2013 at Amika Press
484 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1937484163
Buy links: Available from
Amika Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble
SYNOPSIS
As a clever girl in stodgy, mercantile Baltimore, Betsy Patterson dreams of a marriage that will transport her to cultured Europe. When she falls in love with and marries Jerome Bonaparte, she believes her dream has come true—until Jerome’s older brother Napoleon becomes an implacable enemy.Based on a true story, The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is a historical novel that portrays this woman’s tumultuous life. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, known to history as Betsy Bonaparte, scandalized Washington with her daring French fashions; visited Niagara Falls when it was an unsettled wilderness; survived a shipwreck and run-ins with British…
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