Stephanie Dray's Blog, page 4

Let’s Put Lafayette On The Map!

In 1824, Lafayette made his Farewell Tour, visiting all twenty-four of the then United States. In anticipation of Independence Day I’d like to see him in all 50 states, and you can help!

https://www.stephaniedray.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Put-Lafayette-On-The-Map-Video-2.mp4

 

I’ve loved seeing all the reader and reviewer photos of THE WOMEN OF CHATEAU LAFAYETTE in the wild, so I’ve come up with a way of saying thank you. Fill out this brief form with a link to where you’ve posted a picture of my Lafayette Map.

EVERYONE WHO TAKES PART WILL GET awesome downloadable patriotic swag…

Including WHY NOT stickers and a CUR NON adult coloring page, as well as a copy of IF THE HAT FITS, a little sequel/prequel written by yours truly and Kate Quinn.

If you haven’t already posted a picture already, don’t worry! You can still post and get the goodies. Extra credit if you hashtag it #thewomenofchateaulafayette

EVEN BETTER, when we get pics from all fifty states, you will be entered to win the GRAND PRIZE which includes:Patsy Jefferson Tote BagA bag of chocolate drops from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.A board game carved from precious historic wood from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.An “America’s First Daughter” mugA Parisian gift bagA real usable feather quill penA revolutionary drum-stick pen from Fraunces TavernA jar of honey from George Washington’s Mount VernonA magnet showing Lafayette’s birthplace, the Chateau de ChavaniacA postcard featuring Lafayette’s bedroom in the castleAn ornament featuring George Washington crossing the DelawareAn Alexander Hamilton Memorial BookmarkA bar necklace engraved with the Lafayette motto “Cur Non” and its English translation “Why Not?”

PLUS books you can keep or give away as gifts!

1 signed copy of The Women of Chateau Lafayette1 signed copy of America’s First Daughter1 signed copy of My Dear Hamilton1 copy of Ribbons of Scarlet1 bonus supplement book to accompany Ribbons of Scarlet

Enter To Win!

 

What I’m Working on Next!

[image error]

I love writing about unsung historical women, and my next subject will be Frances Perkins, the Founding Mother of 20th century America. FDR’s right hand woman, the first female cabinet secretary, and the woman whose lonely fight to save Jewish refugees from the rising Third Reich made her Enemy #1 of American Nazis.

Chocolate in the 18th & 19th Centuries and Other Bloopers

[image error]

Here’s one for the blooper file. As I understand it, the chocolate we know it today was not invented until 1847. Until then, chocolate was known and enjoyed as a drink. So why, then, do edible chocolates appear at the end of the 18th century in both America’s First Daughter and The Women of Chateau Lafayette?

In the case of Patsy Jefferson and William Short’s romance over chocolate in America’s First Daughter, I had read about 18th century upper-class ladies in Paris eating chocolate drops. Thes...

About My Research Trip to France

[image error]

I give up all the goods in this article here on Literary Hub. And here are a few pictures of the things I describe.

[image error] [image error]

Tasting History with Max Miller & The Women of Chateau Lafayette

My fabulously talented friend Max Miller and I were talking about his popular food show, “Tasting History” when I suggested that he do an episode featuring some food from Lafayette’s day. I provided him with a wedding menu that was posted to the wall at the Chateau de Chavaniac near an ethereal display of the Gilbert and Adrienne’s wedding feast. And lo and behold, Max decided to cook one of the dishes.

Now Available! The Women of Chateau Lafayette

I’m so thrilled to announce the release of my newest novel, a labor of love, The Women of Chateau Lafayette.

 ABOUT THE BOOK 

An epic saga from New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray based on the true story of an extraordinary castle in the heart of France and the remarkable women bound by its legacy.

Most castles are protected by men. This one by women.

A founding mother…

Gently-bred noblewoman Adrienne Lafayette becomes her husband, the Marquis de Lafayette’s political partner in ...

Who is Marthe Simone?

Of the three women you’ll meet in The Women of Chateau Lafayette, Marthe Simone is the only fictional composite character. She was inspired by many actual women living at the chateau before and during World War II.How and why I decided to fictionalize Marthe Simone.

When I first learned that Jewish children were saved at Chavaniac during the Holocaust, I was deeply moved. French resistance fighter Charles Boissier testified that almost the whole village was pledged to the cause. Chavaniac is a ...

Lafayette We Are Here

The Marquis de Lafayette was not only instrumental in helping the United States to win independence; his memory also played a role in America embracing her destiny as a world power. On July 4, 1917, General Pershing and his staff visited Lafayette’s tomb at Picpus Cemetery in Paris.

On that occasion was present Valentine Thompson and Clara Simon, women who were friends of Beatrice Chanler’s and instrumental in the French Heroes Lafayette Memorial Fund that purchased the chateau at Chavaniac. Thr...

Saved by the Spirit of Lafayette

One of the inspirations behind The Women of Chateau Lafayette, was a touching memoir by a Holocaust survivor by the name of Gisele Feldman, who was one of the Hidden Children of the Holocaust. Her memoir is entitled Saved by the Spirit of Lafayette and it served as an authoritative source for what life was like at Chavaniac during the second world war. What I did not know until after the book, is that the hospital built across the street from Lafayette’s grave at Picpus Cemetery, was Rothschild ...