Victoria Vane's Blog, page 18
January 20, 2013
Romance Madness Hop!
My Giveaway:Any digital title from my backlist! (Click for excerpts ):
A Wild Night’s Bride (Devil DeVere#1)
The Virgin Huntress (Devil DeVere #2)
The Devil You Know (Devil DeVere #3)
The Devil’s Match (Devil DeVere#4)
Devil in the Making (Devilish Vignette #1 and series prequel)
**FOLLOW THIS BLOG TO ENTER**
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane NOW AVAILABLE!
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS was very much inspired by the dark and romantic novels of the 18th century in which virtue vs. vice and plots to despoil virgins were very popular themes, books like Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson or Les Liaisons Dangereuses by LaClos. Similar to these classic tales, my story features an innocent country girl who, unlike the earlier heorines, is neither insipid nor naive, but still inadvertently becomes a pawn in a deadly game of revenge and intrigue.
BLURB:
A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate… Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortune’s in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.
A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution… Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.
A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue… When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary’s fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.
Excerpt:
Blanchard House, Hanover Square- 1727
As the solo harpsichord began a Corelli air, Mary watched mesmerized. In flawless synchrony with the music, and bodies posed in perfect symmetry, the couple performed the intricate figures of the dance with fluid grace—ebbing and flowing in an elegant wave, moving in absolute harmony with one another. Rising and falling in gentle rhythm, arms gracefully rounded, reaching, touching, and turning, they seemingly floated across the floor.
It was lovely beyond description.
Monsieur Gaspar had rightly described the stately minuet as the perfection of dancing and Mary was entranced. But lost in her admiration of the dancers, she forgot she was supposed to be studying their intricate steps and patterns, until the couple executed the final two hand turn and then faced her with the final elegant dips to honor their audience of one.
The dancing master raised Lady Blanchard’s hand to his lips. “Vous êtes toujours incomparable, Madame la Comtesse.”
Lady Blanchard answered the compliment as if it were her due, with an elegant inclination of her head and only the merest hint of a smile.
“It is true, my lady,” Mary gushed. “I’ve never beheld anything so lovely.”
Lady Blanchard turned to Mary and smiled archly. “Dancing is the premier mark of gentility in any woman, my dear Mary, and the minuet is foremost amongst the dances. Thus, you must master it—along with the sarabande, gigue, bourée, and gavotte, before you may attend any of the balls.”
Mary’s stomach dropped. “All of them? But I have no experience of this kind of dancing.”
Lady Blanchard regarded her with raised brows. “Do you mean to say you’ve never danced?”
“Only country dancing, my lady. Never like this. I fear it is well beyond my ability.”
The countess waved her hand. “Nonsense, child. You have the benefit of a master’s tutelage and must simply apply yourself.” She glanced to the clock with a frown. “I am expecting someone. I leave you now in Monsieur Gaspar’s capable hands.”
In dismay, Mary watched the countess depart.
“Mademoiselle?” The dancing master flourished a bow and then offered his arm and an indulgent smile on painted lips. Yet an hour later found him tearing at his periwig and Mary near to tears.
“Non! Non! Et non!” cried the Frenchman. “You must rise on the toe and sweep the foot. Thusly.” He demonstrated with exaggerated patience. “And the arms, they are too stiff!”
“Like this?” Mary rounded her arms and began the steps again.
“Par blue! Elle se deplacer comme une vache! You move like the cow and the figure, it is all wrong! It is zed.”
“Zed?” Mary repeated blankly.
“Oui, zed!” he insisted.
“I don’t comprehend you, monsieur,” Mary cried in growing frustration. “I’ve told you already I have no French.”
Throwing up his hands in Gallic fashion he shouted, “Zed! Zed!” as if bellowing would bring enlightenment. “Etres vous simple? It is the last letter of the English alphabet! Comprenez? Zed! S’il vous plait dancez la figure maintenant.”
“I’m sorry, Monsieur Gaspar. Would you please show me once more?” Mary asked, flustered beyond despair and on the verge of tears.
“Perhaps, monsieur,” a deep-timbered, cultured, and slightly accented voice arrested the dancing master’s impending tantrum, “the difficulty lies not so much in the student’s lack of aptitude, but in the instructor’s method of tuition.”
Mary turned to face her would-be rescuer, a vision that stole her breath. Tall and elegant, he was dressed in hues of richly embroidered satin, bedecked with yards of frothy lace, and jewels that would be the envy of any woman, yet paradoxically, there was nothing effeminate about him. He advanced into the room with a languid gait to halt before them, flicking over the Frenchman with inscrutably dark eyes and an expression of frigid hauteur.
It was his eyes that first entranced her, deep-set and piercing indigo-blue beneath straight, dark, brows, that seemed starkly incongruous compared to the fashionable white powdered wig. To Mary, his face was a fascinating study of contrasts, at once strong, proud, and distinctly aristocratic. Yet, the imposing vision he presented was somehow softened by a generous mouth and the most fascinating dimple in his chin. Mary was next riveted to that dimple, and then lastly to the softening curve of his mouth when the stranger inclined his head to her alone, as if the dancing master were completely beneath his notice.
It was an intentional snub that made the Frenchman tremble with indignation. “I will have you know, monsieur, that I am le maitre-de-dance to the very Princesses Royales!”
“I should never make such a confession, were I you,” the stranger drawled.
The frenetic little Frenchman puffed his chest. “You think it an idle boast?”
The gentleman chuckled, a low, warm, rumbling sound. “No indeed, monsieur, for I have seen how execrably they dance!”
** This title is available in digital format for only $2.99**
Filed under: TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS, Victoria Vane
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS by Victoria Vane
TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS was very much inspired by the dark and romantic novels of the 18th century in which virtue vs. vice and plots to despoil virgins were very popular themes, books like Clarissa Harlowe by Samuel Richardson or Les Liaisons Dangereuses by LaClos. Similar to these classic tales, my story features precisely such an innocent country girl who is neither stupid nor naive but inadvertently becomes a pawn in a deadly game of revenge and intrigue.
BLURB:
A reluctant heiress resigned to her fate… Mary Elizabeth Edwardes has one of the largest fortune’s in England, but has no desire to leave her quiet country existence… and even less to acquire a husband she cannot choose for herself.
A dissolute nobleman bent on retribution… Trapped in a duplicitous existence since scandal destroyed his fortune and family name, Lord Hadley Blanchard has spent the better part of a decade posing as a disaffected exile while spying and seducing in the service of the English Crown.
A dangerous game of seduction, and intrigue… When summoned from abroad by a former lover, Lord Hadley perceives an opportunity for vengeance at last. By employing the full measure of his seductive charm, he woos the ward of the man who destroyed his life, little knowing that winning Mary’s fortune will mean risking his own treacherous heart.
Excerpt:
Blanchard House, Hanover Square- 1727
As the solo harpsichord began a Corelli air, Mary watched mesmerized. In flawless synchrony with the music, and bodies posed in perfect symmetry, the couple performed the intricate figures of the dance with fluid grace—ebbing and flowing in an elegant wave, moving in absolute harmony with one another. Rising and falling in gentle rhythm, arms gracefully rounded, reaching, touching, and turning, they seemingly floated across the floor.
It was lovely beyond description.
Monsieur Gaspar had rightly described the stately minuet as the perfection of dancing and Mary was entranced. But lost in her admiration of the dancers, she forgot she was supposed to be studying their intricate steps and patterns, until the couple executed the final two hand turn and then faced her with the final elegant dips to honor their audience of one.
The dancing master raised Lady Blanchard’s hand to his lips. “Vous êtes toujours incomparable, Madame la Comtesse.”
Lady Blanchard answered the compliment as if it were her due, with an elegant inclination of her head and only the merest hint of a smile.
“It is true, my lady,” Mary gushed. “I’ve never beheld anything so lovely.”
Lady Blanchard turned to Mary and smiled archly. “Dancing is the premier mark of gentility in any woman, my dear Mary, and the minuet is foremost amongst the dances. Thus, you must master it—along with the sarabande, gigue, bourée, and gavotte, before you may attend any of the balls.”
Mary’s stomach dropped. “All of them? But I have no experience of this kind of dancing.”
Lady Blanchard regarded her with raised brows. “Do you mean to say you’ve never danced?”
“Only country dancing, my lady. Never like this. I fear it is well beyond my ability.”
The countess waved her hand. “Nonsense, child. You have the benefit of a master’s tutelage and must simply apply yourself.” She glanced to the clock with a frown. “I am expecting someone. I leave you now in Monsieur Gaspar’s capable hands.”
In dismay, Mary watched the countess depart.
“Mademoiselle?” The dancing master flourished a bow and then offered his arm and an indulgent smile on painted lips. Yet an hour later found him tearing at his periwig and Mary near to tears.
“Non! Non! Et non!” cried the Frenchman. “You must rise on the toe and sweep the foot. Thusly.” He demonstrated with exaggerated patience. “And the arms, they are too stiff!”
“Like this?” Mary rounded her arms and began the steps again.
“Par blue! Elle se deplacer comme une vache! You move like the cow and the figure, it is all wrong! It is zed.”
“Zed?” Mary repeated blankly.
“Oui, zed!” he insisted.
“I don’t comprehend you, monsieur,” Mary cried in growing frustration. “I’ve told you already I have no French.”
Throwing up his hands in Gallic fashion he shouted, “Zed! Zed!” as if bellowing would bring enlightenment. “Etres vous simple? It is the last letter of the English alphabet! Comprenez? Zed! S’il vous plait dancez la figure maintenant.”
“I’m sorry, Monsieur Gaspar. Would you please show me once more?” Mary asked, flustered beyond despair and on the verge of tears.
“Perhaps, monsieur,” a deep-timbered, cultured, and slightly accented voice arrested the dancing master’s impending tantrum, “the difficulty lies not so much in the student’s lack of aptitude, but in the instructor’s method of tuition.”
Mary turned to face her would-be rescuer, a vision that stole her breath. Tall and elegant, he was dressed in hues of richly embroidered satin, bedecked with yards of frothy lace, and jewels that would be the envy of any woman, yet paradoxically, there was nothing effeminate about him. He advanced into the room with a languid gait to halt before them, flicking over the Frenchman with inscrutably dark eyes and an expression of frigid hauteur.
It was his eyes that first entranced her, deep-set and piercing indigo-blue beneath straight, dark, brows, that seemed starkly incongruous compared to the fashionable white powdered wig. To Mary, his face was a fascinating study of contrasts, at once strong, proud, and distinctly aristocratic. Yet, the imposing vision he presented was somehow softened by a generous mouth and the most fascinating dimple in his chin. Mary was next riveted to that dimple, and then lastly to the softening curve of his mouth when the stranger inclined his head to her alone, as if the dancing master were completely beneath his notice.
It was an intentional snub that made the Frenchman tremble with indignation. “I will have you know, monsieur, that I am le maitre-de-dance to the very Princesses Royales!”
“I should never make such a confession, were I you,” the stranger drawled.
The frenetic little Frenchman puffed his chest. “You think it an idle boast?”
The gentleman chuckled, a low, warm, rumbling sound. “No indeed, monsieur, for I have seen how execrably they dance!”
** This title is available in digital format for only $2.99**
Filed under: TREACHEROUS TEMPTATIONS, Victoria Vane
January 18, 2013
THE DEVIL DEVERE COMING TO AUDIO!
Hi Everyone!
I have some crazy great news! I hired a narrator today to bring A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE and THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS to audiobook and am negotiating with an awesome male narrator for DEVIL IN THE MAKING and THE TROUBLE WITH SIN! When finished these titles will be available through Amazon, Audible.com and I-Tunes! I’m so excited about this audio adventure! Stay tuned for updates!
Filed under: A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE, the devil devere, THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS, Victoria Vane
January 13, 2013
Pictures worth 10,000 words!
A couple of months ago, after having read so many reader and reviewer comments about the “vividness” of my stories, I was struck with the idea of incorporating illustrations into my work. After finding an artist who I believed shared my vision, I began my experiment with the first book in my “Devilish Vignettes,” a proposed quartet of 10-20K word stories that I am using to build the foundation for my future DeVere books.
Devil in the Making is a prequel to my award winning Devil DeVere Series that serves to provide added backstory on DeVere and to introduce brand new characters who will be appearing in future books. This book is a riotous romp with gorgeous digitially rendered depictions of key scenes in every chapter.
In addition to this first illustration experiment, I have created a dedicated Devil DeVere Fan site where I am posting extended excerpts and sneak peeks as well as showcasing the fabulous illustrations of my digital artist extraordinarire, Polina Ipatova. Here are some samples purely for your visual pleasure.
(Click any image for a full size slide show)
From Devil in the Making
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From A WILD NIGHT’S BRIDE
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Both of these titles are currently available on Kindle for only $.99!
Filed under: A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE, BOOK PROMOTION, devilishvignettes, GEORGIAN ENGLAND, the devil devere, Victoria Vane
December 28, 2012
A BREACH OF PROMISE nominated for the CAPA!
What a lovely, lovely surprise and a fabulous ending to my year of re-invention!
Almost one year to the day of its December 23,2011 release, A BREACH OF PROMISE, my debut novella writing as Victoria Vane was nominated for The Romance Studio’s Cupid and Psyche (CAPA) award. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me after starting over from scratch and working so hard for the past eighteen months.
When Charm and Persuasion Fail…Only Seduction Remains.. .
On the night of her betrothal, Lydia Trent receives just a taste of what ecstasy will be at the hands of her fiancé…and then he leaves her wanting. After waiting six years, and tired of being neglected by her exceedingly reluctant husband-to-be, Lydia decides to break it off.
When Marcus, Lord Russell, receives Lydia’s letter requesting a release from their contract, he is stunned by her audacity. Confident he’ll have her eating out of his hand with his usual wit and charm, he’s determined to repair the damage. However, the headstrong woman she’s blossomed into is equally determined to thwart his every effort to win her back.
Marcus discovers, in spite of her conviction to end the union, Lydia is more responsive to his touch than he ever imagined. He just needs to get her alone to unleash the promised passion he sees within his wanton virgin. Marcus will use any tool in his arsenal to exploit her weakness—his kisses, his hands, his mouth…her own body. In short, he’ll just have to ruin her!
“Reckless hearts, battling wits, and plenty of steam in a wonderfully well drawn Georgian setting.”- NYT Bestselling author Grace Burrowes
*T BR PILE Book of the month September 2012!
*LASR Erotic Reviews 5 STAR/BOM Nominee
*The Romance Studio 5 Sweetheart Nominee
“Victoria Vane ignites the Georgian era with her deligh tful characters and deliciously wicked sensuality. “
~ Allison Chase, author of Recklessly Yours
Filed under: A BREACH OF PROMISE, BOOK PROMOTION, BOOKS
December 19, 2012
GIFTING BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP!
The most memorable book I ever gave or received was BLACK BEAUTY by Anna Sewell.
As a child I was obsessed with horses and read every horse-y book I could get my hands on but BLACK BEAUTY was, and still is, my favorite.
I found this beautiful blue embossed gift book thirteen years ago gave it to my sons for Christmas.
I later read it aloud to them and we all cried together when Ginger died!
Now I would like to offer a very special book of my own as a Christmas giveaway- (1) free copy of the illustrated edition of
DEVIL IN THE MAKING!
Please comment with name and email address to enter.
Filed under: Uncategorized
December 16, 2012
Color my World …DIGITALLY
The digital revolution, as we all know, has taken the publishing world by storm. Last year 350,000 new e-books were released with nearly 200,000 of them from self published authors. This revolution has given both established authors and those struggling to find a niche, opportunities and freedoms they never had before.
As one of those struggling authors who doesn’t fit comfortably in a conventional box, I am always trying to innovate. I also hold a strong belief in playing to my strengths. So, after reading so many reviews and hearing numerous readers remark how vivid the stories in my DeVere series are, particularly the romantic comedies (A Wild Night’s Bride and The Virgin Huntress), I began to ponder ways in which I might be able to enhance reader enjoyment. Upon seeing the new generation of full color, graphics-capable e-readers, it came upon me to make something old new again – by offering color illustrations!
Although illustrations in books are nothing new, they are rarely found in the romance world, being largely the realm of hardcover children’s and coffee table books. Yet, I perceive an opportunity to change that. Call me crazy if you will, but I prefer to think of it as blazing a trail into the digital wilderness!
My experiment with digital artwork has just launched with Devil In The Making, the first title in a series of short Devilish Vignettes that is a complement to my award winning Devil DeVere historical romance series, recently chosen by LIBRARY JOURNAL as one of the Five best E-book romances of 2012. Rather than a romance, this is a comic romp in the tradition of Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones. While highly entertaining, it also serves two greater purposes- to provide added back story on the pivotal character of my series (Ludovic ”the Devil” DeVere), and to introduce a number of new characters who will be featured in future books as I expand the DeVere series.
Concurrent with this endeavor, I have launched a dedicated Devil DeVere Fan Site, where I will highlight the various characters by revealing a beautiful digitally rendered portrait and personality profile each month, along with favorite quotes, scene snippets, and sneak peeks, and special giveaways.
This site will also provide fans the opportunity to interact through a Q&A with their favorite characters. This is a long term work in progress as there are already over 20 characters (primary and secondary) who will be featured on the site, but I hope it will intrigue readers enough to visit often!
Now without further ado, here’s a sneak peek of Devil in the Making, The Illustrated Edition!.
Devil in the Making (Devilish Vignette #1)
PRIMARY PLAYERS
Ludovic, young Lord DeVere
Edward Chambers, Esquire
Simon Singleton, Esquire
EXCERPT
Westminster School- 1764
“The epic poets of ancient times composed histories of Greek heroes in rhyming verse, chanted by the Rhapsodes in accompaniment by the cithara. The meter employed was dactylic hexameter…” Dr. Trasker’s droning monotone faded to the far periphery of Simon’s consciousness as he reviewed the first lines of his own poetic composition, An Ode to a Milkmaid of St. James Park.
Lovely Lavinia, a comely lass,
With ripe pink teats and plump white arse,
Ha’penny paid will fill your cup
He thoughtfully chewed the nub of his quill.
But for a shilling, she’d liefer tup…
He flourished the last line with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Master Singleton.” The stentorian voice halted the rhythmic scratch of Simon’s quill.
Simon looked up blankly.
“I await your response,” the schoolmaster intoned.
“Homer and Hesiod,” Ned coughed from behind.
“Master Chambers!” The schoolmaster’s rebuke turned upon the second offender.
“Sir?” Ned answered.
“Since you are so desirous to impart your scholarship, you shall now stand and enlighten the class on the Elegiac couplet.”
“The Elegiac couplet?” Ned repeated.
“Now, Master Chambers,” the taskmaster commanded.
Ned stood, his ears reddening with the snickers of his classmates.
“You seem unprepared, Chambers,” the pedagogue accused.
“N-no, sir. Indeed not. I only wish to understand. Is it the meter for elegy, or the couplet itself that you wish me to explain?”
“You are stalling.”
“Beware, Ned,” DeVere whispered from across the aisle, “lest you inspire him to invoke the holy name of the birch. The goddess of discipline. The handmaiden of higher learning.”
Ned cleared his throat to disguise a choke of laughter and then recited, “The Elegiac meter is customarily described as a dactylic hexameter followed by a dactylic pentameter, which together form an Elegiac couplet.”
Trasker’s beady eyes narrowed. “That is correct, Master Chambers. Now then, let us hope your benighted classmates have been equally attentive.” With visible disappointment the pedagogue took up his notes to resume his lecture.
Perceiving his chance to share his bawdy masterpiece, Simon reached across the aisle to DeVere— just as Trasker’s bespectacled gaze rose from his notes. Simultaneously, Simon and DeVere snatched back their hands, leaving the lone sheet of parchment to drift slowly to the floor with the quiet grace of an autumn leaf.
“What is this?” Trasker snapped, advancing upon them with a militant look.
“Bugger!” Simon muttered.
The sixth form collectively inhaled as Trasker retrieved the fallen parchment and scanned the brief lines. He then transfixed a sulfurous stare back upon his first victim, demanding, “Master Singleton? Are you the author of this lewd and scurrilous verse?”
Simon closed his eyes with a gulp, knowing full well what would follow his confession. He drew courage and then drew breath but another spoke before he opened his mouth.
“Mea culpa,” DeVere volunteered.
Trasker spun toward DeVere, his gaze narrowed to a slit. “You, my lord?” An evil smile thinned his lips. It was no secret that Trasker, who had advanced to his position by scholarly merit alone, despised the rich and indolent— and none more than the impudent heir to a viscountcy, Ludovic DeVere.
This could not be good. (END EXCERPT)
DEVIL IN THE MAKING by Victoria Vane
Every devil has a beginning…
A rebellious young nobleman’s prank with the king’s lion goes comically awry, leading to a startling chain of events.
A riotous Georgian romp in the tradition of Fielding’s Tom Jones and a prequel to the Devil DeVere series.
.
Related articles
THE DEVIL DEVERE Series by Victoria Vane (thedevildevere.wordpress.com)
The Devil DeVere Series Makes Library Journal Best of 2012 List! (victoriavane.wordpress.com)
Exciting New Release Updates! (victoriavane.wordpress.com)
by Victoria Vane (thedevildevere.com)
Excerpt- a Wild Night’s Bride (trsparties.com)
Filed under: A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE, BOOK PROMOTION, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, THE DEVIL'S MATCH, THE VIRGIN HUNTRESS
December 11, 2012
December 7, 2012
DEVIL IN THE MAKING
DEVIL IN THE MAKING by VICTORIA VANE
Every devil has a beginning…A rebellious young nobleman’s prank with the king’s lion goes comically awry, leading to a startling chain of events.
**This title is NOT a romance but a riotous Georgian romp in the tradition of Fielding’s Tom Jones and a prequel to the Devil DeVere series.**
The Titillating Tidbits
As fans of my work are already well aware, I delight in nothing more than using true historical details, to include real events and people, in order to give my fictional stories greater depth and dimension. Here are a few tidbits from Devil in the Making:
1) Birching was a very common and frequently abuse practice of corporal punishment in the English School system with the humiliation of exposed buttocks considered a vital part of the punishment:
“a birch rod should be ‘green,’ or freshly cut before use, while English tradition was often to steep the rods in strong brine and vinegar for storage so as to be ready for use. The effectiveness of a birch rod for punishment is determined by the length and weight of the withes. The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine suggested that a governess birch should be a minimum of three feet long, with six to nine withes and weigh no less than six ounces for application to the bared bottom of a 16-year-old girl. With three inches and approximately two ounces added for each year of growth, “saving that the rod should not greatly exceed 42 inches” in length or 10 ounces in weight.
2) While my lion-napping episode is entirely fictional, the idea was inspired by a true incident regarding Philip Duke of Wharton who was probably much like the young Lord DeVere.
When Philip tired of his tutor while on the grand tour, he purchased a young bear and left it in his pedagogue’s chambers with the following note:
“Being no longer able to bear with your ill-usage I think proper to be gone from you. However, that you may not want company, I have left you the bear as the most sociable companion in the world that could be picked out for you.”
3) The brief anecdotes pertaining to the polar bear, and Indian Nawab’s gift of exotic species to King George are true.
For a long time, powerful rulers tried to impress each other by exchanging living gifts. The exotic animals kept at the Tower showed the wealth and strength of the king. Animals were sent to London from the furthest corners of the known world. In 1235, King Henry III received three lions (or leopards) from Emperor Frederick II. The animals matched the three lions on the King’s shield, which still appear on the badges of the English football and cricket teams. The Emperor had just married Henry’s sister Isabella so this gift was a sign of their alliance and friendship.
The ‘white bear’ who loved to fish
Henry III received ‘a white bear’ from King Haakon of Norway in 1252 (believed to be a polar bear). The bear was one of the luckiest animals at the Tower as it was given a long leash so it could swim in the river Thames and catch fish.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerofLondon/Stories/Palacehighlights/RoyalBeasts/Stories
4) Treatment of Syphylis and Virgin cleansing“
Interestingly, the work “Quack” originates from the German word for mercury or quicksilver — quacksalber and was first applied to those who poisoned their patients with mercury. Because the Arabians had successfully used mercurial ointment in the treatment of scabies (itch) and because “syphilis” produced sores somewhat like scabies, the ungentum Saracenicun was adopted by European physicians for treating the scurge of ”syphilis.” Jacob Carpensic was the first to use mercury in treating syphilis in 1502.
In 1630 Fracastorius advised infusions of mint, hops, thyme, and guaiac. He insisted on sweating, saying: “when one perspires, the rottenness leaves the body with the drops of sweat.” He also advised purging and bleeding, but above all, he praised mercuric inunctions, which he pushed up to the point of salivation. In 1648 Femel sustained the original claim of Paracelsus that mercury is a specific and the only specific for “syphilis.”
Eventually, mercuric inunctions were employed to such an extent that the gums of “the patients softened and their teeth fell out.” The quacks, however, promising quicker results gave such huge doses that as many patients succumbed to the drug as to the disease.
“They filled their patients’ stomachs with mercury pills; painted and greased them with mercury salves, and as an afterthought baked them in ovens until one early author observed that ‘the stench of frying fat was through the air.’”
Mercury, however, was almost as dangerous to the patient as the disease, especially when supplemented by the bleeding, the purging, and the sweating that characterized the treatment of the day. With no standardized dosage, many patients were poisoned, and died at the hands of over zealous physicians. In the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries German candidates for the doctor’s degree were made to take an oath that they would under no conditions prescribe mercury for their patients. Doctors who did so were denounced as ‘poison mixers and murderers.’” (http://www.whale.to/a/shelton_sy.html#Chapter_9.__THE_BEGINNING_OF_QUACKERY_)
Worse than mercury treatment was the insidious myth that syphilis could be cured through sexual intercourse with a virgin (usually a child). It was not only a real practice in the 18th century, but sadly persists even today in AIDS infected third world nations.
5) Charles James Fox certainly would have been a contemporary of Ludovic DeVere. He was indeed raised by an absurdly indulgent father who took him on his Grand Tour at age fourteen, taught him to gamble, and arranged the loss of his virginity at a Parisian brothel. Fox’s subsequent escapades are the stuff of Georgian legend.
From Gale Encyclopedia of Biography:
The third son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, Charles James Fox seemed destined almost from birth to follow his father’s political career. Although he held high office for a shorter time than his father, he became more famous and far better loved. He also seemed destined to continue with William Pitt the Younger the intense political rivalry that their fathers had begun.
Of his two older brothers, one died in infancy and the other was sickly, so the father heaped affection and attention on Charles. Overindulged in his youth, Charles never developed the qualities of restraint or self-discipline. Indeed, Charles’s father apparently preferred to encourage a lack of inhibition, for he introduced his son at a tender age to an extravagant and dissipated way of life that was to remain with him always.
Fox’s carefree, easygoing manner and his great personal charm won for him a large number of friends, although many people were shocked by his wild and irresponsible behavior. He was completely self-indulgent and undisciplined, and his manner of life was thoroughly irregular. Nothing better typifies that aspect of his character than his later relationship with his mistress, Mrs. Elizabeth Armistead. After his connection with her had lasted more than 10 years, he married her in 1795 but kept the marriage a secret until 1802.
6) The Hôtel Aphrodisiasis also entirely fictional, but was inspired by The famed Parc aux Cerfs of Louis XV, a private residence where the king housed his “harem.” From The Memoirs of the Comtesse Du Barry:
Since this word Parc-aux-Cerfs has escaped my pen, I will tell you something of it. Do you know, my friend, that but little is known of this place, of which so much has been said. I can tell you, better than any other person, what it really was, for I, like the marquise de Pompadour took upon myself the superintendence of it, and busied myself with what they did there. It was, entre nous, the black spot in the reign of Louis XV., and will cost me much pain to describe.
The vices of Louis XV. were the result of bad education. When an infant, they gave him for governor the vainest, most coxcombical, stupidest of men—the duc de Villeroi, who had so well served the king (si bien servi le rot).*Never had courtier so much courtiership as he. He saw the young prince from morning till night, and from morning till night he was incessantly repeating in his ears that his future subjects were born for him, and that they were all dependent on his good and gracious pleasure. Such lessons daily repeated, necessarily destroyed the wise instructions of Massillon. When grown up, Louis XV. saw the libertinism of cardinal Dubois and the orgies of the regency: madame de Maillis’ shameless conduct was before his eyes and Richelieu’s also. Louis XV. could not conduct himself differently from his ministers and his family. His timid character was formed upon the example of others. At first he selected his own mistresses, but afterwards he chose some one who took that trouble off his hands. Lebel became purveyor in chief to his pleasures; and controlled in Versailles the house known as the Parc-aux-Cerfs.
As soon as the courtiers knew of the existence and purposes of this house, they intrigued for the control of it. The king laughed at all their efforts, and left the whole management to Lebel, under the superintendence of the comte de Saint-Florentin, minister of the royal household. They installed there, however, a sort of military chief, formerly a major of infantry, who was called, jestingly, M. de Cervieres; his functions consisted in an active surveillance, and in preventing young men from penetrating the seraglio. The soldiers at the nearest station had orders to obey his first summons. His pay was twelve thousand livres a year.
A female styled the surintendante had the management of the domestic affairs; she ruled with despotic sway; controlled the expenses; preserved good order; and regulated the amusement of her charges, taking care that they did not mix one with the other. She was an elderly canoness of a noble order, belonging to one of the best families in Burgundy. She was only known at the Parc as Madame, and no one ventured to give her any other title. Shortly after the decease of Mme. de Pompadour, she had succeeded in this employ a woman of low rank, who had a most astonishing mind. Louis XV. thought very highly of her, and said that if she were a man he would have made her his minister. She had put the harem on an admirable system, and instructed the odalisques in all the necessary etiquette.
The Madame of my time was a woman of noble appearance, tall, ascetic, with a keen eye and imperious manner. She expressed a sovereign contempt for all the low-born beauties confided to her trust. However, she did not treat her wards ill, for some one of them might produce a passion in the heart of the king, and she was determined to be prepared for whatever might fall out. As to the noble ladies, they were her favourites. Madame did not divide her flock into fair and dark, which would have been natural, but into noble and ignoble.
Besides Madame, there were two under-mistresses, whose duties consisted in keeping company with the young ladies who were placed there. They sometimes dined with new comers, instructed them in polite behaviour, and aided them in their musical lessons, or in dancing, history, and literature in which these tftves were instructed. Then followed a dozen women of lower station, creatures for any service, half waiting women, half companions, who kept watch over the young ladies, and neglected nothing that could injure each other at every opportunity. The work of the house was performed by proper servants and male domestics, chosen expressly for their age and ugliness. They were paid high, but in return for the least indiscretion on their part, they were sent to linger out their existence in a state prison. A severe watch was kept over every person of either sex in this mysterious establishment. It was requisite, in fact, that an impenetrable veil should be cast over the frailties of the king; and that the public should know nothing of what occurred at the Parc-aux-Cerfs.
Further reading:
http://voiceinthecorner.com/2011/08/0...
Charles James Fox: a commentary on his life and character, By Walter Savage Landor, Stephen Wheel
The harlot and the statesman: the story of Elizabeth Armistead & Charles James Fox by I.M. Davis
http://www.answers.com/topic/charles-james-fox#ixzz2EQVpJUT4
Memoirs of the Comtesse Du Barry: with minute details of her entire career … By Etienne-Léon Lamothe-Langon (baron de)
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