Nicola Cornick's Blog, page 31

Blog Winners and Previews!

It's going to be an exciting week! First there are the blog winners! Congratulations to Bobby and to HJ whose names were chosen by Monty from the hat of dog biscuits (as it were) to receive ARCs of my new book Notorious! Please drop me a line at ncornick(at)madasafish.com with your mailing details so I can put those books in the post to you! Thank you to all who shared their academic crushes. What an interesting variety of objects of devotion we all crush on!

On Wednesday I will posting up the "lost" prologue to Mistress by Midnight on the website.  I'm really excited about this because it was such fun to write. There is a scene in One Wicked Sin where Ethan and Lottie are at a masquerade at her former husband's house… This is the same scene but from Merryn's perspective and in this alternative universe it's the moment Merryn first meets Garrick. Sadly my editor and I agreed it didn't fit the final version of Mistress by Midnight but I wanted to share it with readers. I hope you enjoy it!

Later in the week I'm blogging about my recent trip to Somerset and the amazing 18th century pavilion I stayed in. Complete with outside bathroom. Um. Yes, amazingly authentic!

Oh, and from the weekend I am going to be starting a series of blogs about some of my backlist books and giving away copies, so if there are some of my books you haven't been able to get your hands on drop me a line and I will see if I have any spares!

See you on the blog!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Academic Crush of the Week!

You know how it is… You wait months for a new academic crush and then two of them come along at the same time. Yes, this week I've been attending some fabulous talks at the Swindon Festival of Literature, learning about everything from famous explorers to the use of metaphor. The speakers have without exception been outstanding but two in particular have made my week. First, my new girl-crush – Kate Williams. Kate spoke about that dazzlingly beautiful late-Georgian It Girl, Emma Hamilton, of her rags to riches rise (or scramble, really – Emma certainly encountered some setbacks on her way) and her vertiginous fall after the death of Horatio Nelson. And I loved the fact that one of Emma's lovers was called Featherstonehaugh but that this was pronounced Fanshaw.

Kate Williams was witty, erudite and illustrated her talk with some fabulous slides. She had equally fabulous shoes. She was in fact everything a speaker should be IMO. As a speaker myself I'm always on the lookout for presentation tips from the best and this was a wonderful talk.  Kate's biography of Emma Hamilton, England's Mistress, is a must read, bringing Emma's dazzling, raffish life vividly alive. I've now moved on to another of Kate's books, Becoming Queen, about Princess Charlotte and Queen Victoria which promises to be another riveting read.

And so to last night and my not-s0-much academic crush of the week but the academic crush of the decade, nay the last 25 years, historian and TV presenter Michael Wood.  When I was an undergraduate at university in London my entire class would get up at 8.30am – practically unheard of for students – to watch repeats of Michael Wood's programme In Search of the Dark Ages and to discuss the episodes in our seminar class. Repeats! What could possibly have inspired us to do this? I can only guess that it was a combination of the impossible allure of the history of the Dark Ages combined with the equally irresistible sight of Michael in his battered leather jacket. Twenty five years on I had a total fangirl moment when I finally met my history hero. Michael Wood can make even the recitation of Anglo Saxon place names fascinating and judging by the response from last night's sell out audience I'm not the only one who thinks so. His latest book, The Story of England looks at the history of England through the lens of one village in Leicestershire and it's amazing, packed full of intimate local details whilst reflecting on the bigger national picture. What I have always loved about Michael Wood's programmes is the way he communicates his sheer passion for history. History to me is incredibly exciting and this is a man who makes it so.

So thank you to the Swindon Festival of Literature for serving up such historical treats this week. I love literary festivals and have only one criticism of them – that they so seldom feature genre fiction alongside literary and non-fiction offerings. But that's another debate. I'd love to offer my signed copy of Michael Wood's book as today's blog prize (actually I wouldn't – It's signed to me and I sleep with it under my pillow) but instead I'm offering two advance copies of Notorious to two commenters who make me feel I am not alone as a fangirl. The question: Who is your current crush, academic or otherwise? As ever, Monty will pick the winners on Monday! Have a great weekend!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Catching Up!

I was intending to post about "commoners" marrying into the Royal family (the definition of the word "commoner" is anyone who isn't royal by birth – ie just about all of us!) but instead I got whisked away on a last minute holiday in a Georgian hermitage so I never got the chance! Not complaining, though – I had a lovely break and I will be blogging about the trip, with pictures, as soon as my photographs are downloaded. I guess my post about commoners will have to wait – maybe until Prince Harry gets married!!

Today is a very exciting day for me, though, as I am going to a talk by Amanda Williams at the Swindon Festival of Literature. I'm hoping she will be talking about her fabulous biography of Emma Hamilton. And I'll be blogging about that too, plus any other interesting talks that I attend.

And, as if that wasn't exciting enough for me, I have received the ARCS for my end-July release, Notorious, so I will be running some contests with Notorious as a prize! Watch this space for details of the contests comeing soon!

Enjoy your week!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Historical Williams and Catherines!

The British monarchy has not been short of either Williams or Catherines in the past so the wedding on Friday will unite two names already familiar from our history. We've had four kings called William so far and they have been quite a mixed bag! The first, of course, was the Conqueror himself, otherwise known as William the Bastard – this was a statement of fact as he was illegitimate as well as (probably) an insult when coming from the Anglo Saxons. A real warrior and hard man.

William II was a very unpopular king. Known as William Rufus for his red hair and ruddy complexion, he succeeded his father the Conqueror in 1087. He was actually the 3rd son of his predecessor, his eldest brother having been barred from the succession for rebellion in the days when a king could make up those sorts of rules of accession. A man of uncertain temper, he was prone to fly into violent rages and there was very little regret when he was killed in a hunting accident in the New Forest by Walter Tyrrell who claimed he was aiming at a stag but shot the king instead. My children's history book describes him in disapproving terms as: "avaricious, an oppressor of the church, totally immoral in his private life, vain and extravagant." The picture shows a pub sign celebrating Sir Walter Tyrrell which says a lot for what people thought of William!

A William who never succeeded as King was the eldest son of Henry I, whose drowning in the wreck of the White Ship in 1120 left Henry without a male heir. This was a contributory factor in the civil wars of the 12th century as Henry's daughter Matilda and her cousin Stephen slugged it out for the throne.

A number of centuries pass before we reach King William III. The husband of Mary, elder daughter of King James II, William was jointly offered the throne of England with his wife after James's abdication in 1689. William was Dutch, Prince of Orange, hence the entry in the book "1066 and all that": England ruled by an Orange. When he came to England at the age of 20 to seek Mary's hand in marriage King Charles II tried to drink him under the table and failed. He also appropriated one of Charles II's mistresses!

Finally to William IV. I have a soft spot for him as he so often gets overlooked between his more flamboyant older brother George (Prince Regent and George IV) and Queen Victoria. William was 65 when he became king. He had been a professional sailor between the ages of 12 and 24 and it was said he still had a sailor's manners – and that was not intended as a compliment! He had eleven children with his mistress, the famous actress Dorothy Jordan but none surviving with his wife Adelaide. A naturally affable man, he was much preferred to his hated older brother and when giving George's funeral oration apparently commented on the number of game the mourners had bagged!

And so to Catherines. Catherine is by no means an unusual name in the Royal family and one of the first to become a member was Katherine Swynford, mistress and then wife of John of Gaunt and sister-in-law to Geoffrey Chaucer. Katherine is, of course, immortalised in the fabulous book by Anya Seton. John of Gaunt was the fourth son of Edward III and was Duke of Lancaster. It is said that Kate Middleton is a descendant of Katherine  Swynford. How cool is that?

The first English Queen Katherine was Katherine of France, wife of Henry V, who went on to marry Owen Tudor and found the Tudor dynasty. Thereby being the ancestress of Henry VIII who married no less than three Catherines – Catherine of Aragon, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr. More on these two latter Catherines in my Friday blog about commoners marrying into the royal family.

Charles I had a daughter Catherine who, because she died young, is often omitted from the historical record. His son Charles II married a Catherine in Catherine of Braganza. It was a popular name in the Stuart family, being given to a daughter of King James II as well. But after the Hanoverians took the throne in the 18th century the name Catherine went out of fashion again as a royal name. It's delightful to see it being revived again in 2011!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Morning Suit versus Lounge Suit!

Welcome to my week of Royal Wedding blog posts! Today a note on sartorial elegance.

Last week there was something of a rumpus over whether the Prime Minister would be wearing a lounge suit or a morning suit for the Royal Wedding. Initially it was claimed he would be going for the lounge suit option and that caused a stir because in doing so he would become the first Prime Minister ever to wear a lounge suit to a royal wedding. Public opinion suggested that turning up at Westminster Abbey in a suit you would wear to work simply didn't cut it in the elegance stakes. Not formal enough, not suited to the occasion etc etc. But what is the difference between the lounge suit and the morning suit and how did they evolve? Here, courtesy of the BBC is the answer:

Formal morning dress for men evolved in the late 18th century. It developed out of men's sporting wear and the emphasis was on masculinity and simplicity. The tailcoat was originally a riding coat that fell to the knee. However, 18th century sportsmen found that such long coats got in the way when riding and so tailors started to cut them shorter so that the "tails" were draped over the horse's flanks. The morning suit was adopted by the rich and fashionable as formal dress and was in vogue until about 1910. It is still the favoured wedding attire for the British and in an interesting throwback to its sporting origins it is also worn at the big, fashionable race meetings.

The lounge suit sounds modern but in fact it emerged not long after the morning coat and by the mid-1870s it was very popular. It is named after the jacket that is worn with it – the lounge coat - and is less fitted and simpler in style than the morning coat. Again, the lounge coat originated in gentlemen's sportswear, evolving from the riding coat and breeches. It was predominantly an item of clothing designed for the working middle classes who did not have the same dress codes as the nobility and its success is also ascribed to the influence of the American business class at the end of the 19th century. The lounge suit gained in popularity after the First World War because it was seen as less old-fashioned and more egalitarian than the morning suit.

Which do you prefer? The formal, aristocratic morning suit or the more egalitarian lounge suit?

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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I'm Loving Reading…

…Harlequin's collection of Royal Wedding themed historical short stories! With one week to go to the Royal Wedding I am most definitely in the mood for romance and these stories are just fabulous. I love the idea of Royal Weddings down the ages and am really enjoying what these authors have done with the idea.

First up, chronologically speaking, is What the Duchess Wants by Terri Brisbin, telling the story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Ever since I watched the BBC Series The Devil's Crown as a child (showing my age here!) I loved those passionate Plantagenets! Eleanor is a powerful woman and Henry a very virile man and one glance at Terri's story and you know they are going to burn up the sheets! Fabulous! Okay, so in real life their white hot love burned itself out and things turned rather nasty but the wonderful thing about fiction is that you don't have to think about the end of the affair when you are reading this, its breathtaking beginning.

Next we have Lionheart's Bride by Michelle Willingham. I loved this story! It reminded me of how as a teenager I had fallen in love with Richard the Lionheart when I read The Passionate Brood by Margaret Campbell Barnes. That book is still on my keeper shelf (and how happy was I that Richard's sister Joanna also grabbed herself a gorgeous knight!).  In Michelle's story, Richard is everything a knight and a warrior should be, strong, powerful and sexy as hell. When I was older I studied the Plantagenets and was devastated to read the rumours that Richard was gay, that he bled his country dry to fund his crusades and that he never really liked England much anyway. Happily Michelle's story took me away from all that with the Richard that I associate with romance and the Robin Hood legends. A true hero. Plus there is the addition of another romance for Princess Berengaria's spirited lady-in-waiting Adriana with a gorgeous Irishman. What more could you ask?

Skipping a few centuries, we come to Prince Charming in Disguise by Bronwyn Scott, featuring the future George II and Caroline of Anspach. I thought this was an interesting choice of couple – I"m getting into the Hanoverians these days and think they've been unfairly eclipsed by their dashing Stuart predecessors! I adored the set up for the story and the fact that George wanted to woo his future bride in person and so disguised himself as a lowly nobleman to do so. Caroline was a lovely character (that's her picture on the left) and I was intrigued by the way that their courtship developed with Caroline falling for wickedly Gorgeous George!

I have to confess that when confronted by A Princely Dilemma, Elizabeth Rolls' story set around the marriage of the future Prince Regent and Caroline of Brunswick in 1795, I wondered how on earth she was going to make this work given the fact that the couple couldn't stand each other from the first and later came to enact a tragic farce that had more than few echoes in a more recent royal marriage! However, I shouldn't have worried – the story instead focussed on an arranged marriage between Christopher, Duke of Severn and his wife Linnet. Both Kester and Linnet were adorable characters who had me rooting for their happiness, the story was wonderful and the love scenes were hot! This was one fantastic read!

Princess Charlotte's Choice by Ann Lethbridge was another great story built around the marriage of George IV's daughter (yes, George and Caroline did actually manage to produce a child despite their mutual aversion!) to Prince Leopold in 1816. I've always thought it a terrible tragedy that Charlotte died so young as she and Leopold seemed genuinely fond of one another. In Ann's story the Royal couple are cute and engaging but the really intense romance is between one of Charlotte's ladies and one of Leopold's gentlemen. With a hero who was tall, dark, handsome, and dangerous to know this was another winner for me.

So now I have two books left on my e-pile, firstly The Problem with Josephine, by Lucy Ashford, set in 1810 around the marriage of  Napoleon to Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria. This is another fascinating choice of background and the story sounds very intriguing. Then, when I have treated myself to that, I will finish on With Victoria's Blessing by Mary Nichols, set at the time of the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840.

The Royal Wedding collection is available in e-book from both Harlequin and Mills & Boon and I feel so inspired by the stories that I'm imagining all kinds of Royal Wedding themed stories down the centuries! In fact I wish I had written one myself – the secret marriage of Elizabeth of Bohemia to William Craven, perhaps?

What I have done this week is finish the manuscript of my book Desired, which now needs a lot of polishing before I send it in. But it's done and it's there to work on and I love it (especially my hero – Owen Purchase is a real sweetheart under his piratical exterior!)  But for now I'm taking a day off and it's back to my treat reading! What are you reading at the moment ?

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Blog Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Dorothy, who has won the Knit Your Own Royal Wedding book and the Kate and Wills Dolly Dress Up Book in my Royal Wedding Weekend Giveaway! I love the idea of all those readers turning up for the wedding in their ballgowns, crown jewels, fancy hats and gorgeous shoes! Thanks for sharing!

On the right is a picture of one of King George IV's outfits from the exhibition currently running at Brighton Pavilion called Dressing for Excess. Isn't it stunning? The display also includes his coronation robes. Suitable illustration for a Royal Wedding post, I thought!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Circles in the Corn

It's that time of year again. Within a few weeks, as the wheat grows high in the fields about our house, the crop circles are bound to appear.

Last year we had the jellyfish. It was beautiful and intricate. It's just a pity that the creation of these works of art damages the crops and frightens the wildlife.

Anyway, the appearance of the crop circle did get me wondering when the first recorded mention was of crop circles and whether any had appeared in historical times. I did some research and came up with some fascinating answers!

The earliest recorded mention of a crop circle appears to be in 815AD when the Bishop of Lyons in France wrote of corn "flattened by magical storms." A celebrated case in  1678 records the case of the "Mowing Devil" which was shown on a contemporary woodcut.  The text that accompanies the woodcut states that when a farmer asked a neighbour to cut his three and a quarter acre oat field, the man 'endeavour'd to sell the Sweat of his Brows and Marrow of his Bones at as dear a Rate as reasonably he might . . . some sharp Words had passed . . . The irritated farmer with a stern look . . . told the poor man, That the Devil should Mow his Oats before he should have anything to do with them.' The result was that that very night people saw the oat field in flames and in the morning a perfect  round crop circle had been cut in the middle of the field. However, this report was discredited in some circles as being  untrue and the woodcut a means of reinforcing the power of the church as a warning not to anger God with intemperate words. Even if this was the case, however, it does suggest that the concept of crop circles was something that men were familiar with at this time.

By the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, the emphasis had shifted from religion and superstition to scientific investigation. Several scientific journals record the appearance of crop circles at this time, down to meticulous detail of how the corn was bent and flattened in some cases and cut and placed in others. Nineteenth century theories on crop circle formation suggested that they might have been created by swirling vortices of air or some other type of natural atmospheric process such as lightning. However, one particular account from the Victorian period near Plummer's Hill, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, describes two disc-shaped objects with flashing lights hovering over a site where the very next day a circle of bent, flattened grasses was discovered! Was this the earliest suggestion that crop circles are created by aliens?

What do you think? Alien artwork or two blokes with computer aided design, a GPS and some plank and rope? It hasn't escaped my notice that the circles usually appear at the full moon in places that are a little off the beaten track where circle creators (or aliens) are unlikely to be disturbed. I love a good bit of paranormal activity but even with the case of the Mowing Devil and the Victorian lights in the sky, I'm not convinced…

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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Royal Wedding Weekend Giveaway Part 2!

Yes, it's two weeks to the Big Day and it's the second of my Royal Wedding weekend giveaway celebrations today! I just LOVE the prize for this one – a William and Kate Dolly Dress Up Book where you can dress the happy couple in a variety of outfits, and a Knit Your Own Royal Wedding Book (see cute picture on the left!) for all you talented knitters and quilters out there. How cool is that? So the question is: "What would YOU wear to attend the wedding of the year?" Shorts and a T-shirt, tiara and ballgown or just your crown jewels? The choice is yours! As ever, Monty the Dog will enjoy choosing a winner on Tuesday. Have a great weekend!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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An Interview with Mia Marlowe!

Over on the Word Wenches blog I am interviewing fabulous historical author Mia Marlowe about her new release Touch of a Thief, which received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and which I cannot wait to get my hands on! Drop in at the Wenches to read about Mia's research and for the chance to win a copy of Touch of a Thief!

©2011 Nicola Cornick. All Rights Reserved.

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