Loretta Chase's Blog, page 11

Those Cruikshank Prints In "Ten Things I Hate About You": 'The Blue Devils'

George Crukshank, The Blue Devils, 10 January 1823, courtesy Harvard Library

This is the first post about the Cruikshank prints mentioned in the book, with some notes about the imagery. The Cruikshank images Ashmont has in his dressing room must have been quite popular, because they were reprinted at later dates, sometimes as late as a decade or more after the original. Unfortunately, its difficult if not impossible to get all the jokes and references in 19th-century satirical prints,...

The Vehicles in "Ten Things I Hate About the Duke"

James Pollard, Trafalgar Square (this is undated, but the clothing tells me its 1830s).

Until the mass production of automobiles, over a century ago, only well-off people could afford to own their own vehicles. In London, the vast majority of the populace walked. Even for the well-to-do, walking could be a more efficient way of getting from place to place, given congested streets and frequent accidents.

In Town, public transportation comprised omnibuses, hackney coaches, and hackney...

The Green Man Inn and the Cattle Pound of Putney Heath

The Green Man about 1900.

The Green Man Inn, Putney Heath, features in two Difficult Dukes books, most recently in Ten Things I Hate About the Duke.

It stands on the crest of Putney Hill, where the Heath and the Portsmouth Road begin Charles Harper tells us, in The Old Inns of Old England (1906). But Harper spends most of his time on the highwaymen and footpads whose hangout it apparently was in the 18th century. My story comes some years later, on the brink of the Victorian era, and my...

UK/Australia/New Zealand alert: "Ten Things I Hate About the Duke" Kindle now available

It gives me very great pleasure to report that the UK/Australia/New Zealand Kindle edition of Ten Things I Hate About the Duke is now available. Other retailers will follow, probably within 72 hours.

Regarding the audio editions: My agents are working on this and I should have de...

"Ten Things I Hate About the Duke" is here!

At last, at last! Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, Difficult Dukes Book # 2, has been released into the world. (Well, the North American part of it, anyway.*)

When last we saw the Duke of Ashmont, in A Duke in Shining Armor, he was doing a great job of making a hopeless case of h...

EBook and Audio deals for a short time only

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke will be released on Tuesday 1 December. Meanwhile, though, I’ve discovered some special, short-term deals on several of my books.

In eBooks at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple, and maybe other retailers:

Silk is for Seduction $1.99

Scandal Wears Satin ...

Librarians give "Ten Things I Hate About the Duke" their Seal of Approval

You have not heard much from me lately, but please brace yourself, because the posts will be coming somewhat thicker and faster than usual as we count down to the 1 December release of Ten Things I Hate About the Duke.

Some months ago, Advance Reading Copies (mistakes and all) wen...

Historical Romance Panel now on YouTube

Four authors and an editor + our Super Librarian Meena Jain of the Cary Memorial Library (this was her great idea) had a lively discussion about historical romance and the ways it’s evolved. We got serious. We got nostalgic. We got to laughing quite a bit. And we produced various perspectives on the books that started it all, back in the early 70s—and how they’ve influenced us (or not) today.

In case you missed it—or would like to see it again, the discussion is now available for your viewing pl...

Gang of Historical Romance Authors + an Editor Tackle Bodice Rippers

Many of today’s historical romance writers got their first taste of the genre via Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Johanna Lindsey, and other historical romance pioneers. For a while now, though, we’ve been well aware of aspects of these books that seem to be very much at ...

A Duke in Shining Armor eBook Deal

If my first Difficult Dukes book, A Duke in Shining Armor, isn’t on your e-reader, now might be a good time to consider adding it. For the month of October, it’s a $2.99 Amazon Kindle deal—and a quick check of other retailers tells me that Barnes & Noble Nook and Apple Books are ...