A Brand New Sarah Mallory....

I have a new Sarah Mallory published in November – Beauty and the Brooding Lord. And yes, it has a Beauty and the Beast theme! It features Serena Russington, the spirited sister of Russ, my hero in The Ton's Most Notorious Rake. She thinks a rake would make an interesting husband and goes searching for one – with quite disastrous results!

Here is a short excerpt. To set the scene: Serena has slipped away into the garden for a secret assignation with Sir Timothy Forsbrook, whom she knows to be a rake….

***

… in the moonlight the paths gleamed pale silver and the roses themselves ranged from near black to pale blue-grey. But if the flowers had lost their colour, their scent was enhanced and Serena breathed in the heady fragrance as she made her way along the path, but when she reached the turn in the path she was aware of something else besides rose scent in the night air. A faint hint of tobacco.

Ahead she saw an arbour surrounded by climbing roses and her heart gave a little skip. There, in the shadows, was the unmistakable figure of a man. His upper body was hidden, but his crossed legs in their light-coloured knee breeches and white silk stockings were plainly visible in the gloom. Serena had expected to find her swain pacing up and down, impatient for her to arrive, but here he was, sitting at his ease. She quashed the faint ripple of disappointment and hurried up to him, smiling.

‘Forgive me, I was delayed. I—’ She broke off with a gasp as she peered into the shadows. ‘You are not Sir Timothy.’

‘No, I am not.’

The reply was an irritable growl. The figure rose from the seat and Serena took a hasty step backwards. She realised now that he was nothing like Sir Timothy Forsbrook. This man was much larger, for a start, although his upper body was so broad that he did not look overly tall. Where Sir Timothy’s glossy black locks were carefully styled about his head, the stranger’s hair was lighter and too long to be fashionable. And as he stepped out of the arbour she thought he was not at all handsome. In the moonlight his craggy face appeared harsh, as if he was scowling at her.

He towered over her and she took another step away.

‘Excuse me—’ She would have walked on but his next words stopped her.

‘There was a fellow here, but he has gone.’

‘Gone?’

‘Aye. He had the impudence to suggest I should vacate the seat, so I kicked him out.’

She swallowed. ‘Literally?’

His great shoulders lifted in a shrug. ‘No. Mere jostling. He retreated rather than have my fist spoil his face.’

She sucked in a long, indignant breath. ‘That is disgraceful behaviour. Quite boorish.’

‘I suppose you would have preferred me to give way. But why should I? I came out here to enjoy a cigarillo in peace. You two will have to find some other place for your lovemaking.’

His voice dripped scorn. Serena’s face burned with mortification.

‘How dare you! It is nothing like that.’

‘No?’

Knowing she was in the wrong did nothing for Serena’s temper. She drew herself up and said angrily, ‘You are odiously rude!’

‘If it’s soft words you want I suggest you go and find your lover.’

‘Oh, I shall go,’ she told him in a shaking voice,’ and he is not my lover.’

He grinned, his teeth gleaming white in the moonlight. ‘No need to be coy on my account, madam.’

Serena gasped. ‘Oooh, you…you…’

He folded his arms and looked down at her. ‘Yes?’

For a moment she glared at him, her hands closing into fists as she tried to control her rage. It would be most undignified to rip up at him. Resisting the urge to stamp her foot, she turned and swept off, muttering angrily under her breath all the insults she would like to hurl at the odious creature.

***

 I must say, things go from bad to worse for Serena after that but she discovers that the ideal man for her is very different from what she imagined!  Beauty and the Brooding Lord was great fun to write, so I hope you like it, too.

 And if you haven't yet read The Ton's Most Notorious Rake, it is currently 99p for the Kindle version!

Happy reading.

Sarah Mallory / Melinda Hammond

Lucasta, Gainsborough and the Long Regency

Publishing a new book (albeit a revised one) is always exciting, but searching for a new cover for Lucasta, my latest Melinda Hammond to be re-published on Kindle, turned up a fascinating true story that is the equal of any fiction.

You may be asking yourself why I have included a Georgian romantic adventure in this blog for Regency authors. Lucasta is set in 1780 and it can be argued that this was at the very beginning of a period known as the Long Regency, which covers a much wider time-span than the actual time the Prince of Wales was Regent (1811 – 1820). Generally, the Long Regency stretches from the late 18^th century, when the Prince of Wales was coming into his own as a both a fashionable and a political figure, until 1837, when Victoria became Queen (and merited a historical period all to herself)

GEORGE IV

Lucasta is set around the 1780s, just before the French Revolution and the huge changes in society and fashion that followed. When I needed a cover for the e-book, it made sense to go to the leading artists of the day for my inspiration. And I came across this:

The Honourable Mary Graham of Balgowan by Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788)

 You can see how alike it is to my own cover (included at the end of this blog), which the talented Jane Dixon Smith designed for me.  The original portrait is now in the National Galleries of Scotland. It was painted after 1777, so it fits with the setting of my story (even if the style was influenced by the 17^th century painter Van Dyck, so the costume and setting has echoes of an earlier period). When I looked a little deeper into the history of this painting, however, I discovered that the lady's own life was equally as interesting as any fiction.

The Hon Mary Cathcart was born in 1757, the daughter of a Scottish baronet who was at the time Ambassador to Catherine the Great. She was born in Russia and spent her early years there, but returned to England when she was "of marriageable age".  She was married at the age of 17 to a Perthshire landowner, Thomas Graham, in 1774. It is said that he was so love-struck that when she forgot to bring with her the jewels she wanted to wear at a ball, he rode 90 miles to fetch her jewel box.

She suffered from  consumption and her husband took her to Brighton in an attempt to improve her health. It was there she met Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire and they became life long friends (and possibly even lovers). Gainsborough adored her and painted her three times, including the version shown above, which was exhibited to great acclaim at the RA in 1777.

Mary's health continued to be a concern and her husband took her to the Mediterranean in the hope that a warmer climate would prove beneficial, but she died onboard ship, off the coast near Nice, in 1792. Thomas brought her body back through France, which was by then in the grip of revolution, but his party was accosted by French soldiers and Thomas was forced to stand by and watch while they broke into the coffin and violated his wife's body. He had planned to bury her in France, but after this appalling incident he decided to bring her home: she now lies buried in the mausoleum which he built in the churchyard at Methven.

Thomas never recovered from this outrage and could not look at the portrait again. He hung it with white muslin and later passed it to her sister. Thomas then spent the rest of his life in the army, fighting the French. In the mid 19^th century, the portrait was bequeathed to the National Gallery by one her descendants on condition that it never leaves Scotland, and it has been there ever since.

It is a fascinating story, and one that I might never have learned had I not decided that this lady would make a perfect model for my eponymous heroine.

 Happy reading!

Melinda Hammond / Sarah Mallory

Lucasta is now available on Kindle

PUTTING ON MY TOP HAT… How a Regency fashion lingers on. A Historical Wednesday Post

"…his tall, curly-brimmed beaver hat and many-caped driving coat suggested a man of substance…" *

How many times have you read a similar line in a Regency novel?  We tend to think of it as a Regency innovation, but in fact the earlier 18^th Century style of cocked hat (or tricorn, as it was called later) was often made of beaver fur, too, although different furs and even woolen felt could be used as a cheaper option.  It was the style that changed, rather than the fabric, and the Regency "beaver" was the forerunner of today's top hat, which is now more often made of silk.

Beaver felt was a popular material for hats in Europe from the 16^th century through to the mid-19^th century, but it was when the beautiful pelts from North America began to arrive in Europe that the fashion really caught on.

Beaver felt hats could be in black, fawn, grey or white and were generally tall, with widely varying   the most popular being the wider at the top. Silk hats (or polished beaver) came from Italy in the mid 18^th century but did not become popular for our Regency hero until the 1820's and even then they were not general worn until the 1830s.

types of crown,

Being a hatter was a dangerous profession, because they used mercury in the felting process  and this affected the nervous system and caused mood swings, aggressive behaviour, the shakes and hallucinations. This may well be the origin of the term "mad as a hatter." It certainly sounds plausible to me.

The picture showed the various  types of  beaver hat worn around the time of the Regency, and the curly-brimmed one definitely shows  that the top hat was on its way, and in 1823 a Frenchman called Gibus is credited with inventing the collapsible top hat.

 

Melinda Hammond / Sarah Mallory

*quote from "A Lady at Midnight", Melinda Hammond  US  UK

 Sarah Mallory - 

The Chaperon's Seduction pub July 2015 by Harlequin  US  UK

Titanic Affair

It’s over a hundred years since the sinking of Titanic, but the disaster still resonates with us today. The ship struck the iceberg on the night of April 14th, 2012 at 11.40 pm and sank in the early hours of April 15th at 2.20 am. I’m going to be blogging about my historical romance set on board the ill-fated ship.

 I believe it’s important to keep the story of Titanic alive because, to quote Edmund Burke, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”.

Writing Titanic Affair was a new experience for me. Although I’d written a lot of historical romances by the time I wrote Titanic Affair, they were not based around any specific event, so the research process was very different. It was very important to me that the book was factually accurate and so I turned to survivors’ accounts and newspaper reports from the time, as well as the findings of the official investigation. I knew that my book would cover the entire voyage and so I didn’t just research the disaster, I also researched accounts of life on board before disaster struck.

My heroine, Emilia, is leaving England to live with her godmother in Ireland. She is poor, but her godmother has given her a first-class ticket and so she is able to enjoy everything the first-class passengers have at their disposal. One of her friends on board uses the gym, with its cycling and rowing machines as well as its more exotic pieces of apparatus such as an electric horse and an electric camel. She visits the Turkish Baths, with their lavish Moorish-style decorations, but stops short at using the swimming pool. She eats in many of the cafés and restaurants including the Café Parisien, with its beautiful trellis work and wicker furniture. She also dines in the dining saloon as well as the à la carte restaurant, which was run by Monsieur Gatti, who had previously managed the restaurant of the Ritz.

But her plan to stay with her godmother is destroyed when she runs into an old adversary. By the time she escapes, Ireland has been left behind and she is forced to remain on board as the ship heads out to America. Which brings her into an increasingly close relationship with  the wealthy Carl Latimer . . .

You will find a lot more about life on board, as well as the love story between Emilia and Carl, in Titanic Affair. It’s in a special promotion at the moment on the Kindle. You can buy the book at Amazon UK
Amazon US

LOCAL INSPIRATION – HOW A SIMPLE STREET SIGN SPARKED A NOVEL

How can a humble street sign inspire a story?  Well, that is exactly what happened with my latest Sarah Mallory novel, a Regency Romance called Bought for Revenge, which was published on 1^st August.

This sign is on a side lane off one of the main routes cutting east-west across the Southern Pennines. I drive past it regularly and it has always intrigued me. Burnt Acres Lane.  Did it once lead to a field where the stubble was regularly burned off, or was there perhaps a terrible fire?  So far I have not been able to find out any information about this area, but that hasn't stopped me from making up my own story! As I began to weave my own tale of what might have happened I remembered the  ruin of an old house a few miles away and the story really took off.

This house is called Holme Hall. It is just across the border in Lancashire and dates back to the middle ages, when it was a substantial manor house It was rebuilt in stone at the end of the 17th century and it is said to

be haunted (don't they say that of all old buildings?). It became a retirement home in the 1980s but closed at the beginning this century and suffered a devastating fire while it was standing empty and today is a ruined shell. However, I believe it has just been sold again, so I do hope that this wonderful old place can be brought to life again.

So, I had a house, and I had a working title for my new book - "Burnt Acres". I also decided to set the story itself here on the edge of the South Pennines, with its hills and moors and beautiful lush valleys. I have changed all the place names, but anyone living locally can probably recognise the location.

I began to plot the story of a dreadful house fire and a young man, Lucas Blackstone, who is determined to be revenged for the loss of his home and his family. Of course, all is not as it seems, and the innocent victim of his plans is my heroine, Annabelle. Before long Lucas finds that his growing attraction to Annabelle is a serious problem, since it seems he cannot have justice without ruining the woman he loves. 

Annabelle is a very kind and gentle girl, but she has a quiet determination about her. She refuses to give in to Lucas and sparks fly in their battle of wills. 

Bought for Revenge is one of my all-time favourite stories – so much so that I even re-read it when I received my author copies!  I do hope you enjoy it, too.

Happy reading

Sarah Mallory

Bought for Revenge - pub Harlequin August 2013

www.sarahmallory.com

www.melindahammond.com