And for September’s exciting newly published book…

You have 6 chances to win this book! Each of the HFBRT ladies is hosting a giveaway, and to find links just go to the Calendar of Events page at Historical Fiction Round Table. There will be 6 reviews, 6 guest posts by Susan Holloway Scott, 6 giveaways and even a few creative posts!

The definitive guide for all the fans of Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and the glittering Regency period

by Jennifer Kloester

Whether you’ve read Georgette Heyer or not–or even if you don’t plan to–this book is an enlightening read for history enthusiasts or those simply wishing to learn more about the Regency era. Heyer’s novels are referred to throughout, but with plenty of details as to how they relate to the facts and information presented. Heyer fans will enjoy learning the minute details, such as the jargon or illustrations of fashion and other items spoken of (but perhaps not described in detail) in the novels.

I have only read a few of her novels: Powder and Patch, An Infamous Army and Cotillion, though I own about 8 more that I plan to read at some point. A handy feature of Georgette Heyer’s Regency World is that it lists each novel by year of publication with a summary. I’ve been told that some of the novels relate to others via characters and I can match them easily and plan to read them in order.

There are maps of London, among other cities, listing all the popular haunts and places mentioned in the novels. It’s always nice to get a visual of the places you’re reading about. The list of rules and etiquette is essential when considering the behavior of the characters in the stories. I remember thinking certain parts or actions odd, but truthfully it was the way of society.

Watching the movie Becoming Jane I thought it strange that Tom Lefroy engaged in boxing for sport, but in fact it was very popular among the higher class men and in Georgette Heyer’s Regnecy World the author even goes into detail about the psychology behind it.

My favorite section is A Glossary of Cant and Common Regency Phrases. One of the things I find irresistible about Georgette Heyer’s writing is the wording used. Her characters were masterful about being both scathing and impeccably polite at the same time.

I don’t normally make a point of hanging on to ARCs (I enjoy passing them along to others) but this one will reside permanently along side my growing Georgette Heyer collection. I know I will be referring back to it with every novel I read!

Make sure to join us over at Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table for an in-depth interview with Susan Holloway Scott, giveaway info and links to our reviews and guest posts! The fun starts September 1st and runs through the 7th, when winners for 6 copies of The Countess and the King will the drawn and the book will be available for purchase at your favorite bookstore!

I didn’t set out to write an historical novel.

The story is infused with history, however. Pythagoras. Mozart. Johannes Kepler even makes a brief appearance. But even history is a story we only think we know. The truth about who we have been is as elusive as the truth about who we are.

Kevin Guilfoile is the bestselling author of THE THOUSAND and CAST OF SHADOWS. He currently resides in Chicago. For more information about Kevin and his books, visit www.KevinGuilfoile.com or follow @KevinGuilfoile on Twitter.

THE THOUSAND

“Kevin Guilfoile’s riveting follow-up to Cast of Shadows (“spellbinding”—Chicago Tribune; “a masterpiece of intelligent plotting”—Salon) centers on an extraordinary young woman’s race to find her father’s killer and to free herself from the cross fire of a centuries-old civil war in which she has unknowingly become ensnared.

In 530 B.C., a mysterious ship appeared off the rainy shores of Croton, in what is now Italy. After three days the skies finally cleared and a man disembarked to address the curious and frightened crowd that had gathered along the wet sands. He called himself Pythagoras. Exactly what he said that day is unknown, but a thousand men and women abandoned their lives and families to follow him. They became a community. A school. A cult dedicated to the search for a mathematical theory of everything. Although Pythagoras would die years later, following a bloody purge, his disciples would influence Western philosophy, science, and mathematics for all time.

Chicago, the present day. Canada Gold, a girl both gifted and burdened by uncanny mental abilities, is putting her skills to questionable use in the casinos and courthouses of Las Vegas when she finds herself drawn back to the city in which her father, the renowned composer Solomon Gold, was killed while composing his magnum opus. Beautiful, brilliant, troubled, Canada has never heard of the Thousand, a clandestine group of powerful individuals safeguarding and exploiting the secret teachings of Pythagoras. But as she struggles to understand her father’s unsolved murder, she finds herself caught in the violence erupting between members of the fractured ancient cult while she is relentlessly pursued by those who want to use her, those who want to kill her, and the one person who wants to save her.

In an irresistibly ambitious novel that fuses historical fact with contemporary suspense, Kevin Guilfoile delivers an erudite, propulsively entertaining thriller that seamlessly traverses the realms of math, science, music, and philosophy. The Thousand is ringing confirmation of Guilfoile’s enormous talent.”

Giveaway Info: 2 hardcover copies. Open WORLDWIDE! Ends September 8, 2010.

Her books were published during the 1970’s and early 1980’s. There is very little information on the author herself, though here is the bio from a book jacket:

In this, as in her many previous romance novels, Clare Darcy belies her Ohio birthplace to seem a genuine resident of Regency England, her special world. It is hard to believe that she did not live in the times and with the people about which she writes so convincingly and wittily.

All of the titles are the name of the heroine. In order by publishing date: Georgina, Cecily: Or a Young Lady of Quality, Lydia: Or Love in Town, Victoire, Lady Pamela, Allegra, Elyza, Regina, Cressida, Eugenia, Gwendolen, Rolande, Letty, Caroline and Julia

There is a very detailed blog post about Clare Darcy and the lack of information on her at Jane Austen in Vermont that I won’t even attempt to imitate because I haven’t read the books as yet. It seems there is much praise when one is familiar with the author, however and I plan find out for myself how well she compares to the incomparable Georgette Heyer.

Lastly, here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Letty:

“Harry, by heaven!” his lordship rasped out, looking up from his book while his face purpled with anger. His craggy brows drew together fiercely over his still keen grey eyes. “Nettleship!” he shouted.

“Good-evening, Great-uncle,” he said politely, with the smile whose cool impudence had made many men his enemies and won female hearts in several capitals of Europe. “I take it you didn’t expect to see me? No, don’t call Nettleship up so you can ring a peel over him for letting me in; you had much better let me have the whole of your budget of ill temper–”

Just reading a bit of her writing tells me she borrowed heavily from Georgette Heyer–not that it’s a bad thing. I think my own writing, and actually I have been told this before, is in the fashion of Jean Plaidy–a huge compliment!

So, do tell… Have you read any Clare Darcy, and what is your opinion on her writing?

The Raven and the Wolf

by Christopher Spellman

Two brothers, sworn as mutual protectors by an oath are caught up in the upheaval of tribal conflict in 10th century, Anglo-Saxon England. Loyalties strained, one brother must decide whether he shall place his trust and devotion in his kingdom or the kingdom his brother has allied himself with.

The Raven & the Wolf: Blood Oath is the first chronicle relating the tale of two brothers divided by the tumult of war, jealousy and blood feuding in 10th century Britain. Embroiled in an inherent rivalry, two boys, Wulfric and Hereric, find themselves torn by circumstances they’ll not comprehend until adulthood but which prove to be insurmountable and irreconcilable.

As the budding nation of England nears imminent tribal war, each brother is led to follow the calling of his allegiance, which is destined to pit each of them against one another.

Though the brothers have been made to swear a blood oath in their youth, which obligates them to a lifelong vow of mutual protection, a violent turn of events has sullied their unity and murdered their family. Wulfric is fostered by an elder who instills the attributes of warriorhood in him while his brother Hereric has been raised in the violent upheaval of clan warfare in Ireland.

Wulfric’s journey, all told through his trials, turns dark when his brother, now a powerful underling to Dublin’s Viking ruler, returns to England after having disappeared for nearly a decade. Having inherited a prized and ancestral sword from his father, one that legend holds makes the army who possesses it impervious to defeat, Wulfric is confronted by a choice – ally himself with his blood brother who has been assimilated into the kingdoms allied against England’s king or hold steadfast to his native allegiances. When Wulfric refuses to join with his brother, and still in possession of the coveted sword his brother believes is key to defeating England, Hereric vows reprisal and enslaves him. Wulfric finds himself captive in one of the darkest and most lawless regions of northern England and must ally himself with a rogue assemblage of brigands, ruffians and bandits in order to escape and make his way through the perilous lands separating him from his kingdom. By then war is afoot and a clash pitting kingdom against kingdom and brother against brother is inevitable.

http://www.christopher-spellman.net
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http://booklocker.com/books/4631.html

article by Kelly Leanne Green

I actually think Shakespeare invented the genre of historical fiction (although a good case could be made for the Greek writer Herodotus). More than a quarter of Shakespeare’s entire oeuvre was based on events that took place under the Plantagenet kings of England. If you consider his Roman plays and works like King Lear and Macbeth, the ratio is closer to half. But I became fascinated with Shakespeare as a writer of history and historical fiction after seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company’s histories cycle, during which they staged the eight Plantagenet history plays from Richard II to Richard III.

My own re-vision of Shakespeare’s historical fiction started when I couldn’t find much in the way of stories or books about the events in these plays for young adults and older children. Since I was taking my sons to see the plays, I wanted them to get the most they could from the experience. There were a few books for adults, mostly written by historians, but they were very dense, and assumed you already knew the plays’ plots and stories.

What did I want? Certainly more than a thrown-together synopsis of the plots. I wanted to understand the stories behind the story, and to get the jokes! I wanted to have those dukes of Gloucester and earls of Warwick sorted out in my head. I wanted to know which characters were real, or based on real people, and which ones were complete products of Shakespeare’s allusive imagination. I wanted to know how he changed events and characters, and what he left out.

That desire led to several years of research. Along the way I learned, and wrote, not only about castles, battles, knights and princesses, but also about the common people who fought and marched to make their case against aristocratic abuse and the taxman. The culmination of this effort was Plantagenet Plots: Shakespeare’s Stories of the Middle Ages, a novelized retelling of Shakespeare’s four history plays known as the Henriad: The Tragedy of King Richard II, The History of Henry IV, Parts One and Two, and The History of King Henry V.

Retellings, and re-imaginings, of Shakespeare’s plays have long been popular, but the histories usually get left out. On occasion they have simply been “retold” without any “reconsideration.” Since my academic background is in history, I wanted my retelling to include historical context and backstory about the characters and events, while keeping much of the plays’ beautiful language. What I learned along the way was that Shakespeare was actually a pretty good historian. The fiction part? The many wonderful, full-bodied characters he invented, like Sir John Falstaff (based on two real people), tavern hostess Mistress Quickly, prostitute Doll Tearsheet, drunkard Bardolph, and the mercenary and cowardly soldier Ancient Pistol. Shakespeare also created touching fictional scenes based on real people, like the English troops who sat in the rain and mud of the field at Agincourt, convinced that the next day they would meet their deaths.

I wrote this book to demystify the history plays for people who love Shakespeare, to re-introduce Shakespeare to people who have been put off by deadly school experiences, and to help those who already love the histories sort through what was real and what was fiction. Along the way, I hoped to tell some gripping stories, peopled by unforgettable characters. Shakespeare’s historical fiction is a part of our cultural heritage, and I think everybody should get the chance to enjoy it, one way or another.

While I wrote the books for a young adult audience, I’ve gotten good comments back from readers as young as 10, and from people over 50. One Virginia philosophy professor told me he had never been to a Shakespeare play until he read my version of Henry IV and went to see a production of it at the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. with his son. They loved it, and felt my retelling helped them appreciate the play and know what was going on. I couldn’t ask for a better endorsement than that. It is my hope that other readers will meet Shakespeare through these retellings, and then go on to enjoy more of the “historical fiction” he wrote throughout his career.

Book Description:

“Plantagenet Plots: Shakespeare’s Stories of the Middle Ages includes retellings of four of William Shakespeare’s Plantagenet history plays: Richard II, both parts of Henry IV, and Henry V. These stories focus on the needs of modern readers and audiences. They preserve the best of Shakespeare’s beautiful language, but incorporate the historical details and context we don’t necessarily know today. Loaded with illustrations from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century, each story concludes with a chapter considering Shakespeare as historian–what did he change, make up or get wrong? Appendices include suggestions for further reading, recommendations on how to experience the plays through film and audio, maps, and a geneology of the Plantagenet family. Recommended for ages 10 and up.”

Read more about this book series at Rubeus Books.

Giveaway Info: 1 copy of Plantagenet Plots. Open Worldwide. Ends August 30, 2010.

The Counterfeit Guest

by Rose Melikan

It is 1797, and Mary Finch, heroine of The Blackstone Key, is now a wealthy heiress. Young ladies in her situation ought to marry well — as her friend Susannah Armitage has. But is Susannah’s marriage to Colonel Crosby-Nash all that it seems? Mary thinks not, and when her suspicions lead to a meeting with the elusive spymaster Cuthbert Shy, he reveals the terrible truth: the colonel is a traitor. At Shy’s request, Mary agrees to accompany the Crosby-Nashes to their country estate in order to discover his secrets. It is a perilous assignment, and the danger increases when her only means of communicating with Shy is murderously cut off. If only Mary could contact the redoubtable Captain Robert Holland — but as he has inexplicably ended their friendship, his help seems out of reach….

And not quite a find, but something I received in the mail from the publisher – the finished version of Susan Holloway Scott’s September release. Don’t miss the HF Round Table event for this one, September 1st-7th!

The Countess and the King

by Susan Holloway Scott

“Katherine Sedley lived by her own rules and loved who she pleased- until she became the infamous mistress of King James II…

London, 1675: Born to wealth and privilege, Katherine is introduced to the decadent court of King Charles II, and quickly becomes a favorite from the palace to the bawdy playhouses. She gleefully snubs respectable marriage to become the Duke of York’s mistress.

But Katherine’s life of carefree pleasure ends when Charles II dies, and her lover becomes King James II. Suddenly she is cast into a tangle of political intrigue, religious dissent, and ever-shifting alliances, where a wrong step can mean treason, exile, or death at the executioner’s block. As the risks rise, Katherine is forced to make the most perilous of choices: to remain loyal to the king, or to England.”

Everyone, please join in the Tweet-up today for your chance to win this book. They are giving away a book every 10 minutes and 10 copies after the chat!

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THE HELP – OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

THE HELP
DREAMWORKS STUDIOS
Website and Mobile site: DreamWorksStudios.com
Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/TheHelpCommunity
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HelpCommunity

Genre: Drama
Rating: TBD
U.S. Release date: 2011

Cast: Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone
Director: Tate Taylor
Producers: Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
Executive Producers: Tate Taylor, Mark Radcliffe, Dean Jones, Nate Berkus, Jennifer Blum, Jeff Skoll, Mohamed Khalef Al-Mazrouei
Screenplay by: Tate Taylor
Based on the novel by: Kathryn Stockett

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, “The Help” stars Emma Stone (star of the breakout hit, “Zombieland”) as Skeeter, a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives—and a small Mississippi town—upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Academy Award® nominee Viola Davis (“Eat Pray Love”) stars as Aibileen, Skeeter’s best friend’s housekeeper, who is the first to open up—to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter’s life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories—and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly—and unwillingly—caught up in the changing times.

Based on one of the most talked about books in years and a #1 New York Times best-selling novel, “The Help” is a provocative and inspiring look at what happens when a southern town’s unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship.