Giveaway: Watch the Lady: A Novel by Elizabeth Fremantle

Watch the Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle Tudor Trilogy #3

Giveaway: Watch the Lady: A Novel by Elizabeth Fremantle

ARC Giveaway: Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird

Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

ARC Giveaway for "Art in the Blood" by Bonnie MacBird

Giveaway: The Exchange of Princesses by Chantal Thomas

In stores 7.7.2015 

The Exchange of Princesses by Chantal Thomas
Philippe d’Orléans, the regent of France, has a gangrenous heart–the result of a life of debauchery, alcohol, power, and flattery. One morning in 1721, he has a brilliant idea to further appease his thirst for power: he decides to marry eleven-year-old Louis the XV to the daughter of Philippe V of Spain, who is only four. This, Orléans hopes, will tie his kingdom to Spain’s. But it could also have a more duplicitous effect: were Louis XV to die without begetting an heir–the likeliness of which is greatly increased by having a child—Orléans himself would finally be king. In exchange, Orléans tosses his own daughter into the bargain, the 12-year-old Mlle de Montpensier, who will marry the Prince of Asturias, the inheritor of the Spanish throne.

The Spanish court enthusiastically agrees and arrangements are quickly made. The two nations trade their princesses in a grand ceremony in 1722, making bonds that should end the historical conflict between them. Of course, nothing turns out as expected. In a novel that reads like a fairy tale, Chantal Thomas chronicles a time in French history when children were not children, but pawns in an adult’s game.

Giveaway: The Exchange of Princesses by Chantal Thomas

Book Giveaway: THE FLYING CIRCUS by Susan Crandall

The Flying Circus by Susan Crandall Paperback Advanced Readers Edition

"From the bestselling and award-winning author of Whistling Past the Graveyard comes an adventure tale about two daredevils and a farm boy who embark on the journey of a lifetime across America’s heartland in the Roaring Twenties.

Set in the rapidly changing world of 1920s America, this is a story of three people from very different backgrounds: Henry “Schuler” Jefferson, son of German immigrants from Midwestern farm country; Cora Rose Haviland, a young woman of privilege whose family has lost their fortune; and Charles “Gil” Gilchrist, an emotionally damaged WWI veteran pilot. Set adrift by life-altering circumstances, they find themselves bound together by need and torn apart by blind obsessions and conflicting goals. Each one holds a secret that, if exposed, would destroy their friendship. But their journey of adventure and self-discovery has a price—and one of them won’t be able to survive it.

As they crisscross the heartland, exploring the rapidly expanding role of aviation from barnstorming to bootlegging, from a flying circus to the dangerous sport of air racing, the three companions form a makeshift family. It’s a one-of-a-kind family, with members as adventurous as they are vulnerable, and as fascinating as they are flawed. But whatever adventure—worldly or private—they find themselves on, they’re guaranteed to be a family you won’t forget".

Good luck everyone drawing ends 5.13.2015 US and Canada only.

ARC Giveaway for "The Flying Circus" by Susan Crandall S T A Y  C O N N E C T E D  W I T H  M E :
S U B S C R I B E ~ T W I T T E R ‪ ~ F A C E B O O K ~ I N S T A G R A M ~ G O O G L E +‪

~L I Z Z I E~

Book Giveaway: Killers of the King the Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I by Charles Spencer

Killers of the King the Men Who Dared to Execute Charles I by Charles Spencer ~ Hardback
"On August 18, 1648, with no relief from the siege in sight, the royalist garrison holding Colchester Castle surrendered and Oliver Cromwell’s army firmly ended the rule of Charles I of England. To send a clear message to the fallen monarch, the rebels executed four of the senior officers captured at the castle. Yet still, the king refused to accept he had lost the war. As France and other allies mobilized in support of Charles, a tribunal was hastily gathered and a death sentence was passed. On January 30, 1649, the King of England was executed. This is the account of the fifty-nine regicides, the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant. Recounting a little-known corner of British history, Charles Spencer explores what happened when the Restoration arrived. From George Downing, the chief plotter, to Richard Ingoldsby, who claimed he was forced to sign his name by his cousin Oliver Cromwell, and from those who returned to the monarchist cause and betrayed their fellow regicides to those that fled the country in an attempt to escape their punishment, Spencer examines the long-lasting, far-reaching consequences not only for those who signed the warrant, but also for those who were present at the trial and for England itself. A powerful tale of revenge from the dark heart of England’s past, and a unique contribution to seventeenth-century history, Killers of the King tells the incredible story of the men who dared to assassinate a monarch".
Book Giveaway: Killers of the King by Charles Spencer
Good luck everyone and happy reading!
S T A Y C O N N E C T E D W I T H M E :
S U B S C R I B E ~ T W I T T E R ‪ ~ F A C E B O O K ~ I N S T A G R A M ~ G O O G L E +‪
~L I Z Z I E~

Giveaway: O, JULIET by Robin Maxwell

Good Luck Everyone and Happy Reading!
~Lizzie~

Giveaway: AN AFFAIR WITH MR. KENNEDY by Jillian Stone

"Detective Zeno “Zak” Kennedy is considered a hero in London after breaking up a plot against the Crown. But villainy never sleeps, and he’s now after a ring of Irish anarchists plotting a bombing campaign. When he discovers that one of these treacherous lords is acquainted with his new tenant, widowed Cassie St. Cloud, he sets out to get closer to the lady. Cassie is no Victorian prude; the daughter of two prominent doctors, she is a freethinking artist and a volunteer at a girls’ school. She’s set her sights on her handsome new landlord, and soon they’re enmeshed in the most passionate affair of her life. But when she discovers that their meeting was not purely accidental, will she be able to forgive him"?

The Giveaway

Giveaway ends November 4, 2011 at midnight west coast time. The giveaway is for one unfinished advanced readers copy and open to US Only.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link to where you shared it.

Amazon
An Affair with Mr. Kennedy
 ~Lizzie~

Giveaway: THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE, by Simone St. James

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

Hits bookstores March 6, 2012

"Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis – rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts – has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah’s task to confront her in death.

Soon Sarah is caught up in a desperate struggle. For Maddy’s ghost is real, she’s angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair’s assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance – before she destroys them all"?

The Giveaway

Giveaway ends November 2, 2011 at midnight west coast time. The giveaway is for one huge unfinished 8x10 advanced readers copy and open to US Only.
For 1 entry enter your name and email
For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form
For 3 entries share this and add a real link to where you shared it.

Amazon

The Haunting of Maddy Clare
 ~Lizzie~

Giveaway TO DIE FOR by Sandra Byrd

To Die for by Sandra Byrd
"What would you sacrifice for your best friend? Would you die for her?

Meg Wyatt has been Anne Boleyn's closest friend ever since they grew up together on neighboring manors in Kent. So when twenty-five-year-old Anne's star begins to ascend, of course she takes Meg along for the ride.

Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling...at first. Meg is made mistress of Anne's wardrobe, and she enjoys the spoils of this privileged orbit and uses her influence for good. She is young and beautiful and in favor; everyone at court assumes that being close to her is being close to Anne.

But favor is fickle and envy is often laced with venom. As Anne falls, so does Meg, and it becomes nearly impossible for her to discern ally from enemy. Suddenly life's unwelcome surprises rub against court's sheen to reveal the tarnished brass of false affections and the bona fide gold of those are true. Both Anne and Meg may lose everything. When your best friend is married to fearsome Henry VIII, you may soon find yourself not only friendless but headless as well.

A rich alchemy of fact and fiction, To Die For chronicles the glittering court life, the sweeping romance, and the heartbreaking fall from grace of a forsaken queen and Meg, her closest companion, who was forgotten by the ages but who is destined to live on in our hearts forever"

More on the Tour,
Tour schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.blogspot.com/2011/07/virtual-book-tour-to-die-for-by-sandra.html
Author Website/Ladies in Waiting Web Page: http://www.sandrabyrd.com/adults-ladies-waiting.php
Sandra Byrd's Blog: http://sandrabyrd.com/blog/
Sandra Byrd's FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/sandrabyrdwrites
HF VIRTUAL TOURS on Twitter #ToDieForVirtualBookTour

The Giveaway,

The giveaway is for one finished paperback copy. Giveaway ends August 29th 2011 at midnight west coast time. The giveaway is for one copy and open to US, CAN, UK, AUS NZ.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link to where you shared it.

Amazon
To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn
Piece de Resistance: A Novel
~Lizzy~

Giveaway Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts by Mitzi Szereto

 

Release July 5, 2011 Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts

"Imagine that Jane Austen had written the opening line of her satirical novel Pride and Prejudice this way: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good romp and a good wife — although not necessarily from the same person or from the opposite sex." In Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts Mr. Darcy has never been more devilish and the seemingly chaste Elizabeth never more turned on.
The entire cast of characters from Austen's classic is here in this rewrite that goes all the way. This time Mr. Bingley and his sister both have designs on Mr. Darcy's manhood; Elizabeth's bff Charlotte marries their family's strange relation and stumbles upon a secret world of feminine relations more to her liking; and, in this telling, men are not necessarily the the only dominating sex. And of course there's some good old fashioned bodice ripping that shows no pride or prejudice and reveals hot hidden lusts in every page-turning chapter".

For more on Mitzi Szereto's novels,
Coming in July 2011: "Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts"
Coming in Sept. 2011: "Red Velvet and Absinthe: Paranormal Erotic Romance"
Check out my latest book "In Sleeping Beauty's Bed: Erotic Fairy Tales"

You can find her also on these sites also,
Errant Ramblings: Mitzi Szereto's Weblog
Mitzi TV
Twitter @mitziszereto
Facebook 
MySpace
Flickr

 Lets kick off this giveaway!

The giveaway is for one finished paperback copy. This one is only open to the US residents only. Giveaway ends July 21st 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.

~Lizzy~

Giveaway Incognito by Gregory Murphy

Hitting Bookstores Everywhere July 5th 2011

"An elegant literary mystery set during the Gilded Age.

New York City, 1911. Representing the widow of a Wall Street financier, lawyer William Dysart travels to a small Long Island town with a generous offer for Miss Sybil Curtis's cottage and five acres of land. But when Sybil refuses to sell, the widow threatens to use her influence with the state to seize the property.
Intrigued by Sybil's defiance and afflicted by a growing affection for her, William develops a desire to help her that becomes an obsession he cannot define, one that tears away the facade of his life, and presents him with truths he's unprepared to face".

Lets kick off this killer giveaway! 

The giveaway is for one finished paperback copy. This one is only open to the US residents only. Giveaway ends July 10th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.

~Lizzy~

Catherine Delors on The King and the Emperor and Bonus Giveaway!

Please welcome author Catherine Delors back to Historically Obsessed with a re-post of her event guest post for historical fiction bloggers round table event which was back in 2010. HFRT featured Catherine's hard copy release of "For the King" last year and I enjoyed this one greatly. I figured it would be appropriate and fun to re-post this very cool post on the correspondence between Louis XVIII and Napoleon with an exciting giveaway. Catherine's lovely novel "For the King" will be hitting stores on July 5th 2011. With out further delay please take it away Catherine.

The King and the Emperor: Louis XVIII and Napoléon

CATHERINE DELORS

My novel is called FOR THE KING for a reason (for several reasons, in fact, but I will leave it to the reader to discover those.)

In 1800 France was still a republic, nominally run by three Consuls. For all intents and purposes, only the First Consul, Napoléon Bonaparte, mattered. He had seized power in a bloodless coup in the fall of 1799.

At first, royalists indulged in the hope that Bonaparte would step down and restore the monarchy. The pretender to the throne was a younger brother of the late Louis XVI, Louis-Stanislas. He was now known to his followers as Louis XVIII, to allow for the theoretical reign of the young Louis XVII, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who had died jailed at the Temple.

Louis XVIII

In 1800 Louis XVIII was 45. He had been friendly to reform in the beginnings of the French Revolution. But as it took a more radical turn, he had fled at the same time as the royal couple. Only he had succeeded in reaching Brussels when Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were arrested near the border.

Since then, Louis XVIII had lived the unhappy life of an exile, at the mercy of the varying generosity of foreign sovereigns and the vagaries of international politics. In 1800 he was living under the protection of the Tsar of Russia.

Louis XVIII was by all accounts, like his elder brother, a man of superior intelligence, but he was a far more astute politician than Louis XVI. He was patient, ambitious, cunning, and determined to step some day unto the throne of his ancestors.

This is what he wrote Napoléon in September of 1800:

General,
You must have long known that you have earned my esteem. If you ever doubted that I was able of gratitude, chose your own place, decide the fate of your friends.
As for my principles, I am a Frenchman: merciful by nature, I shall be all the more so by reason.


No, the victor of Lodi, Castiglione, Arcole, le conqueror of Italy and Egypt cannot prefer a vain fame to glory. However you are wasting precious time; we can ensure the peace of France. I say “we” because I need Bonaparte for that, and that he cannot do it without me.


General, Europe is watching you, glory awaits you, and I am impatient to restore peace to my people.
Keep in mind that Bonaparte had not yet given any indications that he planned to restore monarchy for his own benefit. He would only crown himself Emperor four years later. But he obviously thought the time had come to dash royalist illusions. 

Here is his response to Louis XVIII:

Sir,
I received your letter. I thank you for the kind things you write about me. You must not wish for your return to France. You would have to step upon 500,000 corpses.


Sacrifice your interest to the peace and happiness of France; history will remember it to your credit.


I am not indifferent to your family’s misfortunes. I will be happy to contribute to the comfort and tranquility of your retreat.
Bonaparte

Bonaparte had dropped the mask! These letters, by the way, provide useful glimpses into the minds of the two men. Note how Louis XVIII flatters Bonaparte, and emphasizes cooperation, and how all but one of Bonaparte’s sentences begin with “I”.

 

Napoléon

A few months later, royalists will detonate a bomb along the path of Bonaparte’s carriage, in the assassination attempt I describe in FOR THE KING.
As to Louis XVIII, he had to bide his time. But eventually, he was restored to the throne, while Napoléon died in exile on the forlorn island of St. Helena. Twists and turns of history…

Thank you Catherine for dishing us this wonderfully delicious piece of correspondence between the two men. I do have to say though that the secret of the title was one of my favorite parts and my lips are sealed. If you want to know the FOR THE KING secret you will just have to read it.

For More on Catherine Delors FOR THE KING check this out:
For the King, Amazon
Catherine's Website

Lets kick off this killer giveaway! 

The giveaway is for two finished paperback copies so that mean two separate people will score a copy of "For the King". This one is only open to the US residents. Giveaway ends July 4th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.
 

~Lizzy~

In Stores Now and Giveaway Winner: The Darkest Heart by Thea Devine

In stores now and the winner of the giveaway is...

Heather Dickson

In bookstores today!
"Ever since a terrible fire killed her older son, one ambition has ruled Countess Lazlaric. Desperate to continue the family legacy, she is determined that her rakehell second son wed and produce an heir. Now, she’s found the perfect bride. A distant relative, writing to beg for help, is ideal for her secret plans.Alone in the world, beautiful raven-haired Senna Landseth finds more than just Drom Manor’s isolation sending a shiver down her spine. Countess Lazlaric seems overly eager to welcome her, strange noises fill the cavernous corridors of the gloomy manor, and she senses she is being spied upon. Then a note mysteriously appears, inscribed with chilling words: “I’m watching you. Nicolai.”In the years since the fire that supposedly destroyed him, Nicolai Lazlaric has inhabited the world of a vampire, consumed with seeking revenge on the creature who turned him. Now, it is time to return to Drom Manor. But Nicolai has no idea how badly the Countess wants an heir—or that his hated brother’s prospective bride is residing there. Senna’s unexpected presence upends Nicolai’s plans, for he can think only of possessing the beautiful innocent, of taking her in a blood-binding seduction from which she will never escape. . . ."

Amazon
The Darkest Heart
~Lizzy~

Giveaway The Darkest Heart by Thea Devine

"Thea Devine, dubbed "The Queen of Erotic Romance," tries her hand at something new in this compelling and gothic historical vampire novel".

"Ever since a terrible fire killed her older son, one ambition has ruled Countess Lazlaric. Desperate to continue the family legacy, she is determined that her rakehell second son wed and produce an heir. Now, she’s found the perfect bride. A distant relative, writing to beg for help, is ideal for her secret plans.Alone in the world, beautiful raven-haired Senna Landseth finds more than just Drom Manor’s isolation sending a shiver down her spine. Countess Lazlaric seems overly eager to welcome her, strange noises fill the cavernous corridors of the gloomy manor, and she senses she is being spied upon. Then a note mysteriously appears, inscribed with chilling words: “I’m watching you. Nicolai.”In the years since the fire that supposedly destroyed him, Nicolai Lazlaric has inhabited the world of a vampire, consumed with seeking revenge on the creature who turned him. Now, it is time to return to Drom Manor. But Nicolai has no idea how badly the Countess wants an heir—or that his hated brother’s prospective bride is residing there. Senna’s unexpected presence upends Nicolai’s plans, for he can think only of possessing the beautiful innocent, of taking her in a blood-binding seduction from which she will never escape. . . ."

The giveaway is for one finished paperback copy. This one is only open to the US residents. Giveaway ends July 20th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.

Typo on the form, the giveaway will end on 6.20.2011 not 7.20.2011

~Lizzy~

Giveaway "The Tapestry Shop" by Joyce Elson Moore

"The Tapestry Shop", by Joyce Elson Moore, is an historical novel based on the life of Adam de la Halle, a poet/musician who left behind a vast collection of secular compositions. While researching Adam's music, Moore discovered a little-known fact; the earliest version of the Robin Hood legend may have been Adam's play, Le Jeu de Robin et Marion. Because Adam was patronized by royalty, his play was probably performed in English courts, and would have changed, as legends do. In the retelling, Robin became an English hero, and Robin's companions became the Merry Men.

The book draws the reader into the Middle Ages, where women joined the crusades and students held discourse on the Street of Straw, but the overriding appeal of The Tapestry Shop may be Adam's connection to the popular legend of Robin Hood, the celebrated outlaw who was immortalized in later ballads, and who continues to draw fans around the world to films that center on this elusive hero".

Lets kick off this killer giveaway! 

The giveaway is for one advance readers copy. This one is only open to the US residents. Giveaway ends May 15th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.

~Lizzy~

Giveaway "Day of Revenge" by Deanna Proach

Day of Revenge by Deanna Proach

"The French Revolution provides a vivid backdrop for Proach's passionate, fast-paced anti-"Vive le Republique!" historical romance debut. More than four years have passed since the 1789 Bastille riots, and the summer of 1793 finds a counter-revolutionary plot brewing against the bloodthirsty Citoyen Robespierre and his red caps. Young Lyon nobleman Emmanuel d' LeVasque and his family, along with other deposed aristocrats like Samuel La Font, fear Robespierre's next move after Jacobin Capt. Citoyen Henri Varennesh arrests their friend Pierre La Metz for possessing a counter-revolutionary letter. Varennes becomes disenchanted with Robespierre and eventually joins the counter-revolutionaries. After Metz is guillotined, a prison rescue of young Dauphin Louis is launched. Proach makes a valid point about Robespierre's fanaticism, and she also includes feverish romance: Emmanuel's brother Emil pursues a relationship with orphaned vineyard worker Elle, while Emmanuel is tempted by La Font's cousin Lisabetta. Featuring a well-developed cast of characters, this is a sympathetic portrait of imperiled French aristocracy".

Lets kick off this killer giveaway! 

The giveaway is for one finished paperback copy. This one is only open to the US residents only. Giveaway ends May 14th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.

Amazon
Day of Revenge

~Lizzy~

Sourcebooks British Babes Celebration with Heyer Giveaway!

From Sourcebooks:
If you haven’t already checked out the Sourcebooks British Babes Book Brigade Facebook Page (where you can participate in giveaways and interact with authors like Elizabeth Chadwick, Jill Mansell, Helen Hollick, Sarah Bower and Phillipa Ashley and more…) then you should before next week because the page is about to go royally mad!!

The royal wedding is only a week away and we are going to be celebrating all next week. Starting Monday we will be doing a giveaway every day until the big celebration on Friday. But these are no ordinary giveaways – these are royal wedding prize packs!

3 winners will be randomly picked each day:

- The 1st place winner will get a William & Kate wedding memento (it is top secret for now (just like Kate’s dress J) but check the page out on Monday to find out – oh and they are all different so there will be a different memento each day). Along with that they also get their choice of three books from any of our British Book Babes.

- The 2nd place winner will have their choice of any two books from any of our British Book Babes.

- The 3rd place winner will have their choice of one book from any of our British Book Babes.

You can visit the page here:
http://www.facebook.com/britishbabesbookbrigade

Heyer on Amazon: Search Amazon.com for georgette heyer



~Lizzy~

HFRT event Christy English and giveaway

Announcing a grand HFRT event! This time around the group is featuring the fabulous Christy English and her latest release "To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine". For more on the event: check out the groups main site and schedule for the down low on what will be going on in the next week or so. I can not wait to feature this one because I know the ladies have some wonderful posts up their sleeves just waiting for us all to ooh and ahh over.

"The author of The Queen's Pawn delves into the early life of the legendary Eleanor of Aquitaine in her new historical novel.
After her father's sudden death, fifteen-year-old Eleanor is quickly crowned Duchess of Aquitaine and betrothed to King Louis VII. When her new husband cannot pronounce her given name, Alienor becomes Eleanor, Queen of France.
Although Louis is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by the church and a God that Eleanor doesn't believe in. Now, if she can find the strength to fight for what she wants, Eleanor may finally find the passion she has longed for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen".

Amazon

To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine
The Queen's Pawn

To celebrate the event kick off Historically Obsessed is having a Giveaway!

Open to EVERYONE this one is INTERNATIONAL

Up for grabs is one finished autographed copy of To Be Queen by Christy English

The ONLY rule is you MUST fill out the form below.

Royal Rival LETTICE KNOLLYS by Leslie Carroll and Rocking Giveaway!

Please everyone give a warm welcome to my all time favorite non-fiction author the fabulous Leslie Carroll. Leslie has honored Historically Obsessed with a rocking guest post on my top most despised "she wolves" as Queen Elizabeth I would have called her. In reality what else are you suppose to call the woman who under your nose married the only man you ever loved? YES it is Lettice Knolly's and as many of you know she is one of my top picks for bad girls of the Tudor court since she ensnared Robert Dudley into her clutches. With out further delay take it away Leslie and readers be sure to read the post and go below for a rocking giveaway of  Leslie's brand new release "Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds".

Royal Rival LETTICE KNOLLYS

(1543-1634)

Desperate Housewife, Survivor—and Cougar?

To celebrate the release of my 14th book, ROYAL PAINS: A Rogues’ Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds (NAL Trade, March 2011), I was trying to think of a special way to write a guest post on Queen Elizabeth I’s lookalike cousin Lettice Knollys, something really different for Liz, and then it occurred to me that Lettice was so beautiful and had such a strong personality that if she were alive today there’s only one place she would be: no, not the throne. As Mary Boleyn’s granddaughter, she wasn’t in the line of succession and that wouldn’t have been an option.

No—I’m fairly certain Lettice would have her own reality TV show. Because her life was far juicier than fiction!

Lettice Knollys’s mother was Lady Catherine Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn Carey, Anne’s older sister—making the two feisty and formidable redheads first cousins once removed. In 1559, at the age of eighteen or nineteen, Lettice was appointed to a plum position at court as a Gentlewoman of the Queen’s Bedchamber. In December of the following year she wed Walter Devereux, 2nd Viscount Hereford, who would be made 1st Earl of Essex in 1572. Lettice left court after her marriage and bore Devereux five children in quick succession, reappearing in 1565 when she was very pregnant with her son Robert. Even in her delicate condition she completely captivated the Earl of Leicester—the queen’s favorite, Robert Dudley.

The Spanish ambassador, Diego Guzmán de Silva, who found Lettice to be one of the prettiest women at court, cheerfully sent his employer a dispatch announcing that Dudley was utterly smitten with Her Majesty’s gorgeous cousin. Ten years separated the two women; and every time the queen looked at Lettice, she saw a younger, prettier, and equally vain and arrogant version of herself. Lettice possessed the same dark sparkling eyes as her late great-aunt, Anne Boleyn, and the abundant auburn hair, rosebud pout, and flawless, pale complexion of the Tudors, an enviable bonus in an age of smallpox. She was seductive and knew how to use her charm to maximum effect. Although she had been eager to become a handmaid to Her Majesty, she had also inherited the Boleyns’ ambitious streak and saw the queen as a cousin, not as a boss. Consequently, she refused to show the deference due to Elizabeth as her sovereign. In Lettice’s mind, the two women were equals. It was a war she couldn’t win, but it would never deter her from trying.

Throughout her reign, the queen toyed with the prospect of wedding a foreign prince, or even one of her own subjects, but it was all politics and prevarication. However, the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, remained the love of her life. She heaped him with honors, and risked her reputation (and consequently her own value on the marriage market) to spend hours alone with him. But it came with a price. Dudley’s job was to worship and adore her and her alone. In that respect, he betrayed her three times by wedding other women. The last Countess of Leicester would be Elizabeth’s own envious cousin, Lettice Knollys.

Dudley had wed Amy Robsart in 1550, but a decade later, suffering from cancer, Amy died under mysterious circumstances after a fall down a shallow flight of stairs, having dismissed her servants for the day to attend a country fair. Then, in 1573, Dudley secretly wed one of Elizabeth’s waiting women, the widowed Douglas Sheffield, after she tired of being his mistress and insisted on a ring. But Dudley was a ladies’ man and wanted it all. He was also politically ambitious. He still hoped that Elizabeth (who was always the love of his life) would give in and decide to marry. And, failing that, he also still carried a torch for her redhaired cousin.

During the mid 1570s, instead of focusing his attentions on his new wife, Douglas, and their young son, the earl turned in another direction entirely. If he couldn’t have Elizabeth, her look-alike cousin Lettice might make an appealing substitute. Their flirtation soon blossomed into a full blown affair and Dudley realized that he needed to ditch Douglas. He would begin by insisting that they had never legally been married. Fearful of Elizabeth’s reprisals if she ever learned of their union, Douglas agreed to Dudley’s terms: if asked, she would admit their affair, but pretend that they had never been legally wed (which also meant that they’d never get a divorce, making Dudley’s subsequent marriage to Lettice bigamous!)

The Earl of Essex died in 1576, making Lettice available. Like her predecessor Douglas Sheffield, Lettice insisted on legalizing their relationship.

But even bestowing her sexual favors, particularly as it was generally surmised that the queen withheld them, wasn’t getting Lettice any closer to an “I do.” So, relying upon Dudley’s honor as a gentleman, the less-than-ladylike Lettice employed the oldest trick in the book. She made certain she got pregnant. Lettice knew that the earl was tired of Douglas and that he desperately wanted a legitimate heir.

Just as Lettice had hoped, her lover caved as soon as she informed him of her pregnancy. She and Dudley were wed in a secret ceremony at Kenilworth in the spring of 1578—with the precondition that the earl sever all ties with Douglas Sheffield. Once Dudley had complied with Lettice’s demand, her next move was to insist on a formal wedding ceremony with witnesses present to attest to its legality. But Dudley had his terms, too: the marriage would have to remain a secret.

The “Tudor cub,” as the queen referred to herself, emitted a mighty roar when she eventually discovered the couple’s treachery, announcing that she would send Dudley to “rot in the Tower.” And when Lettice ostentatiously arrived at court arrayed in finery that rivaled the queen’s, Elizabeth literally boxed her cousin’s ears in public for daring to cross her—and then flaunting her triumph. “As but one sun lighten[s] this earth, [she] would have but one Queen in England,” she thundered. After berating Lettice, Elizabeth demanded that the “flouting wench” quit her sight and never darken a royal doorstep again. So irked was Elizabeth by Lettice’s existence that her cousin didn’t even need to be present to provoke the royal wrath. Even in her exile, Lettice managed to send the queen into a paralytic frenzy at the mere mention of her name.

On September 4, 1588, just weeks after England’s naval triumph over Spain’s Armada, Dudley died, possibly from a malarial infection. Queen Elizabeth was utterly devastated and took to her bedchamber for days. Lettice was saddled with her late husband’s massive debts, amounting to about £50,000 (well over $16million today), half of which was owed to the crown. Under the circumstances, Elizabeth had no intentions of forgiving even a penny of it.

But like a cat (or perhaps more specifically, a cougar), Lettice always managed to land on her feet. Described by a contemporary as having “a light, easy, healable nature,” in July 1589 she took a third husband—a boy toy twelve or thirteen years her junior named Christopher Blount. Blount had been Dudley’s Master of the Horse. He was also a hellraising friend of her oldest son Robert Devereux, who was now the 2nd Earl of Essex.

No stranger to scandal, Lettice had once again set tongues wagging; even her own son tsk-tsked over his mother’s “unhappy choyce.” The rumor mill churned up lurid tales that Lettice had become Blount’s lover in 1587 and had poisoned Dudley so that she could wed her young stud. By then the fifty-something Queen Elizabeth had been exacting further revenge on her cousin for stealing Dudley, by taking the young Earl of Essex under her wing when he was in his late teens. Elizabeth gave the young man something his mother never could: power, prestige, and the indulgent, lavish attention of a queen.

In January, 1598, Lettice, who had spent the past two years rusticating at her Staffordshire estate, heard that Elizabeth might be willing to welcome her back to court. It was the event of the decade for the courtiers who eagerly anticipated the reunion of the two formidable redheaded cousins. But the queen purposely kept postponing their encounter. When she finally deigned to meet Lettice, the two women were civil, though hardly cordial. Lettice remained unforgiven, and persona non grata at court.

In 1599, Lettice once again petitioned her cousin for an audience, but this time she was pleading for clemency for her son. The hotheaded Earl of Essex, having successfully secured a commission to command a military expedition in Ireland, had mucked everything up by flouting Elizabeth’s orders and negotiating an ill-advised treaty with the enemy. He was incarcerated on his return to English soil; and the queen refused to permit his mother to visit him.

The following year, Essex tried to raise an army against Elizabeth, intending to topple her from the throne. One of his conspirators was his stepfather and drinking buddy, Christopher Blount. They were sent to the Tower; and on February 25, 1601, Essex was executed for treason. On March 18, Lettice’s young husband was also beheaded.

Essex’s execution broke Elizabeth’s heart as well as Lettice’s. Once again, the two cousins had something in common: the love of the same man, and the aching void left by his demise. But they never met again. According to Elizabeth’s Principal Secretary Sir Robert Cecil, “for her marriage with him [Leicester] Lettice “was long disgraced with the Queene” and their rift was a permanent one.

Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603. Lettice outlived her by thirty-one years, a lifetime in itself in the seventeenth century. She died a wealthy woman at the age of ninety-three on Christmas Day, 1634. At her request, Lettice was buried at St. Mary’s, Warwick, “by my deere lord and husband the Earle of Leicester” Reposing beside him for all eternity, which Elizabeth (who was interred at Westminster Abbey) could never do, it was Lettice Knollys who had the last, celestial, laugh.

So, if Lettice, with her larger-than-life personality, her colorful life, and her propensity to always land on her feet, had her own reality TV show today, what would you call it? And would you watch it?

 Wow that was a great post Leslie and in my world I think if Lettice had her own reality show it would have to be titled house wives of Leicester or something along those lines. For more on Leslie and her hilarious style you can check out her website, Twitter, and her blog. As Leslie as stated before "history is so juicy you do not even have to make this stuff up" and now for the GIVEAWAY!

Okay everyone this one is for ONE autographed finished copy of Royal Pains: A Rogues' Gallery of Brats, Brutes, and Bad Seeds. 

Sorry but the giveaway is only open to US residence and to be entered you MUST fill out the form below for your entry to count.

Giveaway will end on March 22nd 2011

Good luck to everyone and I will draw the winner on March 23rd

Giveaway Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris

"Sebastian St. Cyr proves his courage once again, with murder and marriage-in a brand new historical mystery

Sebastian St. Cyr finds himself in the realm of international intrigue when he investigates the murder of a foreign office diplomat-a murder his reluctant bride-to-be, Hero Jarvis, knows something about. And when a second body is found, Sebastian must race to unmask a ruthless killer who is now threatening Hero's life-and the life of their unborn child".

This giveaway is for the newly released books number six in the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries Series
 
About the Series: "Regency England. The age of Napoleon and Jane Austen, of Beau Brummel and Lord Byron. Ladies wear filmy dresses and dampen their petticoats, while gentlemen duel with pistols at dawn and agonize over the cut of a coat. Fortunes are won and lost at the turn of a card, a decades-old war has turned Europe into a ravaged battlefield, and in London, a child of six can still be hanged for stealing a handkerchief. 

This is the world of Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin. Heir to an earldom, disillusioned Army officer, latter day knight errant. 


A master of disguises. Sebastian moves easily from the ballrooms of Mayfair to the rookeries of St. Giles, from the exclusive men's clubs of St. James's to the dangerous docks of the Thames. 

Think Mr. Darcy with a James Bond edge..."

Up for grabs ONE new copy of Where Shadows Dance: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery by C.S. Harris

Open to the Us Only and to be entered you must fill out the form below.

Giveaway will end on March 17th 2011

Amazon
Where Shadows Dance: A Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery