Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Halloween Giveaway - A Haunted History of Invisible Women

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 15:43:00 +0000

In the past, I've normally done a giveaway for my birthday or to celebrate the anniversary of Scandalous Women, but this year I decided to do something different. I'm giving away a copy of A Haunted History of Invisible Women by my friend and fellow author Leanna Renee Hieber and her co-author Andrea Janes. This is a fantastic book not just for ghost lovers but also women's history lovers.

"Deliciously eerie.” —Leslie Rule, Bestselling Author

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind from the brilliant guides behind “Boroughs of the Dead,” featured on NPR.org, The New York Times, and Jezebel, explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us—and why they haunt us . . .

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess—America’s female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known—though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America’s most famous female ghosts, from from ‘Mrs. Spencer’ who haunted Joan Rivers’ New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era’s fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire —achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

"A Haunted History of Invisible Women looks beyond the legends of maligned female ghosts and gives us their real histories. It is both a meditation on the misogyny of a ghost-hunting culture that capitalizes on false narratives of sex and death, and a fascinating look at the flesh-and-blood women behind the ghost stories. This book is a long-overdue search for historic truth, yet it recognizes that “When it comes to ghosts, truth is as elusive as the spirits themselves.” —Chris Woodyard, Author of The Victorian Book of the Dead.

Afterword by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Linda D. Addison

This giveaway is only open to US residents. Contest ends on November 2nd at 5 pm.

Here are the rules:

1) Leave your name and email address in the comments section
2) If you tweet about the giveaway, and let me know, you get an extra entry.
3) If you are not a follower of the blog, and become one, you get an extra entry.
4) If you like the Scandalous Women Facebook page, you also get an extra entry.

5) If you follow Scandalous Women on Twitter, you also get an extra entry.

The winner will be announced on November 3rd!

Interview with Mimi Matthews - The Siren of Sussex

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 13:00:00 +0000

I am delighted to welcome author Mimi Matthews to the blog to talk about her new historical romance novel The Siren of Sussex which came out this month from Berkley Romance.

Victorian high society’s most daring equestrienne finds love and an unexpected ally in her fight for independence in the strong arms of London’s most sought after and devastatingly handsome half-Indian tailor.

Evelyn Maltravers understands exactly how little she's worth on the marriage mart. As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she'll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London's attention she'll need a habit-maker who's not afraid to take risks with his designs—and with his heart.

Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row's infamous Pretty Horsebreakers—but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.

But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?

EKM: I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed reading The Siren of Sussex. It is such a special book. One of your inspirations were the Pretty Horsebreakers, which includes the courtesan Catherine ‘Skittles’ Walters, who is one of my favorites! What was it about them that you found so inspiring?

MM: I’m so glad you enjoyed reading The Siren of Sussex! I found the Pretty Horsebreakers inspiring for several reasons, the first of which was their talent on horseback. Add to that their fashion, charisma, and the fact that they drew every eye in Rotten Row—often to the detriment of more respectable young ladies—and you have the beginnings of a fascinating story.

EKM: The Siren of Sussex is different from most historical romance novels in that neither the hero nor the heroine is a member of the aristocracy. What was the impetus for writing a historical romance that showed readers a different view of Victorian society?

MM: I rarely write about the aristocracy in my novels, simply because I don’t find aristocratic characters and settings to be as interesting. I’m more interested in regular people. The Victorian era was so much more than stuffy drawing rooms or glittering society parties. There was diversity of race, class, and opinion, all set against the backdrop of a world that was changing at an astounding rate. I love to explore how characters deal with these changes on both a broader scale and within their own families and communities.

EKM: Evelyn uses her skills as a horsewoman to make her mark in London society. What are the inherent risks for her in taking this route? Especially given the reputation of the Pretty Horsebreakers.

MM: One of the most fascinating things I learned during my research for this novel (and a fact that helped serve as the inspiration for the story) was how well-to-do young ladies tried to “ape” the Pretty Horsebreakers’ style in order to catch the eye of eligible young men. This meant copying the way the Pretty Horsebreakers rode, dressed, and even the way they spoke. Of course, one of the dangers in this strategy was being accused of being “fast.” In Evelyn’s case, she runs the risk of being mistaken for a courtesan herself.

EKM: To secure her younger sisters’ future, Evelyn embarks on her first and only London season. I liked that Evelyn was so practical about it. Do you think her quest for a wealthy husband misguided?

MM: Ultimately, yes. However, this is what her older sister, Fenny, had been expected to do—to marry well and secure her younger sisters’ future. In the wake of Fenny’s failure, Evelyn (who loves her family and takes her responsibilities seriously) was just attempting to shoulder the burden as best she could. At the time, there seemed to be only one solution to the family’s problems and that was for one of the sisters to find a rich husband.

EKM: Evelyn hates it when people refer to her as a ‘bluestocking,’ although she clearly is one. She struggles with the restraints that are put on women, what they can talk about, and how they look. What was it about the label ‘bluestocking,’ that could hurt a Victorian woman and dim her marriage prospects?

MM: Unfortunately, not every Victorian gentleman appreciated an intelligent and opinionated woman. Wives were supposed to be gentle, biddable, and willing to defer to the judgment of their husbands. A bluestocking generally had opinions and interests of her own, making her more difficult to control. Not the best candidate for an obedient Victorian wife!

EKM: Ahmad first appears in A Modest Independence, part of the Parish Orphans series. What was it about him as a character that made you think he was the right hero for Evelyn in The Siren of Sussex?

MM: I’d always meant to expand on Ahmad’s story. For one thing, he and Mira are the only characters I’ve written who actually share my half-Indian heritage. For another, he had so much rich personal history to draw on. He was perfectly suited as a hero for Evelyn because, like her, he possesses an incredible gift. His dressmaking skills rival her skill as an equestrienne. This is one of the things that first draws them to each other—talent recognizing talent. There’s something incredibly attractive about a person who’s the very best at what they do.

EKM: Ahmad feels out of place in both England and India, and you don’t shy away from the racism that he experienced daily. Do you feel that he uses his talent as a dressmaker to create a place for himself in a world that sees him almost less than human, as well as to reclaim the spoils of colonialism?

MM: Most definitely. Working with the fabrics as he does, transforming them into something both beautiful and something that was uniquely his, is a powerful act. In fact, everything he does with his fashion comes from a position of power and vision—a refusal to submit to the status quo.

EKM: Evelyn and Ahmad are not only a mixed-race couple but also a cross-class couple. It was interesting to me that you didn’t shy away from them having tough discussions about what it would be like as a married couple in Victorian England, that they had very frank discussions about what it would mean for them. What challenges do you think they are going to face now as a married couple?

MM: Most of their challenges will arise from a loss of community for Evelyn. This is an expected result from marrying out of one’s class, as much as it is from marrying someone from a different race. The fact is, not everyone in society will be willing to accept or welcome them. Among some, she’ll be treated as if she’s simply ceased to exist. A social death, if you will. Though, I honestly don’t think this will bother her a great deal. The people who matter to them do accept them, and those who don’t are the ones who, ultimately, don’t matter at all.

EKM: Ahmad works as a tailor, but his ambition is to become a dressmaker, like Charles Frederick Worth. What drew you to giving your hero such an unusual occupation? What do you say to readers who think that it might have been an unrealistic ambition in the 19^th century

MM: My love of Victorian fashion played a large part in crafting Ahmad’s occupation. I was also inspired by Worth’s career trajectory. Ahmad’s own ambitions weren’t unrealistic at all, though he might have found it more difficult to break into the business because of his race and class. In the beginning, he was limited in who he could interact with, which is why the spiritualism movement appeared as a subplot in the story. The class-mixing that occurred at some of the spiritualist gatherings ultimately allowed for Ahmad to get his big break.

EKM: I loved the friendship between Evelyn, Stella Hobhouse, Lady Anne, and Julia Wychwood. How supportive of each other they were. All four women are not what one thinks of as typical Victorian women for various reasons. How important was it for you to portray women who are a little bit unusual, who fall outside what is normally expected of Victorian women?

MM: I find people who don’t fit the stereotypical mold profoundly more interesting than people who do. That’s as true in life as it is in fiction. We all have our little quirks and idiosyncrasies. Seeing these play out in Victorian characters is fascinating to me. I hope it’s equally interesting to my readers.

EKM: In The Siren of Sussex, the reader gets to see parts of London that are outside of the fashionable areas of Mayfair and Belgravia. How important was it to show readers another, darker side of the city?

MM: This, again, just goes to my own personal interests. I suppose I’m a selfish writer in this way. I like to explore, so my characters have to trudge along with me to the cliffs of Devon, the seaside resorts of Margate, the bleak Yorkshire countryside, and now from the ballrooms of Mayfair to the East End slums and beyond. For Ahmad and Evelyn’s story, this change of scene was especially important because Ahmad’s life in London started out in poverty, and he hasn’t abandoned the connections he made when living among people of the poorest classes.

EKM: In the epilogue, it is revealed that Ahmad has received a royal warrant from Queen Victoria. Given England’s history in India, and Ahmad’s own feelings about colonialism, should Ahmad have refrained from doing business with the Queen and the Court?

MM: One of the qualities I most admire in Ahmad as a character is his ability to reframe the way he interacts with the world around him, so he’s not consumed by the injustices he experiences. My feeling was that he would use this dressmaking opportunity to advance himself and his family even as he kept himself morally separate from the Queen and her problematic policies.

EKM: I was intrigued by the inclusion of the spiritualist movement in the novel. You manage to present both points of view, believers, and non-believers. What do you think fueled society’s passion for all things occult? Was it more than just the war in Crimea and the death of Prince Albert? Do you think that fashionable society used seances to further their own social agenda?

MM: I absolutely believe this. Spiritualism was a fashionable diversion as much as an earnest pursuit. It was also a means of garnering social power. At the height of the movement, the attendance of the right medium or crystal gazer at a party could transform a simple gathering into the social event of the season. Belief in the practice itself ultimately had little to do with it.

EKM: You’ve written both fiction and non-fiction set in the Victoria era. What is it that you find so fascinating about the era?

MM: It was an era of enormous change. I love to see how my characters grapple with these changes. I also love the general ambiance—the fashion, the manners, the gaslight, the hansom cabs… I could go on.

EKM: What is your research process like? How many months of research do you do before you start writing?

MM: I’ve worked so much with Victorian history that, thankfully, I don’t have to do a lot of research on the general basics. It’s the specifics of each book that end up taking a lot of my time. Some of the research I do in advance, but most of my “file” for each book is built as I go. I don’t write to an outline, so I often don’t fully know what I don’t know until I get to a certain point (if that makes sense!).

EKM: I’m looking forward to the next book in the series, The Belle of Belgrave Square which features Julia Wychwood. Will Stella and Lady Anne also have books as well?

MM: Yes! I’m working on Lady Anne’s book now. Stella’s book will hopefully come later, but that mostly depends on how well the first three books do.

Mimi is also hosting a fantastic giveaway!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Timeframe: Jan 4 - Feb 7, 2022

Terms & Conditions:

Giveaway hosted by Mimi Matthews. No Purchase Necessary. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Open to US residents only. Void where prohibited.

The Giveaway Package:

1 winner (selected at random by Rafflecopter) receives the following:

Signed print copy of The Siren of Sussex

Horse scarf

Pewter sidesaddle brooch (made in Sussex, England!)

The Siren of Sussex tote bag

Three candles in scents: Fresh Hay, New Saddle, and Winter Ride

Box of Ahmad Tea (60 count, assorted flavors)

The Siren of Sussex bookmark

The giveaway is open from 12:01 am Pacific time 1/4/22 until 11:59pm Pacific time on 2/7/22.

Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92989f07650/?

ADVANCE PRAISE

“…a tender and swoon worthy interracial, cross-class romance in Victorian London…Readers will delight in this paean to women’s fashion and horseback riding.”— Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Matthews brings the Victorian era to vivid life with meticulously researched details and an impossible romance made believable and memorable.”— Booklist, starred review

“Matthews deftly underscores racial and gender discrimination in Victorian London in this excellent start to ‘The Belles of London’ series; rather than overshadowing, it propels the romance. Romance aficionados who love fashion and animals will delight in this tender romance and will be excited to see Evelyn’s friends in future installments.” — Library Journal, starred review

"Unflinching, tender, and moving, the delicately crafted The Siren of Sussex might just be my favourite work from Mimi Matthews; it certainly is one of my favourite historical romance reads this year."— Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author of Portrait of a Scotsman

PURCHASE LINKS

AUTHOR BIO

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning proper Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, and Kirkus, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.

GOODREADS

Review: The Woman Before Wallis

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:17:00 +0000

Title: The Woman Before Wallis

Author: Bryn Turnbull

Publisher: Mira Books

Pub Date: 7/21/2020

How Acquired: Edelweiss

Synopsis: Before Edward, Prince of Wales famously abdicated his throne for American divorcee Wallis Simpson, he loved another American woman: Thelma Morgan Furness, sister to the first Gloria Vanderbilt. This is her story.

The daughters of an American diplomat, Thelma and Gloria Morgan were stars of New York social scene in the early 1920s, dubbed “the magnificent Morgans.” Both would marry into wealth and privilege beyond their imaginations, Gloria to Reggie Vanderbilt, and Thelma to a viscount. Thelma begins an affair with Edward, the dashing Prince of Wales, that will last nearly five years.

Then, in 1934, Thelma's life is upended by her sister Gloria's custody trial — a headline-grabbing drama known as The Matter of Vanderbilt, which dominates global news for months and raises the bar for tabloid sensationalism. Back in New York, sued by members of her late husband's family on charges of negligence, unfit parenting and homosexuality, Gloria needs her twin's support more than ever. But as her sister gains international notoriety, Thelma fears that her own fall from grace might not be far behind.

My thoughts: I was interested to read this novel because I thought this was an interesting take on the whole Wallis Simpson/Edward VIII story that we have seen so many times in both fiction and non-fiction. I first learned about Thelma and her relationship with the Prince of Wales from watching Edward & Mrs. Simpson (by far the best TV/film version of the story ever done) and then reading Barbara Goldsmith's Little Gloria Happy at Last.

There were many things that I liked about this novel, the writing is superb, but I didn't find Thelma as compelling a character compared to her sister Gloria, Nada Milford-Haven or even Wallis. She seemed curiously passive. Things happened to her for the most part. Marmaduke Furness sort of falls into her lap in Paris, the same with the Prince of Wales. Even Aly Khan shows up when she's feeling a bit down.

The book shifts between 1934 when she arrives in New York for the custody trial between her sister and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and scenes from her earlier life starting with her divorce from her 1st husband. This keeps the time frame relatively tight but I felt that story lacked something because we don't really get to see her early years with her mother and father growing up in Europe.

I found it easy to put the book down at times, it wasn't compelling enough for me. And I found that the author pulled her punches a bit with the relationship between the Prince of Wales and Thelma. There was nothing in the book about how she once pushed him around in a pram.

I think that this book will be devoured by readers who either don't know enough about the Prince of Wales or who are interested in the time period.

SEDUCTION: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 14:56:00 +0000

Title: SEDUCTION Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood
Author: Karina Longworth
Publisher: Custom House
How obtained: through the publisher

What it's about: In this riveting popular history, the creator of You Must Remember This probes the inner workings of Hollywood’s glamorous golden age through the stories of some of the dozens of actresses pursued by Howard Hughes, to reveal how the millionaire mogul’s obsessions with sex, power and publicity trapped, abused, or benefitted women who dreamt of screen stardom.

My thoughts: It's been awhile since I've blogged for which I apologize. 2018 has been a difficult year in many ways for me, as well as a busy one. I started a new job which has been time-consuming as well as working on the Historical Novel Society conference which takes place this coming June in National Harbor, MD. I've also been traveling a great deal which has meant that blogging has fallen to the wayside. Reading, which has normally been one of life's pleasures for me, has become more of a chore at times.

However, one of the delights of this year, has been getting the chance to read Karina Longworth's new book SEDUCTION: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood. If you are not familiar with Karina Longworth, she is the host, producer and writer of one of the best podcasts around You Must Remember This about classic Hollywood. If you haven't listened to the podcast, and you love old Hollywood films, I suggest you give it a try immediately. You will find it hard to stop listening once you start. When I heard that Longworth was writing a book about Howard Hughes, and specifically his time in Hollywood, I couldn't wait to get my grabby hands on it. I was fortunate enough that the good people at Harper Collins sent me an ARC over the summer but I decided to save it until just before my birthday to read.

Once I started, I couldn't put it down. What makes the book so fascinating is that Longworth examines Hughes life through the women in his life, Katherine Hepburn, Ida Lupino, Jane Russell, Terry Moore and Jean Peters among many others. It gives the reader a much different perspective on Hughes and movie history, than just a warts and all, cradle to grave biography of Hughes. What this book shows clearly is that powerful men have long been exploiting women in Hollywood. For every Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers or Jane Powell who managed to come out of their relationships with Hughes relatively unscathed, there are scores of other women who came to Hollywood, ended up scooped up by Hughes, and their careers went nowhere. If you have seen the Warren Beatty film RULES DON'T APPLY you have some idea of who Hughes or his cronies would find vulnerable, young girls, set them up in apartments, send them to classes, and then nothing. And then there are the women who made the mistake of falling in love with Hughes whose careers never got off the ground. This book flips the narrative, offering a different perspective.

What becomes clear in the book is how Hughes used his money and power to sexually harass and coerce women, objectifying and sexualizing them on screen in ways that audiences hadn't seen before. In the beginning Hughes gravitated towards smart, talented, career women such as Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, actresses who had careers before and after Hughes. But eventually Hughes decided that he wanted to find women that he could mold. Hughes comes across not only as a smart man but also one who grew increasingly paranoid as time went on, hiring private investigators, security personnel and informers to rat on the women in his life. He went through a form of marriage ceremony with Terry Moore before eventually legally marrying actress Jean Peters.

Longworth gives the reader a good idea of what life was like for women living in Hollywood from the 1920's through the 1950's and what sacrifices some women had to make it order to make it. It might be hard for contemporary readers to understand exactly why some of these women stayed with Hughes, especially after his promises to make them a star didn't pan out. Longworth does a good job of illustrating how charming Hughes could be when he wanted, and how he controlled women through money and the promise of fame. Also, many of these women were drawn to Hughes because he seemed like a lost lamb. He'd lost his parents at an early age, become a millionaire before he was barely out of his teens and suffered several, horrific accidents.

The other thing that is fascinating is that Hughes eventually ended up running RKO, the studio that he bought, basically into the ground. He had no real instinct for film-making, although it fascinated him greatly. Longworth also explodes the myth that Hughes was a publicity-shy man who loathed being famous. Hughes comes into sharp focus in this book.

One of the most fascinating chapters in the book involve Ida Lupino who was one of the few actress/directors working in Hollywood during the so-called Golden Age. I knew of Lupino as an actress but not as a director. Lupino's dealings in Hollywood when she was working not only as a director but also as an independent filmmaker should be required reading for any film student.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interesting in a well-researched book on the Golden Age of Hollywood and one of it's most intriguing and least understood movie moguls.

Scandalous Review: The Favourite

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 16:05:00 +0000

The Favourite – starring Olivia Colman (Queen Anne), Emma Stone (Abigail Hill Masham), and Rachel Weisz as Sarah Marlborough.

I had totally forgotten that The Favourite was playing at the New York Film Festival until I saw it mentioned in Time Out magazine. So of course, I decided immediately that I needed to see it now and not when it comes out next month. All 8 showings were sold out, but I managed to get a stand-by ticket to the 7:00 pm showing. The film is directed by Yorgos Lanthimos who directed films such as The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, neither of which I had seen. I read a brief blurb about the film which said that this is probably the most mainstream film he’s ever directed, so take that as you will.

The plot: Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots. As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.

So, what did I think of the film? I can say unequivocally that I really liked it. I can’t say that I loved it unabashedly. The film is sort of an 18th century version of All About Eve, Abigail is taken in by her cousin Sarah but is relegated to the kitchens as a scullery maid until she manages to help soothe the Queen’s gout. Only then does Sarah promote her cousin to the slightly higher status of her personal maid. Abigail seizes her chance to stop being a door mat, to better herself and score a hot, aristocratic husband at the same time. What made the film for me were the performances, especially Olivia Colman as Queen Anne. To me she is the heart of the film. Colman captures the aching loneliness and bewilderment of a woman who never thought she would be Queen, and who has no idea how to cope or who to trust. She puts all her faith in Sarah Marlborough who treats her with a mix of affection and disdain. The scene where she tells Abigail about her seventeen pregnancies (yes, Anne was pregnant seventeen times) and how none of her children survived is heartbreaking. Emma Stone impressed me with her performance as Abigail Hill. Her Abigail at first just wants to rise from the kitchen, slowly as the movie progresses the audience sees her grow more and more Machiavellian as her star rises at court and she manages to her oust her cousin from her position as the favorite of Queen Anne. It was fascinating to watch her realize who she can use others to get what she wants.

Rachel Weisz plays Sarah Marlborough, Abigail’s cousin and the Queen’s current favorite. The Queen and Sarah are so close that they call each other Mrs. Morley and Mrs. Freeman. Sarah can take liberties with the Queen that other courtiers do not. Her performance for me was the weakest link but that had more with the script. Her Sarah isn’t allowed to have as many shades of gray as the other characters in the film. I think it was a mistake not to have at least one scene with her and her husband Marlborough (played by Mark Gatniss). The two of them could be considered an 18^th century power couple. Weisz captures Sarah’s overwhelming ambition and casual cruelty, but we see little of any genuine affection for the Queen. Weisz’s performance as Sarah perfectly captures the old adage that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

SPOILER ALERT: The film leans heavily into the notion that Queen Anne was a lesbian and that her relationships with her two favorites were sexual. Of course, one can never really know for sure what went on behind closed doors, but it is clear from surviving letters that her affection for Sarah at least went beyond friendship. No doubt Sarah took advantage of that affection for her own purposes.

What the film does best is capture the almost claustrophobic nature of the court, and how the Whigs and the Tories were constantly jockeying for the Queen’s favor to push forward their own agenda. While the Whigs (favored by the Marlboroughs) are in power, the Tories led by Lord Harley spend their time scheming how they can control the government, using Abigail Hill for leverage. One of the weaknesses of the film is that the audience has no idea of the time frame, although it is clearly during the War of the Spanish Succession. Normally, if you know anything about fashion you can tell by the costumes, but in this case it’s extremely hard. Also, the male characters, particularly Samuel Marsham are very thinly drawn compared to the main female characters of the film. They are beside the point, which is actually kind of nice for a change!

How does the film measure up to history? Well, Abigail was part of Anne’s household before she became Queen. The historical Sarah Marlborough treated Abigail with a bit more kindness than the movie Sarah. For example, she certainly didn’t make her scrub floors! The real Lord Harley was also related to Abigail, and considerably older during the events portrayed in the film. Nicholas Hoult is about 20 years too young for the role. Also, Abigail was in her thirties during the reign of Queen Anne and was older than her husband by several years. There is no surviving portrait of Abigail Masham but her contemporaries wrote that she was considered quite plain.

Sandy Powell’s costumes are gorgeous by the way, she sticks to a mainly black and white palate for the women.

Despite the historical inaccuracies, I highly recommend this film. It’s rare that an audience gets to such a female-centric film and Olivia Colman’s performance is just breath-taking, she certainly deserved the best actress award that she received at the Venice Film Festival.

Anyone interested in reading more about the period, should pick up these books.

Novels:

Susan Holloway Scott – The Duchess (about Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough)

Jean Plaidy – Courting Her Highness: The Story of Queen Anne (A Novel of the Stuarts)

Non-fiction:

Ophelia Field - The Favourite: The Life of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

Anne Somerset – Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion

Winner of the Royal Wedding Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Thu, 24 May 2018 15:23:00 +0000

This post was supposed to go up yesterday but I'm telling you, I have a wicked case of jet lag! I will also write up a post later about the Royal Wedding and my trip to London, but for now, can I have a drum roll please: the winner of the Royal Wedding Giveaway is:

Wanda

Wanda, I will be emailing you off line to get your address and to let you know when you can expect your goodies.

Royal Wedding Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Tue, 08 May 2018 16:31:00 +0000

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since I have blogged but I have an exciting giveaway that I couldn't wait to share with you. May 19th is the Royal Wedding, and I will be heading to Windsor to celebrate. Yes, I'm going to the Royal Wedding, well kind of. I will be amongst the throng of people lining the long walk in order to get a glimpse of this historic couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Being there is kind of like full circle for me. My first trip to London was the summer that Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, and I vividly remember all the excitement around the upcoming nuptials. The day after the wedding, the tour group that I was with, headed up to Scotland and a copy of Diana's dress was already in the window of a department store in Edinburgh!

So in honor of the Royal Wedding, I am doing a giveaway. Some of the items in the giveaway include:

A copy of American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry by Leslie Carroll
A copy of The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
A Harry and Meghan Royal Wedding Mug
A tin of Harney & Sons Royal Wedding Tea
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Paper Dolls
Mini-scones baking kit

Plus surprise items bought on my trip to London

This giveaway is only open to US residents. Contest ends on May 22nd at noon.

Here are the rules:

1) Leave your name and email address in the comments section
2) If you tweet about the giveaway, and let me know, you get an extra entry.
3) If you are not a follower of the blog, and become one, you get an extra entry.
4) If you like the Scandalous Women Facebook page, you also get an extra entry.

The winner will be announced on May 23rd!

Nellie Bly: Daredevil Reporter

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Sat, 05 May 2018 13:03:00 +0000

“I have never written a word that did not come from my heart. I never shall."

Nellie Bly, The Evening-Journal; January 8, 1922

The young woman who helped launch a new kind of investigative journalism was born Elizabeth Jane Cochran on May 5, 1864. Her father’s death when she was 6 changed her life irrevocably. He left no will so all his assets were sold and the money divided amongst his fourteen children. In the blink of an eye, her family went from living in the largest house in town to having to live in straitened circumstances. Her mother remarried but the marriage was not successful. When her mother took the unusual step of filing for divorce from her second husband, Nellie testified in court about her step-father’s abuse. The experience left her determined to be self-reliant. Forced to leave school when money ran out, she moved with her mother to Pittsburgh, where they ran a boarding house.

Her journalistic juices were piqued in 1885 when she read a newspaper column entitled “What Girls are Good For” in the Pittsburgh Dispatch which implied that girls were only good for two things: having children and keeping house. Incensed by the sexist comments, she off a fiery rebuttal. The managing editor was so impressed that he demanded to know who she really was—and offered her a job!

The newly rechristened Nellie Bly cut her teeth writing hard-hitting investigative pieces about working women who held traditionally male jobs. While not a trained journalist, Nellie was a good interviewer, able to get anyone to talk. But she soon found herself relegated to the women’s pages writing about fashion and parties. Increasingly frustrated, Nellie decided on a bold and risky move. Despite not knowing any Spanish, she headed to Mexico to work as a freelance journalist. But Nellie soon found herself in hot water when she criticized the Mexican government. Threatened with arrest, she fled the country.

In 1887 deciding that Pittsburgh was too small for her ambitions, she left this note for her editors: "I am off for New York. Look out for me." But few newspaper editors in New York took her seriously. After four months of pounding the pavement, she finally managed to talk her way into the offices of one of the biggest newspapers in the country, The New York World. Her first assignment: posing as a mental patient to expose the conditions at the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. When Nellie asked her editor how he planned on getting her out, he told her not to worry!

She spent hours in front of the mirror practicing to convincingly play a woman suffering from mental illness. Calling herself Nellie Brown, she checked into a women’s shelter where she refused to sleep, and told anyone who spoke to her that her trunks had disappeared. Sent to Bellevue Hospital, she claimed to be from Cuba and pretended to be confused when questioned. Diagnosed as demented, she was taken by boat across to Blackwell’s Island. For ten days, Nellie experienced firsthand the filthy conditions, spoiled food, and the physical abuse suffered by the inmates. Her series of articles made her a household name at the age of 23 and led to a grand jury investigation into conditions at the asylum. New York leaders voted to increase in funds for the insane and more thorough examinations so that only the seriously ill were sent to the asylum.

But Nellie was just getting started. She proposed the ultimate story to her editor: she would journey solo around the world (just under 25,000 miles) in 72 days to beat the record Jules Verne wrote about in his famous novel and turn fiction into fact. Packing light, Nellie took only the dress she was wearing, an overcoat, underwear and a small toiletry bag. Thanks to the electric telegraph, Nellie was able to send short dispatches about her trip to The New York World with details of her progress. She finally arrived back in New Jersey beating Phineas Fogg by more than a week, a world’s record at the time. The feat and the subsequent book made her a household name.

Bly would continue to champion the rights of laborers and women in her articles over the next few years. After her marriage to wealthy businessman forty years her senior, Nellie retired from journalism. She turned her talents to working for her husband’s company which made steel containers. For a time, she was one of the leading women industrialists in the United States, receiving multiple patents for her inventions. When the business went bankrupt, Nellie went back to her first love journalism, covering World War I and the suffrage movement.

Bly died of pneumonia at the age of 57 but her legacy as a pioneering female journalist continues, inspiring other women to pursue their own journalist ambitions.

Nellie Bly “Fun facts” and inspirational quotes

· Childhood nickname was “Pink” because her mother dressed her in that color to stand out; it then became Nellie’s credo to stand out from the pack!

· When most female reporters (and there were few) were paid around $15/week, Nellie was earning $200/week.

· Met Jules Verne, author of Around the World in 80 Days during her record-breaking circumnavigation of the globe.

· Her editor chose her pen name Nellie Bly from the title character in the popular song by Stephen Foster.

· During her round-the-world journey, Nellie bought a pet monkey in Singapore, which she named McGinty.

· McLouglin Brothers issued a board game that followed the day-by-day progress of her trip.

· Bly received multiple patents for her inventions which included an oil drum and a stackable trash can.

· First woman to file eyewitness reports from the Eastern front in WWI.

Nellie’s route around the world:

Hoboken to London to Calais to Brindisi to Port Said to Ismailia to Suez to Aden to Colombo to Penang to Singapore to Hong Kong to Yokohama to San Francisco to Jersey City (and then by ferry to NYC and to the offices of The World)

Inspirational quotes:

“Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything.” (said to be NB’s motto/maxim)

“If you want to do it, you can do it. The question is, do you want to do it?”

Bibliography:

Goodman, Matthew (2013). Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World.
Kroeger, Brooke (1994). Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist. Three Rivers Press.
Noyes, Deborah. Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original "Girl" Reporter, Nellie Bly Viking Books for Young Readers (February 23, 2016)

April Book of the Month - Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 18:16:00 +0000

Title: Ecstasy: A Novel

Author: Mary Sharratt

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 10, 2018)

How acquired: Edelweiss

What’s it about? In the glittering hotbed of turn-of-the-twentieth-century Vienna, one woman’s life would define and defy an era

Gustav Klimt gave Alma her first kiss. Gustav Mahler fell in love with her at first sight and proposed only a few weeks later. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius abandoned all reason to pursue her. Poet and novelist Franz Werfel described her as “one of the very few magical women that exist.” But who was this woman who brought these most eminent of men to their knees?

Coming of age in the midst of a creative and cultural whirlwind, young, beautiful Alma Schindler yearns to make her mark as a composer. A brand-new era of possibility for women is dawning and she is determined to make the most of it. But Alma loses her heart to the great composer Gustav Mahler, nearly twenty years her senior. He demands that she give up her music as a condition for their marriage. Torn by her love and in awe of his genius, how will she remain true to herself and her artistic passion?

Part cautionary tale, part triumph of the feminist spirit, Ecstasy reveals the true Alma Mahler: composer, author, daughter, sister, mother, wife, lover, and muse.

My take: I was first introduced to the story of Alma Schindler in the 2001 film Bride of the Wind starring Jonathan Pryce as Mahler and Australian actress Sarah Wynter. Frankly the movie was not very good. The film takes its title from the painting by Oskar Kokoschka which he dedicated to Alma. Alma is a cipher in this film; she wanders wanly through with men throwing themselves at her and then going crazy with jealously as she tosses them aside. The movie can’t decide whether she’s a femme fatale or a woman with thoughts, feelings, or ambitions of her own. For years, I thought that this was an accurate depiction of Alma Schindler Mahler Gropius Werfel. Thankfully, Mary Sharratt has written Ecstasy: A Novel which does a great deal to rescue Alma’s reputation as some kind of Helen of Troy leading men to their doom.

The novel doesn’t seek to tell a cradle to grave story of Alma’s life. It concentrates on the years 1899 when Alma is 19 years old and ends with Mahler’s death in 1911. This is Alma is on the brink of womanhood. She’s impulsive and naïve but filled with ambition, she wants to be a great composer like her idol Wagner. Unfortunately for Alma, her mother doesn’t share the same ambition for her; a marriage to a respectable man with a good income is more what she wants for Alma. And unfortunately, there were very few role models for Alma to follow. Her mother warns her about becoming one of ‘Third Sex’ women who are unmarriageable because they’ve gone to University or stepped outside societal norms. Alma is bowled over by the attentions of the painter Gustav Klimt who awakens her burgeoning sexuality only to have her hopes dashed by her mother who opens her eyes to what Klimt is really like. Alma is full of passion but she has no idea where to direct it. Her dreams of composing are thwarted not only by her mother but also by her teacher.

She falls in love with another young composer who she wants to marry, until she is swept away by meeting Gustav Mahler. But marrying Mahler means giving up her dreams to support Mahler. At first she is happy to help the great man achieve, but she soon realizes what a devil’s bargain she has made. Mahler is selfish, capricious, demanding but also tender and loving at times. Alma's job was to arrange the world so that nothing interfered with Mahler's creative life. Mary Sharratt has painted a very realistic picture of the toll this "job" takes on Alma. At times, the book is frustrating just as Alma is frustrated in her attempts to have any semblance of a life that doesn’t revolve around her husband. She’s part housewife, nursemaid, hostess, stenographer, lover, mother and muse. The novel accurately depicts how women’s lives in this era were controlled and crushed by men. Throughout the book Alma is torn between the what society wants and expects of women, and her own desires and ambitions. Throughout her journey Alma meets women who she longs to emulate but it's almost as if she's afraid to take the risk to be those women.

The novel has a tendency to get a bit repetitive at times, Alma yearns for a creative outlet, she suffers from depression, Mahler composes and conducts, careens from triumph to tragedy. Some of the transitions between scenes are a bit abrupt but that just may be the way that the ARC I received was formatted. Alma and Mahler suffer a great loss but instead of it bringing them together, it pulls them apart. One of the best scenes comes late in the book when her mother admits that she made a mistake keeping Alma from attending a music conservatory as well as a scene where Alma and her mother have a frank conversation about marriage and the toll that it takes on women, particularly those married to a genius. Alma pours so much of herself into Mahler and his work, that when she finally sits down at the piano later in the book to compose, she finds that she has nothing to say. Ecstasy lets Alma step out of the shadows of Mahler and into a spotlight of her own.

Anyone who is interested in Fin-de-siècle Vienna, the world of Klimt, and Schnitzler should pick up a copy of this novel. It gives a vibrant portrait of the bohemian, artistic world and the sacrifices that artists have to make to get ahead (Mahler converted from Judaism to Catholicism). The novel also offers a glimpse of what life was like in New York in the early 20^th century, a snapshot of the Metropolitan Opera and the nascent New York Philharmonic. Ecstasy is a thoroughly enjoyable, impeccably researched book.

Scandalous Women Celebrates 10th anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 16:33:00 +0000

I know that I have neglected this blog shamefully of late due to my involvement in the Historical Novel Society conference and just life in general. So I completely missed that last month, Scandalous Women was 10 years old! Yes, in 2007 I sat down in front of the computer and typed my first blog post. I had no idea that the blog would eventually evolve into a book! And I have all my readers to thank for coming back month after month to read the blog and to leave comments.

So in honor of the 10th anniversary, I have teamed up with my good friend Leanna Renee Hieber of Torch and Arrow to create the Scandalous Women collection! (Psst! You can also buy copies of her fabulous Victorian Gothic fantasies on the site as well!)

I have chosen the following 5 women, all of whom I have written about here on the blog or in Scandalous Women the book, as just a few featured faces for this anniversary collection:

(Pictured upper left): VICTORIA WOODHULL (1838 to 1927) - Suffrage leader, Spiritualist, Wall-street Stock Broker, First Woman to Run for President (1872) with Frederick Douglass (doing great things) as her running mate.

(Upper right): ANAIS NIN (1903 to 1977) - Critic, Essayist, Memoirist and Erotica Author

(Center): IDA B. WELLS (Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, 1862 to 1931) - African-American Journalist, Newspaper editor, Suffragist, Sociologist and Civil Rights pioneer

(Lower left): MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (1759 to 1797) - Philosopher and author of essays, histories, novels and treatises including the vital feminist text A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mother of Mary Shelley

(Lower right): MAE WEST (1893 to 1980) - Hollywood Icon, Sex symbol, Indomitable, Unapologetically Herself

Each pendant portrait has been carefully hand-set, detailed and hand-cast in glass-like resin on metal alloy settings with jump ring or bale. A thin black linen cord or a 17 inch chain in Brass, Gold or Pewter-style finish can be obtained at an additional price, see below in variations. As all are hand crafted, very slight variations might occur. Due to Leanna's book deadlines, quantities are limited
15% of sales will go to the Anne Frank Center.

You can find the collection here on Etsy.

Review: Shady Ladies Tours

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 14:07:00 +0000

I'm a native New Yorker and I've been going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a long-time. I've done scavenger hunts at the Met, the Costume Institute is like a second home, it's just a very special place, not just for me but for most New Yorkers. So when I heard about the Shady Ladies Tours of the Met (thanks to Instagram), well I had to know more. I mean Scandalous Women are my bread and butter, so finding someone else who loves them as well, well it was a no brainer.

The tours are led by Dr. Andrew Lear (that's him on the left), a leading scholar on the history of sexuality, and one of the foremost authorities on the erotic in Greek and Roman art. So you know he knows his stuff. The company offers several tours of the Met, including Nasty Women, Shady Ladies, Gay Secrets and Sexy Secrets of the Metropolitan. It was really hard to know which one to pick! I decided on Shady ladies, primarily because it wasn't sold out and I had planned on going to the museum on Sunday anyway.

The tour was fantastic, and well worth the cost ($59.00, $35.00 if you are a member of the Met or a student. First timers on the tour get an additional $10.00 discount). First of all you are getting an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide. Second, the Met can be a little bit overwhelming unless you know exactly where you are going. I can't tell you how many times I've wandered through rooms looking for the exit (or the bathroom).

The tour starts in the Greek antiquities section, which I confess I often skip when I go to the museum, to head to the American Wing to visit Madame X. Professor Lear takes you to see one of the earliest statues of Venus which is based on a Greek courtesan. By the way, he also helpfully distinguishes what the difference is between a mistress, a courtesan and a plain ole prostitute. For someone like me, who knows a great deal about these women, it was interesting to hear about them from an artistic standpoint. And I learned things about Degas that I sort of knew but it was amazing to hear it articulated out loud. Quite a few woman on the tour were unhappy to learn that the young ballet dancers in his paintings and sculptures were probably also courtesans. But as I pointed out, these girls were not making a great deal of money, so they had to supplement their income somehow. Knowing this, it gives a whole new perspective on some of his most famous paintings.

We also went to visit one of my favorite courtesans Grace Dalrymple Elliott. Long-time readers of the blog will remember the guest posts that her biographer Jo Manning wrote for Scandalous Women. On the right is her portrait painted by Gainsborough (there is also a portrait of Grace at the Frick Museum). She's fascinating, mistress of both the Prince of Wales (future George IV) and Philippe Egalite, Duc d'Orleans (if you haven't read My Lady Scandalous by Jo Manning, run and get a copy right now!).

One of the great things about the tour is that it doesn't feel like a lecture. Professor Lear is quite charming and personable, and he didn't seem to mind (or at least hid it well) when I opened my trap to give my two cents. Trust me, I've taken a lot of tours, and not every tour guide is quite so pleasant about it! Particularly when you tell them they are wrong (not that I had to do that with Professor Lear, he knows his stuff). Oops!

So even if you've been to the Met a gajillion times, I highly recommend that you take one of Professor Lear's tours. You will not regret it. And if you aren't planning on visiting New York anytime soon, there is still a way that you can get the benefit of Professor Lear's wisdom. Shady Ladies is planning their inaugural tour of Paris this July! I so want to take this tour. Hopefully Professor Lear will offer it again as well as say a tour of London?

If you don't want to take my word that Shady Ladies' tours are great, here is an article from the Huffington Post that just might convince you.

Review: Undercover Girl: The Lesbian Informant Who Helped the FBI Bring Down the Communist Party

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 24 May 2017 15:21:00 +0000

Title: Undercover Girl: The Lesbian Informant Who Helped the FBI Bring Down the Communist Party

Author: Lisa E. Davis

Publisher: Publisher: Imagine (May 9, 2017)

How acquired: Edelweiss

What it’s About: At the height of the Red Scare, Angela Calomiris was a paid FBI informant inside the American Communist Party. As a Greenwich Village photographer, Calomiris spied on the New York Photo League, pioneers in documentary photography. While local Party oﬃcials may have had their suspicions about her sexuality, her apparent dedication to the cause won them over. When Calomiris testified for the prosecution at the 1949 Smith Act trial of the Party's National Board, her identity as an informant (but not as a lesbian) was revealed. Her testimony sent eleven party leaders to prison and decimated the ranks of the Communist Party in the US.

My thoughts: When I saw this book on Edelweiss, I immediately clicked the request button. It sounded like something that was right up my alley. A little known story about an undercover informant for the FBI during the height of the Communist witch-hunt, who was also a lesbian? I couldn’t wait to read it. I’ve written about Elizabeth Bentley, who spied for the Communists, and then turned informant and this period of history has always fascinated me. My enthusiasm lasted all of five minutes. It’s clear that the author did a great deal of research, she had access to all of Angela’s papers that she saved and donated to the Lesbian Herstory Archives, Brooklyn, read Angela’s own autobiography, as well as the newspaper reports and Angela’s FBI File. Unfortunately, Angela never really comes alive on the page. It reads more like a text book or a thesis paper. There is very little information about Angela’s early life, other than the fact that she lived in a series of foster homes as a child. I haven’t read Red Masquerade: Undercover for the FBI, but it has to be more interesting than Undercover Girl, even if it’s filled with half-truths.

Angela was never a true traveler, she didn’t join the Communist Party, and then become disillusioned, as so many others did when the truth about Stalin came out. No, Angela was recruited by the FBI specifically to target the American Communist Party. They felt that she had an in because she was a photographer, and could easily infiltrate the New York Photo League, a group of amateur photographic enthusiasts, which included a number of communists among its members. Angela was well paid for her work ($225 a month), she made sure of that. Angela claimed that she wanted to be some sort of hero, but what she really wanted was fame and glory. She volunteered for the jobs that nobody wanted, jobs that would get her the list of party members, that she could then pass on to the FBI.

Angela comes across as ruthless, ambitious, manipulative, a fame-seeker and greedy. She seems not have cared a jot about the people whose lives she ruined, as long as her name was in the papers. Her testimony led to the destruction of the New York Photo League. She was also reckless, the FBI repeatedly asked her not to give interviews before the trials were over, because it could have tainted the case and ruined chances for convictions, but Angela didn’t seem to care. She had sworn under oath that she had not been paid by the FBI as a confidential informant. If the truth had come out, she could have been arrested for perjury, not to mention that it would have put the trial in jeopardy. The book also spends a lot of time dealing with the other informants and what their testimony was. While this was interesting from a historical perspective, it took the focus off Angela for long stretches of the book. She also spends a lot of time speculating on the sexuality of J. Edgar Hoover, Mary Margaret McBride, and Eleanor Roosevelt, whether or not they were closeted homosexuals.

Davis briefly discusses how Angela had no qualms about informing on Communist party members who were also homosexual, for example an old girlfriend of actress Judy Holliday who was also a policewoman. That’s fascinating, in the sense, that Angela seemed to have no loyalties to anyone, not even the FBI! I wish there had been a bit more about the lesbian and gay subculture of the Village during the forties and the fifties. Angela was hiding two secrets, that she was an informant for the FBI and also that she as a lesbian. The author describes Calomiris as becoming a media darling from her actions, calling her "America's Sweetheart." It's a fascinating reflection on an era where America's sweetheart could be a lesbian with strong Greek features, who had to work hard to try to appear more feminine. Angela didn’t seem concerned at all that she might be outed as a lesbian! Especially since she was having a relationship at the time with the sister-in-law of her FBI handler. You have to admit Angela had chutzpah.

Of course, the biggest question is why the FBI, who surely knew or suspected that Angela was a lesbian, would recruit her as a confidential informant? Especially given the prevailing attitudes towards homosexuality at the time? Gay people were not only targets for violence and arrest; they were also considered more vulnerable to blackmail than a citizen of allegedly upstanding moral fiber. Well at the time, the threat of communism was more important than Angela’s sexual orientation. Even though the Soviet Union ended up being our ally during the WWII, the FBI had been watching the Communists since the 1930’s. It’s hard to believe that at one point, Communism is seen as a bigger threat than the Nazi’s! The FBI were willing to use any means necessary to root out communism in the United States. While the FBI was willing to overlook her sexual orientation, as long as she got the job done, the Communist Party was not so lenient. She was nearly expelled from the party (which would have jeopardized her role as an informant). Angela had do some fancy dancing to reassure the party leadership that she was as straight arrow as it were.

Unfortunately for Angela, she didn’t exactly ingratiate herself with the FBI. She kept demanding that they find her a job, but not just any job, it had to be one that Angela felt was worthy of her talents. Working for Life or Look magazine as a staff photographer. No starting at the bottom for Angela. While other FBI informants had movies made of their stories, no one would touch Angela’s with a ten-foot pole. There would be no movie deal, or TV show detailing her exploits. Instead, Angela faded into obscurity. She took her savings, moved to Provincetown and bought a great deal of property. She eventually moved to Mexico where she passed away in 1993.

In the end, while this book is an interesting snapshot of a tumultuous time, it ultimately fails as a biography of a controversial woman.

Spirit of a Dove - Guest Post by Stephen Bourne

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 13:32:00 +0000

Spirit of a Dove

The closest rival of Josephine Baker, British siren Evelyn Dove was an international star in the 1920s and 1930s. In his new biography, Evelyn Dove: Britain’s Black Cabaret Queen, featuring over 50 rare photographs, Stephen Bourne reviews a life marked by success, scandal, heartbreak and obscurity.

Evelyn Dove was one of the true pioneers of the booming cabaret age of the 1920s. She thrilled audiences around the world and her exquisite stage costumes helped to make her one of the most glamorous women of her time. Evelyn was a black British siren who toured Europe throughout the 1920s and 1930s, courting admirers and fans wherever she performed. Her mesmerising movie star looks and grace captivated those in her presence. The public and press couldn’t get enough of the rising star who went on to replace Josephine Baker as the star attraction in a revue at the famous Casino de Paris. In 1936, amidst a frenzy of public interest, she became the first black British singer to try and conquer America, 25 yearsbefore Shirley Bassey. Evelyn headlined a cabaret show at New York’s popular Connie’s Inn. This rivalled the Cotton Club as a showcase for the best in black talent.

However, Evelyn was unsuccessful at winning over American audiences. Black and white American audiences did not take to a sophisticated black Englishwoman who sang a repertoire of songs in French, German and Italian. At that time they expected a black woman to sing either upbeat jazz numbers, or tear their hearts out with the blues. In fact, Evelyn was disadvantaged from the start. At Connie’s Inn she had to follow the enormously popular Billie Holiday who had scored a big success with her show Stars Over Broadway in which she co-starred with the legendary Louis Armstrong. The personalities and singing styles of Evelyn and Billie could not have been more different.

Evelyn’s career was one of many highs and lows, but at the height of her fame in the 1920s and 1930s she was a young adventuress who refused to be constrained by her race and English middle-class background.

Evelyn was mixed-race, born into privilege in London in 1902 to a West African father and English mother. Her father, Frans Dove, was born in Sierra Leone into a wealthy family and in the 1890s he spent time in London studying law. He married Evelyn’s mother, Augusta, in 1896. Evelyn was educated privately until she studied singing, piano and elocution at the Royal Academy of Music. As a trained contralto, in the early 1920s she hoped for a career on the concert platform, but this was almost impossible in Britain for a black singer at that time. So Evelyn worked in London cabaret shows instead and the all-black cast jazz revues that toured Britain and eventually took her to Europe where she was a sensation.

Evelyn spent several years in Italy where she proved to be enormously popular with audiences and then, in 1932, she travelled to Paris to replace the legendary Josephine Baker as the star attraction of the Casino de Paris. For the revue, Evelyn wore Josephine’s flimsy, revealing costume. Consequently the prim and proper middle-class English girl scandalised her family by appearing semi-naked on stage in Paris and it was said that her respectable and strait-laced West African father disowned her.

Following her disappointing trip to New York, Evelyn took off to India in 1937 where she triumphed in cabaret at the popular Harbour Bar in Bombay (now Mumbai). One newspaper, The Evening News of India, introduced her as “an artist of international reputation, one of the leading personalities of Europe’s entertainment world” and “the closest rival of the great Josephine Baker”. The review of her cabaret show was rapturous: “Evelyn Dove is very easy on the eye with her splendid, tall figure, and her pleasant face and flashing eyes.”

When Hitler’s war clouds appeared over Europe, Evelyn couldn’t go back to France or Italy. Instead she returned to Britain. Throughout World War II she enjoyed the same appeal as the ‘Forces Sweetheart’, Vera Lynn. The BBC employed Evelyn all through the war, and she proved to be one of radio’s most popular singers, appearing in a wide range of music and variety programmes. Many of these appearances were broadcast to the forces, while others could be heard on the BBC’s West African and Caribbean airwaves. In fact, as early as 1925, Evelyn had the distinction of becoming the first black woman to sing on BBC radio.

Starting in 1939, for almost a decade Evelyn made radio broadcasts, including over 50 editions of the series Serenade in Sepia in which she was featured with the Trinidadian folk singer Edric Connor. The series was so popular that, in 1946, the BBC transferred it to their television service. Evelyn and Edric became household names and they were among Britain’s first television stars in the early post-war years when the medium was still in its infancy. Regrettably, none of their appearances exist, having been transmitted live before technology was invented to make recordings of television shows.

In the 1940s Evelyn enjoyed another decade at the top of her profession, with numerous radio broadcasts, concert appearances, and by becoming the first black woman to star in her own television series. The following decade her career took an unexpected downward turn. Work became scarce and, in 1955, desperate, she applied to the post office for a job as a telephonist. But even more humiliating was the fact that she had to ask the BBC for a reference. In 1956 the tide began to turn when she landed an acting role on BBC television as Eartha Kitt’s mother in the playMrs Patterson. Two years later she was back on stage, in London’s West End, as one of the stars of Langston Hughes’s musical Simply Heavenly. Evelyn then joined one of Britain’s first black theatre companies, the Negro Theatre Workshop, founded by her former co-star Edric Connor and his wife Pearl. The Workshop staged its first major production A Wreath for Udomo in London in 1961, with a memorable cast that included Earl Cameron, Lloyd Reckord and Evelyn. The Workshop also gave opportunities for a new generation of young black British actors to learn their craft, including Rudolph Walker and Nina Baden-Semper. In 1965 Evelyn made one of her last stage appearances in the Workshop’s acclaimed production The Dark Disciples, a blues version of the St Luke Passion.

After her star began to fade, Evelyn suffered from depression and in 1972, at the age of 70, she was admitted to a nursing home in Epsom, Surrey. In the 1950s Evelyn had befriended a young singer and actress called Isabelle Lucas who later found fame as Lenny Henry’s mother in the television sitcom The Fosters. Isabelle later explained what happened to Evelyn: “I felt very sorry for her because she had so much talent, so much to give. I stayed in touch with Evelyn until she died in 1987. She was still a lovely woman when she was old. I went to her funeral, but no one else did, apart from one or two members of staff from the home. It made me very sad.”

In the 1920s and 1930s many African American expatriates settled in Europe including Josephine Baker, Adelaide Hall and Elisabeth Welch. They captivated audiences with their songs, beauty, elegance and style. Evelyn stood alone as a black Briton who joined these trailblazers. They were women who created a glamorous new image for black women in show business, far removed from the bandanna-wearing mammy.

Evelyn Dove was a trailblazer who was a head of her time, forging new barriers and facing up to her own personal struggles with determination and defiance. Her spirit remains alive in all of us.

Stephen Bourne’s Evelyn Dove: Britain’s Black Cabaret Queen is published by Jacaranda books ($18.95). For further information about Stephen’s books go to www.stephenbourne.co.uk

Interview with Faith L. Justice about the New York Chapter of HNS

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 13:03:00 +0000

I've been a member of the Historical Novel Society since 2011 and I have attended conferences both in the US and in London. Recently, I joined the board planning the 2017 conference in Portland, Oregon. In the run-up to the conference, I recently had the chance to talk to Faith L. Justice who is the current co-chair of the New York Chapter of HNS. Long-time readers of the blog may remember that Faith wrote a guest post a few years ago about Hypatia.

Q) Faith, thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions about the New York chapter of HNS. How did the chapter come about?

According to legend (I didn’t join the local chapter until a couple of years ago) there was a Yahoo list serve that was fairly active. Around 2011, someone on the list suggested they get together in person. The first meeting was in a restaurant, the next in a public atrium. They continued to get together in semi-regular fashion with people joining and dropping out until they found a regular meeting space at the office of one of the members. Patricia Rich and Lisa Yarde took over as co-chairs and held meetings quarterly for several years. We’ve recently upped our game. More about that below.

Q) How does the chapter interact with HNS?

We were pretty much left to our own devices. Whenever Richard Lee got an inquiry about a local organization in the NYC area, he passed it on to Pat who reached out, but other than that, not much interaction at all. Several of the members are also active in the national and frequently attend the conferences. There is usually a “conference report” to the membership in the fall where those who attended talk about their experiences and what they learned in presentations. Just recently the parent HNS group reached out about cross-promoting. We’re looking forward to that.

Q) What do the meetings entail and how many meetings are there a year?

For several years the group met quarterly and talked about general interest kinds of topics. The attendance varied from ten to twenty people and a lot depended on the weather. A few blizzards and the occasional hurricane disrupted the schedule. Last year we surveyed the membership, restructured the organization, and got more people involved in leadership. Pat and Lisa presided over the transition and Lisa Yarde is still co-chair with me.

We now have an active Steering Committee that works on programming, promotion, social media, and membership outreach. This past year we met monthly from August through May with outside speakers (agents, editors, authors) at most of the meetings. Attendance is up, especially when we have outside speakers, but we still have to contend with the weather—four of our last five meetings have been during Biblical-style deluges. Our members have to be dedicated hardy folk. We usually take the summer off, but we’re looking into some local trips we might take to museums or lesser known historical sites.

Q) Is the chapter mainly a way to network with other Historical Fiction writers? Do members get together to critique each other’s work?

We’re still working on our mission but the majority of our members are writers who want to advance their careers. There is a lot of formal and informal networking going on. Programming is geared to providing information and resources to writers. We’ve had critique groups in the past and hope to have some again in the future. That said, we want to expand to readers as well. We’re going to experiment with a readers’ group this summer and see if we can make it a more permanent part of the mission.

Q) What has been the most beneficial thing for you as member of HNS?

Personally, the best thing about HNS-NYC is that it gets me out of the house. As a full-time writer, I spend way too much time alone. It’s a delight to get out, meet fellow writers, hear what they’ve been up to, mentor folks who are new to the game, learn from those who have tried something new, and just be with delightful creative people.

As to the parent organization, I’ve attended all the North American conferences but one (coincided with my daughter’s graduation). I initially went for the pitches. Now I go for the friends I’ve met along the way—and the great content, of course! So here’s my shameless plug for a presentation I’m giving in Portland in June with Mary Ann Trail—join us for “HOW FAR CAN A HORSE WALK IN A DAY and Other Questions of Accurate Historical Travel” If you can’t make it to the workshop, button-hole me at a meal or mixer and we’ll talk research—my favorite topic!

Thanks, Elizabeth, for allowing me to represent our chapter HNS-New York City in the run up to the North American conference. Anyone who wants more information can contact me at HNS-NYC@gmail.com

Faith L. Justice writes award-winning fiction and articles in Brooklyn, NY. Her novels and short story collections are available at all the usual places. You can sample her work, follow her blog, or ask a question at www.faithljustice.com. For fun, Faith likes to play in the dirt—her garden or an archaeological dig.

Review: ENEMIES OF VERSAILLES: A Novel (The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy) by Sally Christie

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 14:30:00 +0000

Title: ENEMIES OF VERSAILLES: A Novel (The Mistresses of Versailles Trilogy)
Author: Sally Christie
Publisher: Atria Books (March 21, 2017)
How Acquired: Net Galley/TLC Book Tours

Back Cover: In the final installment of Sally Christie’s “tantalizing” (New York Daily News) Mistresses of Versailles trilogy, Jeanne Becu, a woman of astounding beauty but humble birth, works her way from the grimy back streets of Paris to the palace of Versailles, where the aging King Louis XV has become a jaded and bitter old philanderer. Jeanne bursts into his life and, as the Comtesse du Barry, quickly becomes his official mistress.

“That beastly bourgeois Pompadour was one thing; a common prostitute is quite another kettle of fish.”

After decades of suffering the King's endless stream of Royal Favorites, the princesses of the Court have reached a breaking point. Horrified that he would bring the lowborn Comtesse du Barry into the hallowed halls of Versailles, Louis XV’s daughters, led by the indomitable Madame Adelaide, vow eternal enmity and enlist the young dauphiness (this should really be dauphine, who wrote this back cover copy?) Marie Antoinette in their fight against the new mistress. But as tensions rise and the French Revolution draws closer, a prostitute in the palace soon becomes the least of the nobility’s concerns.

My thoughts: This is the third and final volume of Sally Christie's absorbing trilogy about the court of Louis XV, and it does not disappoint. The story is narrated in alternating 1st person POV, divided between Madame du Barry and Madame Adelaide, one of the six daughters of Louis XV. The story starts when young Jeanne is still a child. Her mother works for a courtesan in the kitchen, while young Jeanne dreams of a life of luxury and indolence. From the very first chapter, we meet a small child who is fun-loving, lives in the moment, not book-smart, who has a kind heart. She's also amazingly naive for someone who grew up so poor that she has to walk barefoot so that she doesn't ruin her one pair of shoes in the mud. Jeanne is sent to a convent where she is loved by the students AND the nuns, which has to be a first. She's effortlessly charming but hopeless at the whole employment thing until she's employed by an expensive boutique where she meets the Comte du Barry and her journey really beings.

Madame Adelaide is a different kettle of fish all together, and I have to say that her sections of the book were my least favorite in the beginning, probably because she's the complete opposite of Jeanne. Madame Adelaide is rigid, very concerned with her position and the etiquette of the court. She reminds me of that one co-worker who is a stickler for the rules, who reports even the slightest infraction, but who also gives unsolicited advice. The type of person who is always taking classes, and reading self-improvement books and tells you about them endlessly. Her one saving grace is that she loves her family. Her love for her father however is possessive, she wants to be his favorite. While she worries for his soul, and abhors his relationship with 'the fish woman' as she insists, she wants to be the one that he turns too.

However, her chapter gives fascinating insights into the lives of the daughters of France, five of whom never married. They are the superfluous women of the court as they grow older, their influence waning over the years. It's rather sad, and it reminds me of the lives of George III"s daughters, many of whom also never married. The book can be divided really into 2 parts, Louis XV, and afterwards. The book loses steam a bit until it runs headlong into the revolution.

Christie does an amazing job of painting a vivid portrait of court life at Versailles but also the two women. While Madame Adelaide considers du Barry (and before her Pompadour) to be an enemy, du Barry basks in the love of the King and the friends she makes at court. Jeanne's character is as uncomplicated as Madame Adelaide's is complicated. Interestingly as the book went on, I found myself growing more frustrated with Madame du Barry and more understanding of Madame Adelaide who eventually grows and changes while Jeanne seems to stay the same fun-loving child.

One of the great things about the trilogy for me was that I knew very little about the court of Louis XV. I knew the names of Pompadour and du Barry but very little of what they were like as people other than Pompadour's libido couldn't keep up with the King's. Since I knew so little, I was able to come to the trilogy without preconceived notions of the characters which I think helped because I was able to turn off that internal historian that sometimes can get in the way when I read historical fiction, particularly about a period that I know a great deal about. You can see how the seeds of the French monarchy's destruction were sewn tighter by Louis XV. If only he hadn't followed the model of his great-grandfather and been a more enlightened monarch. Christie makes several comparisons in the novel between how the British monarchy evolved and the French monarchy didn't.

Any reader who loves intrigue, royalty, beautiful clothes and a dramatic period of history should pick up The Mistresses of Versailles trilogy.

V for Victoria

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 15:14:00 +0000

Happy March everyone! Today is also the first day of Women's History Month. I know it has been quite a while since I've blogged and I apologize profusely. It has been hard lately juggling a job with working on my own writing as well as blogging. And I know that I still owe recaps of the last 5 episodes of The Crown! I thought I would kick off this month by talking a little bit about Queen Elizabeth's however many times great-grandmother Queen Victoria, the 2nd longest ruling monarch in British History.

This January saw the debut of a new series on PBS entitled appropriately enough VICTORIA starring Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria in the first years of her reign. Author Daisy Goodwin, who was the driving force behind the series, also wrote the novel VICTORIA which came out last fall. I had the privilege of reading an ARC of the novel thanks to Net Galley. And what a wonderful novel it was. While I enjoyed Goodwin's first novel THE AMERICAN DUCHESS, I was not quite as enamored of her second THE FORTUNE HUNTER. However, VICTORIA lived up to my expectations and more. It was just the balm I needed after the bruising US election season. Reading this novel was the equivalent of being enveloped in a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold day, with a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea.

The book opens with Victoria receiving the news that William IV is dead, and she is now Queen. Goodwin paints a vivid, vibrant portrait of the young Queen who is very much a teenager. She makes mistakes early on in her reign, most specifically with Lady Flora Hastings. She is impetuous, stubborn who likes to get her own way but she is also a young girl who has been starved of affection and dominated by her mother and Sir John Conroy. The bulk of the novel (and the series) concerns her relationship with her first Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, whose late wife Lady Caroline Lamb famously carried on an affair with Lord Byron which scandalized the ton during the Regency. Like Victoria, Lord Melbourne is lonely. His wife has passed away as has his only child Augustus. The two develop a father/daughter relationship with overtones of something more. I won't spoil it here but if you have seen the TV series, you know that Goodwin adds a dimension to the relationship that some have quibbled with. I have to say that I totally bought into it. It made sense that she would develop a crush on the first man to be kind to her who treated her as more than just a sovereign. Melbourne guide and taught Victoria but he didn't try to dominate her. Instead, he tried to gently point out the errors that her stubbornness caused. For example, refusing to give up any of her Whig ladies when the Tory Sir Robert Peel became Prime Minister.

We also get to see the Victoria who loved dancing, singing and a good party. And we get to see the Victoria who was wooed by a succession of suitors before finally falling head over heels for Prince Albert when he finally arrives in the fall of 1839. There is nothing so satisfying as two crazy kids with mommy/daddy issues finding each other! I highly recommend this book. It is going on my keeper shelf along with the Jean Plaidy's Victoria series which encompasses 4 books.

Unfortunately, although I loved Goodwin's novel, I'm not quite as much of a fan of the TV series. My biggest problem is that I really have no interest in what is going on downstairs at Buckingham Palace, mainly because there is so much good drama going on with Victoria learning the ropes of Queenship. And I wish that the TV series had given us a glimpse of Victoria's life before she became Queen. Before I watched VICTORIA, I re-watched the film THE YOUNG VICTORIA with Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend.

One of the best things about that film is that we get a glimpse of Victoria's relationship with William IV and Queen Adelaide, as well as the antipathy that the King had for Victoria's mother Victoire. There were also several wonderful scenes between Queen Adelaide and Victoria after she became Queen, where Victoria looked to her for guidance. Also, I found it curious that Baron Stockmar, a very important figure in Albert's life, was missing from the recent TV series. The biggest problem that I have with the series though is the casting of Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne.

This is Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne:

And this is the real Lord Melbourne at the time of Queen Victoria's reign:

While Rufus Sewell captured aspects of Lord Melbourne's character, he was just too good-looking and youthful for the part. And not nearly quite as fatherly as I'm sure the real Lord Melbourne was. You can understand why Jenna Coleman's Queen Victoria wanted him around 24/7. Frankly he was so delicious as Lord Melbourne, that when Albert finally showed up in the series, he was a bit of a let down. It's no wonder they went for the 'I hate you, no I love you' scenario for Albert and Victoria in this series. And then after the wedding episode, Lord Melbourne disappears despite the fact that the real Lord Melbourne was still Prime Minister for another year. The other weakness in this series (and this goes for The Crown as well) as that there was way to much mansplaining in this series. Victoria is not allowed to do anything without some man explaining things to her. It was fine with Lord Melbourne but now Albert is doing it, as if Victoria hadn't formed any opinions about anything before Albert came along.

On the plus side, I think that Jenna Coleman is doing a magnificent job as the young Queen Victoria. She's almost the right height for the role, and she comes across very much like a teenager in the early episodes, careening from one emotion to the next. David Oakes steals every scene he's in as Prince Albert's older, more louche brother, Ernst, and I can't say throw too many superlatives at Alex Jennings who plays Victoria's Uncle Leopold, King of the Belgians, widower of the late Princess Charlotte. Jennings is making quite the career for himself playing various members of royalty. So far he's played Prince Charles in Peter Morgan's The Queen, The Duke of Windsor in The Crown, and now King Leopold. Who is next? I still prefer Miranda Richardson's portrayal of the Duchess of Kent to Caroline Flemmings. Caroline comes across mainly as wan. I have to admit that Tom Hughes as Prince Albert grew on me. The chemistry between Jenna Coleman and Rufus Sewell was so amazing, that Hughes had huge shoes to fill. It doesn't help that Albert comes across as a bit of a pill in his first appearance. His personality seems to have come out more now that he and Victoria are married. Hughes is also incredibly sexy as Albert although once someone mentioned that he looked like Prince circa PURPLE RAIN, I had a hard time unseeing that whenever he came on screen!

If you have any interest in Queen Victoria, I urge you to purchase VICTORIA, the Official Companion to the series. There is a lot of really good information about the real life characters, particularly Skerrit and Francatelli. It is written by Helen Rappaport who is an expert on Victoria as well as the Romanovs. And there is a new biography out by Julia Baird entitled VICTORIA, THE QUEEN.

I have only read the sample that I downloaded from Amazon, but it looks like a winner. I would also urge people to find a copy of the early nineties miniseries VICTORIA AND ALBERT, starring Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Firth (Colin's little brother). It is interesting to see what is included and what is left out when people are crafting a film or television series.

The Crown Recap: Episode 6 'Gelignite'

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:59:00 +0000

gel·ig·nite

ˈjeləɡˌnīt/

noun
a high explosive made from a gel of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose in a base of wood pulp and sodium or potassium nitrate, used particularly for rock blasting.

So QEII is finally crowned and we now get to the juicy part of the series, the revelation of Princess Margaret’s relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend. A reporter at one of the tabloids is working on a story speculating on the relationship between the two. See, he saw the Princess pick a piece of fluff of the Captain’s uniform at the coronation. The editor is not sold, but the reporter insists that where there is smoke, there is fire. Actually he calls the article 'gelignite' since it seems that the name of the episode has to be referenced at least once. Picking the fluff off a man is a gesture even more intimate than a kiss because it suggests that the kissing has already happened. When the owner of the paper is appalled that the editor is planning on running the story but he doesn’t put the kibosh on the story. Tommy Lascelles (played by Pip Torrens who is so brilliant and evil as George Warleggan’s Uncle Cary in Poldark) is miffed that the owner didn’t tell his editor to kill the story. In real life, the American papers were actually the first ones to report on Princess Margaret’s relationship, which is what also happened in the 1930’s with King Edward VIII’s relationship with Wallis Simpson. The British papers were late to the game in both instances. Tommy informs the Queen Mother who wants to issue a denial but is talked out of the idea.

We finally get to see the Queen at the races in this episode. She attends the Epsom Derby with Prince Philip. It’s nice to see the show finally acknowledge one of the great passions of the Queen’s life, her horses. We get a lovely scene of Margaret watching the coverage on telly while canoodling with Peter Townsend. One wonders if the Queen Mum was so worried about the relationship, why she left Margaret and Peter alone together so often! They talk about the Queen's popularity. Margaret says that she doesn't care because she has Peter and they are going off to Rhodesia on tour. Yes, the tour is really the Queen Mum and Margaret, but these two seem to be able to find lots of time to sneak off together.

In case you were wondering, Philip is still being an alpha hole in this episode. He’s spending time with his equerry Mike Parker at a lunch club where they drink a lot, ogle the waitresses and talk about current affairs. Yes, really, we are treated to a short lecture on what is going on in Egypt with Nasser (which will come up in later episode). Philip points out to Elizabeth all the unrest going on around the world that she should be aware of. Earlier Princess Margaret rings up the Queen to invite her to dinner and we are treated to the logistics of the effort it took to connect Clarence House with Buckingham Palace. It is a nice reminder of what was life was like back in olden times. Claire Foy managed to give a simple word like ‘Oh,’ any number of meanings. At dinner, Margaret and Peter announce that they would like to get married. Elizabeth is taken aback that the relationship has gone this far. Elizabeth informs Margaret that she needs to take advice but that as her sister, she would never try to prevent it. (In real life, everyone knew about Princess Margaret's relationship with Peter Townsend at this point).

While Elizabeth isn’t enthused about the marriage, Philip is downright hostile. He finds Peter to be boring and dreary. He thinks the best thing would be for Peter and Margaret to forget the whole idea and for Peter to reconcile with his wife. The Queen suggests that Princess Margaret get married in Scotland where they could get married in a church (Princess Anne remarried in Scotland) since it is not possible to marry in the Church of England if the divorced person still has a spouse living. Margaret is overjoyed. The Queen is brought swiftly down to earth however by the Queen Mother and Tommy Lascelles. Apparently the Queen was not aware of what the Royal Marriages Act of 1772 actually entailed. This another ham-fisted way that show shares information with the audience. It is incredibly clunky but whatever! Tommy informs the Queen that Princess Margaret has the Queen’s permission to marry if she is under 25 and given that the Queen is the head of the Church of England, it would be unwise. However, if Margaret waits until she is 25, then she no longer needs the Crown’s permission. They suggest that it would be better for Peter and Margaret to wait out those two years in separate countries given the media frenzy. Margaret is not happy especially since Peter will not be able to accompany her and the Queen Mother on their tour of Rhodesia (I swear the first time I watched this episode, I had no idea what country she was talking about! Her upper class accent was so hard to understand). We finally get another intimate scene between the Queen and her sister, unfortunately it is one where she is bringing bad news. It is a lovely scene but it makes one wish that there had been more of them. Peter is just happy that he will be in Brussels where he can at least be close enough to see his sons.

The Queen promises Margaret that she and Peter will be able to have a few days together when she returns before he leaves to take up his new job as air attaché. She also asks Peter to accompany her and Prince Philip on a tour of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, the press is more interested in the Group Captain, then they are in the Queen. Peter also sticks his foot in his mouth when he sidles up to the Queen on the plane and calls her Lilibet, her childhood nickname, used only by close friends and her family. When Tommy comes to see her, Elizabeth tells him to make sure that Peter has to leave early for his new job, despite what she promised her sister. When Peter is told the news by Tommy and Martin Charteris, he tells them that they are making a mistake, the press are on their side. Tommy ‘the moustache’ Lascelles will not be threatened by a peasant like Townsend.

Here is where I have a problem with this episode. All of a sudden, Peter Townsend seems to have turned into some sort of smarmy bounder who is drunk on his own press. It goes back to the episode where he refused to leave royal service, despite Tommy’s best efforts. It came across than as rather self-serving and that is not the impression that I have gotten over the years in the various biographies I have read about Princess Margaret and the royal family. Did he overstep by falling in love with Princess Margaret? Maybe, he was older and married, but I also got the sense that he was surprised to find that Princess Margaret returned his feelings. What the show does well is illustrate just how immature Princess Margaret is compared to Peter Townsend who has a much more realistic view of life. This is also an episode that could have benefited from some flashbacks to Prince Philip’s courtship of Princess Elizabeth as a contrast to Margaret’s relationship with Peter. Instead we’re just told about it.

Margaret receives a telegram in Rhodesia telling her that Peter won’t be in London when she returns. She is furious and yells that she needs to speak with her sister immediately. There is a bit of comedy as switchboard tries to locate the Queen at one of her many residences. She’s finally located at Sandringham where she is examining one of her horses. Margaret unloads on her, telling her that since the Queen didn’t protect her, she won’t protect the Queen. “You reap what you sow.” The episode ends with a montage of various people reading the latest article on the royal romance. We start with Philip and Elizabeth, move on to Churchill and Clemmie and end with the Duke of Windsor and Wallis practically crowing over the article.

What this episode did well is demonstrate that Elizabeth is beginning to learn that there is a clear distinction between the Queen in her private life, what she might want and do, and the public face of the monarchy and sometimes they don't coincide. It is a painful lesson and one the Queen obviously never thought she would have to face, at least in Peter Morgan's version. We get a brief scene of party-loving Princess Margaret at Clarence House instead of in a night club where it might have been more appropriate. I'm amazed that the Queen Mother didn't stomp in and try to shut it down.

The Crown Recap - Episode 5 'Smoke and Mirrors'

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:59:00 +0000

Finally we get to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. But first we have the obligatory flashback to 1937. George VI is rehearsing in his office when Princess Elizabeth comes for a visit. He immediately ropes her into playing The Archbishop of Canterbury. It is a lovely scene, not only between father and daughter but also between monarch and future monarch. Jared Harris is so lovely as he explains the word inviolate to her. I don’t know who the young actress who plays the 10 year old Princess but she certainly resembles the real Princess at that age. You can just feel the love between father and daughter. I love the flashbacks because we get to have a glimpse of what the Queen was like as a child and more of her relationships with others like her father. George tries on St. Edward’s crown and we cut to the Queen trying it on. She asks if she can borrow it for a few days to practice and the man from the Tower looks flabbergasted that she would even ask. He points out that she has more right to it than anyone. With the children trailing behind her, she goes to show off the crown to Philip who is off doing god knows what.

This scene is contrasted later with The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in the present day, welcoming a reporter into their home outside of Paris. The article is clearly a puff piece as the reporter asks for their tips on entertaining and what makes a well-dressed man. There is a montage of the couple wearing one fabulous outfit after another. Someone on another blog pointed out that the Duchess seems to stick to a 1930’s silhouette in these scenes. In reality, she did wear more current fashions. The point seemed to be that they were a couple stuck in the past while the Queen represents the future. The scene takes a turn when the Duke takes the reporter to his inner sanctum where he keeps one of the government red boxes, the one that held his abdication papers. The reporter shows her ignorance by asking why are there no photos of the Duke wearing the crown. He has to point out to her that he never had a coronation, hence no photos with the crown. It is a terribly awkward moment followed by another awkward moment when the Duke mentions that he plays the bagpipes when he’s melancholy for England. That night he tells Wallis, as they are lying in bed, that he has to go back to dreary England because his mother is dying. He then asks Wallis if she wants to have sex! That’s not the word he actually used but it was quite a leap to go from his mother to wanting sex, particularly since in real life at this point Wallis was hanging out with Jimmy Donahue.

Philip and Elizabeth are dressing to go to some charity premiere or something that requires a tiara. Apparently he was out all afternoon flying, trying to get his pilot’s license in the shortest amount of time ever. Yes, that is basically all Phil has going for him right now while Elizabeth is out ‘Queening’ as he puts it. She tells him that she’s decided to make him head of her Coronation committee despite the fact that the Duke of Norfolk is normally in charge. Phil tells her not to ‘matronize’ him which had me rolling on the floor. He will only agree to the plan as long as he has full autonomy. Elizabeth tells him not to go mad. She then has to inform everyone of this change in plan which does not go down well, particularly with Tommy Lascelles and his mustache of doom.

The Duke shows up to spend time with Queen Mary. There is a somewhat poignant scene of him sitting on the bed with her, she asks him not to leave and he tells her he won’t, calling her ‘Mummy.’ Of course, it’s ruined by a voice over of his letter to Wallis where he is awful about his relatives yet again. The Archbishop of Canterbury calls to set up a meeting. The Duke realizes that since he is no longer King, he has to go to the Archbishop, not the other way around. Yet another reminder of what he has given up since he abdicated. The meeting, which includes Jock Colville and Tommy Lascelles, is basically to tell the Duke that he is persona non grata at the coronation and under no circumstances is Wallis invited. Instead of acting like an adult, the Duke proceeds to insult the Archbishop by repeating a rather horrid poem that he wrote about his predecessor. He really doesn't know how to read a room. It has been 17 years since he abdicated, as the Duke points out, one would think that he would have gotten used to the attitude of the establishment.

The meeting is called to a halt by the death of Queen Mary. So we are treated to yet another similar funeral scene where Philip spends his time criticizing that fact and how Elizabeth’s coronation has to be modern and up-to-date and not stuffy and traditional. His timing is awful. I know that Prince Philip was considered reckless and a bit coarse by the powers that be, but I sincerely doubt that he would spend his time critiquing his wife’s grandmother’s funeral.

Of course, the Queen gets a call from Churchill that Philip has gone made with the coronation, wanting it to be televised, and trying to do away with some of the pageantry. The royal couple has a huge showdown in the vestry of Westminster Abbey. Philip manages to get his point across about televising the coronation but blows it by suggesting that instead of kneeling to take the oath, he stand beside her. Elizabeth is not having it. She is a traditionalist above all. The coronation means something to her and she is not willing to budge on this point. Philip pouts.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are having a viewing party at their chateau (in real life they watched the coronation at a party thrown by a rich American acquaintance.) The Duke can’t resist revealing his inside knowledge to the crowd. Although he abdicated, he still respects the awe and majesty of the crown and what it means. The title 'Smoke and Mirrors' I'm assuming refers to the magic of the coronation, that the monarch enters the coronation an ordinary person but leaves anointed by God. When a guest asks him why he turned down the chance to ’be a god,’ the Duke turns to the Duchess and replies it was for love. Later, Wallis finds Edward on the veranda playing the bagpipes, tears streaming down his face.

I watched a documentary about the coronation after watching this episode and they managed to recreate it very well. Philip manages to kneel to his wife, although the look on Elizabeth’s face indicated that she wasn’t sure what he was going to do on the day. There is no indication of the lapse of time between their argument and the coronation, so the viewer has no idea if they made up later, if they have spent the past few days glaring at each other over their tea and toast. I would also have liked to have seen some behind the scenes from the day of the coronation such as the moment the Queen is about to walk into the Abbey and she tells her Maids of Honor 'Ready Girls?'. More intimate moments and not just the pageantry, although it is magnificent don't get me wrong.

I know this series is called The Crown, not The Queen, but I think it is a mistake to focus so much on the institution. I would love to have seen more happy moments between the Queen and Prince Philip before she became Queen. Perhaps if the series had given us a glimpse of their honeymoon at Broadlands or more of their life on Malta before she became Queen, it would make the scenes of the distance in the marriage more poignant. I was hoping that perhaps the writers would treat us to some flashbacks of Philip and Elizabeth's courtship but alas it seems that all the flashbacks we are getting are simply regarding The Crown.

The Crown Recap: Episode 4 ‘Act of God’

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 17:03:00 +0000

This episode was all about the Great Smog of 1952 which I had never heard, but was apparently a really big thing. Having experienced a little bit of London Fog in my lifetime, I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have to deal with the vat of pea soup that was served up in 1952. I’m not going to lie, this episode felt like a bit of a placeholder, as if the writers wanted to hold off getting to the coronation as long as possible. I wasn’t sure where they were going with it. What we got was a bit of a deeper glimpse at some of our main characters, particularly Sir Winston Churchill who does not come off very well in this episode.

We learn at the beginning of the episode that the whole thing could have been prevented. Churchill was apparently warned by UK scientists that a great smog was a possibility. Instead, Churchill ignored the warnings by recommending that people continue to burn coal for fuel in an effort to boost the economy. Good intentions, bad idea. Churchill is like the politicians who like to pretend that climate change isn’t really a thing. Unfortunately for Churchill, one of the government employees decides to go rogue and let former Prime Minister Clement Atlee know what’s what. He even throws Churchill under the bus by showing Atlee minutes from a Cabinet meeting that showed that Churchill ignored previous suggestions for precautionary measures or setting up a Clean Air Service. Luckily for Churchill, Atlee tells Collins that they should sit on this information because they have no guarantee that the Great Smog is going to actually happen. Cue smog! The entire city, not to mention the entire country, is blanketed in it. The smog effectively grounded all the planes and halted any transportation save for walking It is so bad; they warn people to stay home because of the lack of visibility. A national crisis has arisen, and no one is prepared to deal with it.

Meanwhile Prince Philip is having a grand old time taking flying lessons with his new BFF Peter Townsend. This irks Churchill to no end. Instead of worrying about the smog and the damage it might cause, he spends an entire meeting with the Queen, informing her that Philip needs to give up his new hobby. The Queen puts her foot down and tells him that her family’s private lives are in no way a concern of the Cabinet. Even the Cabinet wonders why Churchill is wasting their time on something so trivial. They think the old man has finally lost his marbles. Meanwhile Atlee is still dithering about what to do. He’s totally in danger of throwing away his shot. Instead he prefers to wait for it (obligatory Hamilton references). This is why people get frustrated with politicians! It’s left to Lord Mountbatten to pay Elizabeth a visit, stating that no one has any confidence in Churchill anymore, not even his fellow politicians. Unlike her father who refused to ask Churchill to resign, Elizabeth is made of sterner stuff, and is fully prepared to make the change.

In this episode, we spend a bit of time with Churchill’s secretary Venetia Scott and her roommate as they deal with the smog. If this were any other series, Venetia would be our plucky heroine. She soldiers on to work every day despite the smog, while her roommate succumbs to illness and stays home. Venetia has a bit of a crush on the Prime Minister. She finds a copy of one of her books and spends a delightful evening reading it. I’m surprised that she didn’t sleep with a picture of him under her pillow, although she does gaze rather fondly at a photo of him as a young man at various points in this episode. She’s such an intriguing character, so of course, she doesn’t make it through the episode. Apparently I’m not allowed to have nice things.

Somehow the Queen manages to find her way through the fog on foot to Marlborough House to have a deep conversation with her grandmother Queen Mary. Elizabeth asks her grandmother if this smog is an Act of God, and what role the divine plays in the monarchy. Queen Mary gives her a speech about how “God Put Us Here to Give Ordinary People Something to Strive for.” Which is great in the long run but not very helpful in the here and now. It is a prime example of just how little actual power the Queen has. I suppose nowadays, her press people would have suggested that she do a broadcast or something to assure the people.

Churchill must have been born under the luckiest star on the planet, because just when you think he is done for, he manages to pull a rabbit out of the hat. After he learns about what happened to Venetia, he high tails it to the hospital and is appalled by what he finds. London’s hospitals are understaffed and under equipped to deal with the influx of patients. He calls an impromptu press conference, writes his speech on a prescription pad, and delivers an uplifting speech to the nation, saving his bacon once again. It’s inspiring but one gets the sense that Churchill has just used up his last lifeline. The sad thing is, if Venetia hadn't died, would Churchill have done anything? The episode implies that he was so out of touch, that the answer might have been yes! Of course now the Queen can’t ask him to resign, but she does manage to get him to let up on Prince Philip and the flying lessons although he has to have permission from the Cabinet before he does anything crazy.

And like a miracle, just as Churchill and Elizabeth finish their meeting, the smog lifts. I ended up liking this episode a lot after initially being like ‘WTH?’ It was a nice respite after the gloomy atmosphere of the past two episodes. The viewer is left wondering, like Elizabeth, what would have happened if the fog hadn’t lifted when it did, if it had gotten worse before it got better? What if Atlee had acted on the information that he’d been given, instead of acting like a gentleman? One of the nicest bits in the episode is when Venetia quotes Churchill to the man himself, reminding him of who he once was. I got the impression that Churchill felt that the people of England had survived worse during the war, so how much could a little smog hurt compared to the Blitz! In this episode, Churchill is clinging to power by his fingernails. I get it, he led the country admirably during WWII, only to be turfed out of office after the war. And now, once again he held the highest political office in the land but times had changed and it is not clear that Churchill had changed with them. I wasn’t sold on John Lithgow as Churchill initially, he’s way too tall, but this was his episode and he knocked it out of the ballpark.

The Crown Recap Episode 3: ‘Windsor’

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:22:00 +0000

This episode was slightly different from the previous two episodes with a focus on the Duke of Windsor. We get a flashback to Edward VIII signing the act of abdication on December 10, 1936 with Wallis Simpson looking over his shoulder and then giving his radio broadcast to the nation. The Duke is played by Alex Jennings who played Prince Charles in the film The Queen (also written by Peter Morgan), as well as Anthony Eden in Churchill’s Secret. He does an excellent job of portraying a man who still acts like a small child even in middle-age, but it also shows some sympathy towards him, cut off from his family. He strikes a rather sad and pathetic figure. Historically, Wallis was not with the Duke when he made his radio broadcast, she’d decamped to the south of France to keep out of the line of fire. There are some lovely moments between the Wallis and Edward in this episode, and the actress playing the role is dressed divinely.

Meanwhile the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret are freely playing with their parents, not aware yet of how their young lives are about to change. Flash-forward to 1952 and the Duke is heading to Britain for his brother’s funeral. This episode peels back even more layers of the onion by letting the audience in on exactly how the Royal Family felt about David’s decision to eschew his duty for love. It’s a nice bit of foreshadowing since later on in the series we will see Princess Margaret grappling with the same decision and making an altogether different choice. Things are still frosty between the Duke of Windsor and his family. The Queen Mother blames the Duke for George VI’s early death. Queen Mary is not feeling to warm towards her elder son either, she too blames him for George’s death and for shirking his duty.

They move on to the revelation of the Duke of Windsor’s secret nicknames for his royal relatives. The Queen Mother is ‘Cookie’ (ostensibly because of the rumors that Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the daughter of the family cook. Lady Colin Campbell goes into these rumors in more detail in her rather nasty biography of the Queen Mother. Also for being fat and common which is rich given that he married a twice- divorced woman!) and the new Queen is “Shirley Temple.’ When confronted by Queen, the Duke tries to save face by telling her that it was because she was so sweet, and cute and good just like Shirley Temple. Nice save HRH! When the Duke finally meets up with his mother, she spends most of their time together praising his younger, brother. “So wonderfully thoughtful and caring, an angel to his mother, his wife, and children. I honestly believe he never thought of himself at all. He really was the perfect son.” The implication being that Bertie was everything that David was not. His meeting with the Queen Mother, Elizabeth and Princess Margaret is just as cold. The Queen Mother can barely stand to look at him, let alone let him touch her. Afterwards, he writes a letter to Wallis, calling his family “a bunch of ice-flamed monsters,” and that’s one of the kinder things that he says about them! Still the Duke has an ulterior motive, he needs to try and keep communication open, because of his allowance, which the Queen Mother was just as soon end.

He tells his mother, Queen Mary, a sob story about hard it is for them to make ends meet. Living at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and in a mansion just outside of Paris is expensive! He and Wallis need to be kept in the style to which they have become accustomed. It’s rather sickening to see the Duke pleading poverty when England was still going through rationing in 1952. While the Duke is trying to mend fences with his relations, Elizabeth is about to have her first meeting with Churchill. Before the meeting, Philip reminds her of two things: 1) The children will have his surname and 2) They will continue living at Clarence House. After all, he spent so much time renovating it.

Of course neither of those two things get discussed. Instead, Churchill and Elizabeth disagree about her coronation. Elizabeth would like to have it sooner rather than later and Churchill thinks that 16 months from now is a grand idea. “A long period between accession and coronation was of great value to your father.” Elizabeth reminds Churchill that actually her father had 5 months since the date of Edward VIII’s coronation had already been set. Later in the episode, Elizabeth brings up the two matters with Churchill who is aghast at both of them.

Meanwhile Lord Mountbatten is having a party where he exhorts his guests to raise a toast to the House of Mountbatten which is fairly cheeky and might smack of treason. Prince Ernst of Hanover (who is either the father or grandfather of the current Prince Ernst, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco) scurries over to Queen Mary to tell her the news. This scene is done partly in German as the Duke of Windsor listens in. It was a nice reminder that not only Queen Mary but also the Duke were fluent in German. Queen Mary is also aghast that they should be drinking champagne when her son has just recently died! Tommy Lascelles tells Peter Townsend that the Queen Mother has asked for him to comptroller of her household. He suggests not so subtly that Townsend should think about going back to the RAF. Apparently there are rumors that Townsend is a little too close to a certain brunette member of the household. Townsend basically tells him to stuff it. Later he informs Margaret that his wife is leaving him.

He tells her that it would be a grave mistake to change the name of the Royal House to Mountbatten. He reminds her that Prince Philip’s real last name was Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg of the Royal House of Greece and Denmark. Elizabeth is not one to be swayed, she may be a Queen but she is also a wife and a mother. Remember that she did promise to obey Philip at their wedding. Elizabeth is not dumb either, she knows that there are people who think that Churchill is past his prime and would like to see him resign, giving way to a young man like his nephew-in-law Anthony Eden. She tries to bargain with him, she will agree to the delay in her coronation, if he will support her in the matter regarding her husband’s name, and staying at Clarence House. Good luck with that! The cabinet is totally not on board with either of those decisions. Instead of telling the Queen himself, Churchill pawns off breaking the bad news to the Duke of Windsor. In exchange, Churchill will push for Elizabeth to reinstate the Duke’s allowance. Sneaky! Of course, the Duke has to ruin everything by trying to get Wallis the HRH. He complains that it has been 17 years since the abdication, why are they still being so cruel to his wife? Edward really has no concept of what he did by abdicating, the lives he damaged. All he cares about his money and Wallis.

When the Duke meets with his niece, on the surface she is all smiles, but there is steel underneath. She gets her own digs in during their idle chatter, dissing his love of pugs and their gassiness and confronting him about the cruel nicknames like Shirley Temple. The Duke realizes he has underestimated his niece, especially when she points out that he has never apologized to her for changing her life irrevocably. For the first time in the entire episode, The Duke is actually ashamed regarding his behavior. He apologizes to her and then gently tells her that the two things that she wants (or really her husband wants) can’t be. The House of Windsor will remain the house of Windsor and the whole clan must debunk to Buckingham Palace. The episode ends with the Duke heading back to his wife as crowds cheer him at the dock. While his family may not love, the people still have some affection for him.

Philip is not please and acts like a whiny baby about the whole thing. “What kind of marriage is this? What kind of family? You’ve taken my career from me, you’ve taken my home, you’ve taken my name.” In real life, Philip remarked that he felt like a bloody amoeba. Upset by the whole drama, Philip convinces Peter Townsend to teach him how to fly. See he really wanted to be in the RAF, but his uncle Mountbatten convinced him to join the Navy instead like his uncle and grandfather. Peter and Margaret had been having a rendezvous in his office when Philip arrives. Margaret hides but Philip notices a woman’s purse and teases Peter Townsend about it, not realizing that the woman in question is his sister-in-law.

This episode had pace and moved the story along nicely, as well as revealing more about the participants behind the scenes. I still quibble with the portrayal of the Queen Mother, so far the portrait that we are given is of a very dour woman. She has none of the joie de vivre that Helena Bonham Carter brought to the role in the Queen’s speech. Claire Foy is growing in the part as she assumes more of the mantel of responsibility. The other big disappointment in this series thus far is also the portrayal of Prince Philip. Yes, Philip could stick his foot in his mouth, and yes being a Prince Consort had to suck at times, but I wish we could see more of him trying to find his footing in the role. I mentioned this is my previous recap but Lord Mountbatten needs to be used for more than just a plot point. It’s real waste of Greg Wise, who thus far, has had little more to do than just show up and be handsome, which he does very well.

Other recaps: Tom and Lorenzo

The Crown Recap: Wolferton Splash and Hyde Park Corner (Episodes 1 & 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 15:33:00 +0000

I have been waiting eagerly for new series The Crown to drop on Netflix ever since it was announced. November 4^th couldn’t come soon enough for me. I took it as a good omen that the premiere date was midway between my birthday (November 2) and Guy Fawkes Day (November 5^th). So far I’ve watched the 1^st five episodes of the series and I have mixed feelings about it. After watching the episodes, I did a little research to see how close the series is to what we know historically. Apparently the Palace was very anxious about the series, particularly since writer Peter Morgan declined their help. They have nothing to worry about, the series is quite reverential in many ways. Almost too reverential.

The production values are absolutely first rate, I have no idea how much exactly the series is costing, although there are rumors that it is over $100 million dollars. If that’s true, most of it is on the screen. If you have ever watched The Royals or Reign, you’ll have noticed that their budgets hover around about $5 for each episode. In the first few episodes, the series has shown us Buckingham Palace, Sandringham, Marlborough House, No. 10 Downing Street, Broadlands, Westminster Abbey (or the equivalents). There is a sweep to the series that is missing from The Royals and Reign. The viewer gets more of a sense of how little privacy royalty actually have.

Although none of the actors remotely resemble their counterparts, the performances are uniformly fantastic particularly Claire Foy as Princess Elizabeth soon to be Queen Elizabeth II. However, the 1^st episode is very slow and not very engaging except for the very end. The first episode covers the years 1947 through 1951. In the very first episode, we get to see the eager young bride anxious to marry Philip. There is a sweet moment, where her fiancé manages to steal a quick kiss after the garter ceremony. The series sort of squashes Prince Philip giving up his Greek titles and being made Duke of Edinburgh, etc. as well as receiving the Order of the Garter into one scene at the very beginning of the episode. There is no mention of the fact that it actually wasn’t necessary for him to have to do it. Poor King George is coughing up blood in the bathroom and then lighting up a cigarette. I admit those scenes gave me pause mainly because of how realistic they were. I’ve had relatives who’ve suffered from lung cancer who continued to smoke even after they on oxygen to breathe. While Jared Harris a bit too robust physically for the King, I think that he aptly portrays a man who never wanted to be King but who once the mantle was thrust upon him, made the best of it. There is an interesting scene where he sings a rather dirty limerick while he’s getting dressed, it gives the viewer a glimpse of a man who was once a sailor just like his son-in-law.

The wedding scene is brief but spectacular, mad props to the costume designer who recreated not only Princess Elizabeth’s wedding dress but also the dresses of the maids of honor. Princess Elizabeth is tentative in her vows while Philip gives her subtle encouragement. Winston Churchill, who is no longer Prime Minister makes a grand entrance into the Abbey, which is remarked up on by Anthony Eden. Also so commentary about how Princess Elizabeth kept the word ‘obey’ in her marriage vows. There is a telling scene during the taking of the wedding photographs, where Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth discuss how Elizabeth got her way in marrying Philip since so many people were against the marriage in the government. I wish that we had actually gotten to see a bit of that instead of rushing into the wedding scene. I think it would have done a lot to establish just how much of an outsider Prince Philip was from the beginning. Queen Elizabeth also makes mention of the fact that Philip is very German which is hysterical considering the King’s background. I should mention that none of Prince Philip’s sisters were allowed to attend his wedding because of their marriages to Germans. The Queen also makes a very catty comment about Philip’s mother having just gotten out a sanitarium, calling her a Hun dressed like a Nun. Making fun of Princess Alice’s mental illness was a low blow and did nothing to give the viewer any idea of who this woman was.

There is a lovely moment after the ceremony where King George gives Elizabeth a movie camera as a wedding present. This leads to a lovely montage of the births of Prince Charles and Princess Anne as the years go by and we are suddenly in 1951. Princess Elizabeth and Philip are having a jolly old time in Malta. There are scenes of Philip playing with Prince Charles and Princess Anne which is interesting given that Charles and Anne actually stayed in England while Philip was stationed in Malta. The Princess would go back and forth to see them and do fulfill her duties.

Churchill is now back in power and the King is not doing so well. The blood coughing has led him to need surgery in the fanciest operating room in the country, the ballroom at Buckingham Palace. Seriously, there are chandeliers in the operating theatre! The Princess and Philip have flown back to England just in case. The King has one of his lungs removed (at this point no one has yet mentioned the word cancer). There is a bizarre scene where Philip wanders into the operating theatre while the doctors and nurses are cleaning up. Princess Elizabeth is of course anxious to get back to Malta so that Philip can go on doing his naval duties but she soon realizes that this is not going to happen. The King asks Elizabeth to take over the Commonwealth tour since he hasn’t fully recovered. Before they leave, the King takes Philip out into a boat to do duck hunting, basically giving him a pep talk about supporting the Princess yada yada, duty etc. what the Crown really means. It is basically a metaphor for what the whole series is about.

In Episode 2, the series starts to pick up steam. Despite his surgery, the King is still coughing up blood. When he questions his doctors, they tell him that it is nothing out of the ordinary (in real life the King was never told that he had cancer). Later on, his doctor informs him that there are malignancies in his other lung. He asks how long he has but the doctor doesn’t know. While all this is going on, Anthony Eden (played by Jeremy Northam) decides to make a power play. He cozies up to the King during a shooting party and tries to convince him to ask Churchill to resign. The King however declines, thwarting Eden’s ambitions for the moment.

In Kenya, Princess Elizabeth and Philip are having a grand old time. We finally get to see the Philip who suffers from foot in mouth disease, making politically incorrect comments about several of the natives that they meet. Poor Matt Smith, whatever hair dye they are using to try and approximate the Prince’s blond hair doesn’t seem to want to stick. His hair ranges from sort of blond to chestnut depending on the scene. However, he’s managed to capture the charm and the action man aspects of the Prince, chafing at having nothing really to do but support his wife. You get a sense of the warmth and affection that these two have for each other which has sustained them in almost 70 years of marriage.

At a house party at Sandringham, there is a lovely scene of Princess Margaret and the King singing a duet at the piano. It echoes an earlier scene where Princess Margaret drives her father while he gives her advice on her driving skills. In these brief scenes, you get a sense of the relationship between father and daughter, that Margaret was his joy. I wish that there had been more scenes like that. Anyhoo, the inevitable happens and the King dies in his sleep. There is a particularly awful moment where Margaret goes into see her father’s body as they are preparing him for embalming. Seriously, who would want to see their father with a large poker sticking out of his body? It was seriously gross and unnecessary.Of course, they have to let the Princess Elizabeth know that she is now Queen.

What The Crown does well are the small intimate scenes, Philip telling the Queen the news (we only see her reaction, we don’t hear what he actually said), Elizabeth getting dressed in her mourning clothes on the plane before she arrives in England, Margaret riding off on her horse and being comforted by Peter Townsend, Queen Elizabeth breaking down when she hears the news of her husband’s death (they slept in separate rooms).

There is very little of Lord Mountbatten in this series which is unfortunate. Churchill makes a comment about Mountbatten giving away India, and there is a scene of Mountbatten toasting the House of Mountbatten with champagne prematurely as it turns out. Both Philip and Elizabeth were very close to Mountbatten, they spent their honeymoon at his country estate Broadlands, but he seems like an afterthought in the series.

For another look at the 1st episode head on over to The Court Jeweller and Tom and Lorenzo

Winner of the Eterna and Omega Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 15:30:00 +0000

The winner of Leanna Renee Hieber's ETERNA AND OMEGA is

Brenda Fletcher

Congratulations!

Scandalous Halloween Giveaway: ETERNA AND OMEGA by Leanna Renee Hieber

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 14:54:00 +0000

Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time since I have blogged but I have an exciting giveaway that I couldn't wait to share with you. ETERNA AND OMEGA, the 2nd book in Leanna Renee Hieber's exciting new series from TOR. It seemed only fitting since Halloween is just around the corner. If you love the novels of the Brontes and Mary Elizabeth Braddon, if Northanger Abbey, Frankenstein, and Dracula are your jam, then you will love Leanna Renee Hieber.

From the back cover:

Leanna Renee Hieber's gaslamp fantasy series continues and the action ramps up in Eterna and Omega.

In New York City, fearing the dangers of the Eterna Compound--supposedly the key to immortality--Clara Templeton buries information vital to its creation. The ghost of her clandestine lover is desperate to tell her she is wrong, but though she is a clairvoyant, she cannot hear him.

In London, Harold Spire plans to send his team of assassins, magicians, mediums, and other rogue talents to New York City, in an attempt to obtain Eterna for Her Royal Majesty, Queen Victoria. He stays behind to help Scotland Yard track down a network of body snatchers and occultists, but he'll miss his second-in-command, Rose Everhart, whose gentle exterior masks a steel spine.

Rose's skepticism about the supernatural has been shattered since she joined Spire's Omega Branch. Meeting Clara is like looking into a strange mirror: both women are orphans, each is concealing a paranormal ability, and each has a powerful and attractive guardian who has secrets of his own.

The hidden occult power that menaces both England and America continues to grow. Far from being dangerous, Eterna may hold the key to humanity's salvation.

And here is the exciting book trailer!

About Leanna:

Leanna Renee Hieber is an actress, playwright, artist and the award-winning, bestselling author of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels for adults and teens such as the Strangely Beautiful, Eterna Files and Magic Most Foul sagas. She grew up in rural Ohio inventing ghost stories, graduating with a BFA in Theatre and a focus in the Victorian Era from Miami University. She began her theatrical career with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and began adapting works of 19th Century literature for the stage. Her novella Dark Nest won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in the genres of Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Her debut novel, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Strangely Beautiful series) hit Barnes & Noble's bestseller lists, won two 2010 Prism Awards (Best Fantasy, Best First Book), the 2010 Orange County Book Buyer's Best Award (Young Adult category) and other regional genre awards. The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess won the 2012 Prism Award (Best Fantasy). Books one and two are now available as STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL in a revised, author-preferred editions from Tor/Forge. DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul, hit the Kid's/YA INDIE NEXT LIST as a recommended title by the American Booksellers Association and a Scholastic Book Clubs "highly recommended" title. Leanna's short fiction has been featured in anthologies such as Willful Impropriety: Tales of Society and Scandal, "Too Fond"; a short story on Tor.com, "Charged" in Queen Victoria's Book of Spells and the Mammoth Book of Gaslight Romance. Her new Gaslamp Fantasy series THE ETERNA FILES, is now available from Tor/Forge. Her books have been translated into many languages and have been selected for multiple book club editions. Leanna is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She is proud to be a co-founder of the original Lady Jane's Salon Reading Series in New York. Leanna was named the 2010 RWA NYC Chapter Author of the Year. A member of Actors Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Leanna has been featured in film and television on shows like Boardwalk Empire. She loves nothing more than a good ghost story and a finely tailored corset, wandering graveyards and adventuring around New York City, where she also works as a ghost tour guide. Active on Twitter @leannarenee and Facebook.com/lrhieber, more information as well as free reads, author resources, links to her art and Etsy store and more can be found at leannareneehieber.com

This giveaway is only open to US residents. Contest ends on October 30th at 12 noon.

Here are the rules:

1) Leave your name and email address in the comments section
2) If you tweet about the giveaway, and let me know, you get an extra entry.
3) If you are not a follower of the blog, and become one, you get an extra entry.
4) If you like the Scandalous Women Facebook page, you also get an extra entry.

The winner will be announced on October 31st!

September Book of the Month: ETERNA AND OMEGA by Leanna Renee Hieber

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:27:00 +0000

Leanna Renee Hieber's gaslamp fantasy series continues and the action ramps up in Eterna and Omega.

The hidden occult power that menaces both England and America continues to grow. Far from being dangerous, Eterna may hold the key to humanity's salvation.

I don't often feature books (fiction or non-fiction) that isn't about a Scandalous Woman from history but I'm making an exception this month because Eterna and Omega (book 2 of The Eterna Files) is such a special book. Full disclosure, the author is a very good friend of mine, and I have the joy of seeing her grow from a newly published author to an award winning multi-published and accomplished novelist. The Eterna Files series deals with a supernatural arms race between the United States and the United Kingdom. These books have everything, action, adventure, the paranormal and even some smooching. Leanna is an accomplished actress and playwright so her characters are three dimensional, fully formed that just leap off the page. If you love the Victorian era or the Gothic novels of Charlotte Bronte or Edgar Allen Poe, you will love this series. However, I would suggest that you start with the first book The Eterna Files which is now out in paperback. The series does have a cast of thousands but it is to Leanna's credit that it never seems overwhelming or confusing.

You can also check out her other novels on her website.

July Book of the Month: Lucie Aubrac

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Kerri Mahon) — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 17:24:00 +0000

The next few months mark the 72^nd anniversary of the liberation of France by Allied troops, which makes it a perfect time to be talking about Lucie Aubrac and other members of the French resistance who fought their Nazi occupiers for years until the Allies arrived. As one of the founders and leaders of Libération-Sud, Aubrac not only helped to distribute the underground newspaper Libération during World War II but also served as a courier, arms carrier, and saboteur. Her time under the Vichy regime was like something from a John Le Carré novel, involving disguises, swapped suitcases, and clues left in crosswords. Aubrac, working under the last name Montet, even managed to fool SS officer Klaus Barbie, infamously known as the “Butcher of Lyon,” to help her husband skirt certain death. British and American propaganda turned her exploits into the stuff of legend, and she was revered in her country for decades, but it all nearly ended in 1983, when she and her husband found themselves accused of secretly aiding their most-hated enemies. Lucie Aubrac helps parse out exactly what the couple’s actions and motivations were during the war while offering a thrilling portrait of a brave, resourceful woman who went to extraordinary lengths for love and country.

Here is a short excerpt from the book:

As a founder and leader of Libération-Sud, an arm of the French Resistance during World War II, Lucie Aubrac ran guns and messages, committed acts of sabotage, and multiple times faked her identity to helped others escape from Nazi POW camps. In the first half of her new book, Lucie Aubrac: The French Resistance Heroine Who Outwitted the Gestapo, Siân Rees details these exploits, including the two different times that Lucie rescued her own husband, Raymond. Below is an excerpt from the book detailing the first rescue operation, when Lucie (operating under the last name Samuel) traveled to Sarrebourg with a plan to get Raymond sick enough to be sent from prison to a hospital—from which she could sneak him away.

Still in Vannes, Lucie Samuel had had no news of her husband for weeks. She passed her first birthday as a married woman as she had done her first Christmas: alone and frightened, not knowing where her husband was, or even if he was still alive. Her parents-in-law knew no more than she did; it seemed nobody had information about their men. Some semblance of ordinary life had to continue, nevertheless, as millions of people waited for news. However bewildered and frightened teachers and pupils were with foreign soldiers in the streets and fathers, brothers, and husbands who had vanished, the girls and boys who had been working toward their baccalauréat had to sit their examination.

Bravely, Lucie contacted the German authorities in Vannes, persuading them to release four French officers from the nearest internment camp to form the examination jury. She was enraged when all four refused to seize the opportunity to escape; had they no courage, no principled determination to resist defeat? Term had ended by the time she finally received a card from the Red Cross at the end of July, with a note that her husband was confined to a barracks in Sarrebourg, converted to a prisoner-of-war camp. He had written the card on her birthday:

Nothing is more monotonous, my love, than life in camp. More than the lack of comforts and the terrible food, it is the false and contradictory reports which weigh on the thousands of poor blokes who are here and who see no hope on the horizon. . . . When I leave here, I will go to Dijon, and I will find you, and we will choose what must be done, won’t we. I hope you are very well, and ready for our future life. And this evening, your birthday, my thoughts will be entirely with you. Raymond.

With most of France lapsing into the stunned inactivity known as attentisme—waiting to see what would happen—Lucie Samuel went into action. She had no more faith than her husband that the Nazis would soon let their French prisoners go home, and she knew that if Raymond were transferred to a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany his Jewishness would put him in terrible danger. He had to escape immediately, and Lucie was not a woman who waited for other people to step in and take care of things. She would rescue him herself.

Once again she crossed France, traveling in even more dangerous circumstances than she had done the previous November, for the roads were blocked not only by refugees but also by the German troops fanning out across a traumatized country, ramming home the fact of their victory as they entered town after town in sleek, gray-green, seemingly endless processions. Single-minded in her determination to rescue Raymond, Lucie had come up with a simple plan: she would engineer her husband’s transfer from barracks to hospital, then smuggle in a disguise to facilitate his escape. In Champagne, she stopped off to find Raymond’s brother, Yvon, in the military hospital to which he had been posted. Yvon provided her with a drug guaranteed to provoke fever, and on she went, against the current, traveling east as everyone else traveled west, until she reached Sarrebourg and begged permission to see her husband. There was a brief, charged contact between prisoner and visitor—it was the first time they had seen each other since Paris in May—the drug was passed from one to another, time was called, and a couple of days later a heavily sweating Raymond was transferred to the hospital. Visiting as the anxious wife, Lucie produced the cap and suit of workman’s blue overalls in which he would escape. If it was a simple plan, it was also a terrifying one for Raymond, who was more frightened than he had ever been in his life—hiding next to the garden fence was easy enough, but he was all too aware that if the nearby guards saw him during the moment it would take to haul himself over, their bullets would not miss. After what seemed like hours of gut-cramping hesitation, he pulled himself up, threw himself over the top, and fell into the street below, where Lucie was waiting.