I am delighted to announce that all week, from January 4 through 10, 2010, the delightful, erudite, and passionate ladies at the brand new Historical Fiction Roundtable blog (http://historicalfictionroundtable.com/) will be featuring my 13th book, NOTORIOUS ROYAL MARRIAGES. The book's release date is January 5, 2010.
Be sure to visit the Round Table website as well as the ladies' individual blogs for exciting giveaways, guest posts, interviews, and other special events.
Roundtable Members:
Allie of Hist-Fic Chick
Allie of Hist-Fic Chick
Amy of Passages to the Past
Arleigh of Historical-Fiction.com
Heather of The Maiden’s Court
Lizzy of Historically Obsessed
Lucy of Enchanted by Josephine
Marie of The Burton Review
Susie of All Things Royal
These amazing women have pulled out all the stops to put together an awesome blog tour for my second foray into historical nonfiction. Ever wonder about the real stories behind some of your favorite royals, their lives and loves? For more couples than you think, wedlock was more like unholy matrimony, and till death did they part couldn't come soon enough! And then there were the real-life love stories that will break your heart and may even surprise you.
For example ... Queen Victoria was so hot for Albert that she couldn't tear her gaze away from his tight white trousers when the couple was supposed to be reviewing a military parade. And once their children were born, she couldn't bear the fact that they took her attention away from her beloved husband. Victoria and Albert eventually had nine children and eleven was definitely a crowd!
And then there was Victoria's granddaughter,Alicky, the future Empress Alexandra of Russia. Alicky married her cousin Nicky, just days after he became Tsar of all the Russias. They had a secret signal for sex. Nicky would warble like a bird, and Alicky would blush, hitch up her skirts, and run to his arms. When things went south politically, Nicholas turned to cocaine, while Alexandra dosed herself with Veronal to help her sleep. Never for a moment did they allow adversity to chip away at their mutual passion for each other, which was as strong the day they were brutally executed as the day they first pledged their love.
So, mark your calendars to pull up a chair to the Historical Fiction Roundtable for the royal ride of a lifetime!
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5 comments:
That's definitely not the image I had of either couple prior to reading your investigations. Looking forward to the blog tour and the publication!
Thanks, Jen! I discover so much as I research these royals, and it delights me no end when I find that some of my own preconceived notions of them are exploded.
Terrific book Leslie- and I just can't wait for the event starting this Monday! Thanks for the very thoughtful mention and link on your post.
I read your guest post on Allie's blog, HistFicChick, but the bit about Victoria not being able to tear her eyes from Albert's pants was news to me! For an era we associate with repression and prudery.....um, maybe not so much!
It was Albert who was a prude -- though he was very sexually attracted to his wife. However, he had zero tolerance for adulterers (his mother ran off with her much younger lover when Albert was just a little boy). He didn't even conscience flirtation and was very, very chilly to any woman other than Victoria.
After Albert died, the age of prudery was ushered in. She vowed to do everything "his way" and "the way he would have wished me to do it."
So we went from Victoria ogling Albert's crotch to her priggish shudders every time a word like "legs" was uttered.
Does this explain the vast number of Brits' odd relationship with sex -- someone tell me --
their seesaw between prudery and bawdiness?
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