The winner of a free download of The Maid’s Lover is—Leona! Please contact us at riskies@yahoo.com…

Happy week after Christmas, everyone! How was your holiday? The weather here was frightful, but indoors was delightful. Lots of Christmas candy and Prosecco, along with the Say Yes to the Dress marathon on TLC (amazing how those dresses all look just alike after a while, yet everyone argues bitterly about them), and episodes from season one of Legend of the Seeker (thanks to the gift of the DVD set!). Now I have to get back to yoga, eating semi-healthy, and finishing the WIP. First a look back–and forward.

Forward: If you got your February issue of RT, you may notice my first Laurel McKee book, Countess of Scandal, is not reviewed therein. It seems there was some sort of snafu; hopefully we will see it in March. In the meantime, I did get my very first review, yay!!! From Romance Reviews: “This was an exciting, suspenseful, and very passionate story. Loved it and very much look forward to the next in this series. Interesting history lesson and a good backdrop for a first-class love story. Four checks!” (Sorry for the bragging interlude–I am soooo excited about this book, I can’t contain it!)

And now back, to the year that was 2009! It was a very good reading year indeed, at least for me. As usual, I didn’t get to read much fiction, except as vacation treats, but what I read was excellent. I loved how Carolyn’s Indiscreet blended a vivid, exotic setting with deep, complex emotions and intriguing characters, and how Diane brought a very realistic aspect to post-war trauma and the horrors of battle to Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady. I just finished Gail Carriger’s Soulless, and I totally loved it! I’m fascinated by the steampunk sub-genre, and this was a terrific example with a wonderful heroine. Can’t wait for the next book. Also in romance, I enjoyed Carrie Lofty’s unusual look at the Robin Hood legend What a Scoundrel Wants and Liz Carlyle’s Tempted All Night. And I loved Susan Wittig Albert’s new Beatrix Potter mystery, The Tale of Applebeck Orchard (I really enjoy this whole series).

There are two other novels I read that really stayed with me. I read them months ago, and still remember them vividly, though they are very different from each other. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows is an epistolary novel featuring extremely vivid characters and a well-drawn setting of an island under occupation and recovering from it post-war. I hate, hate, hate when a book is described as “uplifting,” but, well, this book really is. There are aspects that are quite dark, but overall it’s a lovely look at the resilience of people. I also loved Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger, which had an equally vivid setting but was possibly the scariest book I have ever read! Dr. Faraday has long been obsessed with the local Stately Home, Hundreds Hall (which is its own character in the story) and its family the Ayerses. Class conflict melds with the supernatural, subtly building to a terrifying finish. Eeek, I shiver now just thinking about it!

And it was a truly exceptional year for terrific non-fiction. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but here are some that stand out for me:

John Guy’s A Daughter’s Love, about Sir Thomas More and his devoted daughter Meg. Meg was More’s favorite child, a deeply intellectual woman who carried on his legacy after his death (and even effected a daring rescue of his head from London Bridge). A wonderful look at a dark, dangerous era and an extraordinary woman.

Veronica Buckley’s The Secret Wife of Louis XIV. Another extraordinary woman in dangerous times of violent change! Francoise d’Aubigne, Madame de Maintenon, rose from poverty-stricken beginnings as the daughter of a condemned traitor (reprieved at the last minute and sent off to the West Indies) and then teenaged wife of the cripple poet Scarron to the very pinnacle of French society through sheer intelligence and force of will (and a little sneakiness, too).

Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder. This book has received many end-of-year accolades and justly so. It’s a feat of great storytelling as well as a look at a moment of intense scientific change. Holmes focuses on a small group of dedicated Romantic-era scientists, most notably William and Caroline Herschel, Humphry Davy, Joseph Banks, and Mungo Park, all working in different aspects of science.

Michael Holroyd, A Strange Eventful History. A look at the lives of actors Ellen Terry and Henry Irving and their tumultuous families amid the rise and fall of the Lyceum Theater. A long book, but it reads much too quickly–I wanted to keep on with these people after the end of the story! A wonderful look at the world of the Victorian theater and the mind-set of most unconventional people.

Caroline Moorehead, Dancing to the Precipice. Another book about a strong, intelligent woman in times of upheaval. Lucie de la Tour du Pin was born into the French aristocracy and lived a long, eventful life, serving at the courts of both Marie Antoinette and Josephine, traveling Europe with her diplomat husband (who she loved very much), surviving the Revolution (she and her family eventually fled to New York, where they spent 3 years on an upstate farm before returning to France), the years of Napoleon and his downfall, and so much else. The story mixes politics and court intrigues with daily family life. I loved it.

Some honorable mentions: Paul Collins, The Book of William (a look at the history and life of the First Folio). Peter Martin, Samuel Johnson: A Biography. Celia Lyttleton, Scent Trail (the author tracks down the ingredients for her exclusive perfume). Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore, Blindspot (written in the style of an 18th century picaresque novel–fascinating!). Jonathan Bate, Soul of the Age (a new bio of Shakespeare–with a twist). Wendy Moore, Wedlock (a look at a Georgian marriage that was very disastrous indeed).

It was a good year in movies, too! I actually came across 4 I loved, when usually I am lucky to find 1 or 2. They were Bright Star (lovely, period-looking yet unfussy, and sweetly erotic), Julie and Julia (just don’t watch this one hungry! And Meryl Streep is Julia Child, natch), An Education (best film of the year, IMO), and The Young Victoria, which I saw just last week (gorgeous to look at, and very romantic). I’m hoping to make it to the theater again this week, since I am off work. What would you recommend?

I hope you had a great 2009, and will have an even better 2010! (And Carolyn has a contest going on at her blog where you can win 2 books by–me! Comment over there for a chance to win)

Happy Christmas Week, everyone! It’s a bit crazy here this week, with finishing up work (I’m off tomorrow after noon for a whole week and half, hooray), finishing up shopping/wrapping/baking, working on the WIP (due February!) and general holiday looniness. But I do get to go see a preview of The Young Victoria tomorrow night, which I am very excited about–I’ve been waiting for this movie for a long time! Next week I’ll be able to let you know what I think of the story, the acting, etc, but I am pretty sure there is one aspect I will like very much, which is the costumes (of course!). They look very authentic in the photos, as well as quite pretty. (And if Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend are also a bit prettier than the originals, well who am I to complain?) (There is already an excellent review at Scandalous Women!)

So while I run off to do some lunch-hour last minute shopping today, enjoy the images!

(I love how the Queen’s tiara is the model for the one “Victoria” is wearing! And how beautiful is that shade of blue?)

(First comes love, then comes marriage…)

(Then comes Victoria with the baby carriage! I’ve always enjoyed this portrait because they look so supremely unconcerned that little Princess Vicky is playing with dead birds)

What do you think of the costumes? Have you seen the movie yet (and if so what did you think??) What other historical figures would you love to see made into movies, and who would you cast?

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope your holiday shopping is almost done, and your errands complete (I’m planning to take the dogs to have their Santa photo taken this week, but other than that I’m done. I think). My Undone story, The Maid’s Lover, is still on eHarlequin if you’re in the mood for a Christmas story, and I just found out I have a new title for my next Undone (out in March 2010!)–To Bed a Libertine. I think that about says it all.

When I was trying to find a topic for today’s post, I came across the fact that Eliza Poe (actress and mother of Edgar Allen) died on December 8, 1811, and I remembered a book I found once at a library sale, The Brief Career of Eliza Poe (by Geddeth Smith, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1988). I had to go and dig through my boxes in search of it, and found that aside from her famous (and famously weird!) son, Eliza had an interesting life of her own.

She was born Elizabeth Arnold in London in 1787. Her mother, also Elizabeth, was an actress in London until she married Henry Arnold and gave birth to her daughter. Henry died in 1789, and mother and child moved to Boston in search of a new life. Eliza made her debut at the age of 9, a character named Biddy Blair in a farce titled Miss In Her Teens by David Garrick, and received a good review in the Portland Herald, “Miss Arnold exceeded all praise. Although a miss of only nine years old, her powers as an actress will do credit to any of her sex of maturer age.” Later that year her mother married again, to a musician named Charles Tubbs, and they joined with a manager named Mr. Edgar to form their own troupe, the Charleston Comedians. Elizabeth senior died not long after this, probably as the company toured through North Carolina in 1798.

Eliza junior stayed with the troupe, traveling with them from city to city. She was a hit at the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadelphia, a large theater seating over 2000. Over the course of her career, she played over 300 roles, including her best-known parts of Juliet and Ophelia.

In the summer of 1802 she married Charles Hopkins, who died of yellow fever 3 years later, leaving her an 18-year-old widow. Six months after this untimely loss, Baltimore-born David Poe saw her performing in Norfolk, Virginia and fell deeply in love with her on sight. He abandoned his family’s plans for him to study law and joined her troupe. They married in 1806, and traveled throughout New England, playing to acclaim in Philadelphia and an outdoor summer theater in New York City before settling in Boston, where they stayed for 3 straight seasons in a theater of about 1000 seats. Besides her acting skills, reviews noted her “sweetly melodious voice” and “interesting figure.” Times were financially difficult, but they had 2 sons, William (born in 1807) and Edgar in 1809. (Eliza performed up until about 10 days before giving birth to him, in a boarding house near Boston Common). They moved to New York in summer 1809, where Eliza was praised for her talent while her husband was subject to harsh criticism (possibly suffering from crippling stage fright). He took to drinking heavily and became more and more hot-tempered. His exact fate is not known, but he’s thought to have died around December 1811. Eliza had one more child, a daughter Rosalie, born in 1810 (Rosalie is thought to have been mentally impaired in some way).

In autumn 1811, while staying at a boarding house in Richmond, Virginia for performances, Eliza began coughing blood, and by October she ceased performing altogether. Her last appearance was October 11, 1811, as Countess Wintersen in The Stranger. Other actors took care of the children while she was ill, and many in the theatrical community of Richmond took an interest in the family. On November 29, the Richmond Theater held a benefit performance on her behalf, announcing, “On this night, Mrs. Poe, lingering on a bed of disease and surrounded by her children, asks your assistance and asks it for perhaps the last time.” (Got that? The last time! Plus this theater burned down 3 weeks after Eliza died)

She died of tuberculosis on December 8 at the age of 24, her children at her side, and was buried at St. John’s Episcopal Church there in Richmond. The exact spot is unknown, though there’s now a memorial marker to her there. After this her 3 children were split up, William living with his paternal grandparents in Baltimore, Rosalie adopted by William and Jane Mackenzie in Richmond, and Edagr staying in that city also with adoptive parents John and Frances Allen. It’s speculated that this early loss of his mother (and also his young cousin/wife years later) inspired Poe’s favorite theme of dying women in Gothic circumstances.

Along with the Smith book (which has some great details of Regency-era theater life), there’s info about Eliza Poe in Jeffrey Meyers’ Edgar Allen Poe: His Life and Legacy.

Do you have any favorite Poe stories? When I was a kid, I found a copy of his complete works on my parents’ shelves and scared myself silly with them. (Until my parents took it away so I would quit waking them up in the middle of the night because I was sure someone who was un-dead was knocking on my wall…)