Or, why miss an opportunity to post a picture of the man who could climb my rigging anytime even though I can’t spell his name–the lovely and talented Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower.
Janet
Or, why miss an opportunity to post a picture of the man who could climb my rigging anytime even though I can’t spell his name–the lovely and talented Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower.
Janet
The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on 21st October, 2005. Here are some sites for your edification:
www.nelsonsnavy.co.uk/battle-of-trafalgar.html has a lot of great information on Nelson’s Navy as well as the battle itself.
www.nmm.ac.uk/ Site of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
And this site, http://www.trafalgar200.com/ has details of official celebrations and nifty Nelson souvenirs you can buy. I believe the official events included a re-enactment earlier this year in which the opposing sides were “red” and “blue” so as not to hurt the delicate sensibilities of the French. (Mes amis, you lost. Get over it.)
It’s possibly this event that inspired the following (sent to me from my brother in England) on why it’s a good thing the Battle of Trafalgar wasn’t fought in the 21st century…
Nelson: “Order the signal, Hardy.”
Hardy: “Aye, aye sir.”
Nelson: “Hold on, that’s not what I dictated to Flags. What’s the meaning of this?”
Hardy: “Sorry sir?”
Nelson (reading aloud): “‘England expects every person to do his or her duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability.’ What gobbledygook is this?”
Hardy: “Admiralty policy, I’m afraid, sir. We’re an equal opportunities employer now. We had the devil’s own job getting ‘England’ past the censors, lest it be considered racist.”
Nelson: “Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco.”
Hardy: “Sorry sir. All naval vessels have now been designated smoke-free working environments.”
Nelson: “In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the main brace to steel the men before battle.”
Hardy: “The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the Government’s policy on binge drinking.”
Nelson: “Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we’d better get on with it ……….full speed ahead.”
Hardy: “I think you’ll find that there’s a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water.”
Nelson: “Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow’s nest please.”
Hardy: “That won’t be possible, sir.”
Nelson: “What?”
Hardy: “Health and Safety have closed the crow’s nest, sir. No harness. And they said that rope ladders don’t meet regulations. They won’t let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected.”
Nelson: “Then get me the ship’s carpenter without delay, Hardy.”
Hardy: “He’s busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the fo’c’sle Admiral.”
Nelson: “Wheelchair access? I’ve never heard anything so absurd.”
Hardy: “Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently abled.”
Nelson: “Differently abled? I’ve only one arm and one eye and I refuse even to hear mention of the word. I didn’t rise to the rank of admiral by playing the disability card.”
Hardy: “Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency.”
Nelson: “Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons.”
Hardy: “A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won’t let the crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don’t want anyone breathing in too much salt – haven’t you seen the adverts?”
Nelson: “I’ve never heard such infamy. Break out the cannon and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy.”
Hardy: “The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral.”
Nelson: “What? This is mutiny!”
Hardy: “It’s not that, sir. It’s just that they’re afraid of being charged with murder if they actually kill anyone. There’s a couple of legal-aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks.”
Nelson: “Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?”
Hardy: “Actually, sir, we’re not.”
Nelson: “We’re not?”
Hardy: “No, sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn’t even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation.”
Nelson: “But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil.”
Hardy: “I wouldn’t let the ship’s diversity co-ordinator hear you saying that sir. You’ll be up on disciplinary report.”
Nelson: “You must consider every man an enemy, who speaks ill of your King.”
Hardy: “Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age. Now put on your Kevlar vest; it’s the rules. It could save your life”
Nelson: “Don’t tell me – health and safety. Whatever happened to rum, sodomy and the lash?”
Hardy: “As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu! And there’s a ban on corporal punishment.”
Nelson: “What about sodomy?”
Hardy: “I believe that is now legal, sir.”
Nelson: “In that case …kiss me, Hardy.”
Amanda’s Monday post on heroes got me thinking about the appeal of the tortured hero. A dark hero can be a bit scary, and it’s been proven that fear triggers a lot of the same responses as sexual arousal. Edgy can be sexy. But how edgy is too edgy? Sometimes tortured hero stories are said to tap into the unhealthy hope some women have that they can change their abusive husbands. But I think that’s when the fantasy is taken too far.
A good tortured hero wants to be well, and gradually he allows the heroine to get close enough to help him. I think this is the real reason readers love tortured heroes. It’s exciting to identify with the heroines whose love has such power.
But what I really wanted to blog about today is tortured heroines.
Here are a few of my favorites, in no particular order.
Margot from PETALS IN THE STORM, by Mary Jo Putney. Gang-raped by a group of men who just killed her father—how much more tortured can you get? Of course, the hero, Rafe, is tortured too (Mary Jo Putney never lets any of her characters off lightly!) but in the end it’s his love that heals Margot.
Frances from ILLUSION, by Jean Ross Ewing (now writing as Julia Ross). While in India, her father is killed and she is taken captive and trained to serve as a concubine. She is drawn into intrigue with spy hero Nigel (also quite tortured), and has to rediscover her identity and her place in England again.
Melanthe from FOR MY LADY’S HEART, by Laura Kinsale. She cloaks herself in evil, as a way of protecting herself and those she cares for. The beauty of this story is how Ruck (one of Amanda’s favorite heroes, I noticed) loves her even before he learns the truth about her.
Stories like these help us imagine ourselves being loved and healed as these heroines are loved and healed.
I know they worked for other readers as well, since all these books have gotten some great reviews, along with 4-5 star customer reviews in places like Amazon.com. However, some readers hated these books and complained they were not as good as others (the more hero-centered ones) by the same authors. Some explicitly said things like the heroines should get over themselves. One even wondered why Margot was hesitant about sex with Rafe.
I can only guess at the reasons. Maybe these readers don’t have the life experiences to relate to a tortured heroine. (But there’s nothing that awful in my past, either.) Or maybe the notion of needing healing is frightening?
Any other favorite heroines, tortured or otherwise?
Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE — an RT Top Pick
www.elenagreene.com
If someone told you you had to write a sequel to an Austen or Bronte novel, telling the story of one of the minor characters and his or her romance……who would you choose?
Would you write about Mary Bennet, who tried her best to be scholarly and good, but could never win the approval of her father, the love of her mother, or the interest of her sisters?
Would you write about Kitty Bennet, who had the misfortune to always be overshadowed by a younger sister? Once Lydia runs off, how does Kitty change?
Or how about Colonel Fitzwilliam? Or kill off Mr Collins, and give Charlotte a real romance!
Would anyone here like to reform Elizabeth Elliott, and give her a proper romance? I suspect that she’d be a lost less fun to reform than someone who was witty and wicked. 🙂
Would you write about Margaret Dashwood, who may have seen and thought more than Austen gave her credit for? When she grows up, does she make the utterly splendid marriage that neither of her sisters managed?
Or how about Tom Bertram? Joan Aiken already wrote a book in which the reformed Tom Bertram had a romance with Fanny’s little sister…but perhaps someone totally new would fit the bill.
And what about those devilishly attractive Crawfords? They’re intelligent, and surely they can be reformed too!
Could Isabella Thorpe be reformed? I do think she’s great fun.
And then of course there are all the Bronte characters….and so many more, from different novels.
So which would you write, if you had to write one?
Cara
Cara King, www.caraking.com
MY LADY GAMESTER — Signet Regency, coming November 1!
Almost every Wednesday evening, I get together with a group of friends for a LOST watch party. And yes, it’s mostly an excuse to drink wine and ogle the actors when they’re all sweaty in the jungle, but after the Chardonnay there are sometimes attempts at deciphering character development/overlapping themes/whatever. One of my friends suggested that which guy on LOST a woman likes can tell a lot about her. (I happen to like Sawyer–not sure I want to know what that says about me!!!)
Anyway, that, along with Cara’s post on Austen movie heroes, got me thinking about heroes in romance novels. They are, of course, one of the most important components of any story. As an author, you want your readers to fall in love with the heroes you write about; as a reader, you want to do the falling in love. But every woman who reads a romance (just as every woman who watches LOST!) is different. I happen to like a “dark” hero, though I have found there is often a fine line between “dark” and “whiny”. Dark–yummy. Whiny–not so good.
Someone asked me once how I keep from falling in love with the heroes I write. I have to say, 1) they’re not real, duh. They live in my head. And I know that. Most of the time. And 2) I don’t really write my “fantasy perfect man”, though they usually do have aspects that I admire in real life (intelligence, humor, ripped abs, whatever). I write the hero that is perfect for that particular heroine. I want to believe, once I finish writing a manuscript or reading a book by a favorite author, that these two people were made for each other and will be able to weather life’s storms together forever.
So, I took a look at my keeper shelf and came up with this list of some favorite romance heroes (mostly Regency-set, but I let a couple others sneak in):
1) Lord Dain from Loretta Chase’s LORD OF SCOUNDRELS
2) Lord Rival from Diane Farr’s FORTUNE HUNTER
3) Lord Lucien from Gaelen Foley’s LORD OF FIRE
4) Sir James Stoker from Judith Ivory’s SLEEPING BEAUTY
5) Ruck from Laura Kinsale’s FOR MY LADY’S HEART (probably the #1 romance hero I wanted to come to life!)
6) Lord Michael Kenyon from Mary Jo Putney’s SHATTERED RAINBOWS
7) Captain William Chartwell from Mary Blayney’s THE CAPTAIN’S MERMAID
8) Alverstoke from Heyer’s FREDERICA
9) Edgar Downes from Mary Balogh’s A CHRISTMAS BRIDE
10) And one of my newest favorites, Adam Ashworth from Janet’s DEDICATION
So, now it’s your turn! Who are some favorite heroes, and why? What aspects of a hero’s character do you like to see in novels (besides great hair and a cute behind!)? And who is your favorite on LOST? 🙂
(BTW, the pic was a gift from a Photoshop-gifted friend who helps me indulge my Orlando Bloom obsession once in a while. Do you think I make a good Lizzie????)