Janet is still in the UK and will be back to Risky Regencies next week. So stay tuned for what witty, irreverent thing she’ll say next!
The Other Riskies
Janet is still in the UK and will be back to Risky Regencies next week. So stay tuned for what witty, irreverent thing she’ll say next!
The Other Riskies
And the winner is……..
Kat!
Kat, email me at diane@dianegaston.com and let me know what kind of download you require for your free copy of A Breach of Promise. I’ll pass the information on to Victoria right away.
And many thanks to Victoria aka Emery for being our guest!
Diane
Thanks Emery/Victoria for being my guest! Everyone, tell our guest what level of sensuality you like best in your Historical Romances! Or any comment for a chance to win a download of A BREACH OF PROMISE.
Last week I talked about the death of Sir John Moore, the anniversary of which was last Monday. Today is the anniversary of the death of William Pitt, the Younger. (I seem to be on a death kick)
Pitt became the youngest Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1783 at the age of 24, finally accepting the post after King George III had urged it on him three times. He was ridiculed for his youth, even in a popular ditty of the period that called Great Britain, “a kingdom trusted to a schoolboy’s care.”
He replaced Charles James Fox, whom the king detested and who became Pitt’s lifelong political rival. Pitt resigned the office in 1801 when he clashed with the king over Catholic Emancipation.
Pitt became Prime Minister again in 1804, a stressful time due to the rise of Napoleon in France, and Fox’s continued opposition.
Pitt, who had suffered from bouts of ill health since childhood, became ill in 1806. He died on this date in 1806, probably from peptic ulceration of the stomach. Pitt never married.
Parliament passed a bill to pay Pitt’s debts and to honor him with a public funeral and a monument. It passed easily, although Fox opposed it. Pitt was buried in Westminster Abbey.
When I went on the Regency Tour in 2003, we visited countless country houses of the Regency period. In almost all of them a bust of Pitt was displayed.
When I discussed Sir John Moore last week, I mentioned that he sent his regards to that intrepid traveller, Lady Hester Stanhope, whom it was thought he would have married had he lived. Well, Lady Hester Stanhope was William Pitt’s niece. She designed his gardens and acted as his hostess for a time.
Do you have any interesting connections like that? Like knowing someone in one part of your life who also is connected to someone in another part of your life? For example, my husband, a government computer guy took a training class recently and sat next to someone, not in the government, who was an employee of my friend Pam Palmer’s husband. I’m not sure how, in a computer training, they got to talking about romance novels….
Next week I will have a guest blogger! My friend Victoria Vane aka Emery Lee will be blogging about her latest, an erotic novella set in the Georgian period, Breach of Promise. She’ll also be giving away a free download of the novella to one lucky commenter chosen at random!
Today we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., the civil rights leader who, with nonviolent protest, reminded our country and the world that “all men are created equal”and should be treated as such. Here in the Washington, D.C. area there will be special events and celebration of Dr. King’s life at the new memorial dedicated to him.
What if Dr. King had not lived? How would the course of the civil rights movement been changed? What if his life had not been so tragically cut short? What other great accomplishments might he have made?
That’s my theme today. What if? Regency-style.
Today is also the anniversary of the death of Sir John Moore. On this date in 1809, the British army in Spain was in retreat from French forces, reaching the sea in Portugal where transport ships were due to arrive to take the soldiers back to England. Sir John Moore commanded the British forces and gained a tactical advantage over the French which enabled the British army to escape. During the fighting, Moore was struck by cannon shot and, after several hours of suffering, died from the wounds.
Moore had a distinguished army career that began with the American Revolution, included the Irish Rebellion and establishment of several army reforms, culminating with the Napoleonic war in Spain.
But it seemed to me that his death was also one of those pivotal events in history. If Moore had not been killed, the course of history might very well have been altered.
Moore was commanding in Spain at that time, because three senior commanders had been recalled for inquiry after allowing the defeated French army to evacuate their troops, with all their materials, supplies, and plunder, without further conflict. One of those recalled was Sir Arthur Wellesley, who was commanding forces at Vimeiro. Wellesley, who would, of course, become the Duke of Wellington, had been vehemently against the evacuation and he was ultimately cleared of any wrong doing.
After Moore’s death Wellesley was appointed to head all the forces in Portugal. What if Moore had not been killed? Would he have retained the command? Could he have accomplished all that Wellesley accomplished in Spain? Would Moore have been in command at Waterloo? Could he have brought about that victory?
One more interesting note about Sir John Moore. While he was dying, he is supposed to have said to his friend, Stanhope, “Remember me to your sister.” The sister was Lady Hester Stanhope, the colorful and adventurous Middle Eastern traveler. Some thought Lady Hester and Moore might have married. What if that would have happened?
Can you think of other pivotal moments in history? Do you ever wonder “What if?” about an event in your life?
Check my Diane Gaston blog today for my January 15 website contest winner.
And spare a moment today to think about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.