May at Scandalous Women


This May we are celebrating women in the Arts. Women who were either the muses of famous artists (Elizabeth Siddal), patrons of the arts (Isabella Stewart Gardner), subjects of famous paintings (Virginie Guitreau, Sargent's infamous Madame X), as well as artists themselves (Romaine Brooks).


Along with guest blogger Amanda McCabe, one of the authors of the new Harlequin Historicals anthology The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, and a review of Karen Essex's Stealing Athena.

Comments

Kirsten Steen said…
Loved Karen Essex's Stealing Athena! Can't wait to hear about all these women!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Kirsten
May 5, 2009 at 5:07 PM
{Tara} said…
Oh, I can't wait to read these posts!!! I wrote my Master's thesis on Romaine Brooks, so I love her and feel like I know her!!
May 5, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said…
Tara, I hope I do her justice. I find her fascinating as well as Nathalie Barney.
May 6, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Anonymous said…
This should be an interesting month.
May 6, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Judy said…
This sounds fun...are you going to do Janey Morris?
May 7, 2009 at 7:32 AM
Elizabeth Kerri Mahon said…
Judy, I have thought of doing Jane Morris as well. It depends on how much time I have to do the research, since I'm on a deadline with a book proposal.
May 7, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Many Lives of Beryl Markham

Image
“A life has to move or it stagnates. Even this life, I think. Every tomorrow ought not to resemble every yesterday.” – Beryl Markham   Two of my favorite writers, Lauren Willig and Deanna Raybourn , have writers have novels set in Kenya during the 1920’s. I have previously written about some of the denizens of the Happy Valley Set (Alice de Janze, Idina Sackville) before but I was all of a sudden inspired to read more about Beryl Markham. Way back in the 1980’s, after OUT OF AFRICA was released, there was a miniseries on CBS called SHADOW ON THE SUN starring Stephanie Powers as Markham. I vaguely remember a scene were Powers as Markham says “I’ve flown the Atlantic” in a really terrible English accent. Born in England but raised in Kenya, Beryl Markham was a notorious beauty. She trained race horses and had scandalous affairs, but she is most remembered for being a pioneering aviatrix. She became the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first person to make it
Read more

Scandalous Women in Fiction: Irene Forsyte

Image
I recently watched 2002 Granada Television production of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga again to immerse myself in the world of the Victorians. I was struck again by the character of Irene Heron Forsyte, the mysterious, and aloof beauty that is at the heart of the first series. During the course of the first six episodes she manages to enchant not one but three of the Forsyte men as well as stealing the heart of Philip Bosinney, the fiance of her good friend June Forsyte. She leaves her husband Soames, which causes a scandal, that reverberates throughout the second series. Soames is never really able to get over losing Irene. Irene is certainly a Scandalous Woman but it is less about what she does than how the men in her life perceive her that makes her so Scandalous. When we first meet Irene in both the television series she is living in Bournemouth with her stepmother. Her father who was a Professor (we are not told of what) has died, leaving Irene with only 50 pounds a year
Read more

Royal Princess, Royal Scandal - the sad life of Princess Margaret

Image
It'll be six years next month that HRH Princess Margaret passed away at the age of 71. Apparently her ex-husband, Lord Snowdon has decided to share intimate details of his marriage to the late Princess in a new biography. According to Hello Magazine: "News of the book, which is set to hit UK stores in the summer, may come as a surprise to many royal watchers. "There has always been an understanding that no biography would be published during his lifetime," says royal author Tim Heald - who wrote a biography of the Queen's late sister. "He has never spoken a word in public about Margaret," he continues, "He has remained very loyal to her and to her memory." "However, the royal snapper, who married the beautiful, blue-eyed royal at Westminster Abbey in 1960, has given his "full agreement" to the new biography by well-known journalist Anne de Courcy. "I am now happy for people to know about my life and I want to put the record
Read more