Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Isabella of France When Isabella of France (1295-1358) arrived at the church in Boulogne in 1308 for her wedding to England’s Edward II, the idea that she would someday be one of the most reviled Queens in English history never entered her pretty head. After all her groom was everything a King should be, tall, athletic, with blond good looks to match her own.  The youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre, the marriage had been set in motion to end the war between France and England over territory, specifically the province of Gascony. But there were two things that stood in the way of their domestic bliss; Edward didn’t particularly want to be King, and he was in love with someone else. Piers Gaveston, a native of Gascony, entered the King’s household when they were teenagers. “As soon as the King’s son saw him, he fell so much in love that he entered up on an enduring compact with him.” Edward I banished Gaveston...

Title:   FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS Author:   Sherry Jones Publisher:   Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster) Pub Date:  May 8, 2012 What it’s about: Amid the lush valleys and fragrant wildflowers of Provence, Marguerite, Eléonore, Sanchia, and Beatrice have learned to charm, hunt, dance, and debate under the careful tutelage of their ambitious mother—and to abide by the countess’s motto: “Family comes first.” With Provence under constant attack, their legacy and safety depend upon powerful alliances. Marguerite’s illustrious match with the young King Louis IX makes her Queen of France. Soon Eléonore—independent and daring—is betrothed to Henry III of England. In turn, shy, devout Sanchia and tempestuous Beatrice wed noblemen who will also make them queens. Yet a crown is no guarantee of protection. Enemies are everywhere, from Marguerite’s duplicitous mother-in-law to vengeful lovers and land-hungry barons. Then there are the dangers that come from wit...

Scandalous Women is pleased to present part two of Deborah Hale's series on the Glamorous Gunning Sisters.  Part two could almost be called "The Next Generation" During the mid-18 th century, the Gunning sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, parlayed their beauty and celebrity into brilliant marriages. Somehow they managed to tread the fine line between celebrity and notoriety without slipping into the latter. Elizabeth's eldest daughter and Maria ’ s youngest were not so prudent. Both became figures of scandal in the latter part of the century. Lady Betty Hamilton, daughter of Elizabeth Gunning and the 6 th Duke of Hamilton, was born in 1753, less than a year after her parents ’ hasty, clandestine marriage. Two brothers followed before her father died when she was only five years old. Her mother wasted no time in remarrying another Scottish nobleman, the Duke of Argyll, by whom she had four more children. Portraits of the period show that Lady Betty inherited h...

Scandalous Women is pleased to welcome back historical fiction author Deborah Hale with another fabulous post about some of the 18th century's most Scandalous Women. In December of 1750, a pair of Anglo-Irish beauties took London by storm! When they were presented at the Court of St. James, their celebrity was such that some of highest-born aristocrats climbed up on chairs and tables in an effort to glimpse the glamorous Gunning sisters. On their mother’ s side, Maria and Elizabeth Gunning were granddaughters of Viscount Mayo, but the family was relatively poor and there were several other children. Mrs. Gunning decided her daughters ’ beauty might be the family meal ticket, so she put the girls on stage at Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin when they were quite young. At that time, acting was not considered a respectable profession for a lady since so many actresses were also sought-after courtesans. It was almost unheard of for a parent to urge their offspring into the theat...

It’s hard to believe that it has been 13 years since Sophie Rhys-Jones walked down the aisle at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor and walked out as HRH, The Countess of Wessex. From the beginning, Sophie seemed determined to do things differently than previous Windsor Wives and for a while it looked like she might succeed. She was going to be a working wife, continuing to pursue her career in PR, while fulfilling royal duties as needed. She even talked of putting of having royal offspring while she and Edward enjoyed married life. Over the past 13 years, Sophie has weathered a host of storms including infertility, racy photos, questions about her business and a tabloid scandal that rocked the monarchy but Sophie came through relatively unscathed and has even taken the former Kate Middleton under her wing to teach her the ropes. When her relationship with Prince Edward was first revealed to the public, Sophie was often compared to Princess Diana. Both were tall, leggy blondes with sh...

Cast Léa Seydoux as Sidonie Laborde Diane Kruger as Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France Virginie Ledoyen as Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac Xavier Beauvois as Louis XVI Grégory Gadebois as Louis, comte de Provence Francis Leplay as Charles, comte d'Artois Noémie Lvovsky as Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan Vladimir Consigny as Paolo Julie-Marie Parmentier as Honorine Michel Robin as Nicolas Moreau Lolita Chammah as Louison Marthe Caufman as Alice Jacques Boudet as Monsieur de la Tour du Pin Martine Chevallier as Madame de la Tour du Pin Grégory Gadebois as Comte de Provence Jacques Nolot as Monsieur de Jolivet Serge Renko as Marquis de la Chesnaye Anne Benoît as Rose Bertin Dominique Reymond as Madame Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc as Monsieur de Polignac Jacques Herlin as Marquis de Vaucouleurs Synopsis:   1789, at the eve of the Revolution, Versailles' occupants still live happily, unconcerned by the increasing...

So it's been wicked hot here in New York, too hot to do much of anything but lay around near the air conditioner and watch TV.  My new favorite is Harlots, Houswives and Heroines presented by Dr. Lucy Worsley which was orignally shown on BBC 4 in the UK. Lucy is the Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces , the independent charity looking after The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace State Apartments, the Banqueting House in Whitehall, and Kew Palace in Kew Gardens, so she really knows her stuff. She's also the author of the fabulous books Courtiers and If These Walls Could Talk (also available on You Tube). I must confess that I have a bit of a girl crush on Lucy Worsley ever since I watched the programme on Henry VIII on National Geographic that she presented. I suspect that she would be loads of fun to have a drink with.  She seems equally fun in the programmes that she's presented for BBC4.  In fact my dream evening would be to have...

Title:   Equal of the Sun - A Novel Author: Anita Amirrezvani Publisher:   Scribner (Simon & Schuster) Pub Date:   June 5, 2012 Pages: 431 What it's About:   Iran in 1576 is a place of wealth and dazzling beauty. But when the Shah dies without having named an heir, the court is thrown into tumult. Princess Pari, the Shah’s daughter and protégé, knows more about the inner workings of the state than almost anyone, but the princess’s maneuvers to instill order after her father’s sudden death incite resentment and dissent. Pari and her closest adviser, Javaher, a eunuch able to navigate the harem as well as the world beyond the palace walls, are in possession of an incredible tapestry of secrets and information that reveals a power struggle of epic proportions. My thoughts:   Equal of the Sun is very different from most of the historical fiction that I read. I was very excited at getting a chance to read about a powerful woman who wasn'...