Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

Happy Halloween everyone! Recently, I watched a film that was released a few years ago called "Death Defying Acts" starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a fake psychic named Mary McGregor.   According to the copy on the back of the DVD "it is the year is 1926, and Houdini is an international superstar. Yet behind Houdini's winning smile resides the restless heart of a tortured soul. Isolated by fame and drowning in regret over having not been present to hear his mother's last words, Houdini sets out in tour of Scotland and announces that he will pay 10,000 dollars to anyone who can prove spiritual contact with his deceased mother. But in his determination to prove that there is life after death, Houdini also becomes the target of countless charlatans, scam artists, and self-proclaimed spiritualists. Of course, stunning psychic Mary McGregor and her daughter/sidekick, Benji, seem remarkably sincere in their supernatural talents, yet that d...

I apologize for my lack of posts lately but I spent a week in London at the end of September/beginning of October and I'm still recovering.  Not from jet lag but because it was such a great experience.  Really anytime that I get to go to London is a good experience! Once again, I booked a room through At Home in London .  At Home in London features B&B's in private homes.  The last two times I stayed in Parsons Green, this time I stayed in a lovely home in Shepherd's Bush owned by an antiques dealer and his wife. This time the trip was both for business and for pleasure. I attended the Historical Novel Society conference held at the University of Westminster on Upper Regent Street.  This was my second time attending the Historical Novel Society conference and it won't be my last.  I saw many familiar faces from last year but also some new ones. The conference was very different from the one held last year in San Diego. For one thing, I was u...

Next Friday, November 2nd is Marie Antoinette (and my birthday).  Not only that, but Scandalous Women is celebrating its 5th Anniversary and its 500th post. So to celebrate, I've come up with a Marie Antoinettepalooza giveaway for readers of the blog. One lucky reader will receive this lovely fleur de lis tote bag filled with goodies. Amongst the goodies will be the following: A copy each of BECOMING MARIE ANTOINETTE and DAYS OF SPLENDOR, DAYS OF SORROW by Juliet Grey, the first 2 books in her Marie Antoinette trilogy. A DVD of the Marie Antoinette documentary that appeared on PBS several years ago. Macaroons from Laduree Marie Antoinette earrings Giveaway (US only) - To enter, please leave a comment below and include your email address (only comments with email addresses will be entered in the giveaway).   - If you are not a follower and become one, you get an extra entry - If you tweet about the giveaway, you get an extra entry. - If you ...

Title:   Hello Gorgeous:    Becoming Barbra Streisand Author:   William J. Mann Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication date: 10/9/2012 Meet the Author: William J. Mann is the author of Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn, which was named a New York Times Notable Book, as well as several other acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction. He divides his time between Provincetown, Massachusetts and New York City. My take:    Like the author, I’m not a huge fan of Barbra Streisand.   I think that she has a phenomenal voice, but I haven’t been a huge fan of hers as an actress, apart from her earlier films WHAT’S UP DOC (which is a classic screwball comedy) and THE WAY WE WERE.   While I enjoyed the PRINCE OF TIDES, I thought the last film she directed, THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES, was just one long therapy session. I suspect that if I knew her, I would find her somewhat insufferable.   I totally get that she’s a perfectionist,...

Title:   The Shadow Queen Author:   Rebecca Dean Publisher:   Crown Publishing Group Publication date:    8/14/2012 What it’s about: A king would abdicate his throne for her in one of the world’s great love stories – but who was Wallis Simpson? Born into a poor southern family but taken in by rich relatives, Wallis Simpson was raised as a socialite. Between family conflicts and debutante balls, she and her friends dream of their future husbands, and like millions of girls’ worldwide, dream of Prince Edward, the heir to the British throne who would someday be king. Beloved author Rebecca Dean imagines the early life of Wallis Simpson, her triumphs and heartbreaks, and the making of the twice divorced, nearly destitute woman who captured a king’s heart and changed the course of history. Set against a background of high society, royal circles, and diplomatic intrigue, The Shadow Queen features one of the most fascinating and controversial wome...

  Author:   Philippa Gregory Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Touchstone Pub Date: August 14, 2012 What it’s about: The Kingmaker’s Daughter is the gripping story of the daughters of the man known as the “Kingmaker,” Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick: the most powerful magnate in fifteenth-century England. Without a son and heir, he uses his daughters Anne and Isabel as pawns in his political games, and they grow up to be influential players in their own right. In this novel, her first sister story since The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory explores the lives of two fascinating young women. At the court of Edward IV and his beautiful queen, Elizabeth Woodville, Anne grows from a delightful child to become ever more fearful and desperate when her father makes war on his former friends. Married at age fourteen, she is soon left widowed and fatherless, her mother in sanctuary and her sister married to the enemy. Anne manages her own escape by marrying Richard, ...