Elizabeth Kerri Mahon

“Life is a cruel banquet. You pay for food and board with your blood,” Frida Uhl Strindberg. I was tweeting while watching the first episode of the new series Mr. Selfridge on PBS a few weeks, when Evangeline Holland from Edwardian Promenade mentioned that the character of Delphine Day might have been inspired by Frida Strindberg who opened the Cave of the Golden Calf in London in 1912.  I immediately looked Frida up on Wikipedia to see if she was one of the playwright August Strindberg’s wives. Bingo! So of course I went on a research binge to find out more about her. In the end, while I admired her courage and her intelligence, she must have been an incredibly difficult woman.   Her biographer, Monica Strauss, points out that Frida was ill-equipped for the life that she pursued. Higher education was not an option for her. While her father had set her up in a career in journalism, it was never meant to be a career. It was just a temporary measure until she eventually marri

I'm delighted to welcome Kristine Hughes and Victoria Hinshaw from the fabulous blog Number One London to talk about their fabulous fall tour. If you love English history, you need to definitely check out the blog. And if you love to travel, and England is your spiritual home, you could ask for no better guides than Victoria and Kristine. Kristine is the author of The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901 , (one of my favorite research tools), and Victoria is the author of several regency novels. EKM: Tell me about the Duke of Wellington Tour. VH:  The Tour begins in London on September 4 th and ends in Windsor on September 14 th , 2014. We’ve designed a wonderful variety of exciting experiences for readers and writers – all those who love English history and romance. For example, we’ll explore the neighborhood of St James’s, which is rich in history that runs the gamut from trollops to princesses, dustmen to dukes. After 

Title: Ambitious Madame Bonaparte Author: Ruth Hull Chantilien Publication Date: December 2, 2013 Publisher: Amika Press Paperback: 484 pages ISBN: As a clever girl in stodgy, mercantile Baltimore, Betsy Patterson dreams of a marriage that will transport her to cultured Europe. When she falls in love with and marries Jerome Bonaparte, she believes her dream has come true—until Jerome’s older brother Napoleon becomes an implacable enemy. Based on a true story, The Ambitious Madame Bonaparte is a historical novel that portrays this woman’s tumultuous life. Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, known to history as Betsy Bonaparte, scandalized Washington with her daring French fashions; visited Niagara Falls when it was an unsettled wilderness; survived a shipwreck and run-ins with British and French warships; dined with presidents and danced with dukes; and lived through the 1814 Battle of Baltimore. Yet through it all, Betsy never lost sight of her primary goal—to win reco