Many years ago I thought I wanted to write historical novels. I even began a romance set in the time of the Civil War before I realised that this was just not for me. Having tried it once, I have always had a great admiration for writers like today's guest, Louise Allen who manage to combine the research and factual details needed, getting the 'flavour' of the period right - and wrap it all up in a really good story. I met Louise through the RNA - where she runs their New Writers' Scheme absolutely brilliantly, - and of course through Mills & Boon. I'll be seeing her again at the conference in Sheffield this weekend - so looking forward to that.
See you soon Louise!
And here's Louise herself:
Many congratulations to Kate and the lovely Steve – and many thanks for the invitation to join in the celebrations.
It makes me think of my wedding, which was a very small affair indeed. My father had taken against my beloved in a big way (they ended up the best of friends) and we had no money, so as soon as we had managed to find a miniscule flat in London (those were the days!) I got a slot at the registry office for crack of dawn the next Saturday and invited the handful of friends who were in town. In the end my father did turn up with a case of champagne, but left after the ceremony to go to the Boat Race, telling my highly impressionable new mother in law that he was off to a Soho strip join. We were the second wedding of the day, after a group of Hell’s Angels – the bride was in black leather, studs and white tulle – and then went to sunny Hampstead Heath for photos, then up the Post Office Tower, just for the hell of it, and ended up in a pub by the river in Richmond. It probably wasn’t the most conventional of wedding days but it was great fun and, years later, we’re still very happy. One lovely romantic touch was the discovery that the registry office was opposite the church my great great grandparents had married in.
I love weddings, big and small, grand or informal and I really enjoy writing them. My latest book, Regency Rumours: Scandal Comes to Wimpole Hall, ends with a wedding. It is set at the real-life Wimpole Hall and written in association with the National Trust. (Available from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Regency-Rumours-Mills-Special-Releases/dp/0263906701/)
Read more at www.louiseallenregency.co.uk http://janeaustenslondon.com http://www.facebook.com/LouiseAllenRegency and @LouiseRegency
I’m giving away a copy of Regency Rumours.
For a chance to win, tell me which wedding in the past – real or fictional – you would like to have been a guest at, and why.
19 comments:
I must admit I do love watching a wedding, and have seen many - yours sounds fun and eventful Louise! Congrats too Kate, by the way :)
Now Wimpole Hall is another place on my very long list I'd like to visit too...
Oh, and I got excited before I'd finished - wedding from the past would have to be my 10x gt grandparents so that I could ask my GF what his parents names were, lol! I hate being stuck genealogically. But I'd definitely love to see a royal wedding if I had the chance. Perhaps Charlotte and Leopold's.
Alison, I'm right with you on visiting ancestors' weddings - what a great way to do family history research!
Any Princess in the world, sounds amazing could be a guest :)
Louise Allen is one of my favourite writers of historical romance and this post perfectly illustrates just why she's such a great writer: she writes with such warmth, humour and heart that it's impossible to resist her wonderful books!
I've just finished devouring Tarnished Amongst the Ton (after loving Kate's A Throne for the Taking!) and it's another fabulous book!
Julie
Thank you, Julie B. Blushing here! And I agree, Eli, to be a guest at a royal wedding would be fabulous
QUEEN VICTORIA'S WEDDING...A COUPLE IN LOVE!
I'm a fan of weddings, they always make me feel optimistic and a bit sentimental. Hearing about successful long marriages has the same effect and I'd like to offer my congratulations to you and Steve, Kate. Your wedding sounds a lot of fun, Louise. My wedding was a small one too, but the historical wedding I would have liked to attend was a very big affair - the mass marriage ceremony in Susa in 324BC when Alexander the Great married a Persian princess and 92 of his Companions married Persian brides. 9000 guests watched and then everyone feasted in a specially built lavish pavilion with silver furnishings. The money spent was the equivalent to 25 tonnes of gold and I think it must have been the most amazing spectacle!
Gail, it sounds amazing - but the scramble for the buffet must have ben quite something!
Queen Victoria of England, she wore the big white dress and made it popular. I would LOVE to see it for myself.
Also Darcy & Elizabeth's wedding. Just to see Darcy in real life, through Jane's eyes. I wonder if he looks anything like the guy I picture.
A Royal Wedding located in Italy with a countess would be special.
Will and Kate's because it sounded fun
Any of the British Royal weddings would be amazing to behold in person. I have seen the televised weddings of the 'younger' Royals. The wedding of The Queen and Prince Philip would have been quite spectacular I imagine. I do love all the pomp and ceremony.
I would love to have been a guest at my paternal grand-parents' wedding as they died when my dad was a little boy so I never got to meet them.
Thanks much, everyone, for all the comments and ideas. JulieM - your comment brought a tear to my eye.
Don't put me in the draw because I won a book already in the "40 for 40" giveaways.
I would like to go back in time to see my parents' wedding. Now don't go thinking, "Ahhhh, how sweet." No. I am not being sweet. I was 39 when I learned that my dad was not my (or my brother's) bio dad. My bio dad was the man across the street, "best friends" with both my parents during my entire lifetime. It apparently was common knowledge in our little town about my lineage, but everyone kept it from me till long after all three parents were dead. I would like to see video footage or have been a fly on the wall for my parents' wedding to see if my bio dad attended, and who all attended. Did they have a party afterwards? Who attended? Not long after they wed, my dad (not bio dad) went off to war, so times were much much different back then. Mom told me years ago that the neighbour was her boyfriend in high school, but he told her then he would never marry, so she dropped him and married my dad - although the romance continued apparently....
John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier
Grace Kelly's wedding to Monoco's King Ranier
Louise.
Thanks for picking me as your winner. It's a very sad story. They died a few months apart in 1938. She was 31 and he was 37. They left behind six children. The two sets of grandparents took three children each.
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