Category Archives: Literature

Book Review: ‘The Myrtle Wand’ by Margaret Porter

I recently had the pleasure of reading The Myrtle Wand by Margaret Porter a couple of months ago, a story set in seventeenth-century France during the time of Louis XIV. Porter is the award-winning author of over a dozen books of historical fiction and historical romance (under Margaret Evans Porter). Although I have purchased several of her novels,… Read on

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Interview with C. de Melo, author of The Apprentice: Love and Scandal in the Kingdom of Naples

Today, we welcome a prolific author and history lover: C de Melo! I recently had the pleasure of working on the audiobook production de Melo’s The Apprentice (out today!), which is a dramatic adventure that takes place in the early 1600s, and is set in alluring, stunning Italian cities such as Florence, Siena, Rome, and Naples. The protagonist, ‘Carlo’,… Read on

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Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain is OUT NOW!

Hear ye! Gentle Readers, my sixth book, Sex and Sexuality in Stuart Britain ?, is AVAILABLE NOW on Amazon UK and throughout Europe, Australia, Japan, and Canada! Folks in the United States can preorder now! Some readers have told me they’ve purchased through their local indie booksellers, or from High Street chains such as Waterstones, but also directly… Read on

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Spirits, Spectres & Souls: Ghosts in the Seventeenth Century – A Guest Post by Katherine Clements

In writing The Coffin Path, a ghost story set on the Yorkshire Moors sometime after the English Civil War, I read accounts of as many 17th-century hauntings as I could find. The most striking thing I noticed is how the elements of a good ghost story have remained relatively unchanged over the centuries. Belief in ghosts, or in… Read on

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Review: Spirit of the Highway by Deborah Swift

I received this copy of Deborah Swift’s new book in exchange for an honest review. I first came across Swift’s work (The Lady’s Slipper) when I was browsing in Victoria Station, London, a few years ago. I was happily surprised to find a traditionally published book set in the seventeenth century. Deborah is now the author of five… Read on

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Book Launch for The Stuarts in 100 Facts!

On Saturday, I held my first-ever physical book launch at the Guildhall here in Windsor, England. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the Ascot Room in which my launch was held was just as lovely. The room has many portraits of notable historical figures and has lovely stained glass windows, an ornate chandelier in the middle of… Read on

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Review: Restoration by Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain’s Restoration is probably one of the most popular novels set in the seventeenth century, and with good reason: it’s a great book. Originally published back in 1989, I was but four years old and obviously far too young to read it. That being said, it is lamentable that it took until 2015 for me to get… Read on

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The Steel and Lace Anthology is out now!

Hear ye! My novella, The Chambermaid, is part of the Steel and Lace Anthology which is out now as a Kindle eBook on Amazon. The paperback will be available shortly. I feel privileged to have been able to work on this project with six other authors: Anna Belfrage, Anita Seymour, Francine Howarth, M.J. Logue, Susan Ruth, and Kelli… Read on

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‘The Stuarts in 100 Facts’ is now available to pre-order!

Hi, Everyone! I hope this finds you all well. I had quite a nice surprise yesterday when I checked my Amazon profile – I saw that 100 Facts is available to pre-order now, and the cover image features Prince William II of Orange. Although not a Stuart himself, he married one (Mary Stuart, Princess Royal and Princess of… Read on

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The Broken Heart at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Earlier today, I went to the 2:30pm performance of John Ford’s The Broken Heart. John Ford (1586-1639) wrote this tragic play during the Caroline era (reign of Charles I). I thought it was superb and I can honestly say I have rarely had such an amazing time in a theatre. This was my first time inside the relatively… Read on

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Roxana by Daniel Defoe

After many years of wanting to read Daniel Defoe’s Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress, I have just finished listening to the unabridged Audible audiobook recording of this classic. Daniel Defoe who lived from 1660 – 1731, was a fascinating historical figure: he was a rebel in Monmouth’s Rebellion in 1685, to his work as a spy, and his books A Journal of the Plague… Read on

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Christmas Gift Ideas 2014

There’s a vast crowd of enthusiasts reading and discussing everything medieval and renaissance. But time didn’t stop with Elizabeth Tudor’s death in 1603. Are you looking for the rest of the story? King James, his son King Charles I, and grandsons Charles II and James II kept the drama level high and dangerous in the seventeenth century. Their… Read on

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The Stuart Vampire Book Tour

Good day to you all! I will be doing a virtual book tour with Historical Fiction Book Tours from today, the 13th of October to the 24th of October. THE STUART VAMPIRE BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE Monday, October 13Review at A Chick Who Reads – has given The Stuart Vampire 4 stars!Tuesday, October 14The Stuart Vampire Launch Party @ 12:00pm-2:00pm ESTWednesday, October… Read on

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Short story: ‘Princeps Henricus’

This is the short story I recently submitted to the Historical Novel Society Conference on Saturday 6th September. The conference was really interesting and it was fun to meet up with fellow writers and great to learn from the most successful in our genre. There’s always so much to learn, and I was grateful to be able to… Read on

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Lope de Vega’s ‘El Castigo Sin Venganza’ at The Globe

(en Espanol abajo) Contains spoilers! Yesterday, I was fortunate to able to go see the 2pm performance of Lope de Vega’s brilliant 17th-century play of forbidden love and terrible revenge, El Castigo Sin Venganza. This play was written by de Vega in 1631. Lope de Vega is one of most celebrated writers from the Spanish Golden Age – a… Read on

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Review: The Crucible starring Richard Armitage

It’s not often one is able to see one’s favourite actor in a play set in the 17th century, so when I saw the poster below on the Tube recently, I immediately scrambled to get seats for this production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. By the time I was looking for tickets, there were very few seats available,… Read on

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‘Queen Anne’ – A Play by Kate Glover

Last Friday, the 1 August, we observed the 300th anniversary of the death of Queen Anne, the end of the Stuart dynasty and the beginning of the Georgian/Hanoverian period. 1714 was a major year in British and European history. In recent days, I have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people wanting to learn more about this… Read on

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The Country Wife by William Wycherley

I hope you all enjoyed our first selection for the 17th-Century Book Club, which was William Wycherley’s play, The Country Wife! This was the second time I read the play, and I wish I could have performed in it. I would like to apologise to you all for not having the forum up-and-running as I said I would, but… Read on

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The Stuart Vampire: Excerpt

The Stuart Vampire Teaser, © Andrea Zuvich 2013: James gripped Henry’s hand. “Now, you must rest well and we’ll see thee in the morning. Goodnight, Harry.” His brother left quietly, but he could hear his footsteps echo down the old corridor.  “Please don’t leave me,” he whispered to himself now in vain. The hours went by slowly, and… Read on

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The Medical in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Shakespeare died in 1616, so I claim him on behalf of the 17th-century 😛 One of my favourite modern day writers is Theodore Dalrymple, a jovial man I met at an evening event a few years ago. My husband and I had a wonderful chat with the erudite man, about Shakespeare, philosophy, and other interesting topics, that I… Read on

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His Last Mistress Excerpt

There have been quite a few searches for an excerpt from my book His Last Mistress, so for those who haven’t seen the excerpt available on Amazon, here is an excerpt from the end of Chapter 14: The plans for assassinating the King and the Duke of York were put in place. Disaster, however, thwarted their diabolical plans.… Read on

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Guest Post: Anita Seymour’s Royalist Rebel

I’m very pleased to welcome our first guest post ever here on The Seventeenth Century Lady, and this by historical fiction author Anita Seymour. Here she is in an interview with Elizabeth Murray, the star of Seymour’s biographical fiction novel, Royalist Rebel, which is set in our ever-interesting Seventeenth Century! Without further ado, take it away, Anita! Enjoy,… Read on

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