I met today’s guest blogger on Twitter as we both love the 17th-century. I have asked Eileen if she would write a post about a topic from that era that she has long been fascinated by – and she graciously accepted. She has such great insight into Charles I’s time, that I’m very happy to have her contribute… Read on
Please welcome historian and author J.D. Davies to The Seventeenth Century Lady! When I first set out to write ‘The Journals of Matthew Quinton’, my series of naval historical novels set in the Restoration era, I realised very quickly that I’d have some pretty serious explaining to do. OK, there was plenty of that sort of explaining (‘yes,… Read on
Please welcome 17th-century historical fiction author Katherine Pym to The Seventeenth Century Lady! My work in progress (WIP) is titled The Barbers, a historical novel set in London 1663. Due to the current events of the 1660’s, my goal is to write a novel per year until 1666. So far, I have released stories that mark each year 1660-1662. This… Read on
For the readers of this fine blog who don’t have the foggiest idea who I am, may I introduce myself? I’m Tour Guide Girl, tweeter, (sporadic) blogger and owner of Tourbauchery Bawdy Walks in London. Thank you to the 17th Century Lady for inviting me to write a guest article, I’m honoured to oblige! We, as history nerds,… Read on
I first started my love affair with the Royal Navy of the latter half of the seventeenth century during my second year of University. As a Christmas present that year, my friend Pippa presented me with Arthur Herman’s To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World. [amazon asin=0060534257&template=image&chan=default] This book fascinated me, and inspired… Read on
Today on The Seventeenth Century Lady, we welcome Rob Benbow who is campaigning to get a statue of major 17th-century Admiral Benbow. According to their official Facebook page: The aim of this campaign is to get an exhibition and statue to honor Shrewsbury’s famous son Admiral Benbow, a legend of his time who has been forgotten in his… Read on
Adrian Tinniswood is one of the best living 17th-century historians, and I’ve long admired his work. Not only is he a great historian, but he happens to be one of the friendliest chaps I’ve had the pleasure of communicating with since moving to the UK. I was very excited to learn that he agreed to contribute a guest… Read on
Today we welcome Dr. Sara Read, whose book, Menstruation and the Female Body in Seventeenth-Century England is out today. I, for one, already have it on my wish list! So, please give a warm welcome to Sara, and enjoy the fascinating topic she brings to The Seventeenth Century Lady! Menstruation & Female Bleeding in Seventeenth-Century England When chatting to my… Read on
The Great Fire of London was one of the great catastrophes to hit the reign of Charles II. Following the horrendous Great Plague of 1665, the only silver lining in this conflagration is that it seems to have eradicated the plague. Great! But we don’t really know how many people died, as the records don’t seem to take… Read on
Today, The Seventeenth Century Lady is pleased to have a guest post from Julian Kingston of the Build the Lenox Project. I hope you will be able to support the building of this beautiful, historical 17th-century warship. – Andrea _____________________________ Andrea has very graciously offered me a guest posting on her wonderful site to tell you about our project… Read on
In an interview with Charles II, I would ask the following: Were you frightened that the same fate that befell your father would eventually happen to you? Once and for all, were you, or were you not, married to Lucy Walter? If not, why do you believe there was such intense speculation surrounding your relationship with her? Where… Read on
I walked over to the local Abington Park Museum today and took a few photos to share with you. As it less than a 10 minute walk from my in-law’s house here in Northampton, I have visited it several times. There has been a house on this land since the late 1000s, but what I am very interested… Read on
I finally was able to visit the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College at Greenwich, and egads! it was an amazing experience. First you see the towering architectural buildings designed by the great Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor in 1698: I looked up to see the intertwined initials of Queen Anne and George, and William… Read on
The Queen’s House in Greenwich is located in the same area as the Old Royal Naval College, the Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park, and is a short walk away from the Greenwich Observatory and Greenwich Market. Once a royal retreat, it is now a free museum open to the enjoyment of all. I took as many photos as I… Read on
Hello everyone! This is just a heads up. My guest post entitled, The Stuart Curse: The Tragic Lives of a 17th-Century Dynasty is on the English Historical Fiction Authors page now. I hope you enjoy it.
On Monday the 15th of July, I went to Tower Hill where I spoke about the life of James Scott, Duke of Monmouth. I will now include photos and excerpts I used from contemporary sources. It was a beautiful day to remember a beautiful man. It was a very hot and sunny, and I bought two bouquets of… Read on
Artemisia Gentileschi, female Baroque painter, was born on the 8th of July, 1593, the daughter of Orazio Gentileschi (another masterful painter). Whenever people discuss Artemisia, her work is almost always associated with painful events that occurred during her teens, which I will get to a bit later on. But, first, here is a self-portrait from the lady herself: One of the… Read on
Ford, Lord Grey, was one of the Duke of Monmouth’s closest friends, and played a particularly important role both in the Rye-House Plot of 1683 and Monmouth’s Rebellion in 1685. During the course of researching His Last Mistress, I re-read The Confession of Ford, Lord Grey, which he wrote during his incarceration at the Tower of London in… Read on
Starring a very young Clive Owen, Polly Walker, Billie Whitelaw, and Sean Bean, this version was a lot starker (pun intended, Game of Thrones, fans) than the 2000 version, and the plot significantly altered. The Monmouth Rebellion, for example, which was extremely important to the plot in the original novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore does not feature in this adaptation.… Read on
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
My article, “The Allure of the Royal Mistress” is now available on The Huffington Post. Below, I have images of the women I mention in the article: 1) Aspasia, mistress of Pericles: 2) Queen Cleopatra of Egypt: 3) Diane de Poitiers: 4) Anne Boleyn: 5) Nell Gwynn: 6) Barbara Palmer (Villiers): 7) Madame de Montespan: 8) Madame de… Read on
I only realised recently that I have spent an enormous amount of time at Kensington Palace over the past four years, yet I have very few photos to show of my favourite palace. Let’s fix that, shall we?! I’ll begin with the oldest part of the whole building which was used for Queen Mary II. So, here is… Read on