Harlequin Amazon B&N Kobo iBooks GooglePlay CarinaPress Chapter One AD 930, A Saxon outpost on the northern border of Nor’man land Smiling grimly at the darkness, Rurik tucked a bone-handled blade in his boot. Norns had spun his life with stingy threads, but his days of hardship were over. Rouen’s overlord, Will Longsword, promised to make him a landsman, a plum prize for a low-born...
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When you say “Viking” and “Chieftain” in the same sentence, images of powerful men come to mind. You might also conjure a “wild west” style of lawlessness. This perception is well-earned in some cases. Yet, Viking history and their sagas presents a more nuanced picture. One case in point takes us to Iceland. Last week shared the true tale of Audr the Deep-Minded, an amazing female leader in...
Read MoreAnd one more thing about those Georgian marriages… Bigamy was a problem in Georgian England. The Marriage Act of 1753, passed into law March 1754, was supposed to put the kibosh on illicit elopements and the trickier problem of bigamy. In pervious centuries, most brides and grooms married in their home parish. A select few married by special license. By the Georgian period (defined by the four King Georges who reigned from...
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(pssst…there’s a surprise ahead!) Georgian England was a place and time of excitement and wonder. Lots of changes going. Lots of money flowing around England. Lots of crime and inventions. But, you know what interests me? The little things about daily life during the period of the four King Georges—not *gasp* the fashions. I know. That’s sacrilege for a historical romance reader since most people want the gorgeous gowns....
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Oh, the naughtiness of a quickie wedding! Early Georgian England teemed with elopements, creating scores of under-aged brides and pesky bigamists. During that era, people could marry wherever and whenever they wanted, as long as a clergyman presided over the ceremony. By the 1740s, fast weddings in England became a booming industry thanks to shady clergymen in London’s Southwark ward. Because of those few bad apples, people called for...
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The Georgian era was a fascinating shift from pastoral to urban living. The economic boom brought scientific advances. Much of the populace elevated themselves to a better place in life—especially the merchant class. Entertainments abounded. Life’s little luxuries were affordable. People enjoyed a diversity of products pouring into London on a regular basis. In researching the Midnight Meetings series, I came across many...
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