It’s well known that following Edward III’s execution of Queen Isabella’s lover, Roger Mortimer, Queen Isabella spent the next twenty-eight years living mostly on her own estates, occasionally visiting court and going on pilgrimages within England. What is less known is that she often found herself being applied to by other women for advice, which […]
Once again, a search of long-neglected archives has turned up a fascinating document: a letter from Philippa of Hainault to her sister Margaret, Duchess of Bavaria. Philippa seems to have written a number of such letters, which are in such a poor handwriting and in such an informal style that it seems almost certain that
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I’ve picked on Queen Isabella too much lately, haven’t I? So let’s have some equal time for her archenemy, Hugh le Despenser the younger. Reading Alianore’s post about Hugh’s correspondence made me wonder, what would Hugh be doing today? Well, in between stints at minimum-security prisons for white-collar criminals, he’d probably be a CEO in
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I’ve been doing some in-depth research, and deep in the stacks of the university library, I found the following hitherto untranslated transcript of an encounter between a Geraldus de Springerus and the dowager queen Isabella some time in the late 1340’s. As background to this exciting discovery, it appears that in the decadent years between
Queen Isabella, Live on Geraldus Read More »
Scene 1: Westminster Hall is bedecked with greenery and tapestries covered with little white boars as King Richard III and Queen Anne enter. They look around admiringly. Anne: Isn’t it beautiful? (Coughs) I beg your pardon. And look, I’ve left a couple of places vacant just in case your nephews Edward and Richard return for
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We had a lot of fun in our house last night with Romance by You, a site that lets you create a personalized romance novel by inputting answers into various categories (name of heroine, hair color, name of hero, etc.). To get an entire book, you have to pay (personally, I think it’s a clever
Bloggers who are more au courant than I am (that is, most bloggers) have already hit upon this one, but in case you haven’t heard, a romance novel has become an issue in the Texas race for State Comptroller. Seems that years ago, the Republican candidate, Susan Combs, wrote a steamy romance novel, A Perfect
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What Jane Austen gentleman is for you? Mr. Ferrars. Sense and Sensibility’s Edward Ferrars is soft spoken, but he is firm in his decisions and will always make good on his promises, even if he’s changed his mind. His good nature might lead him into the wrong situations sometimes, but he’s not as naive as
I Thought This Was a Pretty Reasonable Choice . . . Read More »
If you’re the man, woman, or adorable little child (I strongly suspect the latter) who gave me another cold, I’m looking for you. And it isn’t going to be pretty–that is, if I can stop sneezing long enough to sneak up on you. My IQ goes down markedly when I have a cold, even before
I Hab a Bab Cold, and More One-Letter Memes Read More »
I couldn’t resist this meme, courtesy of Sarah: Change one letter in the title of a historical novel and add a plot. Here are some results from me, with the more obscure real titles in parenthesis: St. Thomas’s Ewe. The rise and fall of Thomas More, seen by his favorite sheep. (St. Thomas’s Eve) Wine
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