Turning tragedy into timeless romance.
Before 1839, women had no rights to their children if their marriage failed and led to separation or divorce, nor could a wife own property or keep independent wages. Then came Caroline Norton, poet, author, and early women's rights advocate.
Many of our treasured traditions, Christmas cards, Christmas trees, hanging stockings, and caroling, didn’t appear until the 1840s. This makes much of Christmas a Victorian invention., and like anything from the Victorian era, many of these beloved traditions have weird, wacky, and even sinister roots. Here's 7 weird Victorian Christmas traditions.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were the literary power couple of the Victorian era, and their love story was just as entertaining as their poetry.
Drury Lane Theatre is home to a host of ghosts. There's so many lurking within the theatre's walls that its considered good luck for a play if an apparition is spotted before a production. But what sort of ghosts haunt Drury Lane?
“The slide from Summer into Fall can sneak up on you, like footsteps keeping pace until they speed up and overtake you. We invited fellow writers and poets to create original pieces that would sweep us up in stories and poems about the other, moodier season of change. We received a cornucopia of work that skews... Continue Reading →
Looking for a book to get you in the Halloween spirit? Check out Autumn Noir: An Unsettling Reads Anthology, its pages packed with horror, thrillers, and mysteries by over 20 brilliant authors. My first attempt at something other than historical fiction will be included in this anthology in a contemporary suspense short called "Perdita's Shoes."... Continue Reading →
In 1723, England introduced a criminal system that is called “The Bloody Code” by today’s historians. Although the name is not contemporary to the time, it captures the severity of the list of 220 offenses attached to capital punishment in Georgian & Regency England.
I'm beyond pleased to be the featured fiction contributor in New Reader Magazine's latest issue. I discuss my creative process and making historical fiction appealing to a modern day audience in my interview on pg. 20, and my latest short story, To Own Her Body, is on pg. 36.
Whew, the next few months will be busy! Check out these upcoming stories: a viscount hunts down his runaway bride, and this is anything but a love story; a lady's companion gets more than she bargained for while her eccentric employers plan for a party without guests; and a grieving daughter finds her departed father's twisted secret.
Rosamund Clifford, known as “Fair Rosamund” and the “Rose of the World,” has become the Helen of Troy of medieval England. More legend than fact surrounds her, but one thing is certain. She was the true love of King Henry II of England.
Kat Devitt 