Tag Archive | reading

The Bath Road: The (True) Legend of the Berkshire Lady

The following post is the first of a series based on information obtained from a fascinating book Susana recently obtained for research purposes. Coaching Days & Coaching Ways by W. Outram Tristram, first published in 1888, is chock full of commentary about travel and roads and social history told in an entertaining manner, along with a great many fabulous illustrations. A wonderful find for anyone seriously interested in English history!

Frances Kendrick: The Berkshire Lady

As we follow the Bath Road, Tristram recounts the story of Frances Kendrick, a nineteen-year-old young lady who is fortunate to be not only beautiful and gracious, but also very wealthy and, atypical for the time, retains full control of her life and her fortune. Not surprisingly, nearly every young man she meets falls in love with her and offers her marriage. Many of them are exceedingly eligible, but she turns them all down because she doesn’t reciprocate their feelings. Most young ladies would have felt under pressure to choose one, but Frances has no parents and thus no reason to do so.

Eventually, the rejected suitors get together and start a rumor that Miss Kendrick deliberately leads them on so that she can enjoy their misery when she refuses their offers of marriage. It is all nonsense done out of spite, of course, but it has the effect of nearly ruining her chance of finding true love.

Benjamin Child, Esq. is a workaholic, poverty-stricken barrister who also happens to be unpretentious and quite good-looking himself. Like all the rest, he is instantly attracted to the lovely heiress, and she to him, to the point where her rejected suitors decide to put a spanner in the works by taking him aside and telling him that Miss Kendrick is a soulless thief of hearts. Benjamin doesn’t like the idea of being considered a fortune-hunter anyway, so he takes off for London and tries unsuccessfully to forget about Frances Kendrick.

Poor Frances is heartbroken. She has finally found the gentleman of her dreams, and he doesn’t seem to share her feelings. After discovering the rumors being circulated about her, she is desperate to find a way to prove to him that her character has been unfairly tarnished and that she truly loves him. But how can she do that when he won’t come near her?

Fight me or marry me!

What she does sounds like a scenario in a historical romance, but it really did happen! Frances issues a challenge to Mr. Child to fight a mortal duel in Calcott Park (part of her estate). Despite the fact that the challenge gives no pretext for the duel, Mr. Child shows up and finds himself facing a masked, cloaked young lady with a sword who tells him in no uncertain terms that he can either fight her or marry her. By this time, he has discerned her identity and, pleased to find that she returns his feelings, agrees to marry her with a special license in St. Mary’s Church, Walgrave.

Prospect Park, the site of the famous (non) duel

I love a good legend, and what a treat to discover it really did happen!

Frances Kendrick and Benjamin Child were married March 28, 1707 at St. Mary’s Church in Wargrave, as you can see for yourself in the parish register. When Frances died in 1722, her eccentric husband had her placed in a lead coffin shaped to follow exactly the lines of her body, which was laid to rest in the Kendrick family vault at St. Mary’s Church in Reading. (The coffin was found and examined in 1820.)

Benjamin sold Calcott House (although he later refused to move out of it and the new owner had to destroy the house to get him out of it), and later moved to a farm on the estate that he remodeled and became what is now known as Prospect House. It is here where the ghost of the Berkshire Lady is said to roam, seeking her true love.

Prospect Park Mansion House

You can read the famous ballad of the Berkshire Lady here. Even better, you can read an 1879 fictionalized version of the story by Katherine Sarah MacQuoid on Google here. (I heartily recommend it!) More details about the story behind the legend are here.

Through the tollgate: an example of the illustrations in the book

Index to all the posts in this series

1: The Bath Road: The (True) Legend of the Berkshire Lady

2: The Bath Road: Littlecote and Wild William Darrell

3: The Bath Road: Lacock Abbey

4: The Bath Road: The Bear Inn at Devizes and the “Pictorial Chronicler of the Regency”

5: The Exeter Road: Flying Machines, Muddy Roads and Well-Mannered Highwaymen

6: The Exeter Road: A Foolish Coachman, a Dreadful Snowstorm and a Romance

7: The Exeter Road in 1823: A Myriad of Changes in Fifty Years

8: The Exeter Road: Basingstoke, Andover and Salisbury and the Events They Witnessed

9: The Exeter Road: The Weyhill Fair, Amesbury Abbey and the Extraordinary Duchess of Queensberry

10: The Exeter Road: Stonehenge, Dorchester and the Sad Story of the Monmouth Uprising

11: The Portsmouth Road: Royal Road or Road of Assassination?

12: The Brighton Road: “The Most Nearly Perfect, and Certainly the Most Fashionable of All”

13: The Dover Road: “Rich crowds of historical figures”

14: The Dover Road: Blackheath and Dartford

15: The Dover Road: Rochester and Charles Dickens

16: The Dover Road: William Clements, Gentleman Coachman

17: The York Road: Hadley Green, Barnet

18: The York Road: Enfield Chase and the Gunpowder Treason Plot

19: The York Road: The Stamford Regent Faces the Peril of a Flood

20: The York Road: The Inns at Stilton

21: The Holyhead Road: The Gunpowder Treason Plot

22: The Holyhead Road: Three Notable Coaching Accidents

23: The Holyhead Road: Old Lal the Legless Man and His Extraordinary Flying Machine

24: The Holyhead Road: The Coachmen “More Celebrated Even Than the Most Celebrated of Their Rivals” (Part I)

25: The Holyhead Road: The Coachmen “More Celebrated Even Than the Most Celebrated of Their Rivals” (Part II)

26: Flying Machines and Waggons and What It Was Like To Travel in Them

27: “A few words on Coaching Inns” and Conclusion

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #11: Long Separations

Nov21

Literally decades of reading historical romances have led me to develop strong opinions of what defines a truly satisfying story, so the other day I set about making a list of characteristics that turn a potential five-star read into a one- or two-star. Admittedly, there are some skillful authors who manage to successfully incorporate one or more of these scenarios in their books; however, I have run across quite a few more who in my opinion haven’t quite managed it.

These are what I call “deal breakers”—characteristics that make a book a wall-banger instead of a pleasurable diversion. Not surprisingly, many involve character, particularly, the character of the hero and heroine. They have to be likable. They have to be three-dimensional, i.e., well-drawn-out characters with flaws, not fairy princesses. And they have to be able to fall in love, convincingly, the head-over-heels kind of love.

Overview of Susana’s Historical Romance Deal Breakers

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #11: Long Separations

When the hero and heroine are apart for years at a time—I’ve seen couples separated for as long as ten years—a reconciliation just does not seem likely.

For one thing, can you really expect them to be celibate for so long a time? Even if the heroine does manage it, it’s not likely that the hero will, and I find it difficult to believe that a man can be sexually active with other women for a long period of time and still be “in love” with the woman he can’t have. After awhile, the memory of the previous love fades in comparison with the real woman in front of him. And the woman left behind has to worry about the ticking of that biological clock. Can she afford to wait an indefinite number of years for a man who may never return?

Secondly, it detracts from the romance if the couple spend too much time apart. One feels regret at the wasted years, the unhappiness and tragedies suffered during their long separation. And if their separation was caused by arguments or incompatibility, well, you have to wonder if those same problems will return to plague them again. (Like Richard Burton and Liz Taylor. The second time definitely was not a charm.)

On the other hand, if the characters have matured during their time apart, it is possible for this scenario to work. Too many times, however, little has changed except their circumstances, and one is left feeling as though something is lacking in the HEA.

Scenarios I’ve seen that I didn’t care for:

The hero goes off to war and the heroine’s father forces her to marry another.
The hero and heroine marry and separate/divorce and then get back together years later.
The hero has no way of supporting a wife, so he goes off to seek his fortune while the heroine has no idea whether he will ever return.

I have to admit, however, that some of my favorite books do incorporate long separations, such as Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. In the case of Jamie and Claire, there was no alternative but to separate, and although some of the events that occurred during their separation caused them both much pain, the joy of their reconciliation more than made up for it. Frankly, I’ll read everything Gabaldon writes about Jamie and Claire. Some of the more tender scenes between them make me want to swoon! (How in the heck does she do that? The writer in me wants to know.)

What do you think about long separations?

*Disclaimer: This series of “deal breakers” is meant to refer to books labeled historical romances, and not to erotica, which is a completely separate sub-genre and has an entirely different purpose.

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #7: Drop-Dead Gorgeous Heroes

Sep29

Overview of Susana’s Historical Romance Deal Breakers

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #7: Drop-Dead Gorgeous Heroes

Don’t get me wrong: I like an attractive hero as much as anyone else. But I don’t really care for one who is so good-looking that serving maids drop their trays at the sight of him, and women flock to him by the dozens. Because even if the heroine is gorgeous herself, it just seems unlikely that a guy facing that much temptation everywhere he goes would be faithful to one woman forever, no matter how much he wants to. Especially if he’s never even tried to stick to one woman for any length of time. And especially in historical romances, where gentlemen aren’t really expected to be faithful to their wives.

And as much as I’d like to believe otherwise, a gorgeous hero falling for a plain-jane heroine is just not believable either. There has to be something attractive about a woman for a man like that to notice her. Perhaps he is the only one who sees it. But he’s not going to be thinking about her inner beauty during the entire story, at least not enough to prevent him from noticing all the beautiful women throwing themselves in his path. And speaking for the plain-jane heroine, how happy an ending can it be when she has to face this sort of thing the rest of her life? A very clever author might be able to manage it, but most stories like this leave me unconvinced.

Actually, a hero doesn’t have to be more than moderately attractive, in my opinion, as long as he has the requisite heroic qualities and truly loves the heroine. Perhaps it’s because I am one of the women who does not tend to judge by outside appearance. A hero with a scar or a limp or even a few wrinkles doesn’t phase me, as long as his other qualities measure up.

Judging by the washboard chests of the heroes on the covers of most romance novels, however, I’m thinking perhaps I’m in the minority on this. But then, I was never one to buy a book based on the cover; I’d read the blurb on the back to get a hint of the plot first. Attractive covers are nice, but I always carry an image of the characters in my mind as I read, and often they don’t look at all like those some artist (who may not have even read the book) conceived.

What about you? Do you drool over heroes with ripped chests or prefer them to have more substance?

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #6: Heroes With Mistresses or Who Sleep With Servants

Sep7

Overview of Susana’s Historical Romance Deal Breakers

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #6: Heroes With Mistresses or Who Sleep With Servants

A rake actually has great hero-potential: he’s done just about everything, sown his wild oats, and concluded that for him, women have only one use. Well, two, actually, since someday he’ll need an heir. But after awhile—although he might not admit it—there is a certain emptiness in his life that all the carousing he engages in doesn’t fill.

He’s finally ready to meet the heroine. And when he does, his life is never the same again.

If he has a mistress at the start, he has to get rid of her fairly quickly after he meets the heroine, and he can’t be sleeping with her or anyone else while he’s falling in love with the heroine. There can’t be any hint of emotional ties to the mistress either. He might not be aware of what’s happening to him, but there have to be indications right away that his attraction to other women is diminishing. And that his attraction to the heroine is growing, even though he may fight it with everything he has.

And while I know it’s very 21st century of me to object to gentlemen who sleep with servants, I find it icky when a powerful man uses an underling for sex, even if it’s consensual. Even if it happens before he meets the heroine; it’s just icky. And a proper hero cannot be icky.

It’s a bit different, however, if it happens when he’s an adolescent experimenting with his sexuality. A fully mature hero who has learned to control himself draws the line at taking advantage of his dependents.

Prostitutes and serving wenches, willing though they may be, also have a bit of an ick factor. Too much interaction on these lines—even before the heroine comes into play—makes me wonder about his chances of having contracted the French pox. It only takes one, after all.

And for that matter, I really like a hero who takes some precautions against siring bastards, no matter how primitive and unreliable the precautions might be. But if he does have any illegitimate children, he takes full responsibility for them.

A man who lives only for his own pleasure without any concern for the consequences is a sex addict. And sex addicts just do not make good heroes. Period.

What do you think? Am I expecting too much in my heroes? I’d love to know what you think.

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #4: Cliffhanger Endings

Aug24

The fourth deal breaker is cliffhanger endings.

There’s nothing more annoying than to get to the last chapter of a book and discover that it’s not the end. That you have to buy another book to find out how your protagonists fared.

If I really care about the characters, I may buy the sequel. But I am seething inside, and any chance I will ever trust that author again is virtually gone. Even if it’s a favorite author.

If the sequel isn’t even available yet, there is no chance I will buy it. Because months later, I won’t likely care about those characters anymore.

Why do authors cheat their readers this way? If it’s meant as a technique to promote books, it’s a misguided one indeed. Nobody likes to be teased or manipulated. Eventually, readers will get disgusted and move on.

I adore a good romance series, with cameo appearances by protagonists from previous books. I love it when secondary characters from a previous book become the protagonists in the sequel. If the books aren’t spaced too far apart (i.e., I haven’t had time to forget all about them), I will buy all of them just to make sure my old friends are still doing well.

But if there’s no satisfactory HEA at the end of the book—if I discover that instead of being rewarded for their suffering, my hero and heroine have more tribulations in store for them in the next book—I’m seriously wanting my money—and my time—back.

What do you think? Are there some authors who can get away with teasing their readers with cliffhangers?

Historical Romance Deal Breaker #2: Adultery

Aug13

The second one is adultery involving the hero or heroine.

I’ve seen scenarios where the non-hero husband is cruel and abusive, even threatening to kill the heroine (especially in medievals), but I don’t find that a good enough excuse for adultery. I wouldn’t tell a 21st century abused woman that she either has to go back to her husband or go to a nunnery (perhaps the closest thing to a medieval equivalent of a shelter for battered women), but in medieval times there weren’t many other options. In one story I read recently, the abused wife ran away to a distant town with her lover and they pretended to be married. But the guilt of their deceit had already started to tarnish their relationship before the book’s conclusion, leaving the reader with a very unsatisfactory HEA. (In fact, the story was set up in such a way as to make a satisfactory HEA impossible.) I know this isn’t fair by 21st century standards, but you really should not write a novel set in medieval times and then proceed to ignore the social and religious mores of the time. Less knowledgeable readers might not notice, but those of us who have read widely in the genre will recognize an amateur when we see it. [Historical inaccuracy, another deal breaker, will be discussed in a later post.]

What about a spouse who is ill, disabled, or confined to a mental institution? Or a spouse who has run off with another person and disappeared? While I do not expect a hero to remain celibate forever under these circumstances, I cannot like the heroine to be his mistress. Remember Jane Eyre? She knew she couldn’t have a proper HEA with Edward while his wife was living, even if she was a lunatic. I mean, how can you justify stigmatizing your children with the label “bastard”? Somehow, the HEA has to include a legal marriage, and I can’t believe a heroine who starts out as a mistress can have that much confidence that her husband/protector won’t eventually deceive her as well.

Oh, and the plots where the sterile husband invites his best friend to impregnate his wife? NO! Forget it! It doesn’t matter if the husband is good or evil, the whole adultery/deception angle opens up a Pandora’s box of guilt and fear that always manages to tarnish the HEA in some way.

What about you? Do find adultery in a historical romance acceptable in some situations?