Fashionable People: La Belle Époque and Edwardian Fashion

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

The 1890-1914 period referred to as La Belle Époque (French for “Beautiful Era”) was a time of peace and national pride buoyed by scientific and technological discovery. This fashion era overlapped the Edwardian fashion era in Britain and is nostalgically viewed as a golden age in contrast to the stark world introduced by World War I.

In France, those of wealth and privilege enjoyed the perks only the rich could afford, frequenting new entertainments such as the Folies Bergere, the Moulin Rouge and flocking to view the new Eiffel Tower, which was constructed as a grand entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair.


While men’s fashion did not undergo significant change during this period, women’s fashion saw the gradual disappearance of the bustle, replaced by a new, slimmer silhouette featuring enormous leg of mutton sleeves and tapered waists framed by sashes or belts flowing into trumpet-bell shaped skirts. This slender profile was offset by huge, ostentatious hats named “Merry Widows” after the popular operetta of the time. These accessories featured feathers and lavish trims (including stuffed hummingbirds for those who could afford them).


The descriptive term that easily captures this fashion era is the “pouter pigeon,” a corseted look with the bust suppressed into a “monobosom.” Fashion accents included gloves made of silk, suede or kid leather that were worn outdoors in summer and winter and featured frilly parasols dripping lace.

In Britain, the renowned tailoring houses of Redfern and Creed applied their skills to tailored fashions for women, creating ready to wear wool or serge suits paired with shirtwaist blouses and simple gored skirts and matching jackets promoted as ideal for traveling. This tailored look was embraced by middle class women entering the workforce, and was often criticized as masculine in appearance as women began to sport neckware rivaling that of their male counterparts.


The severity of the tailored suit was relieved by feminine touches such as ornate blouses embellished by embroidery, ruffled jabots decorated by stick pins, and collars reaching under the chin that were held in place by silk-wrapped wires to create the impression of an elongated neck.

The high-necked collar mandated for day wear was replaced by low sweetheart, round, or square necklines for evening fashions designed to showcase the owner’s jewelry. A lady dressed for an evening’s entertainment outside the home was not encumbered by what do to with her handbag. Little or no money was carried because purchases were charged to accounts and so little makeup was worn that only a dainty bag attached by a wrist strap was needed to complete her ensemble.

Gibson Girl by Charles Dana Gibson

In America, the pen and ink drawings of an artist named Charles Dana Gibson intended to spoof the modern woman (now known as the “Gibson Girl,”) eventually came to represent the first national American standard of beauty.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

Family Feuds: The Wars of the Roses

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson
Long before the 1989 black comedy film “The War of the Roses” depicted a couple of wealth and privilege fighting over the division of their material possessions during a bitter divorce, a similarly named series of battles waged between two royal houses as each sought to claim the throne of England. The stage was set for the decades-long feud between the houses of Lancaster and York known as “The Wars of the Roses” by Edward III, whose ambition to rule both France and England plunged the country into the Hundred Years War when 18 year old Edward claimed the right to rule France in 1328.

House of Lancaster

When Edward III died in 1377, the descendants of the late King could not agree upon whom should rule England, and an ineffectual King in the person of Henry VI prompted rebellion by earning the enmity of both nobility and common folk alike. The reign of Henry VI was characterized by high taxes, stunning military losses, intermittent bouts of mental illness and an ambitious wife, Margaret of Anjou, whose machinations on behalf of her husband helped precipitate his downfall and helped fuel the division between the royal houses of Lancaster and York.

Cade’s Rebellion, a popular rebellion organized and led by Jack Cade in 1450, opened the door for the ambition of Richard, the Duke of York. Henry VI fled the battle, giving up his right to rule in the view of the many who viewed him as a weak ruler. The rebels seized and occupied Kent, although Cade was unable to control his ragtag army and eventually fled. Cade was later executed, his head placed on a spike in London as a warning to all who would act against their king.

House of York

In 1455, the Duke of York decided it was time to act. He amassed an army and marched on London, engaging in the Battle of St. Albans, the first battle in the Wars of the Roses, which resulted in victory for the house of York and the elevation of Richard Duke of York to the position of First Minister, a position of influence within Henry’s court.

When he began to suspect that the Duke of York planned to usurp his throne, Henry had him removed from the office of First Minister and declared a traitor. York again rallied his army and won the Battle of Blore Heath, a victory which was undermined by promises of pardon by the house of Lancaster (Henry VI) to the Yorkist troops who participated in the melee.

The Siege of London

In what is known as the Yorkist Invasion of 1460, the Duke of York came prepared with an army of 2,000 and made his claim to the throne, but soon discovered that Henry VI could not be deposed in his favor. As an alternative solution, the Act of Accord dictated that York or his heirs would inherit the throne upon the death or abdication of Henry VI. Queen Margaret rallied support for her husband and this time, it was the Duke of York who was insufficiently prepared when the Lancaster army of 20,000 confronted York’s army of 12,000. Henry was freed from his captors in London and the Duke of York died in battle in York, his head placed upon a spike, adorned with a paper crown.

The Lancaster force continued to forge south, cutting a wide swath of destruction as it went, the army joined by ruffians bent upon pillaging the houses of the nobles and the monasteries along the route. Compared to a plague of locusts by survivors of the carnage, the allegiances of the common folk began to swing from Lancaster to York as tales of the horrors inflicted by the marauding Lancaster army spread.

Edward IV

The Lancastrian army failed to occupy London and was forced to retreat to the north, while the Duke of York’s eldest son, Edward Earl of March, was proclaimed King Edward IV. Edward, age 18, entered London and declared himself king, backed by Parliament and the common people.

Edward fought to solidify his claim during the Battle of Towton in 1461, the bloodiest battle of the wars considered by many historians to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. In a dramatic move to rally his troops, Edward killed his own horse and declared that he would fight on foot alongside his men.

It was a decisive victory, as Henry VI and his wife Margaret were forced to flee to Scotland. The victorious Edward entered York in the shadow of his father’s head displayed on a spike, which he ordered be removed, buried, and replaced with the heads of Lancastrian nobles.

The ensuing years were framed by shifting alliances and repeated attempts by Henry VI and former Queen Margaret to elicit support in an effort to regain the throne. Edward secured his position by signing a treaty with French King Louis XI in 1463, which undermined the support Henry and Margaret had received from the French. By signing a treaty with Scotland that same year, Edward forced Henry and Margaret to leave their safe haven and struggle to remain ahead of Edward’s men, literally moving from house to house, sheltered by their remaining allies.

In 1464, Edward committed a political and personal faux pas by marrying Elizabeth Woodville, who was not only a commoner, but a widow whose first husband had perished while fighting against the Yorkist faction during the Battle of St. Albans. Edward’s choice of wife proved ill-advised for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that it resulted in the lost friendship and support of the Duke of Warwick, who was known as “The Kingmaker” after having captured London for the Yorkists, making it possible for Edward IV to become king in the first place. Edward began handing out titles and property to the Woodville family, earning him the enmity of the nobles he passed over in favor of his wife’s relatives.

Henry VI

Henry VI, still unwilling to give up his claim to the throne, raised another army and was defeated again at the Battle of Hexham in 1464. Edward retaliated by executing Lancaster knights and leaders in battle, and Henry VI was captured and placed on public display as he was taken to the Tower of London, pelted by garbage as he was led along the route.

The Woodville family was ambitious, and as their influence rose, the influence of the Duke of Warwick waned. Warwick aligned himself with the house of Lancaster and defeated Edward IV in battle, intending to place his own son-in-law, George Duke of Clarence, on the throne, where Warwick planned to rule the country through a puppet king.

Warwick decided that it was time to either kill Edward or remove him permanently from the throne, and the Battle of Empingham (also known as the Battle of Losecoat Field) followed in March of 1470. Edward responded with propaganda, bluster and bravado, going so far as to execute the father of an opposing rebel army leader in full view of both armies. The rebel army broke and ran after the smoke from a barrage of cannon fire cleared, revealing the King’s army marching toward them. The defeated rebels quickly shed articles of clothing that would identify them as such, hence the name “Losecoat Field.”

Warwick was killed during another coup attempt in 1471, and Queen Margaret was captured during yet another battle at Tewkesbury that same year. Henry VI was executed on May 21, 1471 at the Tower of London.

Edward IV reigned until his death in 1483. Richard III (the younger brother of Edward IV) took Edward’s 12-year-old son Edward V into custody for his “protection” following the death of his father. Richard III had the support of the nobility in his effort to minimize the influence of the Woodville family, who had amassed great wealth and power during the reign of Edward IV. Richard and his collaborators feared what might happen should Edward V be allowed to reach his majority and the Woodvilles came into power again. Edward V and his younger brother were placed in the Tower of London in 1483 and were never seen alive again.

Richard III took London by force of arms and was crowned King in 1483, only to be killed during the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 fighting the man who would become the next king of England: Henry VII, of the House of Tudor, who united the Lancaster and York factions of the royal family by marrying Elizabeth York, the daughter of Edward IV, bringing an end to the Wars of the Roses.

The roses, red for Lancaster and white for York, referenced the emblems worn by the liveried servants of each house.

“Warwick: And here I prophesy: this brawl today,

Grown to this faction in the Temple garden,

Shall send, between the Red Rose and the White,

A thousand souls to death and deadly night.”
-From the 1592 play, Henry VI by William Shakespeare

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

An Ordinary Day In: The Life of an English Gypsy

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

My mother tells a tale from her own childhood in rural Ohio about the day the Gypsies came to town. Fascinated by these engaging, colorfully dressed people, my mother (who was age seven at the time) ran into the street in order to observe them at closer proximity. Horrified, my grandmother collected her only daughter with great haste and dragged her back into the safety of their house, admonishing her not to leave home until the Gypsies had gone. When asked why, my grandmother told my mother with absolute conviction, "Because Gypsies steal children!"

There was no evidence to prove any merit to my grandmother's fear, but this childhood anecdote serves as a telling illustration of a race of mysterious people plagued by centuries of bias and misrepresentation.

Let's pretend we're members of a Gypsy (or "Traveller") family and explore what life as a Gypsy might be like.

It is likely that you live on the road, although some Travellers have adopted permanent housing. Even in the age of technology, you might still live and travel in a horse-drawn wagon. Although you've reached adulthood, you have never stepped foot inside a classroom because education is not a priority in your culture. Although you may lack formal education, you excel at survival skills. You can milk a goat, and can gather enough wild foodstuffs to feed your large family, which includes ten children. You can differentiate the poisonous mushrooms from the ones that make a satisfying stew.

You work hard, caring for the younger children in the family and helping your father with the care of the Gypsy ponies he's raising to sell in order to provide for his family. If you live outdoors rather than in permanent housing, you dread the cold winters huddled around a wood burner in the forest.

Outsiders you meet assume your habits are unhygienic and may also conclude that you are a thief, even though your culture has strict customs regarding cleanliness and you've never stolen so much as a penny candy from the local grocery because there are so many children in the family that the children are not included in shopping forays into town. Others in camp might indulge in petty thievery, but no more so than the non-Gypsy population in the area.

You have an ingrained respect for your elders, always addressing older males as "uncle," and older females as "aunt," but never by their first name, because the familiarity implies a lack of respect. If you are a married female, you've left your own family to join that of your husband when you married, and you will continue to gain respect within the family as you age and bear and raise children.

With origins that can be traced back to medieval India, your nature urges you to roam, and you look forward to movement and new scenery, but as you settle down in front of the campfire to rest for the evening, or inside a permanent structure if you've become a house dweller, it is likely you will turn to music as a source of entertainment. Romany (Gypsy) music has influenced other musical cultures throughout the world.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

Accidents: James Dean

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

"Along came a Spyder and picked up a rider
Took him down the road to eternity..."
~ Lyric from "James Dean" (by J.D. Souther, Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey, Don Henley)

Nothing secures a place in the land of legends more securely than exceptional talent extinguished by violent, untimely death.

James Dean had accumulated a relatively small but impressive body of work by the time of his tragic death at age 24 as the result of massive injuries sustained in a car crash, including starring roles in three films that have gone on to become recognized as classics: Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, and Giant.

A student of the famous Lee Strasberg Actor's Studio, the gifted method actor was a renowned racing enthusiastic, and his racing career ran concurrently with his film projects. He purchased a race-ready MG TD when he secured the part of Cal Trask in East of Eden, and later upgraded to a Porsche 356 Speedster, earning second, third, and fourth placements on the California racing circuit.

While filming Rebel Without a Cause, Dean began searching for the perfect race car, settling on a Porsche 550 Spyder when production on his first choice, the Lotus MK X, was delayed. The level of personal risk associated with racing fast cars was not lost on the Hollywood studios that employed him, and Dean was contractually forbidden to race while filming Giant.

Ironically, once filming was completed, Dean was free to race again, and he died on September 30, 1955 while in route to compete in a car race being staged in Salinas, California. His final film, Giant, was released posthumously in 1956.

The car in which Dean was killed, the Porsche 550 Spyder, has attracted its own share of myths and legends, including rumors that the car was cursed. Dean hired designer George Barris (who would later design the original Batmobile) to add custom touches. The finished version included racing stripes and the moniker "Little Bastard" painted on the car.

As with any tragic event, there are always the eventual "what-ifs" that arise. What if Dean had stuck with his original plan to drive his station wagon and tow the race car, instead of making the last minute decision to drive the racer, in order to become more familiar with the car before the race? What if the other driver, 23-year-old student Donald Turnupseed, had not crossed into Dean's lane when moving to take the fork onto State Route 41 near Cholame, California, hitting Dean's vehicle nearly head on? What if Dean had heeded the warning impulsively offered by actor Alec Guinness? His words to young Dean upon viewing the racer were, "If you get in that car, you will be found dead in it by this time next week."


In a final irony, it was announced in 2010 that the strip of highway known as "Blood Alley" where Dean met his end fifty-five years earlier, will be widened due to its notorious history of fatal car crashes.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

Anniversary Bash: Finale!

Welcome to the final day of Unusual Historicals' anniversary!

I have to say, this has been one of the best blogging experiences I've had in a long time. The comments all of y'all have provided have often had me rolling with laughter. Definitely the way to start every morning, and even more than that, the best way I can think of to celebrate four years at such an awesome blog. I can't wait to see everyone stick around as we return to normal programming.

Before we get to the really, really good stuff--the extra huge pack of books we have to give away today--I want to take a moment out to thank Carrie Lofty for the work she puts in around here on a regular basis. I've always known she was the one who kept this gig running smoothly, but I never realized until I took over this week exactly what that entailed. A lot. Like, just putting up posts with pictures and silly questions has taken me hours of work. I can't imagine how much time Carrie must put in. Ms. Lofty, I tip my hat to you.

Ok, the books. What have I been holding back for today? Why, really awesome stuff. Twelve books! You read that right, twelve. All stuffed carefully in one box and mailed off to a single lucky winner. Sounds like a wonderful distraction from family and holidays!

Today's winner will get:

Elizabeth Lane:
The Horseman's Bride (signed)

Amanda McIntyre:

The Diary of Cozette; Tortured; The Master & the Muses (all signed)

Hope Tarr:
Vanquished (signed)

Diane Whiteside:
The Devil She Knows (signed and there's a matching keychain)

Lisa Marie Wilkinson:
Fire at Midnight; Stolen Promise (both signed)

Lisa J. Yarde:
On Falcon's Wings

Kate Bridges:
Alaska Bride on the Run; Mail Order Marriages (both signed)

Monica Burns:
Kismet

Seriously people, how can you top that stack? Y'all are lucky the books are actually at Carrie's house. If I had 'em, they'd probably be pre-read before they got to the winners. (Honestly, I've read most of them already. But that's just because I really do love the special zing I get from reading a great historical set somewhere different.)

We've hopefully introduced you to a lot of new Unusual Historicals authors this week. So for today's Grand Prize, tell me which UH author you're most eager to read. The winner will be drawn at random first thing next Sunday morning, just like our usual Sunday giveaways.

The usuals: Void where prohibited. Prizes can only be mailed to the US and Canada. Don't talk to strangers. (Unless they're really cute and rich.)

***

Lorelie Brown's first book, JAZZ BABY, is currently available from Samhain Publishing and will be released 4 January in paperback. Her second romance, an 1880s-set western, will be published by Carina Press in Summer 2011

Real Life Heroes: Harriet Tubman

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

The accolade of hero is appropriate when applied to Harriet Tubman, a woman born into slavery whose activities ranged from abolitionist during the Civil War era to staunch supporter of the women's suffrage movement during the early 1900s.

Born Araminta Ross during a time when neither year nor place of birth was recorded for most slaves, various historical documents place Tubman's birth date somewhere between 1815 and 1825. One of "Minty's" first responsibilities at age 5 or 6 was as a child's nurse. After learning she would be whipped if the baby in her charge cried, she adopted the practice of wrapping herself in extra layers of clothing to minimize the damage inflicted by the beatings she endured.

At age 12, she suffered a serious head injury when a heavy metal weight thrown by an angry overseer at another slave hit Tubman instead as she acted to protect the slave from injury. Historians speculate that Tubman suffered from epilepsy as a result of this injury, citing symptoms of headaches and seizures resulting in sudden sleep. After being brought up by deeply religious parents on Bible stories featuring themes of deliverance from oppression, Tubman believed the visions that accompanied her seizures represented direct communication from God.

She married free black man John Tubman in 1844, changing her name from Araminta to Harriet--her mother's name--around that time. Despite her husband's free status, Harriet's status as a slave dictated that any children born to her would also be slaves.

After reaching the decision, "Liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other," Harriet escaped and fled north with her two brothers on September 17, 1849, but after their owners posted a reward notice for the return of the three escaped slaves, her brothers began to fear the consequences of capture and forced Harriet to return with them.

She soon escaped again and fled to freedom alone, using an allied network of freed blacks, white abolitionists, and other antislavery activists known as the Underground Railroad, to escape into Pennsylvania. Traveling by night and using the North Star for guidance, she watched for signs such as lanterns on hitching posts indicating safe houses as she made her way north to freedom.

After her escape to Philadelphia, she worked as a cook and domestic in order to earn money to return to Maryland to guide her own family north and to help other slaves escape to freedom. As one of the most famous of the Underground Railroad "conductors," Harriet Tubman led numerous missions and it is estimated she rescued more than 300 slaves over a period of eleven years, constantly risking her own safety and freedom to aid others. Sadly, her sister Rachel died before she could be rescued, and Tubman did not have the funds to make the bribes necessary to free Rachel's two children, who remained enslaved.

After the Fugitive State Law was enacted by Congress in 1850 imposing penalties on law enforcement and providing for payment of bounties upon the return of escaped slaves, the risk of capture increased to the point where slaves began heading for the safety of Canada, a country which refused to extradite fugitives. In tribute to her fearless and selfless exploits, Tubman earned the nicknames, "General Tubman" and "The Moses of her People."

Years later, she told an audience: "I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say--I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." Her impressive record was mostly likely due in part to the fact that she allowed no turning back and she carried a loaded revolver to back up that policy during the trek north. As she told one runaway slave who began to lose courage on the journey north, "You'll be free or die." As she later explained, "a live runaway could do great harm by going back, but a dead one could tell no secrets."

When the Civil War broke out, Tubman saw a Union victory as the perfect means to end slavery. She joined the Union Army, first working as a cook and a nurse, and then later as a scout and a Union spy. Giving up government rations after others grumbled she was receiving special treatment, she began selling pies and root beer to support herself. In June of 1863, she led the Combahee River Raid, freeing more than 700 slaves and becoming the first woman to lead an armed expedition in the war.

After her first husband did not join her in freedom, she married a man 22 years her junior in 1869, and they adopted a daughter. During her lifetime, her humanitarian efforts included teaching newly freed blacks how to become self-sufficient, raising funds for schools, and finding housing and clothing for the poor and disabled. Her humanitarian works kept her mired in poverty and she worked various jobs and took in boarders to offset her expenses. Friends and supporters from her abolitionist days raised funds to help support her.

Tubman retired in Auburn, NY after the war, and became active in the women's suffrage movement, working alongside Susan B. Anthony. She spoke out publicly in favor of women's rights, and used her own experience to illustrate that women were equal to men, citing having received such "man honors" as having a ship named for her. Illness eventually forced her to be admitted to the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, a home for elderly African Americans she had helped open years before. She died of pneumonia on March 10, 1913 after telling those assembled, "I go to prepare a place for you." She was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

Money Matters: The Tally Stick System

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

Throughout the centuries people have paid their debts and bought and sold goods using forms of exchange ranging from feathers to salt to pigs and including almost everything in between. The American Indians using Wampum and the denizens of Fiji using whales' teeth as currency would both probably agree upon one thing: it's important to have a medium of exchange when you need what someone is selling but the seller doesn't have any need for what you have to offer in trade. Anything can be perceived to be money if people agree it has value.

It is generally believed that the tally record originated as a recording or counting device for tasks such as tracking menstrual cycles via a lunar phase calendar. One of the oldest examples of a tally record dating back to 30,000 BC was found in a cave in the Lebombo mountains of South Africa. The artifact consists of 29 distinct notches on the leg bone of a baboon.

As commerce developed through medieval Europe, another use for the tally record was found. With coins in short supply and the population largely illiterate, a bookkeeping method was needed to record mutual exchanges and outstanding debt. King Henry the First, son of William the Conqueror, is credited with inventing the tally stick system when he ascended the throne of England in 1100 AD.

In England, tallies took on the characteristics of today's credit card system as lenders carved out the details of the loan using a system of notches to signify denominations on the surface of a small squared willow, pine, r hazel-wood stick. At the top of the tally, a cut the thickness of the palm of a man's hand was made, representing one thousand pounds, then subsequent cuts were made to designate other values. The breadth of a thumb meant one hundred pounds, the width of a little finger represented twenty pounds, the width of a barleycorn translated to one pound, and so on. The stick was then split in half lengthwise through the center of the carving, creating a "split tally," which prevented either user from adding notches to his half of the tally stick.

Each party to the transaction was given one half of the marked tally as proof. Because the type of wood used to create the tally was selected for its clear grain, the grain of the wood was similar to the watermark on today's paper money. The two halves would be perfectly matched, fraud was difficult to perpetrate, and refinements were added over time to make the documentation of the transaction virtually tamper-proof. The two halves of the stick were made different lengths, with the lender given the longer part of the stick, referred to as the stock, which formed the basis for the modern term "stockholder" while the shorter portion, called the foil, was given to the party who had received the goods or funds. Literally, the debtor received "the short end of the stick."

When the borrower returned to the lender with the goods or money owed, the two halves of the record would be "tallied," and any attempts at fraud would become immediately apparent when the two halves of the split tally were combined.

King Henry expanded the use of tally sticks to include the collection of taxes by local sheriffs, creating a demand for them, and the sticks began to circulate as a form of money as a result. Revenues owed to the Crown were collected in this manner, and the tally stick system formed the basis of the British Empire until the formation of the Bank of England at the end of the 17th century. Tally sticks found their way into medieval courts as evidence, and into the works of William Shakespeare, who referred to them in Sonnet 122.2 from Henry VI: "nor need I tallies thy dear love to score."

When King Charles II adopted the idea of selling royal debt at a discount, he nearly plunged the country into bankruptcy by selling tallies at a discount for the purpose of financing war.

A century later, the sticks were still in use, but the tally stick system was eventually abolished in 1826, when the sticks were removed from circulation and stored in the Houses of Parliament. In 1834, Parliament ordered all sticks destroyed, and two cartloads of the tallies were scheduled to be burned. Rather than give the sticks away to be used as firewood, or burning them in an outdoor fire, a decision was made to burn them in two furnaces in the House of Lords. The resulting conflagration set fire to the wood paneling and both Houses of Parliament were destroyed.

Lisa Marie Wilkinson is an IPPY Gold Medal winning author of historical adventure-romance. Her latest novel, STOLEN PROMISE, featuring vibrant Gypsy characters and breath-taking romance, is available now.

Tragic Tales: Lady Jane Grey

By Lisa Marie Wilkinson

English history is filled with tragic tales of political pawns and religious martyrs. The markers along the path of the bloody Tudor dynasty include individuals like Anne Boleyn, whose ambition to become Queen of England proved to be the instrument of her own destruction, and Lady Jane Grey, who succumbed to the executioner’s axe after being pressured to accept a crown she did not covet.

The daughter of Henry Grey, the Duke of Suffolk, and Lady Frances Brandon, Jane was the grand niece of Henry VIII of England and cousin to the ill-fated young King Edward VI, son of Henry and Jane Seymour.

Jane was an unassuming young woman who excelled at her studies and aspired to please her demanding parents. Subject to treatment by Lady Frances that would be condemned as abuse by modern standards, Jane once told a visitor:

"For when I am in the presence of either Father or Mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it as it were in such weight, measure and number, even so perfectly as God made the world; or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yes presently sometimes with pinches, nips and bobs and other ways...that I think myself in hell."

Jane's father sought the most politically advantageous marriage possible for his daughter and eventually settled upon Lord Guildford Dudley, whose father--the Duke of Northumberland--was considered the most powerful man in England, as Jane's prospective husband. Jane balked at the arrangement, but married Dudley at the insistence of her parents on May 21, 1553.

When King Edward VI lay dying, Northumberland persuaded the doomed young monarch to set aside his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth in favor of Jane Grey because Jane was a devout Protestant. Without Northumberland's interference, the crown would have passed to Mary, the Catholic elder daughter of Henry VIII upon Edward's death. Instead, in a will drawn upon his deathbed and in his "Device of the Succession," Edward effectively left the throne to his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, who, like Edward, was a staunch Protestant.

After months of illness, changes in Edward's condition had been closely monitored and reported. In anticipation of Edward’s death, Mary decided to relocate to Kenninghall in Norfolk, where she would be surrounded by supporters.

Edward died at age 15 on July 6, 1553. Northumberland had to act quickly before all England learned of Edward's death if he was to become the father-in-law of the Queen of England. Not the least of his tasks was convincing a reluctant Jane to accept the crown. Jane had fainted upon hearing the news that Edward had died and named her as his successor.

Northumberland sent soldiers to capture Mary as she fled north, but his attempt to prevent Mary from reaching her Catholic supporters was unsuccessful. Mary reached Kenninghall on July 9th, where she confirmed her brother’s death, gathered her followers around her and promptly declared herself Queen of England.

Northumberland had Lady Jane Grey proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland after she was sequestered in the Tower of London as was customary for monarchs awaiting coronation. Jane marched in a coronation procession through the streets of London on July 10, 1553.

Unfortunately for Jane, when Mary raised her standard as queen, she had the support of 15,000 men. As the eldest daughter of Henry VIII, her countrymen felt Mary had a valid claim to the throne, and the people soon began to rally around her, buoyed by her promise to make no changes to the religious structure of England, a falsehood which earned her Protestant as well as Catholic supporters.

When Mary demanded that Jane renounce her title, Jane willingly did as requested, explaining that she had only accepted the title out of respect for her parents and her father-in-law, who had pressured her to accept the role. Mary was proclaimed the Queen of England on July 19th amid great celebration, while Jane and her husband were imprisoned in the Tower of London. Jane's rule of England--nine days--was the shortest in England's history.

The Duke of Northumberland was executed on August 22, 1553 for treason, and the following month, Parliament named Mary the rightful queen and declared Jane a usurper.

Jane and Guildford Dudley were tried on charges of high treason on November 13, 1553 and sentenced to death. It is widely believed that Mary intended to spare Jane's life, but when Jane's father participated in Wyatt's Rebellion in February of 1554--a revolt against the rule of Queen Mary--he sealed his daughter’s fate. Wyatt's Rebellion was a popular rebellion protesting Mary's planned marriage to Prince Philip of Spain.

Facing pressure from the Spanish court to put an end to the unrest by removing the Protestant threat, Mary signed the orders for execution and both Jane and Dudley were beheaded on February 12, 1554. Dudley was executed first in a public event at Tower Hill, and then Jane was taken out to Tower Green inside the Tower of London and beheaded in private. Private executions were usually reserved for members of royalty, therefore Mary's order for a private execution was viewed as a sign of respect for her cousin. Jane was just 16.

Lady Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley are buried in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, the parish church of the Tower of London.

Weekly Announcements - 28 May 2010

The last of Zoe Archer's "The Blades of the Rose" covers has been revealed! Here's the blurb for STRANGER, due out from Kensington in December:

Gemma Murphy has a nose for a story--even if the boys in Chicago's newsrooms would rather focus on her chest. So when she runs into a handsome man of mystery discussing how to save the world from fancy-pants Brit conspirators, she's sensing a scoop. Especially when he mentions there's magic involved. Of course, getting him on the record would be easier if he hadn't caught her eavesdropping...

Catullus Graves knows what it's like to be shut out: his ancestors were slaves. And he's a genius inventor with appropriately eccentric habits, so even people who love him find him a little odd. But after meeting a certain red-headed scribbler, he's thinking of other types of science. Inconvenient, given that he needs to focus on preventing the end of the world as we know it. But with Gemma's insatiable curiosity sparking Catullus's inventive impulses, they might set off something explosive anyway....

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Margaret Mallory is thrilled to announce the release of KNIGHT OF PASSION, the third book in her medieval series, "All the King's Men." Available now, it recently received a 4 1/2 stars Top Pick from RT Book Reviews!

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Lisa Marie Wilkinson's debut novel FIRE AT MIDNIGHT won the IPPY (Independent Publishers Book Award) Gold Medal in the Romance Category. Congratulations!

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Jeannie Lin has received wonderful news as well! She just accepted a contract for two more Harlequin Historicals and two more shorts for Harlequin Historical Undone, all set in China. Look for Jeannie's Undone short story, "Warrior Bride," in September and her full-length debut, BUTTERFLY SWORDS, in October.

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Join us Sunday when Isabelle Santiago will be here to chat about her romantic murder mysteries set within the glamorous world of 1950s Hollywood. She'll also be giving away a copy of CINEMATIC ROYALTY to one lucky commenter! Be sure to join us then.

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We'll also draw the winner of Diane Whiteside's THE DEVIL SHE KNOWS guest appearance on Sunday. You still have time to leave a comment or question for your chance to win.

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Stay with us through the coming weeks when we'll be featuring the best unusual historical authors! Lindsay Townsend, Margaret Mallory, Carrie Lofty and Laura Navarre will be our guests. Join us!

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Have a good weekend! Remember, you don't have to be an Unusual Historicals contributor to submit good news to the weekend announcements. If it has to do with unusual historicals, we'd love to shout it out to the world! Send announcements to Carrie. See you next week...