Queen Anne Stuart- Part One- The Princess Bride by Rosemary Morris

For more information on Tangled Love please click here.



About Rosemary Morris

Every day my daily routine begins at six a.m. when I make a cup of herbal tea. After I drink it, I turn on the laptop. With time out to have breakfast I write – my goal is to write a minimum of 1,000 words a day – and deal with ‘writerly’ business, such as checking my emails, until 10 a.m.
Apart from the daily chores, housework, shopping, washing clothes etc., I am a keen organic gardener. During this month I plant out hardy cyclamen, pansies, primulas and wallflowers to provide winter colour, and bulbs to flower in late winter and spring. I also pot up bulbs and bring potted plants into the greenhouse to shelter from frost.
Autumn is the ‘season of mellow fruitfulness’ when I enjoy apples and pears from my organic garden where I also grow soft fruit, herbs, vegetables and ornamental shrubs and flowers.
After lunch I usually work for an hour on the laptop before I read fiction, or historical non-fiction to research my novels.
At around four p.m. I resume ‘writerly’ activities until eight p.m. unless I am otherwise engaged as I will be this evening when guys are burned, bonfires are lit, and fireworks spangle the night sky to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day.

Queen Anne Stuart
Part One
The Cinderella Princess

My novel, Tangled Love, is set in the reign of Queen Anne Stuart, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, a ‘Cinderella’ princess of little importance during her childhood.
When she was born, neither her uncle, Charles II, nor his younger brother, her father, James, Duke of York, could have foretold that she would become the last of the Stuart monarchs. Charles’ seven bastards proved his virility so there was every reason to believe he and his queen of three years would have legitimate heirs to the throne. In the unlikely event of their not producing one, his brother and sister-in-law, James and Anne, had produced an older brother and sister for the latest addition to their nursery, baby Anne.
In those days infant mortality was high. Anne and her older sister, Mary, survived the Great Plague which broke out in the year of Anne’s birth. The little princesses grew up in their nursery but their brother James, another brother and two little sisters died. One can imagine the effects of these deaths on ‘Cinderella’, a small girl with poor health whose weak eyes watered constantly.
With the king’s consent to have her eyes treated in France, her parents sent four-year-old Anne to her grandmother, widow of the executed Charles I.
As I write, I have before me a portrait of Anne as a small girl painted at the French court by an unknown artist. She is plump and adorable, dressed in brocade, playing with a King Charles spaniel. Her eyes are wary set in an oval face with a mouth shaped in a perfect cupid’s bow.
In 1699, after Anne’s grandmother died, the little girl passed into the care of her father’s sister, Henrietta Maria, Duchess of Orleans, whom Anne’s uncle, the King of England doted on. One year later, five-year-old ‘Cinderella’ had to cope with yet another death, this time that of her aunt, whose husband, younger brother of the French king, was suspected of poisoning her. Anne returned to England, her eyes only slightly improved. By then her mother was unpopular because she had converted to the Church of Rome. Anne’s father gave serious consideration to his salvation. He took Holy Communion from a papist priest. The decisions ‘Cinderella’s parents’ made would have a long-term effect on the young Princess Anne’s future.

Extract from Tangled Love
Prologue – 1693

Author’s Note The heroine is another Cinderella who goes from riches to rags.

“Nine-year-old Richelda Shaw sat on the floor in her nursery. She pulled a quilt over her head to block out the thunder pealing outside the ancient manor house, while an even fiercer storm raged deep within. Eyes closed, she remained as motionless as a marble statue.
Elsie, her mother’s personal maid, removed the quilt from her head. “Stand up child, there’s nothing to be frightened of. Come, your father’s waiting for you.
Richelda trembled. Until now Father’s short visits from France meant gifts and laughter. This one made Mother cry while servants spoke in hushed tones.
Followed by Elsie, Richelda hurried down the broad oak stairs. For a moment, she paused to admire Lilies of the Valley in a Delft bowl. Only yesterday, she had picked the flowers to welcome Father home, and then arranged them with tender care. Now, the bowl stood on a chest, beneath a pair of crossed broadswords hanging on the wall.
Elsie opened the massive door of the great hall where Father waited at one side of an enormous hearth. Richelda hesitated. Her eyes searched for her mother before she walked across the floor, spread her skirts wide, and knelt before him.
Father placed his right hand on her bent head. “Bless you, daughter; may God keep you safe.”
He smiled. “Stand up, child. Upon my word, sweetheart, your hair reminds me of a golden rose. How glad I am to see roses bloom in these troubled times.”
Richelda stood but dared not speak, for she did not know him well.
Putting an arm round her waist, he drew her to him. “Come, do not be nervous of your father, child. Tell me if you know King James II holds court in France while his daughter, Mary, and William, his son-in-law, rule, after seizing his throne?”
“Yes, Mother told me we are well rid of King James and his Papist wife,” she piped up, proud of her knowledge.
With a sigh, Father lifted her onto his knee. “Richelda, I must follow His Majesty, for I swore an oath of allegiance to him. Tell me, child, while King James lives, how can I with honour swear allegiance to his disloyal daughter and her husband?” Unable to think of a reply, she lowered her head, breathing in his spicy perfume.
Father held her closer. “Your mother pleads with me to declare myself for William and Mary. She begs me not to return to France, but I am obliged to serve King James. Do you understand?”
As she nodded, her cheek brushed against his velvet coat. “Yes, I understand, my tutor told me why many gentlemen will not serve the new king and queen.”
“If you remain in England, you will be safe. Bellemont is part of your mother’s dowry, so I doubt it will be confiscated.”
If she remained in England! Startled, she stared at him.

Five Star Review of Tangled Love

Rosemary Morris has crafted a superb novel set in the Queen Anne time-period in London. The historical details are accurately researched and artfully presented, making excellent use of vivid sensory details. Further, the characters spring to life, each fully moulded into his or her unique personality.
Bound by a childhood promise made to her father, protagonist Richelda faces tough challenges nearly a decade later. Poor and now orphaned, she dreams of a better future with all the trappings of the good life. But, to keep her promise, she must regain the ancestral home, Field House, which is said to contain hidden treasure. Her vow to her father is sealed by a ruby ring that she wears on a chain around her neck--a constant reminder of her promise.
Dudley, her childhood sweetheart, plus the charismatic Viscount Lord Chesney, her suitor in an arranged marriage by her wealthy aunt, set the stage for Rachelda's doubts and uncertainties. Dudley won her heart years earlier, but is he all that he appears to be? Chesney, on the other hand, is the owner of Field House and could offer her the life she dreams about in her ancestral home. Further, Aunt Isobel has promised to make Richelda her heiress on the condition she does indeed marry Lord Chesney. Yet are her push-pull feelings for Chesney strong enough to merit a marriage vow? Throughout the story, Richelda never disappoints. She is spirited, fiercely independent, sweet, and loving--truly a three-dimensional character.
Author Rosemary Morris takes her readers gently by the hand and leads them down a highly entertaining pathway filled with love, intrigue, deceit, and mystery. Highly recommended. A winner!

Sil.

Novels by Rosemary Morris

Early 18th Century novels: Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, The Captain and The Countess
Regency Novels False Pretences, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child and Thursday’s Child.
Mediaeval Novel Yvonne Lady of Cassio. The Lovages of Cassio Book One
www.rosemarymorris.co.uk
http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary