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Military uniforms of Imperial Russia during Russo-Japanese War

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Yup, my current research!

Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia 1915

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Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei of Russia

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Mary explained it very well (hand-waving the slightly murky issue of consent on screen during the scene): she was in lust. She was practically on the verge of exploding when she first clapped eyes on Pamuk. Then there's her personality: she likes to pretend she's braver and more progressive than she actually is, hence her running through the servants entrance with the Duke of Crowborough, riding to hounds with men, being the belle of the ball, deliberately beguiling every man she meets, etc.

Curiosity+desire+need to live up to her image=Pamuk!

Did the Pamuk affair ring true?

To,this day, I can’t fathom why Mary wouldn’t have let out an ear piercing scream when she found Pamuk in her bedroom. I found it hard to believe that she would allow this stranger (she just met him that afternoon) into her bed. And, even more troubling to me was that she must have believed Pamuk when he told her she would still remain a virgin for her husband. How was that supposed to happen? Once you’ve had intercourse, there is no turning back. You’ve lost virginity. Period.

Was Pamuk that irresistible. He was tall, dark and handsome (though I much rather prefer a blonde and blue eyed gentleman.) But, since Mary showed distaste for a man who she considered “full of himself prior to meeting the Turkish diplomat, I don’t see how she could tolerate him. Did he believe Mary would fall at his feet when he showed up uninvited?

I, personally, found Pamuk to be an arrogant and conceited predator. He did manipulate Mary into sleeping with him by saying he would telling her family she invited him in. Grrrrrrr….

I’m glad Pamuk got,his just desserts.

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I'm feeling like Dr. Frankenstein as I revise my MS for the fifth or sixth time. I've ripped out scenes, stitched a few into new ones, moved pieces around until they snap into place, and have discovered new, punchier scenes to up the romantic tension. The best thing about this is that it's actually fun. I don't feel bored or burdened by reworking this 98k novel, and am anticipating the amazing story emerging from this go around. I am also quite glad that I've spent an entire year on this book. Each time I've gone back over it, it's improved, which serves me well for the next book.

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A married women's ball is the latest social sensation, and the idea, full of ill omen for the pretty debutante and the popular spinster of more mature age, owed its birth to Lady Colebrooke and Mrs. George Keppel. The twin hostesses chose the Ritz Hotel as the scene of their operations, and they hit on the hospitable device of entertaining the whole of their guests at dinner before the dance.

-- The Sketch (July 17, 1907)

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Professor Christine Hallett - Angels of No Man's Land

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The Wizard Behind the Curtain

The Veronica Roth/Allegiant controversy, and the subsequent barrage of tweets and blog posts about author responsibility, reader reactions, book/genre promises, etc etc seemed like the tip of the iceberg pertaining the close and often uncomfortable…

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The fascinating borrow history of my book on WWI home front. First check out Oct 21, 1929 - last check out Nov 15, 2001.

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This is the role that made me fall absolutely in love with Matthew Goode!!!

Matthew Goode. Dancing on the Edge 1.01

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I need the new season in my life!

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Ghosts of WWI

A soldier frying food in a large frying pan over a brazier made of a tin drum with holes cut in it.…

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Historical Romance Week: Erica Monroe - Darkness Brings Light

“I write dark, gritty romances set in the London slums,” I say to a woman who owns a trinket shop…

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Historical Romance Week: Erin Satie - Chicken or Chess

A lot of craft discussions focus on how to amp up the tension in a novel. What’s the recipe for…

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Historical Romance Week: Genevieve Turner - Why Historical Romance?

  Why historical romance?

If you were to go to the museum devoted to the life and discoveries of…

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Hmm...I don't really characterize Agnes/Victor as part of the boy-next-door trope. I see her liaison with Henri stemming from sexual desire and her desire to rise in the world. Henri is cultured, French, and urbane--and also in charge of his own department--whereas Victor is just a waiter with dreams of being in charge. Agnes turns to Victor at the end of season 1 after Henri burns her--after her ambition burns her--but it's only for a temporary salve her wounds.

Also, Victor is just as "foreign" as Henri. Though he is working class like Agnes, he is clearly Italian, and if they did not work at Selfridges, I'm sure he and Agnes would have never crossed paths (which, incidentally, is why I like the show--the microcosm of the department store throws together disparate people in a way a country estate [like Downton] does not).

Warning: The article below includes spoilers for the finale of Mr. Selfridge.

We’ve all seen the story: Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl, but girl isn’t so sure. Then girl meets another boy. Perhaps this man is foreign, perhaps he is rich, or perhaps he’s a real Casanova. Whatever the...

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Julian Fellowes has gone on record to declare Edith as "unlucky" (grrr), so you may be right. And she may never get any happy romantic ending if that's the case.

Ah well--I'm glad that Edith is the type to bounce back and charge forward no matter what life throws at her, and that the 1920s now allows her to do so. That's better than being worn down by life's disappointments.

About Edith’s future with Michael Gregson. The latest interview with Charles Edwards hints at the fact that Gregson may have a “chequered past” and that his “manuevering” to win her family’s support somehow hints at a less than salubrious character. I get the whole older man-with-a-past attraction...