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How do you hang an earl for murder?

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Misfit
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How do you hang an earl for murder?

Post by Misfit » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 12:32 am

OK, no book name shall be mentioned. A powerful earl with an unhappy marriage comes home to confront his wife for being pregnant with another man's child and finds the home in flames and barely gets out with his life - but the wife is dead. Wife's family is super powerful and determined to see him charged, convicted and hanged for the murder - but it's two years later and he's still trying to find proof and as best as I understand it he hasn't even been charged. Oh and if he is convicted they all say he'll be hanged at Tyburn.

Thoughts?

PS, said earl's love interest is the daughter of a local shopkeeper (a book seller, so extra points there). They get thrown together in an unexpected manner, but it's insta love (or more to the point at first, insta lust), and but end of book the earl can't do without her and has proposed marriage with hardly an eyebrow being raised, even by the earl's staff.

Help, help.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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lauragill
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Post by lauragill » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 5:34 am

[quote=""Misfit""]OK, no book name shall be mentioned. A powerful earl with an unhappy marriage comes home to confront his wife for being pregnant with another man's child and finds the home in flames and barely gets out with his life - but the wife is dead. Wife's family is super powerful and determined to see him charged, convicted and hanged for the murder - but it's two years later and he's still trying to find proof and as best as I understand it he hasn't even been charged. Oh and if he is convicted they all say he'll be hanged at Tyburn.

Thoughts?

PS, said earl's love interest is the daughter of a local shopkeeper (a book seller, so extra points there). They get thrown together in an unexpected manner, but it's insta love (or more to the point at first, insta lust), and but end of book the earl can't do without her and has proposed marriage with hardly an eyebrow being raised, even by the earl's staff.

Help, help.[/quote]

Wouldn't an earl be dispatched by beheading? Hanging was for commoners.

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 12:22 pm

Sounds like a frolic with vaguely historical wallpaper.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 12:58 pm

[quote=""EC2""]Sounds like a frolic with vaguely historical wallpaper.[/quote]

You should seen the rave review its getting :confused:

Forgot to mention the era - 1830s.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 1:00 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]You should seen the rave review its getting :confused:

Forgot to mention the era - 1830s.[/quote]

I guess it depends on the readership..
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 1:28 pm

[quote=""EC2""]I guess it depends on the readership..[/quote]

Found this on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privilege_of_peerage

For me the lack of barriers between the classes was the biggest bugaboo. I need to stop getting books from vine and just wait for library. The 100% rule makes it hard to DNF and move on.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 2:09 pm

Ah, it was a Vine read, not one of your oldies? That's interesting! I don't have any Vine reads at the moment beyond cookery books, and so far largely positive!
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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EC2
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Post by EC2 » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 2:13 pm

[quote=""Misfit""]Found this on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privilege_of_peerage

For me the lack of barriers between the classes was the biggest bugaboo. I need to stop getting books from vine and just wait for library. The 100% rule makes it hard to DNF and move on.[/quote]

Yes re the class barriers. A writer friend of mine married a peer - she was working class, and she found the class barriers very difficult to deal with in terms of attitudes of others, and in the end they were a contributary to the break up of the marriage. I think this would be the late 1950's or early 1960's.
Les proz e les vassals
Souvent entre piez de chevals
Kar ja li coard n’I chasront

'The Brave and the valiant
Are always to be found between the hooves of horses
For never will cowards fall down there.'

Histoire de Guillaume le Mareschal

www.elizabethchadwick.com

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 3:15 pm

[quote=""EC2""]Ah, it was a Vine read, not one of your oldies? That's interesting! I don't have any Vine reads at the moment beyond cookery books, and so far largely positive![/quote]

Although there's plenty of wallpaper in some of the older books as well. You just never know - and that's half the fun discovering it. I can understand why they implemented the 100% rule, but it's going to go down hard with books. I suspect there's going to be a lot more DNF reviews. Pushing to finish a book that isn't working well can just make me hate it more.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Sun November 3rd, 2013, 3:21 pm

[quote=""EC2""]Yes re the class barriers. A writer friend of mine married a peer - she was working class, and she found the class barriers very difficult to deal with in terms of attitudes of others, and in the end they were a contributary to the break up of the marriage. I think this would be the late 1950's or early 1960's.[/quote]

And would be a lot worse 100 or so years before. I think the readers that are gushing over this are those used to what's coming out as regency in today's market, and having a darker Jane Eyre-ish brooding hero plus a heroine with a brain is a refreshing change.

Side note, this author is quite popular in other genres, but did write a couple of HR's back in the 90s. I finished one (barely), and abandoned the other after a few chapters. Should have learned my lesson, but no... :o :(
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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