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Hello from a newbie!

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erzibetta
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Joined: March 2009
Location: Somerset.
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Hello from a newbie!

Post by erzibetta » Wed March 18th, 2009, 4:42 pm

Hello, I have just joined and so thought that I should take the plunge and introduce myself! :)

I have been a fan of historical fiction for as long as I can remember - I was raised by my grandparents who banned me from reading most children's books and so I had no option but to read my grandmother's enormous collection of historical fiction which was mostly Plaidy, Heyer, Margaret Irwin, Anya Seton and similar. I think I read 'Crown by Candlelight' about a million times and was obsessed with 'Forever Amber' and the 'Catherine' series by Juliette Benzoni! I could have turned out to be quite interesting, having read such literature during my formative years but alas although I do have red hair (a bonus in a heroine), I am not particularly heroine like!

These days I am still passionate about historical fiction and especially like Sharon Penman, *some* Philippa Gregory (I find her a bit hit or miss and it sometimes feels like she is rushing her books too much), Sandra Gulland, Catherine Delors and Karleen Koen. I will read pretty much anything that is set in England and France between the fifteenth and early nineteenth centuries with my favourite period being the French Revolution. I also enjoy the occasional excursion into Italian history - I really enjoyed 'Leonardo's Swans' by Karen Essex, for instance. I think my first love will always be Georgette Heyer though.

Like pretty much everyone these days, I am working on my own book but am too shy and unsure about ability to ever attempt publication. I am writing it online in blog form as a hobby (it is great for whiling away those long hours nursing my five month old and gives me something other than nappies to think about!) and it can be found here: http://www.versailles.org.uk/blog.

I know it is desperately tedious but it is about the early years of Marie Antoinette's life and focusses on her life before she became Queen of France, which is a period generally covered in only a couple of pages in most biographies. Writing a 'diary' novel about Marie Antoinette has to be THE most hackneyed premise for a book ever but I am really enjoying myself and am finding that it isn't just readers of books who can enjoy a bit escapism. :)

Anyway, hello and sorry for the essay. I don't often come across like minded people. :)
"You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is." - Anne of Green Gables.

http://madameguillotine.org.uk

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boswellbaxter
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Location: North Carolina
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Post by boswellbaxter » Wed March 18th, 2009, 4:49 pm

Welcome! Enjoyed looking at your blog (which I didn't find tedious at all)!
Susan Higginbotham
Coming in October: The Woodvilles


http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/
http://www.susanhigginbotham.com/blog/

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erzibetta
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Location: Somerset.
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Post by erzibetta » Wed March 18th, 2009, 5:04 pm

Thank you! That is really kind! I actually follow your blog as well and really enjoy it! :)
"You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is." - Anne of Green Gables.

http://madameguillotine.org.uk

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Misfit
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Wed March 18th, 2009, 5:12 pm

Hi and welcome. Another blog for the feeder....
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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Leyland
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Joined: August 2008
Location: Travelers Rest SC

Post by Leyland » Wed March 18th, 2009, 5:35 pm

Welcome to HFO - we're glad to meet you. I started reading well ahead of my age starting around 8 or so, and was reading such scandalous 'bodice rippers' as The Wolf and the Dove by age 14. Anyway, I never had much interest in childrens' books either and got whatever adult section novels I wanted to read at the library with little interference from parents or librarians. Reading Anya Seton's Katherine in high school was one of the best things that ever happened to me!

And I look forward to exploring your blog.
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

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erzibetta
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Location: Somerset.
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Post by erzibetta » Wed March 18th, 2009, 5:41 pm

Thank you! :)

Oh gosh, I was going to mention 'The Wolf and the Dove' in my original post as I can remember reading it when I was far, FAR too young to be doing so (about eight or nine) and I think it may have left a lasting impression on me. I will never forget the moment when the Norman hero (what was his name again?) came down the stairs and revealed for the first time that actually he had been able to speak and understand Saxon English *all along*. Oh the shame! ;D

By lasting impression, I mean floridity of language and um attraction to tall, dark French speaking men with an air of quiet authority not um any of the rest of it. ;)

Another formative book was 'Wideacre', which I remember reading at age fourteen and then passing around the rest of my class at school in the manner of 'Forever' and 'Flowers in the Attic'.
"You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is." - Anne of Green Gables.

http://madameguillotine.org.uk

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sweetpotatoboy
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Posts: 1641
Joined: August 2008
Location: London, UK

Post by sweetpotatoboy » Wed March 18th, 2009, 5:56 pm

Welcome to the forum. Good to have you here.

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Vanessa
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Posts: 4378
Joined: August 2008
Currently reading: The Farm at the Edge of the World by Sarah Vaughan
Interest in HF: The first historical novel I read was Katherine by Anya Seton and this sparked off my interest in this genre.
Favourite HF book: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell!
Preferred HF: Any
Location: North Yorkshire, UK

Post by Vanessa » Wed March 18th, 2009, 6:02 pm

Hi Erzibetta

Hello and welcome to the board! Hope you enjoy it here.

I enjoyed Leonardo's Swans and am a fan of Georgette Heyer. I think my first big historical fiction read was Katherine when I was about 14 or 15, which I would really love to re-read one day. Victoria Holt was a favourite of mine in my mid teens - still enjoy her books!
currently reading: My Books on Goodreads

Books are mirrors, you only see in them what you already have inside you ~ The Shadow of the Wind

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Wed March 18th, 2009, 7:33 pm

Welcome to the forum Erzibetta! We are always glad to have more likeminded people joining us!
My Blog - Reading Adventures

All things Historical Fiction - Historical Tapestry


There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

Edith Wharton

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MLE (Emily Cotton)
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Posts: 3566
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Wed March 18th, 2009, 8:03 pm

Hello and welcome. Your story is a bit different -- I've heard of not being allowed to read 'grown-up' books, but never a child not being allowed to read children's books! Although I find that most avid readers start with the general fiction around 10 or so. I know I did.

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