Today I have the pleasure in welcoming Eve Edwards, author of the wonderful, The Other Countess, which I reviewed earlier today. Eve has a doctorate from Oxford University and enjoys researching historical fiction. She has visited Tudor houses, attended jousts and eaten Elizabethan banquets to get the sights, sounds and tastes right for The Other Countess. She currently lives in Oxford and is married with three children.
I have read and reviewed The Other Countess and thought it was a really wonderful book. You can read my review HERE. Also, don’t forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post.
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The Past is another country – but fortunately full of attractive young men…
When deciding to set a Young Adult novel in the Elizabethan period, one of the first things I did was to go looking for a hero in contemporary portraits. Thankfully, haircuts had improved vastly since the medieval pudding bowl cut that the noblemen of the Plantagenet period sported – it would’ve been hard to imagine a girl falling in love with someone who favoured that style. In fact, the more I looked at the Tudor pictures, the more I realized that many of the men of the period would still turn heads today. Take Walter Raleigh – there is a very attractive miniature of him that captures his wicked twinkle – quite the baddest boy at court for a time. That gave him an immediate all sectors pass in to my novel and he plays a key role in the plot. Hilliard’s famous ‘Portrait of a Young Man leaning against a tree’ captures a more wistful type, displaying an uncommonly long set of legs (the Elizabethans liked their shapely calves on the men and designed clothes to show them off). For the more serious, there’s the dark-eyed allure of Robert Dudley, Elizabeth’s great love. For those who like their heroes rugged, Sir Francis Drake is the ultimate man-of-action. Sit back and enjoy!
The queen was jealous of her own role as the jewel at the centre of her court, so had many more men around her than women, which was partly why I chose to focus The Other Countess on a family consisting mainly of brothers: Will, the earl; Jamie, his military-minded brother (subject of the next book); and Tobias, the witty youngest brother. But as this is a romance, I had to dream up a heroine who could be an interesting match for my impoverished nobleman. The answer was Ellie – half Spanish at a time when tensions were building with that country, and saddled with a father who was more like a child than his own daughter. Reading books on the nobility of the period, I came across the obsession some men developed with alchemy – in particular, the belief that you could make gold from other substances. Families were literally ruined in this futile search for the secret formula. It struck me as being very like a modern addiction to drugs or maybe gambling with the sufferer losing all perspective in the hunt for the next ‘fix’. Put this in a context where a father had complete authority over his child, and Ellie is left in a very difficult place indeed – but a good place to start a story.
And what about the life at court? Did you know that jousting was still in fashion? No longer a serious method used in warfare (the firearm put an end to the superiority of the armoured knight), it had become an elite sport given all manner of gallant ceremonies, a lush backdrop for the first few steps in Will and Ellie’s love affair. I had great fun imagining what it was like to be a participant (Will’s feelings are somewhat mixed on the subject as he risks his neck to impress the court). Fortunately, I was helped in this endeavour by a local joust (yes, really) at Blenheim Palace – boy, does it look scary as they hurtle towards each other, even when you know it has been choreographed!
And my final bit of research was to participate in a Tudor banquet at Christchurch College – no forks, no ‘modern’ food like potatoes, and soup served in a ‘mess’ – shared between those in reach. Everything was surprisingly sweet – minced lamb with raisins for example – very tasty but very foreign to modern palates. I hope you get a sense of the sights, tastes, sounds and smells of the period if you read the book. Let me know what you think.
Thank you Eve!
You can find out more about the author on her website www.eve-edwards.co.uk
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GIVEAWAY!
[NOW CLOSED]
I have 5 (FIVE) signed copies of The Other Countess to giveaway away courtesy of Penguin. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment for the author and then fill out this form! – how easy is that!
There will be five winners: 4 (FOUR) from the UK (sent direct from publisher) and 1 (ONE) International (sent by me). Ends Saturday 3rd July 8am GMT. Only one entry per person please – duplicate/multiple entries will be disqualified.
GOOD LUCK!
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Next up on ’10 Fun Days of YA Fiction’: Review of Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce tomorrow!
70 Comments
I always find that I enjoy a book more when the author has done their research and been able to incorporate some true facts into the text.
I am sure your book will do well
Carol t
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
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Hi
Really admire the amount of research that goes into your books.
Do you think that you would have liked the life at court?
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From what I`ve read below, this looks like a well-researched novel written by someone who knows the period. I`ve read books that take place during the Regency era and Victorian period, but I`ve never read Elizabethan. I`m sure that it will be interesting. This book is certainly going on my to-be-read list.
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I love stories that are set in historical background and this really sounds interesting. I hope I get to win a book.
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I love the fact that you chose to write about the Elizabethan period for a young adult novel. Also, you researching information on that, it helps to know that I would be reading some facts, which is quite educational for children and myself.
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This book seems great. I really enjoyed it's review.
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i would LOVE to review that it looks really good.
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I love the Tudor period! I basically became a history major because Henry VIII fascinated me. Your research sounds like such fun!
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I am in for that international win. I had to cos I do like the sound of this book, and I love that cover…and yes I go by covers, lol. Gotta fill in that form now
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I've yet to read a YA for this time period. "The Other Countess" sounds wonderful!
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Sounds like your research was really fun! I love the sound of this book.
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Wow, you really did your research! I like the sound of the book & I'm big fan of historicals, so I'm looking forward reading it!
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sounds good, and the cover looks really nice….if i dont win i will search the next book shop for it anyway
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my favourite period of history for fact and fiction. will love to read this
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You are a new to me author, which I love finding. I like that there are YA's that are historical. Awesome interview, I really enjoyed it.
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
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I enjoy historicals and I think the Elizabethan period was a fascinating time.
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Great book for a giveaway! Also, I like it that the author researched the subject. This means a lot to me. And, this time period is just amazing.
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Accurate historical novels are always fascinating.
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I'm a Tudor history geek, absolutely love books about that period in time.
Hope the book does well!
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This book sounds really interesting! Thank you very much for making this contest international!
I can't wait to read it!
Giada M.
fabgiada (at) gmail (dot) com
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Wow it sounds like you did a lot of research for your story! As a reader and writer, I really appreciate that
Thanks so much for making one of the books international (never thought *I* would be an international participant LOL!)
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Hehe, I love what she said about the men. I agree about the terrible hair of earlier times!
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I like what she said about men! This book looks really good and I hope to read it!
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This book sounds fantastic and I've only heard great things about it, so excited to read!
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Hi! thanks for the chance, I want this books, looks great, please enter me.
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Really interesting to read about your process of research! I'm a big historical fiction fan, so definitely entering to win this one, although I'll be reading it either way!
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I'd love to win this book, it sounds great! I would have loved to see some jousting and eat at an Elizabethan banquet, that sounds like a lot of fun!
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Sounds like you did a lot of research!! I can't wait to see it in the book. That is way cool that you went to a Tudor banquet. Thanks for the giveaway!!
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The book looks great! I haven't read a hisorical YA novel before, but the story sounds interesting and the cover is pretty.
Cassandra
cc932005[at]hotmail[dot]com
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I never read a YA historical.This could be a very great book indeed.In fact, I love the cover.It's pretty!
I'm in for international ;p
darlyn225 at gmail dot com
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Wow! This sounds amazing. I really want to read this!
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I love the research Eve did, sounds a lot of fun! I'll definitely be looking out for the book.
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I love the sound of the title, the story and the look of the cover! YA historical fiction is also my cup of tea.
Loved the guest post and wow, that's a lot of research. Her research sounds like fun too but I know it's hard work.
Thanks for the giveaway!
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This book sounds wonderful!
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This book sounds fantastic. I love all this books written under your other name and I've been waiting for this one since I first heard about it.
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This sounds like a really well-researched book. The description and your review make it sound really good, I wouldn't mind reading this.
Never thought I'd be entering an international contest, though, being in the U.S. First time for everything, I suppose!
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I really love historicals and this one sounds really good!
mittens0831 at aol dot com
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Hi Happy Fox – this is Eve here. And hi to everyone else – thanks for your messages. In answer, no, I think I would have been terrible at court, a twenty-first century woman me and the sixteenth century men and women then – a horrid clash!
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It's good to hear you did a ton of research. It's fun to read some factual information while enjoying a fictional novel
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Ok Well I found out about this contest through the author website
And I've read previous books by you under a different pen name and I just wanted to let you know that I LOVE LOVE YOUR BOOKS and your one of my greatest inspirations.
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I can't wait to read this booh, it looks really interesting, and I know that Eve Edwards is a great author! Can't wait to read something new from her
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It sounds like Eve had a lot of fun researching for this book – I'd love to go to a jousting tournament & the Tudor banquet sounds intriguing!
I love the sound of this book so thanks for the chance to win a copy
)
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I am so jealous I would love to go participate in a Tudor Banquet!
What fun research!
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I'd like to enter too. I'm an international reader.
spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com
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I like historical books that you can tell the author researched a lot to make it real.
As you say, it would be difficult to imagine falling in love with a men using that kind of haircuts!
I would love to go to a Elizabethan banquet, that way I could use one of those pretty dresses
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This book sounds great! I think life in court isn't that easy, especially with all the politics and mind games.
aikychien at yahoo dot com
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ROFLMAO I have to agree that its reeeeeeeeeeally difficult for someone to fall for a guy who as a putting bowl cut XD
This book looks really good, Im pretty sure it will do well ^_~ By the way I love the cover
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Sounds like a really interesting book. Can't wait to read it!
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This sounds like a fabulous read!
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Just love historical novels – always admire the amount of research that is put into them to keep them factually correct.
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I love to read well researched books, so this sounds good.
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i'm fascinated by historical novels
the tudor period is remarkable in that the sweetness of the food caused various disorders within the rich elite of the day henrys obesity and daughter elizabeths black teeth(if she actually had any left)are examples. i would
love to read your novel just to see your view of the period but am thankfull that dentistry and medicine have moved forward.
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Ive always been fascinated by the Tudor period of history, so I would love this series!
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I haven't read anything like this before but it does sound good.
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Do you think the portraits of the time truly reflected the look of the sitter, or was there a bit of artistic licence a la Holbein's Anne of Cleves?
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Look like it is a really good read, something with a bit of substance
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Really enjoy reading historical fiction.
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A Tudor banquet sounds like a lot of fun! I'm definitely looking forward to your novel
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I've seen the jousting at Blenheim too, it was fun:) I like the way you went about preparing for your book, it's important to have a fanciable hero!
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Absolutely LOVE Tudor history. I have put this on my wishlist.
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Love historical books.
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Wow – this sounds great! It must have been great fun doing all the research – and I bet the kids loved it too!
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I love the sound of this book and I love the way its a period piece too, would love to read it.
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Looks like a 'must read' book to buy. Look forward to reading it!
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I love reading historical fiction. As well as enjoying a good read, you also get to learn some interesting historical facts and it makes history a little less dry for me. I then love to visit the places and castles described in such novels.
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Love reading well researched historical book.
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I like the idea of a YA book set in Elizabethan times. And your remark on looking at portrets for your hero made me smile
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I am always looking for new ideas for books to read so thank you for giving me a new option.
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Sounds like you did a lot of research
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I love it qhen authors do their research, it shows how much work and love they put in what they write.
The book sounds interesting, I hope I can get a book.
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