LIVING THE HISTORY: Published Today!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Published Today!

I'm in the middle of writing a longer post about the whereabouts of Newbury Castle, which I'll post the middle of next week just prior to the publication of A PLACE BEYOND COURAGE in paperback. But in the interim I am delighted to say that it's official publication day for THE TIME OF SINGING and it's featured as Historical book of the month at the Books Monthly website here.
http://www.booksmonthly.co.uk/historical.html
My publishers have very kindly sent me a bottle of Moet & Chandon, so I will be toasting Roger Bigod and Ida de Tosney this evening.

In other news, a reader wrote to me to tell me he'd been studying a particular genealogy and it turns out that my beloved Marshal men, John and William are the several times great grandfathers of two fascinating and famous Tudor women - Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. How interesting. Blood will out I guess!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...: congratulations! i can't wait to read the book :); 6:42 pm
Carla said...: Congratulations!; 11:17 am
Gabriele Campbell said...: And there's the entire head on the cover. :)

Congrats on the release.; 5:18 pm
Jane Henry said...: Brill! Can't wait to read it. And I know the Tudors AREN'T your thing, but given that they ARE mine, and you've made me love William Marshal (sorry haven't got to John yet!) that's a connection I rather likexxx; 5:32 pm
Katherine said...: Congratulations!! Can't wait to read it. It's already gotten a good reader review on Amazon.co.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2ZACH5VQY6Z8A/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?%5Fencoding=UTF8&ASIN=1847440975&nodeID=266239#wasThisHelpful; 7:15 pm
Tess said...: Ooooh - congratulations!!! Is it still as exciting each time?

And how lovely of your pub to send you the Moet!!

I'll have to check to see when it will be pubbed here on this side of the pond :); 5:04 pm
Tess said...: Me again - wow, it will be here before Christmas. I know what will be tops on my list!; 5:06 pm
Carla said...: Congratulations! Looking forward to reading it; 10:49 am
Satima Flavell said...: Congratulations on another baby, Elizabeth! And you know, John and William are almost certainly in your tree, too. Even though the boys left no heirs, William's daughters were prolific breeders. They are all in my tree, and I only have one line (on the wrong sside of the blanket, of course!)linking me to the medieval nobility. If you have time to do your own tree in between your marvellous books, you could well find a link back to not only the MARSHALL tribe but the BIGODS and lots of other fascinating people, too. All you need is one link into the medieval nobility and voila - you're suddenly related to half the characters in Shakespeare's histories, just for a start.:-); 2:26 pm
Holly said...: Congratulations congratulations!

Holly
www.wondersandmarvels.com; 2:32 am
Kemberlee said...: Congratulations on the new book being published. Can't wait to pick up a copy. Lovely recreation of Stitching the Standard by Edmund Blair Leighton.; 4:00 pm

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

" Wow! I feel like someone used to watching movies in black and white but has just seen the first one in technicolor! " A personal letter from a reader.

"The Winter Crown ...will, I have no doubt, become the definitive fictional account of this remarkable woman.' ..." I’ve read a fair few fictional depictions of Henry II over the years and I must say that his portrait in The Winter Crown has the most authentic feel of them all."
Kate Atherton, author of For Winters Night blog.

"Eeanor’s life story has been told many times over in historical novels but rarely with such insight, emotional intensity and page-turning readability." Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post.

"In the world of the arts, the Black Legend and the Golden Myth still hold sway, as seen in novels, such as Alison Weir's, which seek to portray both the scandalous, adulterous queen of legend and the powerful female ruler. Historians may shake their heads at the perpetuation of such myths, but many historical novelists such as Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends that surround Eleanor."

Professor Michael R. Evans in Inventing Eleanor - Bloomsbury Academic.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SUMMER QUEEN

"What I loved about this novel, and I have felt this way about all of Elizabeth’s novels that I have read, is that she does not pander to stereotypes or write scandal for the sake of it. The historical Eleanor is defamed beyond belief- a whore chasing anything in trousers, a woman who committed incest with her uncle, a woman who was ‘ahead of her time’, and so on. Elizabeth’s Alienor is none of these things. She is treated fairly, as a woman of her own time, written in a believable way. Elizabeth does not go for scandal because she does not need to- the writing in this novel makes that very clear. Her scene setting is lovely, her character development top notch, and the book is a compulsive page turner. I couldn’t put it down." Sarah Bell

."The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." Kate Atherton, blogger.

"I have read just about everything I can about Eleanor and enjoyed both biographical and fictional accounts of her life but I must say that your creation of Eleanor is the most compelling." Reader from Australia

"I loved the story; I loved the way the author wrote Alienor as a woman of her times instead of a thoroughly modern independent woman, or a slut in chase of anything in pants. As with all Chadwick novels, there's also the added plus of being sucked into another century with the sights, smells and sounds that wrap up a darn-near perfect reading experience. I couldn't put it down, and very sorry I'm going to have to wait for the next installment. Reader from the USA

"Meticulous research and strong storytelling." Woman & Home
"A rich and compelling read. " Candis Magazine

"I often see the expressions, `fleshing out the history' and `making it real', and they more than apply here...the main aspect that made me keep turning the pages and burning the midnight oil? The things that I didn't know about Alienor.." Reader from Australia

"Chadwick has succeeded where many other novelists have failed by giving us not just the legend but the very human young woman – intelligent, determined, witty and sexy." Pam Norfolk. Lancashire Evening Post.