LIVING THE HISTORY: December 2013

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF WILLIAM MARSHAL TOUR

Seasons Greetings everyone. May I wish all visitors to this blog peace, joy and harmony in their lives now and in the future.

During the Christmas break, I thought I'd post the url to the Footsteps of William Marshal Tour which is going to be taking place in October 2014. - Just in case any of you were planning a break!

The details are self explanatory in the url. But I've added some photographs taken on the same format tour in October 2012. It was so enjoyable. I loved meeting readers and people who were as keen to follow William Marshal's story as I was, and it was great to visit the places in England where he had lived, including parts of South Wales, which aren't always on the beaten path.
Here's an url to the PDF information. Footsteps of William Marshal Tour 2014
And also an url to ATA travel's website. ATA Travel Footsteps of William Marshal

You don't have to live in the US to take advantage of this tour. It's open to all comers and last time around we had a lovely international community. We're still in touch now.

Here are a few photos taken from the tour. I've not included faces (cept one of me) for privacy reasons, but you can get the gist of the scenery etc. They're not quite in order due to the nightmare formatting on blogger. This is just a few of the many. I'd be here all day posting the lot!

All best
Elizabeth x

Stonehenge as we passed on the coach

View from the walls of Old Sarum where William was a frequent
visitor and which he would have known very well as a little boy. This is
'Marshal' country.

Me at Old Sarum. It was one of the few days that it rained.

Banners at Salisbury Cathedral

Ceiling at Salisbury Cathedral

Later period statue at Salisbury but I like it anyway!

The tomb of William Longespee Salisbury Cathedral

Dray horses as we drove through Marlborough

Chepstow Castle - fab weather here!

Manorbier Castle - home of the dreaded Gerald of Wales, chronicler and
contemporary of William Marshal

One of the wonderful misercords from Cartmel Priory. A mermaild

Tintern Abbey - a magical place. Burial place of Isabel de Clare, wife
of William Marshal. Also of their children Mahelt, Walter and Ancel

Whittington Castle

Manorbier against a dramatic sky

The beach at Manorbier

More Tintern Abbey and the two below

PHOTOS FROM THE FOOTSTEPS OF WILLIAM MARSHAL TOUR 2012.

William Marshal's door at Chepstow Castle

Entrance to Cheptstow Castle

Story board at Whittington Castle

Tower of London

Chepstow Castle Again

Feasting still life at Pembroke Castle

My hotel room when we stayed overnight in Wiltshire

Bishops' amethyst and gold rings in the treasury of St. David's South Wales

The effigies of William Marshal and his son in stained glass morning light
at The Temple Church, London.

St. David's, South Wales

Inside the tower at Pembroke Castle

View from the hotel balcony at St Bride's Spa Saundersfoot where we were
based for our stay in South Wales. Decent weather again!
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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.