by Christine Trent | Jun 1, 2017 | Podcast: The Queen is not Amused
Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Queen is not Amused. For our first journey with those weird and wonderful Victorians, spend a few minutes inside an undertaker’s shop. Experience what he does on a daily basis, learn about his greatest fear, and step...
by Christine Trent | May 10, 2017 | Historical Trivia
The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from June 20, 1837 until her death on January 22, 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, “refined sensibilities,” and national self-confidence for the United Kingdom. In Violet...
by Christine Trent | Apr 12, 2017 | Historical Trivia
The distinctive Victorian style of layout for advertisements showcased extreme variations of type size and weight, all crammed within the page format, was an invention of expedience, allowing the printer to utilize every inch of precious space. Another distinction...
by Christine Trent | Mar 8, 2017 | Christine Shares
One of the most common questions I am ever asked is: What motivates your writing? My answer: Deadlines. The second most common question is: How many words do you write each day? My answer: ???? I’m never quite sure how to answer this one, because my writing process...
by Christine Trent | Feb 16, 2017 | Historical Trivia
With the recent release of the Queen Victoria miniseries on PBS there has been an increased interest in Her Majesty. The Lady of Ashes fans are familiar from reading about Violet Harper’s acquaintance with Her Majesty that the Queen has many thoughts, spanning many...
by Christine Trent | Jan 15, 2017 | Interesting Places in Great Britain
In 2013, I visited Osborne House, in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, a short Red Funnel ferry ride from Portsmouth. I specifically wanted to visit Osborne House to see if I had gotten details correct for it in LADY OF ASHES. I seem to always be visiting...
by Christine Trent | Jan 1, 2017 | Interesting Places in Great Britain
Longleat is one of the most fascinating places in Wiltshire, England. Actually, you can’t call it a “place,” as it is really three different things: The House First and foremost, it is the home of Alexander Thynn, the 7th Marquess of Bath. A very...
by Christine Trent | Dec 15, 2016 | Interesting Places in Great Britain
For those who have read both LADY OF ASHES and STOLEN REMAINS, you know that Windsor Castle is a large royal residence where Prince Albert died on December 14, 1861. Today it is the preferred weekend home of Elizabeth II, but Queen Victoria thought it gloomy,...
by Christine Trent | Dec 1, 2016 | Historical Trivia
William Ewart Gladstone was born December 29, 1809, and became prime minister for the first time on December 9, 1868, just before his 59th birthday. He would enter parliament for the fourth and last time in 1892, at the age of 82! Prior to his election as prime...
by Christine Trent | Nov 15, 2016 | Historical Trivia
The entire plot basis for A GRAVE CELEBRATION was the opening of the Suez Canal in Egypt. The canal was the brainchild of Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805—1894), a Frenchman with a varied and distinguished diplomatic career before successfully completing a...
