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In my 1754 novel, PURSUING GENEVIEVE, you will witness the pursuit of this young lady at this extraordinary palace, shown above. François I, the first King of France, began the building of it in 1515 when he was twenty-five years old. It was designed as a sumptuous pleasure palace and hunting lodge. The plan was to show off his extreme importance. I will add more of my photos here so you can picture your surroundings in the novel. The double helix staircase, or Le Grand Escalier designed by Leonardo da Vinci, is impossible to portray but in part because it rises for more than one level. Enjoy this taste of the ambience as you read the story.
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Lord Chesterfield invites Arabelle Lamar to stay in his new London mansion in my book, FORBIDDEN ARABELLE.
Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773) was an English writer and politician. He is famous for his letters of advice to his son, who was traveling on the Continent. Lord Chesterfield wrote: “Do as you would be done by is the surest method that I know of pleasing.” (1747) “Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the least.” (1748) “Knowledge may give weight, but accomplishments give luster, and many more people see than weigh.” (Published in "Maxims," 1774) In FORBIDDEN ARABELLE, you will read more of His Lordship’s actual words in his conversations. I find him quite fascinating. Here are pictures I took of Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire, where part of A HERO’S HEART is set. It's a charming old smuggling town. Click on each picture to see the entire scene. The tunnel in my story still exists at Weyfoot. You have to bend to venture into it, and dodge the sea water in it, and speak if you dare to hear the echoes of contraband smugglers of long ago. Some of the red-roofed houses that seem to tumble higgledy-piggledy from the high moor down to the sea actually tumbled, due to erosion. In one horrendous incident, sixty houses on the cliff top fell crashing into the North Sea! Many cleverly-constructed doors and hatches were built, leading from one house or inn to another, in concealed construction. It made it possible to load barrels and bundles from a ship and sneak them through the tunnel and through various passage doors. The goods would not see daylight until they arrived up on the moor, where donkeys waited to rush them away. You will be engaged in smuggling activity in this romantic adventure. The upper right picture shows the door of The Fisherman's Arms, where Tricia, Jewel, and Lady Caro stayed, and where the excitement of hiding took place. Click on BOOKS, DESCRIPTION, and FREE at the top of this page for more about A HERO’S HEART.
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