Sunday, February 9, 2014

Aloha to Christy English and MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK


Christy English joins me today to celebrate the recent release of MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK, bringing the Bard to Regency England.  She offers a peak at what Shakespeare would think of the Regency Era, including Prinny, Brummell, and even Austen ... 


File:Shakespeare.jpg
Shakespeare
Public Domain (link)

I think Shakespeare would not be surprised to find Regency England still at war with France, for one thing. But Napoleon aside, the world of Regency England is very different from Shakespeare’s world in so many ways: England and Scotland have become Great Britain, the ruling House of Stuart is a long distant memory, the Industrial Revolution has happened and the world is changing with alarming speed, in ways that even Regency people cannot comprehend.

Shakespeare on Prinny: He might be shocked by the Prince Regent’s lack of military know-how and experience, but he would not be shocked by his excesses. The Pavilion at Brighton, while considered a ridiculous expense and a monstrosity by the Commons during Prinny’s reign would seem like a perfectly reasonable thing for a monarch to build from Shakespeare’s POV. Henry VIII spent exorbitant amounts building Nonsuch Palace, and while the Commons balked, they paid for it. Prinny might look a bit frivolous to Shakespeare’s eyes, but his insistence on his own way would seem par for the course, I imagine. A Prince’s prerogative.

George IV van het Verenigd Koninkrijk.jpg
Prinny
Public Domain (link)

Shakespeare on Brummell: Just as there must be a ruling Prince in Shakespeare’s world, there must also be toadies and sycophants who dress the Royal Person. Royal hangers-on would not be surprising in and of themselves, but the fact that Brummell was a tradesman’s son might be a bit shocking to Shakespeare. For a man from the middle class to become an intimate of the Prince Regent’s, and as such be allowed entrance into the haute ton, would be impossible in Elizabethan England. Shakespeare’s players acted for the Queen, and later for King James, but they came and went by the servants’ entrance.

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Austen
Public Domain (link)

Shakespeare on Austen: A woman writer? A woman who writes novels that the ruling Prince reads? That fact alone might have blown Shakespeare out of the water. Professional jealousy aside, Jane Austen never made as much money as Shakespeare did from his plays. She was never able to buy herself a coat of arms and retire to the country to live well in her waning years. She always lived in the country, she was always the unmarried poor relation, whose novels did well enough, but not well enough to make her rich, as she should have been. Though he wrote of kings and queens, dukes and princes, Shakespeare was a middle class man himself. I like to think that he would have enjoyed Austen’s novels, once he got past the strange fact that they are told from a woman’s point of view. I like to think he would have recognized at least some of the hard truths about marriage being a question of money as often as it is a question of love. I like to think that, like Prinny, Shakespeare would have been a Jane Austen fan.

MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK BY CHRISTY ENGLISH – IN STORES FEBRAURY 2014

How to Become London's Most Notorious Widow:

1. Vow to NEVER remarry

2. Own a ship and become fabulously wealthy

3. Wear the latest risqué fashions in your signature color

4. Do NOT have a liaison at the Prince Regent's palace with a naval captain whose broad shoulders and green eyes make you forget Rule #1

Angelique Beauchamp, the widowed Countess of Devonshire, has been twice burned by love, and she is certain that no man will ever touch her heart again. But that doesn't mean she can't indulge a little—and it would be hard to find a more perfect dalliance than one with the dashing Captain James Montgomery.

After a brief torrid affair, James tries to forget Angelique and his undeniable thirst for more. The luscious lady was quite clear that their liaison was temporary. But for the first time, the lure of the sea isn't powerful enough to keep him away...


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christy English is happiest when she is dreaming. Her dreams have taken her to the royal court of Henry II in THE QUEEN’S PAWN, to medieval Paris in TO BE QUEEN, and now to Regency England in MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK, LOVE ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT, and HOW TO TAME A WILFULL WIFE, where she loves to watch her characters find true love, often in spite of themselves. Please visit her:


To Purchase Much Ado About Jack:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-a-Million
Chapters/Indigo
IndieBound
iBooks
Sourcebooks

Sourcebooks is giving away a print copy of MUCH ADO ABOUT JACK to one randomly selected commenter.  To enter the giveaway,

1.  Leave a comment about Shakespeare - what are your thoughts on the Bard?

2.  Sourcebooks giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada.

3.  Comments are open through Saturday, February 15, 10 pm in Baltimore.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, February 16.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltiomre
Aloha Spirit in Charm City

1350743015942620

42 comments:

  1. I wish I understood old English better. I wasn't thrilled having to figure it all out in school. I think I enjoy them better as movies lol. (and I rarely say that)!

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    1. I love a good Shakespeare movie! Thank you so much for coming by :)

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  2. I think Shakespeare was a wonderful playwright who has been admired and copied for centuries. It's amazing to me that he's still so well known so many years later, that is most impressive.

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    1. He's the best, Barbara. Not that I'm biased at all LOL. It's great to see you again :)

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  3. William Shakespeare was a famous and exceptional poet, playwrite, and actor that was born on April 23,1564, and died on his birthday in 1616. Four hundred years later, he is probably more popular than he was back then.

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    1. Nice! I love your Bard Facts Cathy :) Thank you for coming by!

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  4. There are many questions surrounding Shakespeare. I do not think we will ever find all the answers.

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    1. So true Debby, so true. That's part of what makes him so much fun. That and his beautiful language. Thank you for coming by! :)

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  5. I heard that Shakespeare was really a woman. I wonder if that's true.

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    1. How wild! I'm one of those boring people who think he was really himself, but who knows. I think there's a book in that Carol :) Thanks for coming by...

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  6. He wrote some great plays that people still love today.

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    1. Amen Danielle! I am a huge Bard fan :) Thanks for coming by :)

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  7. Thanks for the giveaway. I'd love to read it. Sadly ( I guess) I don't know anything about Shakespeare.

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    1. No worries Terri...my books are only loosely based on his fun plays. You don't need to know a thing to enjoy the hotness of JACK :) Thanks for coming by :)

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  8. Thank you so much for hosting me Kim! I love chatting with you about Shakespeare :)

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  9. I love his writing and have enjoyed productions at Stratford on Avon in Canada!

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    1. How cool! I would love to see one of those! Thank you so much for coming by :)

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  10. I think that he was an incredible playwright, and he would be totally amazed that his plays are still being performed today. I've visited his house in Stratford-Upon-Avon, and also his wife's house too.

    When I was at school, I was in a drama group, and we performed one of his plays, :"As You Like It".

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  11. I think that Shakespeare is so very impressive. His work sure has survived the test of time!

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    1. It has, hasn't it? Thank you for coming and leaving a comment, Betty

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  12. As I get older his plays resonate differently. When I was younger I loved Romeo and Juliet, but as I have gotten older I'm like why. They were just a bunch a teenagers. However, other plays I thought were soso in high school I'm enjoying now.

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  13. I've always loved Shakespeare's writing. I didn't even mind reading it, but really liked to see it performed. The first time I saw it live was when I was in high school and we went to see Hamlet at a local college - didn't hurt that the actor playing Hamlet was so cute, but then of course I cried at the end. I'm intrigued with the idea that it was an Earl who really wrote what we attribute to William Shakespeare.

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    1. I love a yummy Hamlet...that one always moves me to tears too Thank you for coming by Di

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  14. Oh course when I was in high school and *had* to read him, I didn't enjoy his plays, but now as an adult, I do like them :) Thanks for sharing and congrats to Christy on the new release!

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    1. Erin, you might like the new Joss Wehdon version of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. It's a hoot :)

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  15. I love that so many of today's popular movies are based on Shakespeare's writings.

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuer(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  16. forced to read for school

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  17. there should be a supplemental giveaway, Shakespeare for Dummies!!!!
    thank you for this one!!!

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    1. LOL! Thanks for tossing your name in the hat cyn :)

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  18. While I never understood his writing, it doesn't mean I can't appreciate it.

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    1. The poetry can flow like music...sometimes I have to listen many times before I get it, but it's worth it in the end :) Thanks for coming by :)

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  19. I like his plays. .. so dramatic. ..

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    1. I love the romance and the intrigue :) Thanks for coming by May :)

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  20. It's amazing that hundreds of years after his death people are still talking about Shakespeare . His works are so very deep to me. As I have gotten older I appreciate his work more.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) cpom

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  21. I really enjoy interesting characters in whatever story I am reading and Shakespeare has some really interesting characters in his stories.

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  22. I enjoy Shakespeare and enjoyed reading his plays in school although sometimes I didn't understand them without the teachers help. I read Julius Caesar in high school and we had to act it out as well.

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  23. Quite honestly I don't know much about Shakespeare. I find his dialogue engaging, though I am not fond of the many tragedies.

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  24. Since I was a teenager, I've always enjoyed Shakespeare's comedies, coped with the histories, and disliked the tragedies. Can you tell I like happy endings?

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