Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold

When I pick up a novel written by a former historian I always wonder if it will turn out to be over-heavy on the factual detail, but I need not have worried with this rumbustuous adventure by Hallie Rubenhold.

Set in the late 18th century when society is arguably at its most decadent, the book begins the story of innocent 17 year old girl as she flees Melmouth House after the death of her 'sister', for which she has the blame. Penniless, she meets George Allenham who sets her up as his mistress, and gives her a new name. A new life begins, and the somewhat green Henrietta Lightfoot thinks she has found her one true love.

When he mysteriously disappears, she must track him down in order to survive, and the rest of the book concerns this search for her lover as she struggles from one dangerous location to the next. By the end of the book we have been thoroughly entertained in brothels and the seamier side of Covent Garden, but the central mystery remains thus leaving Henrietta Lightfoot with more work to do.

There are more volumes of the tale to come, all to be published by Doubleday, hence the few loose ends at the conclusion of the book. This was still a satisfying read though, and if I suspected that the book might be racy (subtitled as it was "The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot") I found there was nothing offensive about the descriptions of Ms Lightfoot's encounters with bawds, men with wandering hands, and other gentlemen of ill-repute. The historical detail is beautifully done.

What will determine your enjoyment of this novel is the "voice" of its heroine. It begins by adressing you as "My dear reader" and Henrietta continues to do this throughout. The effect of this is to distance the reader from the drama, as it is always being told as if it is a piece of gossip. This makes the voice very intimate, but also means the reader never quite enters Henrietta's head, so the tale is told in the same tone throughout, a bit like a visit to a favourite eccentic aunt. This will probably work well for some readers but not others. If you like Henrietta's style then you have a treat in store - two more volumes are scheduled.

I chose this to review from the Amazon "Vine" programme, and it has not yet been released - when it is, I'm sure it will appeal to readers looking for a well-researched lightweight historical romp.

Giveaway of The Lady's Slipper

I thought it would be nice to bring other geat books to your attention at the same time as promoting my own. You can find more historical fiction writers describing the inspiration for their books on www.royaltyfreefictionary.blogspot.com

The blog features the bestselling Gabrielle Kimm with "The Courtesan's Choice", Ann Weisgarber, winner of the Langum award for Historical Fiction, Charlotte Betts - another award winner for her debut "The Apothecary's Daughter", and fifteen other fantastic reads.

Oh and there's a giveaway of The Lady's Slipper. Just leave a comment on www.royaltyfreefictionary.blogspot.com to enter.

A Poisonous Garden

Whilst researching The Lady's Slipper I had to look into the effects of orchid root when it was ground up and taken as medicine. This involved finding out what kind of solvents might have been used to keep the root in suspension, once it was pulverized, and then what sort of quantities might cause hallucinations or nausea if taken orally. Needless to say, I did not try it myself, but relied on various historical reports and on the medical journals of the time!

Weights and measures were different in the 17th century, for example barley could be sold in pecks or in pints, and with small quantities such as medicines the basis for an apothecary was the system of the "grain". Weights were as follows:
One grain
One scruple = 20 grains
One drachm = 60 grains
One ounce = 480 grains
One pound = 12 ounces = 5760 grains
The only liquid measure in the Apothecary System was the liquid grain which was the volume of water weighing one grain, but this was not introduced until much later in 1885. (The picture above shows a 17th century set of weights.)
As a novelist, although I might have wanted to use the term "scruple" for Geofrey Fisk to measure his medicine I chose not to, as "scruple" in modern usage has quite a different meaning.

Until the 20th century lady's slipper root - sometimes called moccasin flower - was used by Native Americans as a nervine and sedative, but modern pharmaceuticals with less side effects have replaced it today.

In Britain there have only been three deaths over the last fifty years that might have been caused by plants, but that does not mean you should not be wary of certain flowers and berries.

Hemlock is the most notorious killer, which causes paralysis of the lungs if ingested. In the Middle Ages a general anaesthetic was made out of hemlock, henbane and opium and used before surgery, particularly during amputations. Hardly surprisingly this kept the patient in a deep sleep for several days until the antidote was administered - vinegar!

Another poison, Deadly Nightshade or Belladonna, was used in the 17th century to increase a woman's attractiveness by dilating the pupils. It was dropped into the eyes, and caused blurred vision. If you were to drink it however you would suffer from convulsions, coma and finally death.

More information about poisonous plants from www.thepoisongarden.co.uk
fascinating talks about Garden lore
http://www.capabilitybowes.com/