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MISTRESS OF HER DESTINYSHADOW’SMORWENA GAMBINO COOKS UP A STORM
HOW NOELLE CLARK’S GRANDPARENTS MADE
HISTORY
AUTHORS & fANS@ RT RENO PLUS
ELIzABETH’S US ROAD TRIP
FAMILY SECRETS
RT+RT
THEQUEENSLANDER!
L O V E ’ S G R E A TA D V E N T U R E
The exclusive magazine from Elizabeth Ellen Carter
InterviewVictim, Villain or
Issue 3 June 2018
L O V E ’ S G R E A TA D V E N T U R E
Cover Image licensed by Ingram Image
EFFECT
STATE OF BLISS
VALENTINE?REALM Of SILENCE’S LORD RUTLEDGE SPEAKS OUT
• fashion? of corset is!
• the LaDY’s MaiD’s secret Part iii
• Win a MichaeL foster
aUtoGraPh
INSIDE:
2 Love’s Great adventure Love’s Great adventure 3
LOVe fUN
WIN
AUTHOR’SDESK
THE REALM OF SILENCE an excerpt from Book 3 in Jude Knight’s series The Golden Redepennings.
cOnTenTS
13 Autographs: win signed rt Booklovers’ convention swag - signed by actor/cover model Michael foster and elizabeth ellen carter.
6
exceRpTs
QUEENSLANDER! Meet three authors from the australian state of Queensland who tell tales of home.
A SLOW BOAT TO CHINAauthor noelle clark finds fact is as spectacular as fiction when she turns the tale of her grandparent’s adventures in pre-World War one china into a stunning historical romance novel with more than a few surprises along the way.
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There’s a true international flavour to this edition of Love’s Great Adventure. It’s a world trip visiting the United States of America, Australia, Sicily, England, and China.
I was delighted to travel to the USA last month, mixing business with pleasure as my husband and I attended the very last RT Booklovers Convention. I hope you enjoy the photospread showcasing the natural beauty of north-eastern California and Nevada as we share our road trip photos of the drive from San Francisco to Reno via Yosemite for RT.In our exclusive interview this month, we journey to England to meet Gilbert Lord Rutledge, the hero of Jude Knight’s The Realm Of Silence. Under the pointed questioning of our guest interviewer, the successor to the ‘Vile Viscount’ must have felt he was undergoing a cross examination! It’s revealing reading.Next, our international travels take us to Sicily where Shadow of the Corsairs heroine Morwena Afua (nee Gambino) invites us to a Sicilian feast you can try at home.Then it’s east to China where author Noelle Clark shares some of the fascinating research she uncovered in writing Stone of Heaven and Earth, a sweeping 20th Century historical romance that blends family biography and fiction.Finally, we arrive in the land ‘Down Under’ for a showcase of three new historical romance novels set in my own home state of Queensland.Plus there are many more stories and features for you to enjoy!
PS. If you enjoy receiving Love’s Great Adventure, be sure to let your friends know and invite them to subscribe so they don’t miss an edition either.
HIT THe ROAD WITH US THIS eDITIOn!
COPYRIGHT© 2018, Elizabeth Ellen Carter. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in part or whole without the permission of the
publisher. Licensed stock photography is credited above. All other images are in the public domain
or used with permission.
PublIsHeR / edITORElizabeth Ellen Carter [email protected]
AssOCIATe edITOR / desIGneRDuncan Carling-Rodgers
busIness COMMunICATIOns MAnAGeMenT
www.bcm-online.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHIC CRedITsCover Main Image and Food Feature
Images by Ingram Image
Other Images Licensed by Ingram Image, Depositphotos
Used With permission, or public Domain.
AdVeRTIsInG [email protected]
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cOVeR FeATURe INTeRVIeW
Victim, Villain or Valentine?
Gilbert Lord rutledge answers those charges
page 4
Elizabeth Ellen Carter
The exclusive magazine from Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Follow Elizabeth on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ElizabethEllenCarter
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22 not so Funny Pages: heartbreak comic book style.
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L O V E ’ S G R E A TA D V E N T U R E
L O V E ’ S G R E A T A D V E N T U R E
ISSUE 2, MARCH 2018
FOOD SICILIAN STYLE: Morwena’s Feast
Up AND AWAY on the road in california and nevada with elizabeth ellen carter.
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FASHION? CORSET IS!our fashion correspondent gives us a brief history of being in a tight spot.
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LOVe fASHION
17 The lady’s Maid’s secret: rose reed shares valuable advice for living, dear reader...
shadow of the corsairs heroine knows the way to a man’s heart... AUTHORs
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31 GamePlay: crossword and word search brought to you by author caroline Warfield.
Out 26 June
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interview exclusive
victiM, villAin Or
COvER STORY
beast in the new Lord Rutledge. But one must take risks for one’s craft, and we are in a public place.
And I have no more time to fret, as a waiter shows him to the private booth I have chosen. Tall, dark, square-jawed, undeniably handsome, the new viscount holds himself with a cavalry officer’s straight proud back, and moves like a panther on the prowl. The delicious shiver I feel has nothing to do with fear and everything with the man’s sheer masculinity.
Let us gloss over the pleasantries, and the drink orders, and get to the questions.
Lord Rutledge, I understand your men called you ‘Colonel Rock Ledge’. What was the reason for that nickname?
It was a schoolboy nickname that followed me into the army. A joke on my name. Nothing more.
Not a reference to your famed impurtability in the face of danger, and your reputation for saying little?
(His eyes crease in a slight smile that does
not show anywhere else on the impassive face). You credit boys with more insight than they warrant. The similarity of sounds was enough for them. It would be different had a girl invented the name.
A girl like the sister of your school friends, Susan Redepenning as she was then?Shall we move on to another question?
It was that old friend, now widowed, who travelled with you to Scotland recently, was it not? But not for the reason that leaps immediately to mind when one hears of a hasty flight north of the border, for you and Mrs Cunningham went your separate ways.
Gilbert lord rutledge - and THOSE cHArGes
rumours dog the good reputation of the successor to ‘the vile viscount’...
I ASK MYSELf WHAT GIDEON WOULD HAvE DONE - AND DO THE OPPOSITE.“
as revealed exclusively to JANE KNIGHTLEY
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VALenTIne?
I wait with some trepidation in the up-market coffee shop where I am to interview the man who has earned a sterling reputation and inherited a dreadful one. Which is the truth?Gilbert Lord Rutledge, back when he was a colonel in the
cavalry, was undoubtedly a war hero. He was much decorated for his bravery on the battlefield, and known as ‘forlorn Hope Rutledge’ for his ability to extract victory from the jaws of defeat.
Gideon Lord Rutledge, the previous holder of the title, was widely known as the ‘vile viscount’, and was welcome in only the wildest, lowest, and roughest of circles. At his death, legions of mothers of vulnerable maidens breathed a sigh of relief.
Has the younger brother inherited the evil mantle, as well as the title, of the older? Some of the rumours leaking down the Great North Road hint at the possibility. The vile viscount had a vicious temper, and some of my questions might arouse that
(continued on page 7)
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(continued from page 5)
Our readers would love to know the purpose of the trip, Lord Rutledge. It is no secret. Mrs Cunningham’s daughter went missing from her school. She was safely in the company of the school’s music teacher, but the note explaining this did not arrive at the school until after the proprietor had sounded the alarm. Naturally, Mrs Cunningham wished to pursue her daughter. Naturally, as an old family friend, I supported her in this venture.
One hears rumours of French spies and radical rabble-rousers.(He allows a brief and charming grin.) We are at war with the french. One always hears rumours.
Let me be specific, then. Miss Cunningham was kidnapped by a spy or perhaps a radical, and abandoned in the old streets under Edinburgh. How did Mrs Cunningham react to that news?Mrs Cunningham is a devoted mother. We were all concerned, but Mrs Cunningham was beside herself with worry. It was with difficulty that her cousin and I persuaded her to stay behind while we searched those dangerous places.
While you went into those dangerous places for the sake of your fair lady.
I have been a soldier. I was able to put the skills I have acquired at the service of a family to whom I owe much.
By my calculations, you spent a week alone on the road with Mrs Cunningham, stayed at her house in Edinburgh for a further week or more, travelled back to Cambridge with her and some others, and then disappeared with her into parts unknown, to appear again in Essex—injured after a fight with a saboteur. Are these the facts?Mrs Cunningham’s groom was taken ill and we had no time to delay on our way North. I am, as I said, an old family friend. And in Essex, Mrs Cunningham accompanied me on a visit, and was at all times chaperoned by her maid.
Yet, we scent a romance. Mrs Cunningham is widely admired.Mrs Cunningham is a beautiful, accomplished, and fascinating woman. I can’t imagine what you think she might see in a worn-out soldier from a disgraceful family. Shall we move on to another question?(Lord Rutledge clearly has no idea of his physical appeal. I can think of a number of reasons why a lonely widow might enjoy days—and nights—on the road with such a man).
Lord Rutledge, since you raised the point yourself, let us talk about your older brother. He left the estate in penury, I understand. And his young wife fled before you could arrive to take over, taking her daughters with her. Can the ton expect you to follow in your brother’s footsteps?Gideon was an evil louse, and if I am ever in doubt about to carry out the role his death thrust on me, I merely ask myself what he would have done and do the opposite.
The next in line for the title is a distant cousin, I believe. When might we hear to expect of your marriage?You can mention Gideon and ask me that? My brother married three times and made three women miserable. Not to mention all those with whom he had less... socially sanctioned relationships. My father was no better. Let this branch of the family tree wither away. I will not be responsible for the misery of any woman, let alone one I love.
Love? You speak of Mrs Cunningham, then?Lord Rutledge does not answer the question. He calls for his hat, says a polite farewell, and leaves. It is answer enough.
cOVeR STORY
Mrs Cunningham is a beautiful woman. I can’t imagine what she would see in me...
“Did the infernal woman have the secret of
an elixir of youth? She had been widowed long enough to be out of her blacks, and back into the blues she favoured: some concoction that was probably the height of fashion and that both hid and enhanced her not insubstantial charms.
As always, she was perfectly dressed, perfectly coiffed, and perfectly behaved. And he undoubtedly looked every bit as if he had been travelling for weeks, apart from the brief stopover in Derby with his sister.
She was breathing quickly, fear for her child flushing her face. To one who knew her, and who watched her closely, she held her composure by a thread.
The crowd of onlookers leaned forward to catch his reply. “Is there somewhere we can discuss your business in private, Mrs Cunningham?”
That fetched a considering nod. “Miss Foster, may I present Colonel—no, Lord Rutledge? He and I grew up on neighbouring estates. Lord Rutledge, Miss Foster’s niece Patrice is, we presume, with my daughter.” She indicated the child shifting nervously from one foot to another nearby, with Miss Foster firmly gripping her shoulder. “Patrice’s sister Clementine. But shall we seek privacy for our discussion?”
Until this moment, Gil had wondered if he was setting up a false trail. After all, he was not certain he’d seen Amy in Stamford. Why would The Goddess be hunting for her in Cambridge if she was a day’s
hard ride away? But the girl had been dressed like the child Clementine, and was of the right age and appearance. Besides, if he were wrong he’d make it up by devoting himself to helping with the search. The interview in Essex with his reluctant sister-in-law would need to wait until The Goddess’s child was safe.
He gave Moffat the signal to deal with their mounts and the packhorse, and followed Mrs Cunningham into the inn. Susan, he said silently, though underneath that silence earlier names sounded in his head. Joan. Athene. Boadicea. Just as her father had named his sons for battle-tried kings and emperors who led successful armies, he had given his daughter the names of female warriors: a saint, a Goddess, and a queen. The ten-year-old girl who followed the boys at their games demanded and won a more common name, but to his mind it had never suited her as well as those bestowed upon her before God, at her baptism.
He expected her to demand answers as soon as they were private, but she had never behaved like the other women he knew. She stood, seemingly at ease, one golden brow arched, and waited for him to speak. She took his breath away. She always had.
“How long have the two girls been missing?” Saturday, the ostler said, which would fit. But it seemed unlikely such a devoted mother would have so long delayed the search.
“Saturday,” Susan confirmed, “though the school found out only today, and told me when I arrived unexpectedly.” She seemed to think that required further explanation. “I was journeying back to London from Michael’s estate in the north, and diverted on a whim to visit Amy.
The girl could have been Amy, then. “What would she be doing in Stamford?”
“Stamford! I can imagine no reason why she and Patrice might go to Stamford, or how? I have been asking about carriages, but… Wait. You saw her in Stamford?”
“Yesterday morning. I did not see her clearly. She was dressed like Miss Clementine here. One of those bonnets. Black half boots. A skirt and coat thing. Both blue. Wool, I think.”
“A pelisse, yes. In bishop’s blue over a lighter coloured skirt. The Fellowes’ Academy requires all its students to dress the same. And her companion would also have been wearing the uniform.”
“She was with a boy. Or, at least, someone dressed as a boy. Thin face. Dark hair from what I could see under the cap. Tall for a girl, if it was a girl. Taller than Miss Cunningham by perhaps five inches. Their governess, or whoever it was, ordered them into the post chaise and they took off on the North Road.”
“Governess.” Susan’s brows drew together as she thought about that.
GilBert lOrD rutleDGe - AnD THOSE cHArGes
AN ExCERpT FROMTHE REALM OF SILENCEfour years had passed since he last crossed verbal swords with Susan Cunningham, and she looked no older.
Rescue her daughter, destroy her dragons, defeat his demons, go back to his lonely life.
How hard can it be?
tHe reAlM OF silence bOOK 3 OF tHe GOlDen reDePenninGs
https://www.amazon.com/realm-silence-Golden-redepennings-Book-ebook/dp/B07Bn7Yc7Z/
L G A
Meet Jude Knight
Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another time, another place, where they can
enjoy adventure and romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything.
She writes historical novels, novellas, and short stories, mostly set in the early 19th Century. She writes strong determined heroines, heroes who can appreciate a clever capable woman, villains you’ll love to loathe, and all with a leavening of humour.
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I travelled to the US for the first time last month to
attend the RT Booklovers’ Conference in Reno, Nevada.
The conference (and the United States!) was big, bright, and lots of fun.
And how could I possibly miss the chance to not only meet Dragonblade publishing’s amazing
Kathryn Le veque and my wonderful Dragonblade editor, Scott Moreland?
(continued on next page)
on the road for the rt booklovers’ convention
RT rOAD triP
A major attraction was to meet face
to face at last with good friends who
I’ve known for a few years now via the internet - such as
Sherry Ewing (right) of the Bluestocking
Belles.
New friends too - chatting with other authors
in the colourful peppermill Resort
Terrace Lounge.
The bar’s spectacular
orange chandelier is the backdrop to the photos on the
right.
Right with actor/cover model Michael Foster who is Daniel
Ridgeway on the cover of my novel Moonstone Conspiracy.
The lovely Claudia Bost, a professional photographer, was
everywhere with her camera gear.
Eden Bradley as The White Rabbit
Author Beverly Devlin
At the Gold Dust and Garters event
With Kathryn Le Veque!
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Protection detail by Sierra Cartwright!
I’m in there somewhere!
With author Rose C. Carole
Set up for the Giant Book Fair!With Shane Rice
Meeting readers at the Indie Soiree
Indie Soiree
Reader Maita won my raffle prize!
12 Love’s Great adventure Love’s Great adventure 13
Win Swag Autographed By Cover Model Michael Foster
While in the US, I also took in the sights of San Francisco, spent a night at Yosemite, chilled (literally) at South Lake
Tahoe, was treated to the marvellous hospitality of my editor Scott Moreland and his wife Ruth in Carson City, and visited
the gold bonanza town of virginia City. I also had my very own Snow White moment at Yosemite!
Actor and cover model Michael Foster features on the recent recover of my novel Moonstone
Conspiracy - and he was one of the special guests at the RT Booklovers’ Comvention in Reno.
I caught up with him as he did a Facebook Live presentation and he signed some swag for me, including a Moonstone Conspiracy promotional postcard.
Now, I’d like to pass the postcard and a signed poster for his movie David And Goliath - plus my personal copy of the RT program - on to a lucky Love’s Great Adventure reader.
To be in the running, just tag me @ElizabethEllenCarter on your Facebook page and include the hashtag #lovesgreatadventure
The winner will be announced in the next edition of Love’s Great Adventureand on my Facebook page.
RT rOAD triPSnapshots
Had a beer in the Bucket of Blood Saloon!
Me ScottRuth
Duncan Looking satisfied after opal shopping in Virginia City!
Yes, I do know the way to San Jose...
Alcatraz Island
Golden Gate Bridge
Spectacular Yosemite
Virginia City
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14 Love’s Great adventure Love’s Great adventure 15
cHInAA slOw BOAt tO
HISTORY fEATURE
HOw One AutHOr’s HistOrY MAKinG GrAnDPArents BecAMe tHe stArs OF
tHeir Own rOMAnce
We live in an age of easy access to information. The internet has
changed the way we research everything from family history to recipes. This can be a double-edged sword. So much information is available that it takes longer to sift out what we are looking for, particularly in dodging the factual from the ‘might be factual’.
When I decided to write my latest historical novel—Stone of Heaven and Earth—I wanted to base it largely on the true adventures of my grandparents and close family who lived in China from 1901 until 1929. Considering I had grown up hearing their escapades, I thought it would be fairly easy. After all, I had two memoirs, each about five pages long, plus indelible memories of what I’d been told.
One detail I knew was that my grandfather was employed by the British Customs in China. Well, that’s what I was told. In fact, there was no such organisation, at least not a British one. There was a Chinese agency that employed foreign staff and was led by foreign staff until 1950. It was called the Chinese Maritime Customs Service (formerly the Imperial Maritime Customs Service until 1912.)
I struck gold in my research when I discovered the Bristol University Chinese Maritime Customs Project – an ambitious and large scale endeavour that ran from 2003 until 2009. Professor Robert Bickers, who heads the project, gave me access to service records that, without his assistance, I would never have seen.
My grandfather and his best friend (who later became my uncle through marriage) joined the Chinese Maritime Customs Service in 1908 and 1902 respectively. My grandfather was
employed by the Service for seven years, and my uncle right through until february 1929.
In a country–and era–of volatility caused by both internal and external troubles, the Chinese Maritime Customs Service shone as a beacon of success. Respected by both the Chinese Government and the Chinese people, it provided essential services.
According to the University of Bristol Project, it was first set up in 1854 to collect taxes, but quickly expanded to include ‘domestic customs administration (the Native Customs), postal administration, harbour and waterway management, weather reporting, and anti- smuggling operations’.
Members of the service also mapped, installed, and maintained river and waterway beacons, checked on remote communities, and policed the coast of China and the entire six thousand odd kilometres of the Yangtze River, the third longest river in the world.
The tasks given officers were many and varied, including negotiating loans and overseeing currency reform, and they had a hand in financial and economic management for the Government. According to Professor Bickers, the Chinese Maritime Customs Service was always much more than just a tax collection agency—it was well informed about local conditions, deeply involved in local, provincial, and national politics, and in international affairs’
By 1900, there were twenty thousand officers in the Service, with most senior positions being held by foreigners. It wasn’t until 1929 that Chinese nationals rose through the ranks. Until then, most officers were British, with large cohorts of Germans, french, and men from the USA.
Officers in the Customs Service were expected to have a great respect for China,
its people, and the Government. Staff were encouraged to attain fluent Chinese language skills, and it was mandatory for senior staff.
Discovering my grandfather’s role in–and love of–the Chinese Maritime Customs Service gives me great pride.
Sadly, he died at age thirty-six, but his legacy lives on through my book.
Guest feature by nOelle ClARK
A QUEST TO WRITE A HISTORICAL NOvEL BASED ON A REAL LIfE ROMANCE UNCOvERED THE fASCINATING TALE Of THE CHINESE MARITIME CUSTOMS SERvICE - AND A STARTLING
DISCOvERY ABOUT AN OLD fAMILY ACQUAINTANCE
One of the various jobs of the historical romance editor is to check the accuracy
of the manuscript entrusted to you. I was well aware of the extensive work Noelle Clark had put into her research already when she gave me the privilege of editing Stone Of Heaven And Earth.
The picture she painted of pre-WW1 Australia and her forebears’ experience of China at that time was so realistic that, like reviewer Kate Furnivall, I was sweating in the heat and nearly able to smell the odour of old Shanghai’s Whang Poo River. Then I ‘met’ the intriguing character who introduced herself to Noelle’s grandfather as Madame Liechtenstein, and I paused for a moment. I emailed Noelle with a series of
questions - had this elderly woman existed or was she one of the fictional elements of the story? And, if she was real, was she really who Noelle thought she might be– the former Princess Theresa Maria of Liechtenstein? The answers came back ‘yes’, ‘partly’ and ‘I don’t know’.
So the person who called herself Madame Liechtenstein in Shanghai was real–Oliver, Darl, Jack, and Anne enjoyed a warm friendship with her in the old city, she frequently treated them to dine with her, and she was recalled frequently and fondly over the years afterwards.
continued on page 16
In Search Of ‘Madame Liechtenstein’
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continued from page 15
Moreover, she is a major secondary character in the novel and gives it its title. However, critical elements of the characterisation of Madame were heavily fictionalised by the author for dramatic effect. And, vitally, despite much research, Noelle had been unable to uncover any other potential candidate from the complex royal houses of Europe and remained uncertain who this regal person might really have been.
Whoever she was, I doubted she was Princess Theresa Maria. She was married and a high profile European royal by the time the seemingly unattached ‘Madame Liechtenstein’ appeared in Oliver’s real life.
I dug around on and off for a few days and was about to give up and let the character stand as written. I’d begun to consider, quietly and reluctantly, that the woman may have been a wealthy fabulist passing herself off as royalty.
Then a link to the German language version of Wikipedia presented itself at the last moment, and the incredible reality of ‘Madame’ was revealed. Oliver, Darl, Jack, and Anne had most likely been good friends for some years with one of the most remarkable women of the late 19th and early 20th century–the ethnologist, zoologist, botanist, travel writer, and leader in social care, Princess Therese of Bavaria, born in 1850 not of the House of Liechtenstein but of the House of Wittelsbach.
The amazing Therese Charlotte Marianne Auguste von Bayern was a woman ahead of
her time. From the age of 21, she travelled the world to exotic locales, often incognito. She published numerous scientific works and achieved many firsts. And she was almost certainly ‘Madame Liechtenstein’, using the name of her sister-in-law, Theresa Maria, as a nom de voyage.
All the pieces fell suddenly into place–even aspects of her personal life that meshed perfectly with the dramatic fictional back story Noelle
had created. Startlingly, the tale of lost love imagined by the author was hinted at in real life. As a young woman, Therese fell deeply in love with her cousin, Otto, later Otto I of Bavaria. But despite the fact they loved each other equally, the two never married, possibly due to political pressures. They were ultimately separated.
This factual historical starting point had already been carried to a tragically romantic fictional conclusion before the author was ever aware of it! I was so excited at the discovery, I phoned Noelle with the news and the manuscript was adjusted.
Returning to Wikipedia while writing this sidebar, I discovered an editor had recently updated the English language entry to add emphasis to Princess Therese’s scientific achievements while completely expunging all mention of her love for Otto.
It seems a pity to deny her in history the passion she was denied in real life - but her love lives on in Stone Of Heaven And Earth.
- Duncan carling-Rodgers
THE THIRD EpISODE IN A SERIALISED STORY, ExCLUSIvE TO LOvE’S GREAT
ADvENTURE.
LAST TIME: OUR HEROINE ROSE REED STAGED A CARD EvENING WITH THE
AvARICIOUS BARONESS HONEYFIELD, HER HUSBAND AND WITH THE BARON’S
SECRET pARAMOUR, LADY LYDIA vOSS.
THERE, ROSE DISCOvERED AN OppORTUNITY TO ENACT A pIECE OF
SWEET REvENGE AGAINST THE WOMAN WHO SWINDLED HER MISTRESS.
AS THESE THINGS GO, REvENGE IS ALWAYS A DISH BEST SERvED COLD.
BUT WHAT HAppENS TO OUR CLEvER LADY’S MAID WHEN THINGS HEAT Up?
Dear Reader,
The Lady’s Maid’s
Secret
I have been fortunate enough to have had a number of mentors in my life. Some have taught me the social graces, others have taught me how to live by my wits.Of all the pieces of advice on which I most frequently draw is one taught me by a military gentleman who had been kind enough to take in my mother and I when my father was, shall we say, resting on His Majesty’s pleasure.He said, and I remember this quite clearly, ‘prior preparation prevents poor performance’. Isn’t that clever? Alliteration aside, it is a motto I’ve tried my very best to live by.That’s why there has been a conference around the servant’s dining table late into the evening every night this week after our Lady Pendrick has retired.And what are we preparing for, you might ask? I shall be glad to tell you as long as you promise that it will go no further.As you will remember, Baron Honeyfield has been pursuing
a great love affair. No, no – not with Lady Lydia voss – that affair was over weeks ago when the Baron’s wife, the odious Eliza Badgely, discovered who had replaced her in her husband’s affections.It resulted in a rather public scene at one of Countess Hallamshire’s parties, where feathers flew! And literally I might add. Ostrich feathers, pulled from Lady voss’ hat. Duck feathers from a cushion ripped open when the good Lady retaliated with multiple blows. Everyone running around like a goose – or so the news sheets claimed. But as we know, the news sheets do not get everything right. Never the less, the servants at Pendrick House take a great deal of pride in their work and my dearest friend felicity, Lady Pendrick’s maid-of-all-work, deserves the credit for providing the citizenry of London with such fine entertainment.
(continued on next page)
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for it was she who just happened to notice that a perfumed letter addressed to Baron Honeyfield had fallen out of a reticule when she was putting away the cloaks. And, being of a romantic inclination, felicity popped it right into his wife’s cloak, so she might surprise him with it later.And I say all this, Dear Reader, to let you know that the price of quieting two aggrieved women has left the Baron rather ‘damned low in the water’, as the saying goes, which is why he has made an appointment with our mistress, hoping to further the acquaintance of her young nephew with the view of considering a business arrangement.As you know, the ‘nephew’ is, in fact, felicity’s brother Evan, Lady Pendrick’s very handsome footman who can think quickly on his feet – and, much to my satisfaction, is also very accomplished with his hands.Evan has been a right Rumpelstiltskin. He managed to take some broken old pieces of jewellery ‘donated’ by Lady Pendrick and turn them into gold nuggets all the way from Australia – enough to convince an anxious Baron Honeyfield that riches await a man who has a taste for risk and adventure.But for such a venture to prove profitable to our venerable employer, we would need much more than a single investor – no, no, no, that would
not do at all. And that is why we are gathered around the old and scarred dining table in the servant’s hall.“Ten guineas that Miss Rose won at cards might fix some of the leaks in the roof, but it won’t be enough to replace all the slate. That would be one hundred pounds at least,” Beatrice the housekeeper said – quite correctly in my opinion.We look over to Arthur, Beatrice’s husband, the loyal and trusty butler – the model of moral rectitude. He is so often the voice of reason and we all admire him greatly.Butlers have an undeserved reputation of being greedy and grasping characters, but nothing could be further than the truth.“Twenty thousand pounds,” he said, “and not a penny less.”As you can imagine, Dear Reader, felicity and I nearly fainted with shock to hear such a sum mentioned.“Last week’s game was mere child’s play,” Arthur continued. “If we’re going to see Lady Pendrick right, then we have to play big and do so in a way that no taint of scandal ever attaches itself to our mistress.”Such a declaration was heartily agreed to by all of us.“That’s why it’s got to be a syndicate set up
by Baron Honeyfield himself,” said I. “A secret syndicate with people willing to invest, but who also have a vested interest in staying silent.”I pulled out the diary of Mary Kirkpatrick, Lady Pendrick’s late lady’s maid and my predecessor. The journal now bristled like a veritable hedgehog with makeshift bookmarks I made to highlight some of the most fascinating pieces of information within.As I have mentioned before, Mary Kirkpatrick had a sharp mind, a sharper tongue, and razor-edged observation skills. She documented everything she saw – and, unlike the men who hide behind anonymous by-lines, was quite prepared to name names.I spent the past month poring over every entry and tracking the fortunes of every name. felicity and Evan scoured the news sheets, made enquiries below stairs at other households.The result was twenty fat pigeons ready for the plucking. “I will require Baron Honeyfield hold a house party with the people of our choosing,” said Evan. “That will put everyone under the same roof and each will be provided with ample incentive to invest generously in our scheme. Baron Honeyfield, in fact, will be a honey pot.”“With Rose’s help, I’ve put together a dossier on each of our party guests,” said felicity. “The first
man we will study is Dr. Algernon Mallard.”
END OF PART THREE
Next Edition: Rose finds out that Dr Mallard is a quack. How well will he take his medicine?
The Lady’s Maid’s Secret, © 2018 Elizabeth Ellen Carter. All Rights Reserved.
The Lady’s Maid’s Secret (continued)
Butlers have an undeserved reputation of being greedy and grasping characters, but nothing could be further than the truth.
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20 Love’s Great adventure Love’s Great adventure 21
The workshop was almost entirely below ground level. The only windows were set high in the wall and were the ones she had seem from the outside. The room itself was huge, perhaps as wide as the house and half as deep. The walls were covered in panels sheeted in copper and each bore a lamp of the same design that she had seen upstairs, neither candle, nor gas, but power created by the spinning turbines in the house’s steam boiler. Shelving, a huge desk and, set apart at the front of the room, between the two high windows, was a strange iron orb.
The globe was massive, more a suggestion than an actual sphere, for it was constructed of iron circles that crossed over one another. It was what was in the centre that was the source of Galena’s fear, a large bed or table, furnished with leather straps.
As she felt the blood rush from her face, a shadow fell over her back and she gasped. Beauden Somerton gave her a slow smile and shook his head. “Don’t be afraid, Miss Tindale. It’s not an instrument of torture. It’s my bed.
Her heart still hammering in her throat, she turned to see what Somerton was doing. With a gesture he bade her come to him and he turned again to the desk, unrolling a sheet of paper filled with diagrams.
Galena gasped, “Is this…” “Yes, my dear.” His pleasure in her surprise and
awe was readily apparent. “These are the plans for the original iron heart.”
AN ExCERpT FROM IRON HEARTHer blood threatened to freeze in her veins.
Steampunk is a mixture of historical fiction and science fiction where alternate timelines
and technology mean anything is possible. With this in mind, it was the perfect genre for authors MC D’alton and Melanie Page to explore a tale of medical innovation with a dash of feminism, garnished a la frankenstein.
The resulting novel is Iron Heart, the story of a desperate medical quest to save a life.
Beauden Somerton, the hero, has run out of time. His heart is failing. Galena Tindale is a female medical student in a man’s world that isn’t ready for her. Her primary goal is to graduate from the University of Edinburgh Medical College. Unfortunately, some of her classmates have other ideas. Then she meets Beauden, and learns how her ideas
have the potential to save his life. But the courageous couple have to contend with unscrupulous forces who have their own reasons for wanting Beauden dead and Galena disgraced.
The story is the brainchild of authors with very different backgrounds and writing styles.
MC D’alton has a background in medicine. When the medical aspect of the story evolved into a key component, she hit the books again to make sure that (as far as possible within the realm of speculative fiction) there was a realistic element to the surgical scenes.
On the other hand, Melanie Page is a writer of historical fiction, whose interest was in integrating an authentic sense of history with the alternate reality that is steampunk.
It all began with monsters...
QUEENSLANDER!
Of all the locations for historical romance, it seems Australia sometimes gets overlooked while those titles that do exist tend to
focus on New South Wales and Victoria.
Yet what’s not to love about a Queensland setting? The untamed beauty of tropical north Queensland, the cane fields of Bundaberg,
the vast pasture lands of central Queensland...
To celebrate the recent 159th anniversary of Queensland’s founding (June 6 1859), I’m delighted to feature not one, but three authors
who have chosen to set their new releases in this great state of ours.
Welcome, A l l i S inc la i r, I sabel la Hargreaves ,
and Faye Hal l .
Thanks for having me! My new release is Burning fields and is an Australian historical set in 1948, following World War II. It was a major time of upheaval around the world and Burning fields is about a young woman returning home to her family’s sugarcane farm after years away working for the war effort. She’s experienced independence and finds it difficult to adjust to ‘traditional’ ways once more. She meets a newly arrived Italian immigrant with a mysterious past and they fall in love, despite objections from both families. family secrets are discovered, hidden pasts are revealed, and heartbreaking decisions will be made, all against the backdrop of Australia’s beautiful far north Queensland.
What prompted you to set a historical romance in Queensland?
It’s not often that stories come to me fully formed, but Burning fields did and there was never any doubt that the story would be set in northern Queensland. I like to think of my settings as their own character in my stories, as the weather and landscape can have a marked impact on the other characters. I could never imagine Burning fields set anywhere else as northern Queensland played such an integral role in the story.
My latest historical romance, entitled Lord Muck and Lady Alice, is set on the Darling Downs and in Brisbane in 1868. It’s the first instalment of the Stations of the Heart series.
The story explores the obstacles a newly rich man from the lower classes encounters when trying to bridge the social divide between himself and the colony’s elite. Add in some personal grudges/grievances, a woman whose hiding her social standing and connections to start again in a new society, plus the attraction between two people who appear to be a complete mismatch – and you have the essence of this book.
What prompted you to set a historical romance in Queensland?
Queensland history includes a wide range of themes, characters and settings for authors to explore. There are massive external forces in Queensland history into which authors can weave their stories.
Geographically and climate-wise, Queensland has great diversity – from the fertile, temperate Darling Downs to tropical Queensland with its sultry weather to the vast western plains with their day-time heat and night-time cold; and many variations in between. With regard to characters, Queensland has so many. In the
Avarice & Charity is my latest release and it’s the third book from the Sins of the virtuous series. It tells the tale of Avarice, the son of an Italian immigrant, who has been raised to go to whatever lengths necessary to satisfy his greed and Charity, the daughter of an Irish immigrant who is oblivious to her family’s history other than what she has read in her dead mother’s journal. When one night Avarice’s hand is injured and Charity is asked to tend to his wound, their lives become connected in an intricate tale of Irish legends, passion and a greed driven man who will stop at nothing to destroy both of their lives just to get what he wants.
What prompted you to set a historical romance in Queensland?
I’m from a small cane farming district in North Queensland and I grew up listening to my father tell me about the challenges his grandparents faced when he came out to Australia. I’ve been blessed also to be shown photo’s as far back as 1860 when some of the first land clearing and settlements were happening in my home town. All of this, plus my natural love and fascination for history is what started me wanting to write about the history of my hometown and the romantic stories that tied so many families together.
ALLI SINCLAIR ISABELLA HARGREAvES FAYE HALL
CLICK OR TAP HERE TO BUY NOW
22 Love’s Great adventure Love’s Great adventure 23
How much research did you do on the location before you started?
Luckily Queensland is very accessible, and research is the perfect excuse to head north to escape a victorian winter! I’m a researcher by nature, so I spoke with a lot of people who grew up and worked on sugarcane farms for years. I also interviewed historians who specialise in the history of sugarcane production in Australia as well as historians from the regions I wrote about.
The town in Burning fields is fictional, but I did base it on a few smaller towns in the sugarcane growing region around Cairns.
Is there a historical fact or perhaps true historical anecdote from your research you’d like to share?
I love to weave a lot of historical facts in my books, and Burning fields is no different. When researching this story, I delved deeply into Australia’s history during WWII and the period just after. The government created internment camps due to public fear of having ‘enemy aliens’ in their midst. In 1942, there were more than 12,000 people interned in Australia. Although Burning fields isn’t set in this period, what happened during WWII had a marked effect on how future immigrants, such as Tomas and his family, were treated and the challenges they faced.
What was it about that location that resonates with you?
Northern Queensland has always appealed to me, especially sugarcane farms. To me, there’s some wonderfully romantic about the lush countryside and warmer climes. When I first came up with the idea for Burning fields I knew it couldn’t be set anywhere other than northern Queensland.
Why did you choose that particular time period for the story?
1948 was such a big year around the world. World War II had ended and while some soldiers didn’t return home, the ones that did found it difficult adjusting to their old lives. Women who
nineteenth century, migrants came from Europe, China, the South Sea Islands and Lebanon, and many other places.
How much research did you do on the location before you started?
Lots! In setting a historical romance in Queensland, I’ve paid attention to the homily to write about what you know. Queensland history is my passion and my work. for the last 12 years, I’ve been employed to research and write about people, places and events in Queensland history. Before that I wrote two history theses about people living in south-east Queensland, primarily the Darling Downs and Brisbane, during the colonial era.
Is there a historical fact or perhaps true historical anecdote from your research you’d like to share?
When I was planning this story, I wanted the hero to be in the image of Queensland’s self-made men. They were remarkable men who rose from lowly ranks, without much money, education or polish; to positions of power, wealth and status in this developing society, through their fierce determination, financial acumen and a lot of ability and confidence.
What was it about that location that resonates with you?
During the nineteenth century, the Darling Downs was Queensland’s wealthiest region and comprised the most sought-after land in the colony. It was home to the colony’s elite, mostly
pastoralists who controlled vast acres of fertile land under long leasehold arrangements. Its chief industry was wool production, but it also had growing commercial centres in Toowoomba and Warwick and a developing farming economy due to land selectors being encouraged by the government, and the spread of railways.
How much research did you do on the location before you started?
Even though my stories are fictional, I still try to make sure I have accurate names for hotels and ships which does involve quite a bit of
research and sifting through old documents. I am lucky that a few locals have produced books about the local history too, so they are always a constant for me when I’m writing as much of my town’s history isn’t something that can be found by a simple google search.
Is there a historical fact or perhaps true historical anecdote from your research you’d like to share?
There’s quite a few in all my books. In Avarice & Charity, the place names where their parents were born are actually where my husband’s grandfather came from and my mother’s grandfather lived before coming to Australia.
In Amorous Redemption, the cattle station that is at the focus of the book actually belonged to my great grandmother’s family, whose last name is the same as the heroine’s. And in Heart of Stone, the underlying story of blackbirding and Irish slave trading is something so painfully accurate to the history of where I grew up.
What was it about that location that resonates with you?
The books from the Sins of the virtuous series all focus around the town of Jarvisfield, where I lived for a few years. While I was there I met so many wonderful people of Italian and Indigenous backgrounds and I loved listening to the stories they would tell me about their forefathers lives in the area.
Then I found a sign post in one of the front yards that said ‘Kira-Ora’ and I found it fascinating. After some research I discovered my grandmother’s family used to own quite a bit of land out there and that one of my great uncles actually died there whilst trying to save a young Aboriginal boy. It was so very emotional for me that I just had to write about the area.
Alli Sinclair
ISABELLA HARGREAVES
FAYE HALL
Why did you choose that particular time period for the story?
I mainly chose the time period because I felt that the history of North Queensland is so underrated. I wanted to show readers the beautiful stories that developed while the townships here were also developing and growing.
Do you find that historical romance readers are open to new locations and periods in history?
I’m finding more support in the last couple of years, but I do still feel like it’s very much an uphill battle. I’ve read so many times that readers are getting bored with the ‘usual’ settings of romance books, but it’s still hard for them to take the risk on something new.
Do you plan to write another title set in Queensland?
I do. So far I have twelve titles all set in North Queensland, and I plan on writing four more titles for Sins of the virtuous. I love the history of North Queensland and I just want to share that with the world.
had experienced independence working for the war effort also found it hard to go back to more traditional roles and Australia had an influx of immigrants, many from war-torn nations. All my stories have multi-cultural twists and the heroines are always strong, so post-war felt like the perfect time to set Burning fields. Our heroine, Rosie, has no qualms in challenging tradition and fighting for equality for women and immigrants, and this major period of upheaval was the perfect time for Rosie to try for change.
Do you find that historical romance readers are open to new locations and periods in history?
Absolutely! I imagine most people have favourites, but my experience from talking to readers of historical romance is that they are happy to read just about anything set anywhere in any time period. I hope to one day meet up with my history teacher from high school and let her know how much influence she’s had on my writing and love for historical romances.
Do you plan to write another title set in Queensland?
Yes! In fact, by the time this goes to print I’ll have handed in my manuscript for next year’s book. It’s mostly set in the same small town as Burning fields but will have different characters. I’m in love with Queensland as a story setting and look forward to writing more set in this gorgeous part of the world!
Why did you choose that particular time period for the story?
I chose 1868 for this story because it was a period of political, social and economic tussle between the forces of the colony’s elite and those of less exalted origins. A pastoral industry-based elite had arisen and was fighting tooth and nail to maintain its power against the forces of egalitarianism. 1868 was also the middle of a serious economic depression for Queensland. In 1866, the colony suffered financial collapse. Gold was discovered at Gympie in late 1867, saving the state from bankruptcy, but it took several years to recover.
Do you find that historical romance readers are open to new locations and periods in history?
I’m not sure yet. Of all the time periods I’ve written in, my most popular selling titles remain Regency era romances. However, the enticement of the different conflicts and points of view that less familiar time periods and places provide, is enough for me to want to explore them.
Do you plan to write another title set in Queensland?
I’ve written two further stories in the Stations of the Heart series. The next book in this family saga (Love and Other Addictions) is set in Central Queensland in 1874, while the third (finding Love at Lost Lagoons) is set in North Queensland in 1879. Both titles will be available later this year.
ALLI SINCLAIR
ALLI SINCLAIR ISABELLA HARGREAvES
ISABELLA HARGREAvES FAYE HALL
FAYE HALL
TAP OR CLICK TO BUY THESE TITLES ON AMAZON
Burning Fields by Alli SinclairLord Muck And Lady Alice
by Isabella HargreavesAvarice & Charity by Faye Hall
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HAvE YOU EvER WONDERED how women fit themselves into some of the seemingly outrageous fashions of the past? While times may change, the female figure varies little. Thus, most fashion silhouettes were achieved by specifically designed undergarments, namely corsets and hoops. Although corsets in one form or another have been worn since antiquity, they only became widely worn as a foundation garment during the 16th century. The corset as an undergarment originated in early Renaissance Italy, and was introduced into france in the 1500s by Catherine de Medici. (images from Wiki commons)Originally called “bodies” this type of corset was a tight, elongated bodice worn underneath the clothing to shape the torso into an inverted cone. It was often worn with a farthingale that also formed a stiff cone shape from the skirts. The women of the french court eagerly adopted the fashion, but interestingly, Mary, Queen of Scots, reportedly refused to wear one. Early corsets were typically made out of layered fabric, stiffened with glue, and were tightly laced. In the Elizabethan era, whalebone (baleen) was frequently used in corsets. A busk, typically made of wood, horn, ivory,
metal, or whalebone, was added to stiffen the front of the bodice. In early times a busk might be presented to a suitor as a prize when he was interested in a female. By the 17th century, the prevailing term was “pair of stays”. The emphasis of the stays was less to reduce the waist than to create a flat front to the bodice, by flattening the bust, they pushed the breasts up. These corsets had shoulder straps and ended in flaps at the waist. In the 1830s, the artificially inflated shoulders and skirts made the intervening waist look narrow, even with the corset laced only moderately. When the exaggerated shoulders disappeared, the waist itself had to be cinched tightly in order to achieve the same effect.It is in the 1840s and 1850s that tightlacing is first recorded. It was ordinary fashion taken to an extreme. The victorian and Edwardian corset differed from earlier corsets in numerous ways. The corset no longer ended at the waist, but flared out and ended several inches below the waist. The corset was exaggeratedly curvaceous rather than cylindrical, creating the hour-glass shape that we now associate with corsets.
BY VICTORIA VAne
A brief history of corsets
LACING
UPLOvE fASHION
“It is peculiarly significant that Catherine de Medici introduced this form of lacing into France. At that time a thirteen-inch waist measurement was the standard required by fashion. no woman was considered the proper figure whose waist could not be spanned by the two hands. To produce this result a strong, rigid corset was worn day and night until the waist was laced down to the re-quired size. Over this corset was placed a steel apparatus which reached from hip to throat. bulwer called the corset of Catherine de Medici the whalebone prison.”
from The Well-Dressed Woman: A Study In The Practical Application To Dress Of The Laws Of Health, Art, And Morals. 1893 Author: Ecob, Helen Gilbert.
Above: An illustraion from the 1893 book the well-dressed woman: a study in the practical
application to dress of the laws of health, art, and morals by Helen Gilbert Ecob.
Right: Georgian stays.
TOP: ATUDOR CORSET
ABOVE: A 16th century IRON CORSET
Illustrations/Photos: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons except where indicated.
Image: Victoria Vane
Image: Victoria Vane
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WE SICILIANS ARE KNOWN for our food and hospitality – and as far as I’m concerned they’re absolutely synonymous! We combine the best of European, Arabic, and African flavours into our dishes to create a cuisine which is unique in all the world.Sicily was conquered by the Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Africans over thousands of years and, as empires come and go, they leave behind a legacy of ingredients and dishes that we’ve made uniquely our own.Many of dishes are street food you can buy from vendors in towns and cities – and they are also for making yourself and sharing, along with conversations and laughter with friends and family.Here are my favourites that you can make at home!
fooD featUre BY MORWenA AFuA
as toLD to elIZAbeTH ellen CARTeR
Bon vinuti!Thank you for joining me!
SICILIANFEAST
MORwENA’SLOvE fOOD
Ingredients• 2 large aubergines cut into large chunks• 1 heaped tsp dried oregano• Sea salt• freshly ground black pepper• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely
chopped• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley ,
leaves picked and stalks finely chopped• 2 tbs salted capers, rinsed, soaked and
drained• 1 handful green olives, stones removed• 2-3 tbs herb vinegar• 5 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, lightly
toasted, optional
MethodHeat olive oil in a large pan. Add aubergine and oregano, season with a
little salt. Ensure the aubergine is evenly coated by the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4 or 5 minutes, giving the pan a shake every now and then.
When the aubergines are golden on each side, add onion, garlic and parsley stalks and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Add more oil to the pan if it is getting too dry.
Add drained capers and the olives and drizzle over the herb vinegar. When all the vinegar has evaporated, add the tomatoes and simmer for around 15 minutes or until tender.
Taste before serving and season if you need to with salt, pepper and a little more vinegar. Drizzle with some good olive oil and serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley leaves and almonds.
A pERSON EATING MUST MAKE CRUMBS.
- Sicilian proverb
CaponataThis vegetable dish can be served either hot or cold and it truly showcases the fresh flavours of Sicily.
Ciriole with pistachios of bronte, sword fish and tomatoes
Ingredients• 400g ciriole (or any slightly thick long pasta)• 250g sword fish, diced• 150g datterini tomatoes (or grape or cherry tomatoes), halved• 6 tbs ground pistachios• 1/2 cup white wine• 1 clove garlic, halved• Extra virgin olive oil• Salt , pepper and fresh thyme
MethodBoil water in a pot and add salt. Cook pasta according to
directions.Meanwhile, sauté garlic in a big saucepan with extra virgin olive
oil over medium heat. When golden, add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the sword fish and increase heat. As the fish starts to colour, add the white wine. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add the thyme and half of the pistachios.
Mix in the cooked pasta. Toss well with the sauce. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the remaining pistachios.
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Meat sauce and fillingIngredients:
• 1 medium sized onion• 1 big carrot• 1 celery stalk• 300g beef mince • 200g Italian sausage (with fennel) • 1 glass of red wine (half for you, half for
the pot)• 1 can tinned diced tomatoes• 200ml tomato purée• 1 small tin tomato concentrate• Sea salt to taste• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil• freshly grated pepper (optional)• 1 cup of frozen baby peas • Mozzarella cheese, diced• Mortadella, sliced
MethodFinely dice onion, carrot and celery. Add extra virgin olive oil and fry over low heat in a saucepan until the vegetables are soft.
Add the mince and the sausage (without skin) and stir well until it browns. Increase the heat and add the red wine. When the wine has reduced, add the salt, peppercorns and the canned and pureed tomatoes.
Add 4 glasses of water and the salt and stir. Cover the pot and cook on low fire for at least 1 hour. better). After one hour, add the frozen peas to cook.
NOTE: The right consistency is important. The mixture needs to be thick to make the stuffing easier. Add water if the mixture is too thick, or increase heat to reduce.
AranciniA tasty antipasto
RiceIngredients:
How to assemble aranciniWhen the rice has cooled, gather rice in your hand and fashion into balls. Make a hole to add the meat and tomato stuffing and add cubed mozzarella and mortazella to close the balls.
Roll the prepared balls in mixture of egg white, flour and bread crumbs and shallow fry.
Serve warm.
Strawberry GranitaIngredients
• 1 litre of water• 600g strawberries• Juice of 1 lemon• 200g sugar
Method In a large blender add half the strawberries and water and blend until pureed.
Fold in the remaining strawberries and water, add sugar and lemon juice and blend until creamy and well combined.
Transfer the granita mixture into a metal baking tray lined with baking paper (a metal baking tray will shorten freezing times than using a plastic one). Cover granita and put in the freezer.
Refrigerate for half an hour then remove to stir vigorously to break any ice crystals. Repeat every 30 mins for 2-3 times, or until the granita has reached a velvety sorbet-like texture.
Cheese sauceIngredients• 250ml of béchamel sauce• 50g of mixed Italian cheeses (mozzarella,
fontina, provola), diced• 2 tbs Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated• 2 tbs frozen peas, blanched• 50g ham, sliced and diced
MethodMake the béchamel sauce and then add all the diced cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stir well, until the cheeses melt. Add the blanched peas and let the sauce cool down. Add the sliced and diced ham and stir well.
• 2 tbsp olive oil• 4 tbsp butter• 1 medium onion chopped
fine• 1 1/2 tsp saffron threads• 3 cups arborio rice (not a
long grain rice because it needs to be sticky)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• about 4 cups beef or chiken stock (depending on cooking time)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• Breadcrumbs
• Egg white
• Vegetable oil for frying
MethodPrepare the rice by turning it into a risotto. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon until the rice is well coated and opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine to the rice, and then add a ladle of simmering broth and cook, stirring occasionally, making sure to wipe the sides and bottom of the pot clean as you stir, until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding the broth a ladle at a time, waiting until the liquid is completely absorbed before adding more. When the rice is halfway through its cooking time, add the saffron. Continue cooking adding the broth for about 12 – 13 minutes.
Be sure the rice is not completely cooked through as it continues cooking as it cools. When the liquid is completely absorbed, remove the risotto from the heat.
Add parmigiano and butter until it is well mixed. Turn onto a sheet of baking paper, spread well and allow to cool down.Im
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LOvE fUN
eNJOY LONeLY HeART @ ComicBookplushttp://comicbookplus.
com/?dlid=65297
PLAY + This edition’s Play page is brought to you by author Caroline Warfield and her novels The Renegade Wife and The Unexpected Wife.
+ Caroline Warfield’s The Renegade Wife is the first in her Children of empire series. A story of healing and a journey home, of choices and the
freedom to make them, set in 1832 in upper Canada and in england, the novel has been
described as ‘a page turner you won’t want to miss’ and ‘a book that left me breathless’.
TAP OR ClICK HeRe TO VIsIT CAROlIne WARFIeld’s AuTHOR PAGe On AMAZOn.
+ enjoy this easy online crossword with clues and references to The Unexpected Wife by Caroline Warfield.
do the crossword online - click or tap here: https://crosswordlabs.com/view/the-unexpected-wife-by-caroline-warfield
Or just print out Page 31 to complete by hand. Have fun!
+ Play Caroline’s The Reluctant Wife online word game. Just find all the words in the clues and see how quickly your can complete the puzzle. do it once then reload for a new selection of words and see if you can beat your own score!
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Across2. Lady Zambak’s family name5. Plant from which Opium is derived6. A Chinese ship8. The British Superintendent of Trade in China in 18389. Last Chinese dynasty11. Queen of England16. The name of the river on which Canton is located18. British Foreign Minister 183819. Her Majesty’s Ship, such as the ones sent to Macau to protect British interests21. Very English drink22. The Duke’s unfaithful wife23. Location of foreign trade in China in the 19th Century
Down1. Chinese High Commissioner appointed to stop the opium trade3. Zambak’s father’s title4. Deep bow in which a person touches the floor with his forehead7. Fictional American China trader who refused to sell opium10. The country in which Canton is located12. Even tempered Quaker missionary13. Language spoken in the region near Canton14. The heir of the Duke of Sudbury; the title Zambak covets.15. The Duke of Murnane’s Christian name17. addictive method for consuming opium20. Portuguese Colony near Hong Kong22. Fictional opium smuggler
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32 Love’s Great adventure
