Sanguinet's Crown
"Some people gets to dance on a bubble while others gets to be cast down."Synopsis:
So says Miss Charity Strand, and, having escaped the clutches of the evil Frenchman, she is in no mood to endure the boorish behavior of arrogant Mitchell Redmond when he appears at Strand Hall.
But when Claude Sanguinet puts his wicked plot into motion once again, Mr. Redmond must play Charity's erstwhile savior. What neither Charity nor Redmond fathoms is the depth to which Sanguinet will plunge to wreak revenge--or the depth of the feelings they are beginning to have for each other ...
Main Characters:
Charity Strand
Mitchell Redmond
Guy Sanguinet
Claude Sanguinet
Rating: (out of 5)
Reviews:
"First-Rate!" The Kirkus Reviews
Quotes:
"So you're knighted, are you, Mitch? That'll put you in your place, Harry!"
Feigning indignation, [Baronet] Harry said, "Of all the impudent mushrooms! I suppose you fancy yourself quite my equal now, halfling?" ...
"It seems I am now ... the, er, first Baron Redmond of Moire ... "
"What?" Leaping to his feet, Harry howled, "Why, you damned insolent puppy! Do you mean to tell me that flabby--that Prince George--Do you say that you are a Baron and I a mere Baronet ?"
"Mr. Redmond, I'd not have you think you married a drunkard, but ..."
Grinning broadly, Mitchell led the way back to the horses, threw her into the saddle, then handed his flask up to her, "Not too much, wife."
She took two swallows, coughed, and returned the flask. "Now," she said bravely, "Lead on, MacFudd!"
"She is incomparable. Never a word of complaint, never a whimper. That dauntless, valiant little soul is the bravest lady I ever met. She is also -- my wife." Mitchell
" ... an ignorant warthog with tall feet ... " Josie
Title Significance:
Trivia:
- Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (2d Marquess of Londonderry) makes a cameo
in this novel. As one of the historical figures that interest me most
(along with Claus Stauffenberg, Sophie Scholl, Erwin Rommel, Eleanor of Aquitaine,
Queen Berengaria and Maximilien de Bethune [the Duc de Sully], I was quite enthused to see
Castlereagh in this novel. Here's some biographical background: He was an Irish Lord
but supported the Union (which made him incredibly unpopular). He was Foreign Secretary
and Secretary of War and represented Britain at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In 1822,
on the eve of negotiating a sort of precursor to the modern European Union, he committed
suicide (due to stress). Instead of a poetic eulogy, Castlereagh received the following reference
from the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who detested him:
I met Murder in the way ...
He had a mask like Castlereagh.
The Mask of Anarchy, (1819), II
Some good books on him include: Castlereagh by Wendy Hinde, The World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problem of Peace, 1812-1822 by Kissinger, and Lord Castlereagh: the rediscovery of a statesman by C.J. Bartlett. For more books on Castlereagh, go to Amazon.
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