June Guest Post by Trisha Hughes: End of the Stuart Era

Whether by bad health or bad luck, the Stuart dynasty came to an end with the death of Queen Anne. There would still be Stuart blood pulsing through the veins of coming generations: George I’s great grandfather was James I after all. But it was the Stuart dynasty itself that had failed to continue with Anne’s death.

James VI & I

The Stuart dynasty began with Robert II in 1371 and although we grow up with children’s stories that give us a picture of kings, queens and fairy tale princesses in medieval Scotland, the reality was far from being a fairy tale. Many died ‘mysteriously’ and many died simply trying to protect themselves and their family.

Despite this, the Stuarts endured through the centuries. They survived wars, crusades, bouts of the plague, smallpox, a great fire, murder and ill health. But when looking back over the last four generations of Stuart kings, each one seems to have been precarious. After Elizabeth I’s death, it was Mary Queen of Scots’ son James who would become James I of England in 1603 when he was 36 years old. His weak legs remain unexplained, as do episodes of jaundice, and a shrunken kidney at his post mortem explains the evidence of blood and tiny stones in his urine. From 1616 he was disabled from arthritis, and began showing a dementia six years before he died. The possibility that his thyroid glands were not functioning properly has been a recent speculation.

The story of James I’s children does not make for easy reading. First there was Henry, Prince of Wales who was intellectually remarkable but died of typhoid in 1612 at 18-years-old. Four of James’ children had died before they reached the age of 2 and his granddaughter-in-law, Catherine of Braganza, failed to produce a child despite the many illegitimate children that her husband Charles II was able to father out of wedlock. It would be James’ daughter Elizabeth who would marry the Protestant Prince Elector of Hanover and of her two children, one would die of pleurisy while the only surviving daughter Sophia would live to give birth to the future King George I of England. Perhaps it was fate, not just ill health, that severed the line from future generations, given that the decapitation of Charles I was not truly a surgical procedure.

Charles I & Henrietta Maria

With each generation, it wasn’t just producing an heir that was a problem. It was keeping the heirs alive as well. James I lost 5 children, as did his sons Charles I and James II. And then we know of the miscarriages Catherine suffered and the horrors that Anne endured after losing 17 children during years of her own ill health.

No one can agree why Queen Anne’s health had been so bad for so long. She was, after all, only 49 years old when she died. Sure she was overweight, which everyone knew caused difficulty during births. But lots of overweight women had children. Hughes syndrome, an autoimmune disease affecting the blood, has been suggested, even porphyria, which can potentially cause recurrent miscarriages and is also associated with other complications such as premature birth and stillbirth. And don’t forget that James I more than likely suffered from porphyria and passed it on to future generations.

So with Anne, the last of the Stuart dynasty died. Never again would there be a Stuart sitting on the throne of England. The volatile Hanoverians had arrived on English soil and life would be very different from the one that Parliament had imagined. They would find that compared to the Tudors and the Stuarts, the Hanoverians would be something of a hard sell with England. The German kings seemed cold and remote and if you asked anyone to disclose their private opinion, they would have said they were barbarians.

Although Hanoverian Britain was the hub of slave trade and exploration, this era is barely etched in our minds. Of course, there are exceptions. Hollywood has immortalised The Madness of King George but let’s not forget this was also Jane Austen’s era as well as the British Museum, the greatest architect Christopher Wren, Sir Isaac Newton, the cure for smallpox and the foundation of the press. It was an era for poets, painters, geniuses in Science, the arrival of tea and coffee, exotic fruit, fine wines, Indian silks and Chinese porcelain. Still, it is in danger of disappearing beyond our mental horizon even though it lasted longer than either the Tudor or the Stuart age.

It was an age when people experienced everything from passionate repulsion of some monarchs and delighted ardour for others. There were violent wars abroad and riots at home, expanding trade in the Far East and thankfully, the disappearance of the plague In Britain. London virtually glowed with increased capital and the middle class began to enjoy polished living standards.

During the early days of George I’s reign, a Jacobite uprising threatened his throne and although the Hanoverians were very unpopular, England supported their new German king.

George II

If you disregarded the Catholic Stuarts in France, the Hanoverians were all England had left.

Find more about Trisha Hughes on her Amazon Page

Her new book Virgin to Victoria is available now.

Editing Services brought to you by Lisl Zlitni

I'm delighted to welcome Lisl Zlitni to the blog. Among many other talents, Lisl is an editor and I asked her along to talk about that aspect of her life.

AW: Hi Lisl, thanks for meeting me here on the blog

LZ: Hi, Annie, and thanks so much for this fabulous opportunity! Word of mouth is so important to many businesses, so anytime it happens it’s a small blessing. 

AW: Could you start by giving us a little detail about your background? Was it a logical progression for you to set up your own editing business?

LZ: Well, my first career goal (at age six) was to be a spy, so some might think the progression not so logical at all! However, I occasionally wonder if that choice in part came with an innate ability to recognize so many tiny details. I’d always loved watching and looking, and began eventually to write poetry about what I saw. I started to seriously write creatively in elementary school, quickly falling in love with words, mesmerized by what one could do with them when sprinkling even the same ones across a page in different order, or with stress placed in alternate spots—and the magic of what could be done simply grew, and grew me. 

In high school I was privileged to be part of an invitation-only creative writing class in which students were to choose their own final grades and then live up to them – I was the only one to choose A+. It’s not that I was vain (actually I was quite introverted then); I just couldn’t imagine why anyone would deliberately downgrade themselves. 

Still, there later were two significant life achievements that proved even more important than being good at something: joining the military and completing a BA in English. The former is, of course, famous for demanding attention to detail, and my particular job even more. At the time I went into my degree program the options were rhetoric or literature; I chose the latter. Both of these major pathways helped hone whatever skills I thought I had, because the truth is that even innate ability simply isn’t enough. I learned even more by tutoring ESL, EFL and native language speakers – from the students themselves and our new lab boss, who insisted we take some linguistics classes aimed at conferencing writers, which brought to the fore the humanity, foibles and diversity of the English language and those who speak it. These last experiences and further training really moved me forward, teaching me the most about helping other writers without removing them from the equation. 

When I was lucky enough to “discover” the indie writing community a few years back, I initially did a lot of watching and reading which, as it turns out, goes along with much of the keen advice regarding how to be a better writer, leaning a bit on my “spy” roots. I did see a need within this community for editing services, though in truth it didn’t jump out at me as a business opportunity. It was only later, when I had grown to care for it, the people within and the stories they tell, that I thought this could be my way to contribute to something really great. By this time, I had broken away from “stealth” mode and established some wonderful relationships, which I feel is a key ingredient in the editing business in terms of the care one has for other people’s creations. 

AW: What can authors expect when they first make contact – will they need to send their whole manuscript or can they send a chapter or so in the first instance? 

LZ: As much as possible I try to accommodate author preferences. Authors are welcome to send in their entire manuscripts, though a chapter or so is also welcome. For authors new to the service, I’m happy to provide a sample edit at no charge for the first 500 words of his or her manuscript. Also, it is helpful if they let me know at least some basics on what they are looking for: for example, proofreading or copy-editing; particular bugaboos they know they have; and/or their preference for American or British English, etc. 

AW: What, in your opinion, is the purpose of an outside editor; where can an editor really help the author? 

LZ: While there are a variety of supportive functions different types of editors perform, they all have at least one thing in common, and that is to make the product the best it can be in partnership with its creator(s). This might mean cleaning up the grammar and punctuation or pointing out inconsistencies or inaccuracies and so on, but it also helps an author achieve two things: an outside perspective from someone without any (real or perceived) obligation to tell them only how awesome their work is, and greater assurance that the work has indeed passed through the mopping-up stages with a fresh and different set of eyes. 

However, it isn’t the mere doing that makes this happen, but also the partnership that facilitates questions and answers the why. It causes authors and editors alike to examine their choices, gain perspectives beyond their own, broaden their knowledge base and improve their craft. While not a guarantee, it can lead to authors reaching wider or ordinarily very fussy audiences or even getting new ideas.

AW: What, if anything, is the most important aspect of editing? 

LZ: To be honest, I’m stuck between two angles, the first of which is maintaining a balance between standards of writing, what the author wants and reader expectations. However, this could also fall under the umbrella of a second aspect, the relationship between author and editor. If it’s a successful one, a lot can be achieved even if the pair sometimes disagrees, and an author understands that his editor isn’t being mean when she makes corrections, that in fact she has the author’s best interests in mind. 

AW: Where can authors reach you – do you have a website, and is that the best way to get in touch, in the first instance?

LZ: I have a new website called Great Land Services, “services” chosen to reflect potential growth in what I provide in the future, and because even now it isn’t just editing I do, but also proofreading and such other services as typing and transcription. Great Land Services’ webpage is here: 

https://greatlandserv.wordpress.com

and we would be delighted for authors to have a look around and use the “Contact” tab to get in touch. Alternately, one could check out the site and then simply message me at scully_dc@yahoo.com. We look forward to hearing from you!


Thanks so much for chatting with me today, Annie—as always, it’s been great fun!

AW: Thank you for dropping by!

4:3:2 With Author Tony Riches

Welcome to a new series on the Reads, Writes, Reviews blog. I'll be asking authors to answer 4 questions, show me 3 pictures, and add 2 links. First up, author Tony Riches:

Q1.Who are you?

I’m Tony Riches, a full-time author from Pembrokeshire in Wales, which has some of the best beaches in the UK. I was born within sight of Pembroke Castle, birthplace of King Henry VII, and became fascinated by the stories of the Tudors. When I’m not writing, I enjoy sailing and sea kayaking. 

Q2.What do you write about?

I write medieval historical fiction. I enjoy visiting actual locations and tracking down original documents and records to make sure my books are as factually accurate as possible. My research has taken me to remote castles in Brittany (where Henry Tudor lived in exile) and I’m now presenting a series of monthly podcasts on the stories of the Tudors. 

Q3. Which character will we love to love and why?

My most recent novel is about the amazing life of Princess Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII and sister to King Henry VIII (often confused with his daughter, who was named after her).  Princess Mary’s brother decided she should marry the aging King Louis XII of France when she was eighteen, then when he died she risked his anger by secretly marrying for love. 

4. Which character will we love to hate and why?

It would have to be Mary Tudor’s bother, King Henry VIII, who rewards his loyal wife of almost twenty-four years, Catherine of Aragon, by arguing their marriage was never valid. He banished her so he could marry her attractive young lady-in-waiting, Anne Boleyn, and became one of the most notorious kings in history.

Mary – Tudor Princess is on Amazon at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079K1DLRL


For more information about Tony’s books please see www.tonyriches.com