#Duchess of Lorraine

[thefreelancehistorywriter]

Claude de Valois, Duchess of Lorraine

Claude of France, Duchess of Lorraine by Francois Clouet With Claude de Valois, we have a unique example of a happy aristocratic marriage. Having grown up together at the French court, the couple knew each other and were compatible. A favorite of her mother, Queen Catherine de’Medici, the many years of childbirth took a harsh toll on her body. Claude was born at the palace of Fontainebleau on…

[tiny-librarian]

Maria Christina of Austria, Duchess of Teschen.

[dreamconsumer]

Archduchess Maria Christine. Unknown artist.

[roehenstart]

Portrait de Nicole de Lorraine (1608-1657), duchesse de Lorraine et de Bar. Artiste inconnu.

[higherentity]

[overflowingshelf]

Trope Tuesday: 9 Historical Romances Books Featuring Women in Business

One of my favorite tropes in historical romance novels is women in business! We so often see female characters from the nobility, and I love it when we break from tradition and focus on a woman who owns her own successful business. Female business owners for the WIN! I think this trope resonates so well today as it’s still a struggle for women to be taken seriously in the business world. For…

[redridcr]

[triviareads]

tired: Dead Spouse Bonus Baby

wired: Dead Spouse but she WILL find random man to get her pregnant and pass said child off as Dead Spouse's heir

The Dead Spouse Bonus Baby trope was invented by a man or a teenage girl because let me tell you, the last thing a bereft woman needs is either to be pregnant or have a newborn baby.

[dhaaruni]

If you liked Bridgerton, here are other historical romances with the same tropes:

Virgin-Meets-Rake (Season 1, Simon and Daphne):

When the Duke was Wicked by Lorraine Heath: She's a witty debutante who's the jewel of the season, he's a seasoned rake mourning the death of his wife and child with excessive hedonism, and she recruits him to teach her how to attract a husband

The Lady Gets Lucky by Joanna Shupe: She's a shy heiress and master chef who struggles to talk to men, he's an irreverent scoundrel and would-be restaurant owner she recruits to teach her lessons to catch a husband

Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas: The villain in It Happened One Autumn enters a marriage-of-convenience with an heiress with a stutter (whose best friend he kidnapped, whoops) and at one point he goes, "I’m Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can’t be celibate. Everyone knows that," and isn't being ironic.

Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean: She's on-the-shelf and deeply bored, he's a rake who's suddenly been given custody of his irreverent and wild teenage half-sister, she recruits him to help her be rebellious

Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran: He's a (seemingly) silly dandy, she's impossible to charm, and he shatters her facade

Enemies-To-Lovers** (Season 2, Anthony and Kate):

Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean: She loves causing trouble, he totally hates getting her out of it, she's wild, he's starchy, and they fall madly in love

The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine Heath: She's the viperous writer who's publishing explosive smut starring him, her former fiancé that jilted her at the alter, and they find each other again

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe: She's a free-spirited heiress whose reputation was ruined ages ago, he's a broke Duke looking for a wife to fill his coffers and fix his estate, they see each other for who they truly are

It Happened One Autumn (and its precursor Then Came You) by Lisa Kleypas: two iterations of the classic, "free spirited woman meets buttoned-up man who loathes her and is kind of a freak in the sheets" trope in the best way possible. Also, Alex buys Lily a bear in Then Came You, which obviously made me cry

All the Ways to Ruin a Rogue by Sophie Jordan: His best friend is her brother, and they really want to fuck but hate it

Notorious Pleasures by Elizabeth Hoyt: She's engaged to his brother, they meet when she walks in on him fucking another woman, HATES her for being perfect, she hates him for being a degenerate loser, and infidelity ensues.

** These are true enemies-to-lovers books, not that hella lame rivals-to-lovers shit that's all over contemporary romances of late

Friends-To-Lovers (Season 3, Colin and Penelope):

The Lady Hellion by Joanna Shupe: Sophia is trying to solve a mystery (and dresses up as a man in the process), and recruits her friend (and one-time kissing buddy) Lord Quint to teach her how to shoot. She's exasperating, he's charmed and there's a puppy involved.

The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan: She's a genius botanist but can't share her research since she's a woman, and he's her public face but refuses to continue anymore. He's always been in love with her, she's as oblivious as they come.

My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh: She's a scientist, he's an anthropologist, they're longtime friends and she recruits him to help her make a visiting naturalist jealous but ends up falling for him herself

Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas: They're in a marriage of convenience, but end up becoming real friends in the process before they realize they're in love

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath: He's a Duke looking to get married, she's his secretary and most trusted friend, he recruits her to find him a wife and they fall madly in love in the process

Forever Your Rogue by Erin Langston: He's her brother's friend who is recruited to help her manage her estate when her husband dies. She flits around constantly in anxiety and never sits still, and he likes it.

This should get you started!

[yama-bato]

Frans Pourbus the Younger, Portrait of Margarita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine, early 17th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Detail.

[thefreelancehistorywriter]

The Funeral of Claude of Lorraine, Duc de Guise – July 1, 1550

The Funeral of Claude of Lorraine, Duc de Guise – July 1, 1550

16th Century Italian Funeral procession in Padua 1583 “My son, my friend, if Fortune does me the wrong of taking him [her husband] from me, I will do with the honest people that I have here the best that I can, and you shall be advised of everything. For, my friend, after God, I can have no hope and consolation save in you and my other children. I cannot be without grief so great that in truth I…

[tiny-librarian]

Miniature of Maria Amalia of Austria, Duchess of Parma.

[funkyllama]

The Ionian Royal Family Tree,

In the style of UsefulCharts. "Hi, this is Matt Baker. Today I'm going to show you the Complete Family Tree of Ionian monarchs, all the way from their royal roots in the Wittenburg dynasty to their more recent dynastic alliances."

@trhor @royaltysimblr @officalroyalsofpierreland @simming-in-the-rain @nexility-sims @empiredesimparte Written Tree Below Cut. Open the image in a new tab, it’s quite large!

House of Wittenburg:

Prince Alexander, Graf March -> Grafin Wilhelmine married Bernard Arpad von Celle, Graf Celle -> The House of Rodchester.

The House of Rodchester:

Adelheid married the Margrave Nirgend. Marie-Odile became the Countess March and had non-dynastic issue. Everette I, Grand Duke Bergstrasse -> Kezia -> Everette II & Princess Alexandrina (daughter of Queen Alexandrina) -> Everette III establishes the Kingdom of Iona with his marriage to Hereditary Grand Duchess Hana Ludvig (daughter of Hans IV, Grand Duke Helmstadt).

Ludvig von Helmstadt:

Hans III married Princess Louise of Windenburg and San Myshuno -> Hans IV married Princess Marguerite of Pierreland -> Queen Hana of Iona.

Everette III's Children:

Rose Mary married the Count March. Stephen inherited the Grand Duchy of Helmstadt. Lorraine married King Arnaut of Uspana (son of Queen Beatriz) and had non-dynastic issue, including Crown Prince German. Queen Viviana I reorganizes the government, establishing the Ionian Union -> Princess Bernedette -> Queen Viviana II married Imperial Prince Philippe Simparte -> Prince Lenerd (rumored son of Crown Prince Louis of Pierreland) and Prince Sigismund.

[triviareads]

do you have more recommendations for Penelope featherington-coded fmcs? both from the book version and the show version.

Callie from Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean: She's fat/plus-sized and a spinster who realizes she never tried to stand out or grab life by the horns (by herself!) so she comes up with a list of scandalous things she wants to do, the first of which is asking a notorious rake for her first kiss. Ralston is immediately intrigued and soon becomes OBSESSED (no seriously the way he's just so deeply into her body is everything) as he helps her accomplish all the things on her list. There is a very hot carriage scene and (an actual) mirror scene.

Grace from When The Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath: The show!polin dynamic basically; Grace is a redhead with a certain body insecurity who asks her older friend to help her find a suitor who truly loves her. Lovingdon is a jaded rake Who Can Never Love Again after the death of his first wife and son, but that doesn't stop him from doing all these sweet things for Grace and debauching her in every corner while informing her that a man who truly loved her would do all of this... which isn't him. obvi.

Penelope from The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath: Not just because her name is Penelope, but the pining vibes in this are impeccable; she's the duke's secretary and this dumb dumb man is making her find him a wife while being all "hm the ideal wife would look like Penelope, talk like Penelope, smell like Penelope.... I WONDER WHAT THAT MEANS". Anyway she's so turned on by a hand touch that she masturbates in his carriage and LATER ON TELLS HIM and then HE GETS HER OFF IN THE CARRIAGE.

Jane from The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden: More plus/size-fat rep and she's a wallflower; she's compromised by a guy name Colin (lol) and Colin's older duke brother Harrison steps in to marry her. He's super icy and cold, but he's actually wildly obsessed with Jane's bod after 10 seconds of marriage and once she realizes that, she uses it to her advantage by means of low-cut gowns and erotically stripping her gloves :D

Sarah from Temptations of a Wallflower by Eva Leigh: Sarah is a wallflower who moonlights as infamous erotica writer The Lady of Dubious Quality, but like, instead of ragging on other women, she's actually doing her part to educate women about sex through her stories and provide entertaining material. The hero Jeremy is a vicar who's charged with hunting down The Lady Of Dubious Quality, and unknowingly ends up falling for, and then marrying her. It's also really cute that as Sarah falls in love with Jeremy, her erotica becomes more and more romantic.

[mermaidsirennikita]

I've gotta say, as bleak as the convos surrounding the status of historical romance in traditional publishing have been lately, I've been so pleased by some of the recent books out and the books coming out

—The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long is one of the best books I've read by her (and I've read... hmm... over 12, I think) and such a fabulous example of how to do something light without making it stakes-less

—Elizabeth Hoyt is back and absolutely up to her usual (high) standards with No Ordinary Duchess in December, with a really sensitive exploration of kink (and it's not heavy, which I personally think is something certain readers who've become used to a really casual usage of kink that honestly just exists there to titillate will ding her for, and it bugs me because "more kink on the page" is not inherently "good kink on the page" BUT WHATEVER) that's especially interesting when you compare it to Wicked Temptations, which by no means did it BADLY but did it in a more basic manner...

Just all around, a very sexy, character-based Hoyt, and I just want her to stick around and write for as long as she wants to.

—Lorraine Heath returning to her Scoundrels of St. James generational saga with A Tempest of Desire, which is another character-heavy angstfest (and I'm seeing a theme with all three of these authors being a bit less plotty than some of their novels have been, but avoiding the pitfall of "ain't shit happening") with a classic Heathian moment that made me go "NOOOOOOOOOO" out loud in the most forlorn way lol

—A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera, which I'm currently reading, being an easy knockout if she keeps this up (which I'm pretty damn sure she will) and combining social commentary with swoony romance in a way few authors can top

—TJ Alexander giving us a trans m/m historical romance with A Gentleman's Gentleman next year; haven't read, but I fully trust TJ and am so excited to see their work in the historical realm

—Alexandra Vasti continuing to make headway in her tradpub career with Earl Crush (on my list to read soon!), while she seems to be plotting a f/f historical next...?

—Vivienne Lorret finishing out her latest series with This Much is True, keeping that Tessa Dare-style romcom flag flying

—Enemy of My Dreams by Jenny Williamson taking us somewhere new (or, new for the first time in a while) with an Ancient Roman historical romance

—And honestly? The amount of influence and combination of historical romance with fantasy/paranormal I'm seeing. I've just started Kerri Maniscalco's Throne of Secrets, which is set, literally, in Hell... And we have ballrooms, we have lords and ladies, we have "I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW" Pride and Prejudice overtones. The Legend of Meneka taking us centuries back in a fantastical parallel world to India. When the Tides Held the Moon giving us gay mermaid action in 1910s New York. Hungerstone sending up Carmilla in a rapidly industrializing England.

There IS great stuff coming out, and it's interesting to see the continuing evolution of the subgenre.

[overflowingshelf]

April 2023 Reading Recap

Well, April was a bit of a bust when it came to reading. I hit a major reading slump this month and was also super busy and stressed due to work and planning my sister’s bridal shower, which led to very few books being read.  In April, I read only read 3 books. I’m currently super behind on my reading goals for the year, but trying not to focus on that as there is still plenty of time to catch…