2016 was certainly a big year and I’m just talking about moi here, let alone The World.
For me, the high point was the publication in May of the book I had worked on for four years. The Disappearance of Maria Glenn tells the story of the abduction (or was it?) of a 16-year-old heiress from her uncle’s house, and what happens to her afterwards. It’s a rollercoaster story of triumph followed by disappointment and bitterness, and it features some fantastic characters, not least the shy but steely young woman at the heart of the story. Maria’s dogged uncle, a vacillating nursemaid and some bigwigs bent on stopping the truth from coming out.
And it’s all true.
The Disappearance Maria Glenn is available in hardback and ebook from Pen & Sword, Amazon UK, Amazon USA (and all the other Amazons) and all the major online retailers. I notice that the US Kindle version is only $12.22.
Aside from this dream-come-true, I have been pleased and honoured this year by the wonderful contributors to the site by fellow writers. There have been some fantastic guest posts from Geri Walton, Sarah Murden and Joanne Major and Anna M. Thane. Next year, I hope to do more like this.
Unfortunate Wretches
My next book, Unfortunate Wretches, about women executed between 1797 and 1837, will be out in 2017. As I have been unearthing some of the pitiful stories of these women, I have posted tasters of my research. Here is a reminder of some of them.
Ann Mead: The life and death of a nursemaid (plus there’s more about Maria Glenn’s untrustworthy nursemaid here)
Ann Hurle: The execution of a young woman of education
The Norfolk PoisoningsA spate of arsenic deaths within a small area of North Norfolk.
Eliza Fenning (on AllThingsGeorgian)
It has not been all murder and death, however, and I’m pleased to say some lighter subjects crept in, including the scandalous triangle of Maria Foote and her two suitors (of varying degrees of ardour), a database of Georgian image databases and social climbing via boarding schools (for Geri Walton).
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