A Strong Female Main Character

Lady Marleigh Barrett, daughter of the Earl of Wylde, is the heroine of That Wylde Woman! As a strong female character, she is a concise businesswoman with no patience for patriarchy. People have mentioned that women’s suffrage didn’t begin in England until the mid-1850s. In fact, the first women’s suffrage was in 1832 when Mary Smith from Yorkshire petitioned her MP. She and other unmarried women wanted a voice in the election of Members of Parliament.

Petitions for voting rights do not come from thin air. They are brought about after centuries of inequality. Educated women in the early 1800s began meeting, talking, and doing what they could to change their status without breaking any laws. As we know, it is often the youth that can stand no more hypocrisy and push for action.

 

Lady Marleigh Barrett is one of those youthful women. It is not a petition she insists upon. She demands a marriage contract that lawfully puts her in control of her life and resources. That Wylde Woman! is the story of one woman who demands to be in charge of her own person and the effects that can ripple through society when men finally “get it.”

Andrew Pangbourne - the Dark Adonis

Hero of  *That Wylde Woman!*

     Who is he? Where did he come from? Spending childhood summers with Great Aunt Suzette, he spoke French fluently and was familiar with the patois and culture.
     Now an adult during the war with Napoleon, he lived openly in the guise of a Frenchman, sending messages to the English Regent of French military plans. His position also allowed him to help those fleeing the war safely leave France and seek a new homeland in England.
     He is called home by the Regent when his uncle, the Duke of Pangbourne, dies unexpectedly, leaving him the next Duke of Pangbourne. He meets our heroine at a party when she bursts into the trophy room where he is hiding out and grabs a sword to defend herself from an unwanted suitor. The sword wielding woman piqued his interest.

Napoleons Contribution to the Modern World

 

That Wylde Woman, set just after the Napoleonic Wars, has a scene where guest at a ball are served delicious foods – out of season. How could that be? When researching information about the war and its aftereffects I discovered something valuable - used even today: Food preservation.

It is said that an Army travels on its belly. Napoleon knew this to be true. He had constant problems supplying food for his army. In 1795 Napoleon offered a 12,000 Frank prize for a method of food preservation. Nicolas François Appert, a confectioner, won the prize in 1809 creating the same boiling method used commercially and in our homes today: Canning in sterile jars.

History: Companion to Curiosity

 

    I’m still editing my newest book, That Wylde Woman! When writing historical fiction, I constantly learn new facts. In one of the party scenes, I described a lovely spread of foods the characters were munching. During editing this week, I had to ask myself, is that possible? Was it a tasty condiment two hundred years ago?
    It turns out Dijon mustard is far older than 200 years! It dates back to the Romans. Dijon mustard entered mustard history in the 13 century. Pope John XXII of Avignon doted on his idle nephew who lived in Dijon. A mustard lover, he created a position for his cherished but lackadaisical nephew as the “Grand Moutardier du Pape,”  meaning the grand mustard-maker to the pope. From this title comes the French idiom: “he thinks himself the head mustard-maker to the pope,” a laughable censure meaning someone thinks too highly of himself.

History Arouses Our Curiosity and Produces Entertaining Subplots

Indonesian Mount Tambora, not one of the tallest Mountains in the world, but a violent climax on April 10, 1815, proved Tambora to have the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded human history. The explosive ash raised into the Pacific Winds and carried it over the earth, creating lower global temperatures. The results of that event were not felt until the following year and are now known as The Year Without Summer. The excerpt from That Wylde Woman has our main characters discovering the possible effects the explosion could have for England.
From Chapter 8:  Duke of Pangbourne speaking to Marleigh Barrett:

    The other evening you mentioned getting the family country estate back in shape. I discovered the scientist-explorer we discussed, Robert Evans, is giving a lecture tomorrow afternoon. The poster said he will be speaking about being on a neighboring island near Sumbawa, Indonesia, where the Mt. Tambora volcano erupted last spring. I understand he has some fascinating theories on how it may affect harvests and other consequences worldwide. Would you like to accompany me?”
    “Affect harvests here? From the other side of the world? Do you think that is possible? Seems a little far-fetched.”
    “It may be. We will not know until we hear what Evans has to say. He is lecturing at the  Geological Society of London.”
    “Indeed, it would be fascinating to hear what a scientist can theorize about a volcanic eruption affecting us thousands of miles and oceans away. Yes, I would be happy to go tomorrow.