Pre-Raphaelites in Love: Millias, Effie Gray and John Ruskin
In 1854, the gossip in London was all about the collapse of art critic John Ruskin’s marriage to Effie Gray. Not even the recent war in the Crimea was as titillating a topic. Nobody in society could talk about anything else. The matter was the hot topic at dinner parties for months as people eagerly chewed over the details. Ladies whispered about it in the drawing rooms,

Sunday Book Review: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale, published by Walker & Co. (US), Bloomsbury Books (UK) From the back cover: It is midnight on 30th June 1860 and all is quiet in the Kent family's elegant house in Road, Wiltshire.  The next morning, however, they wake to find that their youngest son has been the victim of an unimaginably grues

Happy Thanksgiving and the Winner of Delilah
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. May the day be filled with joy, laughter, family, friends, and plenty of food! And now for the winner of India Edghill's Delilah...... Gwendolyn B Thanks to everyone that entered. Please come back again and enter The Winter Queen giveaway or in December, when I will be giving away at least 3 books, just in time for Xmas.. http://scandalouswoman.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Guest Blogger Polly Guerin on Carmen Miranda
Those of us who remember that dynamic "tutti frutti " dancing diva, Carmen Miranda, will never forget her bombastic style and sensuous singing. Carmen Miranda who died on August 5, 1955 at the far too young age of 46 set the standard for Latin performers. She broke through racial barriers to make a dramatic mark on the silver screen in Hollywood and by some accounts she was one of the highest-paid artists and reported to be the h

Special November Giveaway - The Winter Queen by Amanda McCabe
Just in time for Christmas! The final giveaway of the month is the Winter Queen by Amanda McCabe.  Here is a teaser: As Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting, innocent Lady Rosamund is unprepared for the temptations of Court. She is swept up in the festivities of the yuletide season and, as seduction perfumes the air, Rosamund is drawn to darkly enticing Anton Gustavson….