Thursday, May 12, 2016

Behind the Story – More Than A Lover

by Ann Lethbridge

I am often asked Where do you get your ideas? and I thought you might be interested in a brief overview of the historical event that forms the backdrop to More Than A Lover.

My hero and heroine in More Than A Lover appeared in More Than a Mistress and readers have asked for their story, since it was obvious that Blade was no stranger to Caro Falkner. 

Caro is desperate to avoid him, because Blade is the one person who has the power to ruin her life and the life she has built for her young son..

Bladen Read has been involved in some of the great events of his time. He was a soldier during the Peninsular Wars and was badly wounded at Waterloo in 1815. He owes his life to Charles, Marquess of Tonbridge, a fellow cavalry officer. More Than A Lover takes place five years after Waterloo.

During this period, new technologies were turning the world upside down, much as they seem to be doing today.  In the years after Waterloo, there was a great deal of unrest among the civilian population because Society was changing from primarily agricultural to industrial.

In 1819 the people who lived and worked in and around Manchester were looking for better wages, respect in the form of the vote and job security. It sounds familiar doesn’t it?

At what we would call a peaceful rally today, an outspoken reformer of the time, Mr  Henry Hunt had been invited to address an assembly at St Peter’s Field on the outskirts of Manchester. Eyewitnesses called the  atmosphere more that of a country fair than political rally.

Nervous at the idea of a large gathering of dissatisfied people, the Prince Regent’s government sent the local militia to keep the peace, plus some regular regiments to augment them. As Hunt began his oration, someone ordered the soldiers to disperse the crowd. The militia charged with swords drawn. Eighteen people died, some by trampling, some from sabre cuts, and many others were injured, including women and children. The event was dubbed The Peterloo Massacre by the press.

Blade, a Cavalry Captain at the time, refused to obey the order to charge and tried to turn his company back. (While my hero is fictional, this happening is history.) Seven months later he has been forced to resign his commission and has gone to work for his good friend Charlie and is looking forward to renewing his acquaintance with the elusive Mrs Falkner.



Ann Lethbridge is an award winning author with more than thirty published novels and stories.  You can find her all over social media, when in fact she should be writing the. next. book.  To reach ann or learn about her stories, what's coming up next or join her newsletter which comes with a free chapter of a new book every month, visit her website https://www.annlethbridge.com 

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