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.
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