The Darling Strumpet Hits the Streets!

Wow! I discovered today through a Google alert (wonderful things!) that The Darling Strumpet is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Amazon UK. Its publication date is Jan. 4, 2011....

Also, the first two of the series of monthly articles I'm writing about the events in the corresponding months of 1660 are now up.

The inspiration for the series is that I had hoped that Darling Strumpet would be published this year to take advantage of the fact that 2010 is the 350th anniversary of the Restoration of Charles II, the reopening of the theatres that had been closed under Cromwell, and the first appearance of an actress on an English stage. Then I realized that it didn't matter - 1660 was a phenomenally eventful and important year, and I could write an article each month from May, the month in which Charles returned to London from his long exile, until January, when the book will be published. A different blog or website will host each article.

The May host is Hoydens and Firebrands:
http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogspot.com/2010/05/may-1660-by-gillian-bagwell.html

The June host is Reading the Past:
http://readingthepast.blogspot.com/2010/05/guest-post-from-gillian-bagwell-june.html

The July host will be Raucous Royals:
http://raucousroyals.com

The Darling Turkish Strumpet

I'm thrilled to say that Taryn Fagerness, my foreign rights agent, has sold TURKISH rights to The Darling Strumpet! Somehow Turkey seems like a culture vastly different than Nell's England. But my father has just sent me a book called Aziyade by Pierre Loti, which he says has fascinated the Turks for many years. He visited Istanbul last year, and stayed at a hotel called Aziyade, on a street called Piyerloti - a corruption of the author's name! I haven't read the book yet, but the title character apparently has many points of similarity with Nell, and is based on a young woman with whom the author -- actually a 19th century French naval officer named Julian Viaud -- fell in love! I'll have to read it!