Beds and Blue Jeans

Beds and Blue Jeans is set in present day America.  It is about a love affair between a young couple - Sam.. a singer and Patti, his girlfriend....who drift into living together and having a baby, and how they make things work.  Its some time since I wrote a novella, but this is a favourite of mine.  Its realistic, but light and I hope is heart warming....

http://www.amazon.com/Beds-Blue-Jeans-everyday-mayhem-ebook/dp/B01370SMFO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1443265304&sr=8-2&keywords=nadine+sutton

Louise De Keroualle Part II

Louise kept her virtue for a time until she was sure that she had fascinated Charles and that he had very strong feelings for her.  Then she yielded, possibly after a “mock marriage”.  Her son by him was born in 1672... Charles Lennox, later Duke of Richmond. 

Louise got a lot of support from the French ambassador as she was seen as Charles’s chief mistress and having influence over him.  The French King and Ambassador hoped to use her to promote French interests with Charles, now that Minette was dead.   Charles persuaded Louis XIV to grant her a French title, Duchesse D’Aubigny… in 1673. 

Louise in spite of Charles' love for her, does not come across as very likable.  Barbara Castlemaine was not a particularly lovable woman, either… She was greedy, had a violent temper and was arrogant and unpleasant.  However, she had more personality than “Weeping Willow’ Louise who seems to have been a very cool self regarding woman. 

Charles loved her, but her feelings towards him were probably simply gratitude for his generosity... She was loyal to French interests, and keen to amass a fortune.   She had a strong hold over her royal lover, in spite of her unpopularity in England as a whole.  Nell Gwynne mocked her; the people saw her as a French spy and whore…

She had some protection from Catherine of Braganza, who was grateful to her for her being polite and showing her some respect.   She survived the Popish Plot, and maintained her hold on Charles’ affections.  When he was dying, however she was not allowed to go to him… but she worked behind the scenes to get a priest to come to him so that he could at last declare himself a Catholic. Charles said that he died loving her and she was in his thoughts at the end, though he did also ask his brother to make sure that his other mistress, “Poor Nelly” did not starve.

James II ensured she had her pension, but Louise had no real protection in England and returned to France.  She visited England only once or twice, turning up for the coronation of George I.   She lost her money from Charles at the time of the 1688 Revolution. She did however receive a pension from the King of France…. and died there in 1734….

Louise De Keroualle Royal Mistress Part I

Louise de Keroualle was one of Charles II’s most famous mistresses.  At the end of his life, he was involved still with Nell Gwynne, who had been his lover for some years…  He was still friendly with old mistresses like Barbara Castlemaine and Hortense Mazarin and he was probably involved with other occasional women but Louise was the one he deeply loved.  However, she was not liked in England, because of her Catholicism, her being French and the suspicion that she was a French spy.   She certainly was involved in pushing Charles to favour French interests, and acted as a conduit between him and the French King.

Nell mocked Louise, being sharp tongued and witty, calling her “Squintabella” (she had a slight squint) and the “Weeping Willow”, because Louise acted in a “little girlish” way at times and tried to get her way with fits of tears.  Louise was haughty and  disliked the actress because of her low origins and her skill at repartee.  Nell was popular with the London people, as one of their own.   Louise was higher born and better educated but she lacked Nell's quick wit. 

 She was born in 1649 in Brittany to a noble family, and got a post as a lady in waiting to Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orleans, Charles’ beloved sister whom he called Minette.  When Henrietta paid a visit to England, to negotiate a secret treaty between Louis and Charles, Louise was part of her entourage.   Charles was attracted to her and is reputed to have asked Minette to let her stay with him but she refused, since Louise was very young and she was responsible for her. 
After his sister’s death however, Charles got his wish, and Louise came to court as lady in waiting to Queen Catherine.  Unlike Barbara Castlemaine, she was polite and respectful to her mistress and Catherine was pleased to have her at court, since both were Catholics.

The French were pleased to see that a French Catholic had attracted Charles’ interest… They were eager to push her into becoming the King’s Mistress.  Louise held out for a time, protesting that she was too well born and virtuous to become anyone’s mistress, even a king's -.

George Strait

George Strait was born in Texas, on a ranch and has remained true to his roots.    He is one of the most popular and successful of current country artists, and was a pioneer of the neo traditionalist style.   He emphasises his connection with the older artists like Hank Williams, Ernest Tubbs, and Kitty Wells etc. and deprecated the trend towards ‘pop country” and the blandness of much of Nashville’s output at times.  He usually dresses in the old fashioned “cowboy gear” of earlier country singers.

In 2000, he and Alan Jackson recorded a song called Murder on Music Row, about the death or murder of traditional country which is the “real thing”… which is being destroyed by the executives in the music business.

 He grew to love country music as a boy, and played in bands.  In 1971, he married his high school sweet-heart Norma.  He then did a stint in the Army, but on his discharge in 1975, he went to college to do a degree in agriculture. 

He retained a connection with the family ranch, but began to play in a country band.  He kept on trying, playing and looking for a recording deal in Nashville… but with no success at first. But in 1981, he recorded his first song and his conservative traditionalist style was noted and liked.  In the 80s he began to climb towards success.   One of his best known songs is the wittily titled “All my Exes live In Texas”…

Kenny Rogers.. the Gambler

Kenny Rogers was born in Houston Texas in 1938 and has had a long career, as a singer and musician.  A year or so ago, he did his Farewell Tour... I was unable to attend his concerts in the UK….which I regret very much….

His family were not very well off, and he grew up in a poor community.  Like many country singers, he showed early talent and played music as a boy.  After school, he began to sing with a jazz band.  In the early 60s he sang with the folk singing New Christy Minstrels, and after a few years, ended up in Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, which sang a mixture of soft rock, pop and country.   This band was very popular in the early 1970s, and Kenny had a big hit with “Ruby Don’t take your Love to Town”, written by Mel Tillis.   Kenny’s laid back style and charm sometimes obscures the fact that some of his songs cover very edgy material.  “Ruby” is about a wheelchair bound veteran, angrily and sadly begging his wife not to be unfaithful to him.

The First Edition began to lose popularity in the mid-70s, but Kenny did not let it stop him working. He married again to a girl from the country show Hee Haw… Kenny’s love life has been turbulent at times... and he has been married several times and had several children.

In 1977, he had another massive hit with Lucille which was an immensely popular song, and sold over 4 million copies.  Again, it is about a tragic situation... a hard working impoverished farmer trying to persuade his wife to return to him, when she has gone off with another man, because she “finally quit living on dreams…”

After that, he teamed up with his good friend, singer Dottie West, for several duets, which were also big sellers, including “Every time 2 fools collide.”

In the early 80s, he duetted with Dolly Parton – one of their songs was Islands in the Stream, and the 2 of them had great chemistry…as singing partners… His other big hits included the Gambler and Coward of the County.    He also used the character of the Gambler in 4 TV Movies. He has now had a good deal of fame as an actor, like many singers.  Another of his songs that was used as the story for a movie was Coward of the County. 

Kenny’s interests have extended beyond singing and acting and producing records... He also has a passion for photography, and what was a hobby has also become part of his working life, with the publication of books of his photographs.   He has also become a business man, with a chain of fast food restaurants and a line of western type clothing.  Now he is 80, with some health problems and is resting on his laurels…

Eugene de Beauharnais Duke of Leuchtenberg Part II

On Napoleon’s return to France from Egypt, he was determined to divorce Josephine for her infidelity.  He came home with Eugene and headed for Paris...

He had hoped that Mme  Pauline Foures might give him a son, during their affair, but she did not become pregnant.  Napoleon was uneasy about his lack of children.  As an old fashioned “male chauvinist” Corsican and a man with ambitions to rule in France, he hoped for male heirs.  And he wanted a family for his own sake… he had eagerly believed Josephine when she told him she was pregnant soon after their wedding.

But the pregnancy proved a mistake or a lie on her part... and since his wife was 6 years his senior, it began to seem unlikely that she would provide him with a brood of children.  However, Pauline Foures also did not become pregnant and he remarked that the “little fool didn’t know how to have a child…” a remark that probably betrayed his uneasiness about whether he could father children.

Josephine was aware of his anger, and that he wanted a divorce, and she hoped to charm him back to their marriage.  However though she tried to catch him before he met with his relatives, who would press him to get rid of her... He was heading towards Paris; she missed him on the road.  Eventually she got to Malmaison to find that her husband was refusing to see her.  Luckily Hortense and Eugene were there and both of them spent hours outside his locked bedroom door, crying and talking and trying to beg him to see Josephine. 

Napoleon had grown to love both step children in the years of the marriage and they both cared for him.  He found Eugene more loyal and supportive as a step-son than his own brothers often were.

The children loved their mother dearly, and wanted to save the marriage… for her sake.  And they also loved their stepfather.   Under their persuasion, he finally opened the door and let his wife in, to talk.

The following morning, Joseph Bonaparte arrived, gleefully hoping that his brother was now about to throw out his wife and divorce her, as the family still held onto their hostility towards Josephine.  However, to his angry amazement, he found the couple in bed together.

Josephine had saved her marriage, though it was never quite the same.  Napoleon still loved her but not in the wild passionate adoring way that he had done before.  He was frequently unfaithful to her… and harsh with her when she complained.

However, she remained devoted to him, and to her children…

Eugene benefited from his step father’s patronage in his army career and he was a good soldier.  Napoleon remarked that the step children were more loyal and affectionate than his own siblings and that (later when Hortense had married Louis) he would go out of a meeting to see Madame Louis if she asked for him, when he might not for his sisters…

When Napoleon became Emperor, the marriage was under strain again, because in this position, he needed male heirs.  He knew by then that Josephine would not give him children, but she pointed out to him that he might not be fertile, since she had had 2 children
.However, the marriage survived... and Eugene benefitted by being adopted by the Emperor, made an official member of the Imperial family, and given the job of Viceroy of Italy.   He continued to prosper in his military career and in 1806; he married Augusta of Bavaria, a royal wife.  The marriage was arranged by Napoleon, but Eugene agreed to it and he and Augusta grew to love each other.  They had a happy and stable marriage.   They were to have 7 children in all, 5 daughters (one of whom died in infancy) and 2 sons. 

Eugene was considered a good soldier, and an able administrator, unlike some of Napoleons family who were placed on thrones as subordinate rulers for the Emperor.   He was also a cheerful good natured man, and was loved by his mother and was always popular as a visitor to her household.  When the couple divorced, he and Hortense were willing to retire into the background, believing that it might be better for their mother to end the marriage, and not torment herself over Napoleon’s infidelities and her fear that she was going to be put aside…. And they felt that their first loyalty must be to their beloved mother.

But Napoleon persuaded his stepson and daughter to remain in their positions and to retain a close relationship with him, as well as to Josephine.   She retained the title of Empress and was given a handsome income, though she still got into debt.  Her children remained close to her, but Eugene retained his public roles until the empire finally collapsed. 

Then in 1817, after his mother’s death and Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, Eugene was given the title of Duke of Leuchtenberg, by his father in law, Maximillian of Bavaria and was treated as a member of the family.  He and Augusta lived together quietly, until Eugene died at the early age of 42, in 1824. 

Their children were Josephine, Eugenie, Amelie, Theodolinde and Caroline Clotilde, and the 2 sons Maximilian and Auguste. All of the children, (except Caroline who died as a baby) made marriages into the royal families of Europe.  Josephine became Queen of Sweden, and Amelie married the Emperor of Brazil...  August married the Queen of Portugal, Maria II but died only 2 months after the wedding.  His brother Maximilian married a Russian Grand Duchess.

 So as the son of 2 French aristocrats, Eugene managed to attain a position where he married a Princess and his children's blood was passed on in many other Royal families....

Kathleen Winsor Part II

In the 20s and 30s, historical novels had become more popular, among women readers. During the Depression, they were an escape from the dullness and hardship of day to day modern life.  Gone with the Wind was probably especially popular because its heroine was unusually feisty and independent.  The book was racist, in many ways, but I think that women readers liked it because Scarlett’s struggle to keep her family home and to survive during a war – was an inspiration to people trying to survive the Depression.

Publishers were interested in Winsor’s lengthy draft of Forever Amber, because they were hoping for a new Gone with the Wind.  However, it needed editing and re writing, and took time to prepare.  But they realised that Winsor had produced a best seller.  It was published in 1944, and was a runaway success.

It was much more “sexy” than the earlier novel, with Amber taking numerous lovers, becoming pregnant by Bruce (who returns to London periodically) while married to another man.   Unlike Scarlett O’Hara, who does work in her own businesses to achieve success, the only job that Amber ever does is acting – which she uses as a way of attracting richer lovers.

Also, the book references abortions and “perversion”, and Amber is often unfaithful to her various husbands.  She seduces Philip, the son of her third husband. This husband is an elderly and impoverished Earl, who has come to dislike her and to be determined that she is not going to cuckold him.  He removes her from London to his country estate.  Bored, Amber starts an affair with Philip, and remarks that “adultery isn’t a crime, but an amusement.” 

This scandalous story aroused plenty of horrified opposition in 1944 America, from the churches and conservative commentators.   It was banned in many states as “pornographic”… Of course this only increased sales, as the public were aware that this was a “naughty” book and fun to read.  Winsor had done a lot of research, and while it was by the standards of the day a raunchy read, she did create a reasonable accurate picture of Restoration London, its court and its impoverished citizens…She wrote in events like the outbreak of Plague, the Great Fire of London, and the intrigues of Court life…

 Winsor’s first marriage broke down, and she then married Artie Shaw, the band leader.  Ironically, he had scolded his previous wife, Ava Gardner, for reading such a “trashy” book as Amber…

 However, her marriage to Shaw didn’t last long, and she ended up marrying her divorce lawyer.  She continued to write, but she never achieved the wild success of Forever Amber again.  Her next novel was based on her experience of becoming a bestselling novelist.  But the public wanted “more Amber”...  and none of her other novels achieved the same massive success. She had peaked too early...

She made a fourth marriage which was happy and lasted till her husband’s death, and went on with her writing…

Kathleen Winsor and Forever Amber Part I

Kathleen Winsor - famous as the author of the “bonk buster” novel Forever Amber - was born in Minnesota in 1919.  Her father was a real estate dealer and she went to college….

She married young, to a football star, Robert Herwig, and during her marriage to him, she worked as a sports reporter for a newspaper.  Herwig was at college, and Kathleen, bored one day, picked up one of his books about Restoration England.  She became interested in the period, and began to research it.  Herwig was soon away at World War 2, and during that time, Kathleen continued to read about Charles II’s England...  Reputedly, she read over 300 books on the era…though she had never travelled outside the USA.

She had always wanted to write, and during her husband’s absence, she wrote several drafts of the novel Amber... 

She was working on it, soon after the runaway success of Gone with the Wind.  Mitchell’s novel was probably an inspiration.. it also had a historical background, was set during torrid times of war and disaster and had a feisty independent glamorous heroine.  Amber is much more scandalous than Scarlett O’Hara...and rises from poverty to affluence and high status, mainly by the use of her physical charms.  She becomes eventually the mistress of Charles II.   Scarlett, on the other hand, is never very sexual. She does fascinate men, and is willing to flirt to get ahead, but never goes further than that.  She makes her way in the world through business smarts, willingness to work hard even picking cotton, and being good with handling money…. Although she does marry three times.

Amber is the illegitimate daughter of Royalist gentry, but her parents had died and she was taken in by a decent but not very rich farming family.  Amber’s beauty attracts Bruce Carlyon, a Royalist lord who is trying to rebuild his life after the Civil Wars.  He seduces her and takes her with him to London, but he dislikes court life and wants to go adventuring abroad… Amber, however, is fascinated by the world of the rich, and London.  Some of the novel was clearly inspired by Moll Flanders, by Defoe.  Amber is left poor when Bruce leaves her, and she marries a con man, to get a father for her unborn baby…  She ends up in jail, and becomes a thief and the mistress of a thief…

Eugene De Beauharnais

Eugene De Beauharnais was the brother of Hortense and the stepson of Napoleon. 

Born in 1781, he was the only son of Alexandre de Beauharnais, by his wife Marie Josephe Rose... 

His father was a liberal aristocrat who was sympathetic to the Revolution, but was later executed for military failures…during the Reign of Terror…

Eugene’s parents separated when he was a child, and he was given into his father’s custody, while Josephine (then called Rose) had Hortense. 

Josephine was a devoted mother, and her children adored her.  However they often had to undertake the parental role as she was flighty and extravagant.  She and her husband achieved a certain friendly relationship in their last few years, but she was imprisoned and only escaped the guillotine by luck…  After her release from prison, she had her two children to support. She became the mistress and hostess for Paul Barras, who was one of the Directorate, which was the ruling council of France. 

Josephine was only moderately pretty but she was elegant and very charming.  She met Napoleon in society, but he was shy and awkward with women.   According to some reports, Eugene met Napoleon when there was a directive to hand in weapons, and his father’s sword was to be handed in to the authorities.  Eugene, out of loyalty to his father, wanted to keep the sword and Napoleon permitted this.  Josephine called to thank him and a romance began between her and the young General…

Eugene soon grew to love his stepfather though Hortense did not like him so much at first.  He wanted to be a soldier, so he joined the army and when Napoleon went to Egypt, he served as his aide de camp.

While in Egypt, Napoleon discovered that his wife was having an affair back in Paris with Hippolyte Charles... a Hussar captain.   At the time, her feelings for Napoleon had been somewhat lukewarm; she had married him for security... while he was passionately in love. When rumours of the affair, which had been going on for some time, reached him, Napoleon was enraged and crazy with jealousy.  He determined to find a mistress himself, and swore that he would divorce his wife once he returned to Paris.   He started an affair with Pauline Foures, a young Frenchwoman who had accompanied her husband to Egypt, and who was bored and flattered by his attentions. 

Eugene was unhappy about the affair - and protested to his stepfather about having to escort Madame Foures in her drives around town... Napoleon excused him from this duty but he still intended to get a divorce…. 

Eugene was torn between loyalty to his mother, whom he loved dearly, and to his step father.