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dangermousieI am reading the latest in my romance binge, The Duke by Gaelen Foley (short verdict: so-so), and I kept wondering why the main premise doesn't bother me as much as it should - i.e. an 18th/19th century Duke marrying a courtesan, no matter how much he loves her? Yeah, right.
And then I realized the reason I am not completely falling out of my chair in disbelief is because of this, i.e. the marriage of Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead. He was a very blue-blooded opposition leader in late 18th-century and she was a very famous courtesan (George IV was one of her clients). Even though she was Fox's mistress for years, she refused Fox's offer of marriage because she did not want to ruin his career, but she finally gave in and they were married in secret, and later revealed their marriage which was a huge huge scandal. Apparently they were quite happy together until his death. I remember coming across a book on her in the caverns of our University library and being fascinated.
So I suppose I can tolerate Ms Foley's plot because of them :)
Of course, Charles James Fox was also known for being an insane gambler who lost (in modern money equivalent) millions of pounds gambling and would play and drink all night only to go to Parliament straight from the tables and make some amazing speeches and get involved in debates. LOL.
Maybe someone should do a romance novel about them :P Only of course they wouldn't, because Fox wasn't good-looking by the wildest stretch of anyone's imagination and Elizabeth Armistead wasn't a blushing wilting lady waiting to be rescued but really successful at her job. Oh well.
And then I realized the reason I am not completely falling out of my chair in disbelief is because of this, i.e. the marriage of Charles James Fox and Elizabeth Armistead. He was a very blue-blooded opposition leader in late 18th-century and she was a very famous courtesan (George IV was one of her clients). Even though she was Fox's mistress for years, she refused Fox's offer of marriage because she did not want to ruin his career, but she finally gave in and they were married in secret, and later revealed their marriage which was a huge huge scandal. Apparently they were quite happy together until his death. I remember coming across a book on her in the caverns of our University library and being fascinated.
So I suppose I can tolerate Ms Foley's plot because of them :)
Of course, Charles James Fox was also known for being an insane gambler who lost (in modern money equivalent) millions of pounds gambling and would play and drink all night only to go to Parliament straight from the tables and make some amazing speeches and get involved in debates. LOL.
Maybe someone should do a romance novel about them :P Only of course they wouldn't, because Fox wasn't good-looking by the wildest stretch of anyone's imagination and Elizabeth Armistead wasn't a blushing wilting lady waiting to be rescued but really successful at her job. Oh well.
