Castles, Mansions, Banquets and Balls!

Castles, mansions, banquets and balls! What a life we see glorified in books and movies today, and what enjoyment it affords us. Dungeons, armies, peasants and kings. The history of England is a fascinating source of fodder for stories.

Here we are bringing together some of the modern day authors of historical England and the British Empire. We here, the authors of this blog, are working on your next books, the delight of your leisure evenings, and we are more than eager to share them with you. We want to stop our work for now, though, and take the time to meet you, to talk with you and to savor Olde England, our passion, with you.

Hadrian's Wall, shown with Chester's Bridge Abutment, above, is some of early Roman England. It is the greatest tourist attraction in Northern England today. I can only imagine standing, looking at it and trying to realize the time that passed since workmen were putting those stones together. Since then, in all those centuries, I imagine the travelers that passed near them, the children that climbed over them- all of them quickly grown up, grown old, grown silent and long forgotten.

Through all those centuries, named eras came and went. Each era had its rulers, its heroes, its ladies and its unfortunate poor. Each came to be known for its recovered facts, its legends and the questions it has raised. Its left-behind structures stand, or fall. Its art, music and dances have passed down to us, and with those, we imitate their lives.

What pretty stories we can create once we have done the research and become acquainted with the times, for there were common lives, extraordinary lives and for some, even royal lives. As time went on, a class system developed structure, structure which was widely, if resignedly, accepted by even those who suffered because of it. The lowest suffered for their "inferiority", which meant working hard and doing without. The highest suffered for marriage rules that destroyed their love lives and broke their hearts. Their positions pitted family members against each other for power or precedence and sometimes even took their lives. These are sad realities, but with much of it in the past, we can dream of people who might have lived in those confines. We can use those rules and that structure as an aid to make fascinating tales about these dreamed up people. The settings are grand; there are medieval forest hideouts, majestic but cold stone fortresses and gilt palaces. What appeals to you?

The authors of this blog will share some of the incredible things we've learned- perhaps you might be interested in the Great Fire of London in 1666 or learning about an eccentric lady of centuries past. You might want to know more about the practice of medicine in Victorian London or simply what an everyday Georgian working class man did with his spare change. How about an article on a particular castle? We will have a new post daily, something sure to keep ablaze your ancient English fancies and give you something to get your own imagination in gear. Perhaps you will want to be one of our "Reader-writers" and give us a short short story or a post? Please do! You may want to leave us a question about England for one of our experts to answer, or just come to play on our games page. We want this blog to become Anglophile Central, a place to learn about England, past and present, and have some fun. You may want to bring your tea.

We also want to introduce you to us, your authors, and our very English works. You can read about each one on the About Us page and even traipse off to our websites and blogs. Be sure to come back the next day, though, for a new and intriguing post!

Today, during our Grand Launch Weekend, we are having a huge Giveaway Event with a Kindle Grand Prize and numerous others! Please take a look at the following post to see what we have to offer, and choose your favorites.

Hadrian's Wall photo by Mike Quinn, shared by Creative Commons
Belton House photo owned by Richard Thomas, shared by Creative Commons