An unusual hero

The hero in Scandalous Lady is an enigmatic man, an ice-cool diplomat and accustomed to command. The inspiration for his character came from a photo, which implied a serious personality yet at the same time someone who liked to tease. Of course, that is merely my interpretation of the photo. But I am grateful to Santiago Cabrera for inspiring a truly gorgeous hero for my tale. 

Below is a small extract to show the hero in all his arrogance at the beginning of the story, which is set in Constantinople in 1811.

She unplaited the tight braids, swearing as the string of pearls snagged repeatedly in her hair. At last she worked it free and pushing the pearls into her thick sash, she combed her fingers through her hair, relieved to feel it flowing free down her back and rising into its usual mass of curls.

            'Hah!' she muttered, encouraged by this small act of defiance, 'now perhaps I can smash a window.'

            She looked around for a suitable tool. Maybe a chair…? Feverishly she rushed to pick one up. Then froze as one of the doors opened and a tall, black-haired man appeared. He was dressed in a gorgeous tunic over silken oriental trousers. Gems winked on his chest. The door closed behind him and he advanced into the large room. He surveyed her with huge dark eyes. Olivia clutched the frame of the gilded chair as if it could hide her. She suddenly remembered her flimsy clothes and crossed her arms over her bosom.

            He came closer. 'Why so modest all at once?' he drawled. 'I know your reputation, Olivia Hartford.'

Olivia stared at him in shock. This was the man who had saved her from the snake, the man whose eyes mesmerised her. She had longed to meet him again. But now he was revealed as just another arrogant rake, like Lord Craybrook who had tried to compromise her and who had told such wild tales about her in the newspapers. She felt a surge of anger that everywhere in the world, men were always the same, intent on seduction and their own pleasure.

            He watched her face, his mouth curved in an ironic smile. Olivia's stomach churned. How could this man know what the London papers wrote in their gossip pages? Her knees shook as she realised why he had kidnapped her, and why she had been perfumed and dressed in these garments. At least he spoke English. She raised her chin defiantly. 'How dare you do this to me! I demand to be taken home at once.'

            He gave a short laugh. 'Oh, not at once. Later perhaps - after we have talked.'

            She gulped. 'Talk' indeed! She glared at him to disguise the rising sense of fear, knowing she was completely in his power. As if to confirm this, he strolled up to her and put a finger under her chin, forcing her face up. Although his beautiful eyes were closer now than ever before, Olivia did not waste a second admiring them. She thrust her knee up but he was too quick and moved back, laughing.

            'You have spirit,' he admitted, 'I like that in a woman. But I guessed it when I saw the colour of your hair.' He frowned. 'I gave orders that your hair was to be braided with pearls. The effect would be pretty against the red. Why did they not obey?' His tone implied there would be a severe punishment.

            Olivia blinked in shock. So every detail of her appearance was due to his orders. 'But why - ' she began when the door opened again. She stared, astonished at a procession of servants, all bearing covered dishes. A huge brass tray was set upon a low frame and cushions placed by it. The tray was soon completely covered with exotic looking food. A delicious savoury aroma wafted to Olivia's nostrils, making her stomach rumble in protest at its emptiness.

            While these preparations were going on, she retreated to one of the windows and stood with her back to the room. Reflected in the glass she saw the man walk over to give some order to the doorkeeper. Her eyes widened as she watched how the folds of his heavy silk trousers shifted against the muscled contours of his long legs with each movement. It was incredibly alluring. Her mouth went dry.

( C) Beth Elliott 2014  

Later in the story, Selim, a keen musician, plays Mozart's Turkish March for Olivia. 

Here it's performed by Turkish pianist, Fazil Say. 

                              
                                                 https://youtu.be/5b2ZGT7iyI8

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 Sultan Mahmud II, seated in state with his officials [about 1810]. The description of his yellow robe is in John Cam Hobhouse's account of the audience he and Lord Byron had with Sultan Mahmud in July of that year.

 By 1827 the Sultan had banned this traditional dress in favour of modern European costume. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Scandalous-Lady-Beth-Elliott/dp/1541127072/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506106822&sr=1-1&keywords=Beth+Elliott+%2B+Scandalous+Lady

A home for my hero

The Princes' Islands are situated at about an hour's sailing time from the European side of Istanbul. They are a peaceful haven, where wealthy Istanbullus have a summer villa, or if not rich enough to own or rent one, go for a few days holiday in a hotel.  The journey by boat sets the mood - no racing along the motorway, it is a restful interlude. 

When you disembark, the peaceful atmosphere continues. There are no motorised vehicles on the island. Transport is either by bike or by horse drawn carriage. The roads are really quiet.

                                              

The villas are mainly set back in beautifully tended gardens.

The islands have been inhabited for as long as Constantinople itself, so it seemed feasible to give my hero a home on Buyukada, the largest island. Research to decide where and what style of house, was indeed a pleasure for me. The villas are delightful but traditionally they are made of wood and so are not generally very long lasting. 

There are only a couple left old enough to represent a building typical of the 18th Century. Judging by this engraving, the older villas were large and elaborate - very suitable for my hero's mother, who is a Turkish princess.

 Fortunately for Olivia in Scandalous Lady, the hero's yali is always kept in good order for when members of the family visit from France. Selim sends Olivia here as a place of safety. In his mother's house, she is protected by the laws of hospitality from the Sultan's plan to dispose of her. 

Difficult Times - the reign of Sultan Selim III

         Sultan Selim III came to the Ottoman throne in 1789, at the age of 27. 

He was a good looking, slender young man, able and energetic, an accomplished musician and a poet. He corresponded with King Louis XVI of France, who faced similar difficulties to those that Selim would now discover.
        The previous sultan, Abdulhamid I, had complained of sleepless nights. Selim soon grasped why. His empire was beset by war, disobedient soldiers, economic decline, a restless populace and thrusting minorities, aggressive neighbours, religious fundamentalism, frequent fires in Constantinople as well as outbreaks of plague.

Selim set about initiating reforms of the taxation system and especially of the army. It was obvious that without radical modernisation, the Ottoman army would never hold back the constant attempts at invasion by the Russian and Austrian forces. In spite of much opposition from conservative elements, Selim managed to set his reforms in motion. By 1807 he had established the Nizam-i-Cedid, the New Military Order; 27 thousand troops trained in modern European drill and tactics. These troops were stationed outside the city to avoid inflaming the hatred of reactionary elements in Ottoman society, and in particular, the janissaries, who resisted anything that might harm their privileged status.

Selim gave many parties in the gardens of his palaces. In April 1797 he gave a tulip fete. This is the last known mention of such an event, which had been so popular at the Ottoman court throughout the 18th century. He was an active man and took part in jirit matches, together with his young nephew, the future Sultan Mahmud II. They made up teams from the palace gardeners and the pageboys. Mahmud led the bamya team and Selim the cabbage team.

At the Sultan's invitation, foreign advisers from many European countries flooded into Constantinople.  Selim's court was the centre for introducing European culture into Turkish society. France, Turkey's oldest ally, was particularly favoured. The Sultan gained a reputation for favouring western civilisation.  In addition, he was attracted to the artistic pleasures of rebuilding and decorating his many palaces. [We can see some of these through the paintings of Antoine-Ignace Melling, who became decorator to the Sultan and to his sister, Hatice Sultan.]
                                  

Struggling under a heavy burden of taxation, the people protested, sometimes violently. Selim lacked the ruthlessness necessary to resist the growing pressure.
In May 1807, a revolt broke out in a fort at the top of the Bosphorus. The unrest grew until the Sultan was forced to abdicate in favour of his weak-minded cousin, Mustafa IV.  
Over the following year matters grew steadily worse. The Russians were occupying Wallachia and Moldavia, which meant food was scarce in Constantinople.  A loyal Governor attempted to restore Selim to the throne but in the struggle, reactionary soldiers murdered Selim on 28th July 1808.  

Today he is remembered for his music and poetry as well as for his efforts at reform. Some of his music is still played on Turkish radio. His favourite summer palace on the shores of the Golden Horn, is now the State Music Museum.

Aynalikavak Kasri - the Pavilion of the Mirrored Poplars
[top] facade facing the Golden Horn
[below] the composition room

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The plan to modernise the Turkish army is a basic theme of April and May, set in Constantinople in 1804.

April and May

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The attempt to end the long running war with Russia is the background

 to  Scandalous Lady, also set in Constantinople in 1811.

Scandalous Lady

                                                     

                                                     *************************

The Next Big Thing #thenextbigthing

The Next Big Thing:
 Scandalous Lady

The latest game for authors in the blogosphere is to tag each other for The Next Big Thing. Once tagged, an author answers a few questions, then tags other writers, with their permission.

This time I was tagged by Jane Risdon.
You can read a wide variety of items by Jane at   http://janerisdon.wordpress.com/

Jane loves books as magical things and of course I would agree with her that the smell and feel of them is the first part of the spell. Once inside a good book, you are in another world, one that is always there for you to go back to. Jane's WIP is about the sleuth Lavinia Birdsong, retired from MI5 to live in an Oxfordshire village. But when mystery and murder occur, she has to go back to solving the crimes. We are waiting eagerly for Lavinia to complete her first adventure, so we can read it….

Now for.......The Next Big Thing.

What is the working title of your book?

          Scandalous Lady

Where did the idea come from for the book?

For me, things start by looking at pictures. I have a large collection of faces and buildings, gathered from magazines, etc. One or two faces suddenly seem to have a story attached and a few scenes of their story are immediately clear to me, although I'm not sure where in the tale these events take place. It's as if the story is already complete, but I must work to uncover it, little by little.
This time, my hero looked gravely out at me and his character was evident: proud, subtle and determined, yet he also liked to tease. His dark colouring indicated an exotic setting, so Istanbul, a city I love, seemed to be part of his story. Lady Hester Stanhope spent some months in Istanbul in 1811, when things were settling down after a period of great turmoil. And setting the tale in that year allowed me to add in a few details about Sultan Selim III, whose life fascinates me. Another photo of a sultry young lady with a fearless look completed the basic mix. She was going to challenge my gorgeous but arrogant hero to the limit.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical romance with a dash of adventure.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

The hero's looks are based on Santiago Cabrera. It was the actor's thoughtful pose that initially inspired me. I also think he has the right voice to play Selim / Henri, who is part French, part Turkish. Olivia is a redhead and very lively. Carey Mulligan would provide a wonderful, impish contrast to my rather serious Selim / Henri.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

No matter the obstacles, love will find a way through them.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I hope to find a publisher to take the story. Agents are not keen on Regency set stories, although the public like them.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About eight months writing time but before I could complete it, I needed to go to Istanbul and to the Pyrenees for research - so just over a year altogether. But eventually it took longer because my first draft is always very different from the final version of the story. And the chateau in the Pyrenees was so wonderful I went back for a second visit.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I feel very presumptuous even to mention myself in the same sentence as such a prestigious author but the closest would be Loretta Chase's Mr Impossible - because both stories are about an English person coping with life in a very different culture. It's also clear that both she and I like exotic settings.
Here is a view of Istanbul / Constantinople from Pera, where the European community lived, looking south across the Golden Horn.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I love to read about intrepid women travelers. For a long time I was looking for an opportunity to put Lady Hester Stanhope into a story. As she spent time in Istanbul, that settled both the time and place for me. Her independent lifestyle makes her a role-model for Olivia, my heroine. In addition, I have to confess to a special interest in the Ottoman Sultan, Selim III, the gentle musician monarch. He tried to reform his empire but he was murdered by reactionary soldiers in 1808.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It is an Ottoman Regency story and opens the door on an exotic world. As this is mainly seen through Olivia's eyes, the reader can share her experience of dipping in and out of a very different way of life and then return  to more familiar customs. Here is the kasir [pavilion, part of a royal palace] where Selim stayed while working for the Sultan. This little gem is situated on the north shore of the Golden Horn. It was the favourite palace of Sultan Selim III, and is now the National Music Museum.

                                                                                                         

Now I'm tagging Cindy Nord to tell us about her latest stories on The Next Big Thing. There is a lot of fascinating information about Cindy, her writings and her interest in the American Civil War Reenactment Society on her website at :    www.cindynord.com

Cindy writes a luscious blend of history and romance with fast-paced action and emotionally driven characters. She has been a finalist or won many times in chapter competitions, including the Romance Writers of America National Golden Heart Contest. Her latest novel, "NO GREATER GLORY" is a love story set against the tapestry of the American Civil War.



Seductive Supper

In Scandalous Lady, the hero tries by many ways to persuade the heroine into agreeing with his plan. His first method is to woo her with an exotic feast. Chief among the tempting dishes is Circassian chicken.

Would it tempt you? [ but go easy on the red pepper to start with !]

                                       Circassian Chicken /  Cerkez Tavugu

[Chicken with walnut sauce]

Chicken                            1 medium size [1 - 1 1/2 kg ]
Walnuts (halves)                3 cups
Bread (stale)                     5 thin slices
Garlic                                4 cloves
Salt                                   2 teaspoons
Black pepper                    1 teaspoon
Chicken broth                   2 ½ cups
Olive oil                            2 teaspoons
Red pepper                       ½ teaspoon

Instructions for 6 servings

Simmer chicken in water for 35 minutes or until tender; drain. Reserve broth. Bone chicken. Remove skin.
Cut or tear into 5-6 cm (2-2 ½ inch) long and 1-1 ½ cm (1/2-3/4 inch) thick strips.
Arrange in a serving dish. Set aside.

Combine walnuts, bread slices (soaked and squeezed dry) and garlic; mix well.
Place into blender or a food processor. Process until well blended. Add salt, black pepper and chicken broth gradually blending thoroughly until it gets medium white sauce consistency.
Pour over chicken. Heat the oil and stir in red pepper. Remove from heat and sprinkle over walnut sauce.

Serve at room temperature.