The Mouse That Roared, Part II, will be posted on April 22, 2023.
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| A new bride copes with ever-increasing evil |
Violet Larrabee, a merchant's daughter born in India, achieves her greatest dream, marrying the man she has loved since childhood (the great-grandson of a Bengali rajah), only to have her world plunge into a succession of nightmares. Abandoned by an all-too-busy husband, she must cope with a dilapidated house, hostile servants, and a succession of escalating events that culminate in multiple murders. Murders that might possibly have been committed by her husband.
Violet faces her problems with courage and determination, seldom faltering as she proves herself far from the shy, shrinking flower for which she was named. Until, with the solution to her problems almost at hand, a dramatic stumble nearly puts an end to her life and all possibility of Happily Ever After.
For a link to Menace on Amazon, click here.
For a link to Menace on Smashwords, including a 15% free read, click here.
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The months flew by as I wrote Menace at Lincourt Manor, and I had no idea it would be my longest Regency Gothic yet—95,000 words. (See Warning 2 below about the complexity of the plot.) As sometimes happens with those of us who write "out of the mist" or what is sometimes called "by the seat of our pants," my first imaginings for this tale of feminine courage against ever-increasing evil turned out to be quite different than the end result. I had thought to have our heroine run away in the final chapters, forcing her husband to hunt for her, but she turned out to be too courageous to flee from adversity, which includes a dilapidated house, hostile servants, an unfaithful husband, and multiple murders.
Grace note: Sorry, no ghosts in this one. The only nod to the surreal, the heroine’s occasional gift for seeing what others cannot.
Warning 1: Menace at Lincourt Manor is darker than my other Regencies, featuring out-and-out evil in a setting of eerie weeping and wailing, swirling mist, and the icy cold of winter. If you like Gothics where disasters keep piling up, one after the other, this is the book for you. (For those who want Happily Ever After, take heart. It will come right in the end. Except for the villain(s), of course.)
Warning 2: Menace is more of a mystery than my other Gothics; in fact, the plot is complex enough that it takes one of those classic everyone-gathered- in-the-drawing-room scenes to explain what happened.
Background to the Creation of Menace at Lincourt Manor:
Since I try to keep my books from being written in “cookie cutter” mode, I spent quite a bit of time searching for a setting I hadn’t used before, finally choosing the close-to-London county of Surrey; most particularly, the Surrey downs rather than the area of imposing mansions along the river or the scenic Surrey hills. And kudos to the Internet and Google Earth for providing me with excellent views of Calcutta, Surrey, and London. How else could I zoom in on London’s many Squares? (When I began writing in the mid-90s, I would have been lucky to find a single photo in a book at the library!)
I am also grateful for the paper maps I bought on trips to England, lo, these many years ago. (The large-scale one has been used so many times, the folds have disintegrated into gaps. Sigh.) And then there is my worn copy of London 200 Years Ago, which was published so long ago that the maps are more like 250 years ago. (I.e., a little before Regency times but helpful, nonetheless.)
As for the main characters, once again I was trying for something different. As much as I love the books of Georgette Heyer, I would sometimes grind my teeth over the attitude she revealed toward members of the merchant class (however authentic). So in this most recent Gothic, neither Hero nor Heroine come from titled families. (The hero’s father has only recently advanced to a knighthood and become part of the landed gentry.)
I also wanted to have one of my protagonists be of obvious mixed race; in this case, the hero, who is the great-grandson of an Indian rajah and has the looks to prove it. Both main characters were born in Bengal, and coping with life in England is more of a challenge than either anticipated. (The hero’s backstory was inspired by William Dalrymple’s book, White Mughals.)
When I needed a name for a merchant ship of the period, I turned to the Internet and was astounded to discover the name of every single British merchant ship of that era, as well as what class of vessel it was, AND the exact dates of the runs each ship made from, for example, Calcutta to London! Wow!
An Internet search also provided the information that the Stock Exchange and St. Paul’s Cathedral are neighbors. I most definitely did not expect that. (Although I have been to St. Paul's twice, nothing was ever said about the Stock Exchange being just across the square.) I promptly made a note to myself to include that in the book. (Something about God and Mammon sharing the same square, as I recall.)
This is a story where both Hero and Heroine come close to death; other characters, as well. And then there are those who did not survive the evil lurking on the Surrey downs. So put on your hard hat and settle in for what I hope is a “different” and sometimes shocking read.
Thanks for letting me share with you,
Blair (Grace)
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For a link to Blair's website, click here.
Thanks for stopping by,
Grace (Blair Bancroft)
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