So welcome Rebecca!
Sexy Tudors
Brits are often stereotyped as being prudish, stiff
upper lip types and, as with any stereotype, there are elements of truth in it.
Looking back at the Elizabethan period of British history (1558 – 1603), society
was very ‘proper’, and anything but limited touching in public was heavily
frowned upon. When Elizabeth I took the throne, she reinstated her father’s
laws that were repealed by Queen Mary, and this included the 1533 buggery act.
The act made homosexuality punishable by death by hanging, although there are
only a handful of executions in the records, and strings were pulled for the
well-connected!
But despite the laws and perceived proper way to
behave, you don’t have to scratch far beneath the surface to find a very
different Elizabethan England. Renaissance Italy was well known for its
pornography, and young rich Englishmen would travel abroad to widen their ‘education’
and enjoy the illicit material. But not wanting
to be out done by the Italians there were also choice pieces of English
literature including Thomas Nashe’s Choice
of Valentines which featured a man and his prostitute lover … and her glass
dildo. And yes, Anthony Crofton, the
earl in The Actor and the Earl, has a
large private collection of erotica.
London was already a vibrant city by this time, and a
part of London called South Bank was known as the seedier part of the city.
Here was a warren of streets where the less reputable Londoners could be found.
Alongside theatres and the gambling dens were some of the city’s most popular
brothels, often called stews after the bath houses they originated in. In Duty to the Crown, Sebastian, who used
to be an actor, gives Anthony a unique birthday present.
A couple of tankards
of wine had steeled his courage and helped to while away enough time for the
evening to set in properly. Long shadows appeared in the wider alleys and in
the others, where the sun hardly penetrated even at midday, it was now almost
dark. These were the alleys Sebastian was interested in, their darkness a
perfect cover for his plan. It was the kind of place Sebastian had frequented
only on very rare occasions when he’d lived in London, having been warned off
by the tales the other actors had told of cutthroats and pickpockets lurking
around every corner. He checked that his dagger was close at hand before
heading into the warren of little alleys where London’s least salubrious
inhabitants would perpetrate the most disreputable deeds.
Sebastian didn’t stop
to worry about what went on behind the closed doors of the buildings on this
street; he had no wish to be seen as a nosey passerby and ultimately a body
that would need to be disposed of. He rounded the corner briskly, relieved to
enter a better-lit area where the local water pump was situated, grateful that
he’d found the place he’d been searching for without getting lost.
There were three
women gathered outside a bright red door, standing provocatively to show as
much of their impressive bosoms as possible.
A young man, probably a few years Sebastian’s junior, with wild brown hair sat
on the pump’s pedestal, his long legs out in front of him and leaning back as
if on display. One of the women, her age obscured by heavy makeup, was talking
to a man dressed in expensive, fashionable clothes, whose face was hidden by
the brim of a wide hat. Sebastian’s appearance made the other two women, also
wearing heavy makeup and low necklines, preen to get his attention, one pouting
almost comically while the second leaned forward to flash her cleavage and play
with her hair. The young man jumped to his feet as he saw Sebastian approach,
but his interest in Sebastian was sidetracked when the gentleman talking to the
first woman called him over, and the three of them entered the house with the
red door together.
Sebastian
hung back as two more men arrived from different alleys and the two remaining
women beckoned them over, and after exchanging a few words, led them inside the
house, leaving Sebastian on his own. He prayed he wouldn’t have to wait long;
his fingers curled around the hilt of his dagger unprompted. Taking off the
traveling cloak, he laid it on the pedestal of the water pump, then, checking
all the possible approaches, leaned against the pump in a way he hoped would
come across as alluring. Sebastian was dressed in a set of clothing on which
the tailor had done an amazing job of complementing his build, and he knew that
he should make an attractive figure.
The
bells of a nearby church rang out, telling the city it was eight o’clock.
Footsteps approached, and Sebastian’s heart began to beat rapidly. The shadow
preceded the man, and resplendent in his favorite dark red doublet, Earl
Anthony Crofton arrived. He grinned as he saw Sebastian, his eyes raking slowly
down Sebastian’s lean frame. Sebastian pushed off the water pump and sauntered
forward, with a deliberate sway to hips.
“Are
you lost, sir? Perhaps I can help.”
“Oh,
I am sure your services would be very welcome, but it is not directions I am
after,” replied Anthony, standing only inches away.
Sebastian
leaned in close to whisper in Anthony’s ear. “There are many things I can
offer, sir. Do you have anything particular in mind?”
“That
would depend.”
“On
what?”
“On
whether I can buy you for an hour or a whole night, and if you have somewhere
we can go.”
Sebastian
bit the inside of his cheek to keep his moan caused by Anthony’s words and the
heat in his eyes under his breath. “I have a room at a nearby tavern.”
“Then
you can consider yourself bought for the night.”
Sebastian
grabbed his cloak and wrapped it back around him. “Follow me.”
He
headed into the lanes with Anthony at his heels, and Sebastian could barely
contain his excitement. They didn’t talk, keeping in character of the game they
were playing. Sebastian led Anthony into the White Lion, a tavern that had seen
better days but offered rooms to travelers at an affordable rate. Once
upstairs, Sebastian stopped outside a room on the second floor and fished out a
key from around his neck and opened the door.
The
room could not be described as luxurious but it had a large canopy bed, which
was pretty much all it had needed to fit Sebastian’s requirements for the
evening he had planned ahead.
Sebastian
locked the door behind them and threw his cloak to the floor. “I should warn
you, sir, that I am not one of those cheap whores from the stews. You will need
to dig deep into your purse for a night with me.”
“Oh,
if you are truly worthy of a high price, I will have no issue with handing over
payment.” Anthony removed his own cloak. “Now take off your clothes and lie on
the bed. I want to examine the wares I have purchased.”
Links:
The Actor and the Earl: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3429
Duty to the Crown:
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3637
[Just a brief note: Rebecca is trying to respond to comments but for some reason Blogger is not cooperating with her. Those responses should be posted ASAP.]
Rebecca writes some excellent books. I'd like to know what factors she feels most contribute to her success.
ReplyDeleteShe does, doesn't she? :D I'm looking forward to Rebecca's response to your request!
Delete[For some reason, Rebecca's answers won't post. So she sent this response for me to post on her behalf]:
DeleteThanks!
I tend to write about things that fascinate me... be that a period of history or biological science. I think that make me more involved - maybe even a little obsessed LOL - with the story and the characters.
I also tend to write the competed first draft before I tweak anything, otherwise I'm sure I'd end up with lots of nicely crafted starts to stories but no ends!
I too love historical novels and long to write them. One of my first short stories, written during junior high, took place in Tudor England, which I find fascinating. As I understand it, the Buggery Act came about basically as an excuse to plunder the monasteries, an excuse to go in and steal them and sell them, rather than because they considered the act immoral.
ReplyDeleteI own the first book, and look forward to reading it and getting this one too.
Do you have favorite sources for your research?
I would love to have you as a guest on my blog, if you would be interested. http://julielynnhayes.blogspot.com
You can reach me at shelley_runyon@yahoo.com
Julie
[Rebecca's replies aren't posting. :( She sent me this one for you, Julie, to post on her behalf]:
DeleteI agree about the act, epecially as some believe Elizabeth reinstated her father's laws -not just this one - to support her claim to the throne.
In terms of research I have a number of much loved British history books which are a good starting point and the below sites are great for info on Elizabethans.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/