my new blog

Hello, everyone!

With some help from Frances Mossiker, the editor of a fantastic book on the subject, as well as a lot of research on the time period, I've learned a lot about the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. I'm obviously fascinated by it--I'm writing a novel about it.

Heaven knows that writing a novel wasn't enough. I have to go and write a blog on it as well. I'll be exploring different people, things, and events pertinent to the Affair of the Diamond Necklace. I've begun with quick run-downs of the "Comtesse" and Cardinal Rohan. I'll probably go through most of the important people because they're all extraordinary. Then I'll work on different events and go into some detail. Then I will move on to the time period--costume and so forth.

I'm trying to keep it semi-entertaining as well as informative. I'm trying to add links to resources, especially giving credit where credit is due.

It's a hell of a story. Take a look and enjoy!

Julianne Douglas said:

Angeliz, great new blog! I'm looking forward to following it and reading your book. Are you familiar with Catherine Delors' blog, Versailles and More?

Happy writing!

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Ah, yes! I'd seen that! It's a wonderful blog.

Doogs said:

Dig it! I'm working on something similar for the Belisarius novel, but I'm not quite ready to link it just yet.

One minor suggestion - you may want to put breaks in your posts so visitors can get a preview of the post from the main page and then click through to read the whole thing. On the one hand, it makes the main page easier to peruse, and on the other you can use it on the backend to track which posts get clicks, and tailor future content accordingly.

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Can't wait to hear about it when that blog comes out. I'll see if I can figure out how to do that with my blog because that's probably a good idea, especially since many of the posts will be pretty long.

RichardB said:

May you make it to French Wikipedia!

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Amen. *crosses self*
[At least my blog is factual! I will, however, laugh my ass off if I ever see a Wikipedia mention of my (one or two) fictional characters or of my big plot twist.]

still alive said:

angeliz2k, I'd several times over the years been fascinated by the Affair of the Necklace but never really understood it--until now. On your blog.

Sounds to me like you have a winner and will do well.

A question because I've forgotten, is that the "affair" where satanism or sorcery played a part? Or was that in some novel?

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Great! It can be a little confusing, so I'm glad I made it clear.

"Count Cagliostro", another person going by an assumed name, was tangentially involved. He had known the benefactress of Madame de La Motte (a real Marquise, the Marquise de Boulainvilliers). Somehow he became part of Mme de La Motte's social circle. He was a mystic, involved in the occult, and claimed to be older than the pyramids, blah blah blah. He was also a Freemason. He was arrested with the others in 1784 but acquitted. During the trial, he said he could think of no misdeed to account for his arrest, unless it might be the assasination of Pompey Magnus, but in that case he had worked under Pharaoh's orders. The examiner replied dryly that he would refrain from going into criminal matters that had occurred under his predecessors in office. After being acquitted, the old charlatan and his wife were forced to leave France. He was put in prison in Italy under the Inquisition and died there.

So . . . if you're remembering anything occult, it was probably having to do with Count Cagliostro.