In Stores Now: FOR THE KING by Catherine Delors and Giveaway Winners

The 2 winners of the paperback copies are:

Meg W.

Heather S.

Fresh onto bookshelves today!
"After First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte survives an assassination attempt, Chief Inspector Roch Miquel, a young man with a bright future and a beautiful mistress, must arrest the assassins before they strike again. But in a city with royalists and revolutionaries alike conspiring to overthrow Bonaparte, Roch's task is near impossible. And when his own father faces the guillotine, Roch has no choice but to trust those most likely to betray him".

Amazon
For the King

Mistress of the Revolution: A Novel
~Lizzy~

Catherine Delors on The King and the Emperor and Bonus Giveaway!

Please welcome author Catherine Delors back to Historically Obsessed with a re-post of her event guest post for historical fiction bloggers round table event which was back in 2010. HFRT featured Catherine's hard copy release of "For the King" last year and I enjoyed this one greatly. I figured it would be appropriate and fun to re-post this very cool post on the correspondence between Louis XVIII and Napoleon with an exciting giveaway. Catherine's lovely novel "For the King" will be hitting stores on July 5th 2011. With out further delay please take it away Catherine.

The King and the Emperor: Louis XVIII and Napoléon

CATHERINE DELORS

My novel is called FOR THE KING for a reason (for several reasons, in fact, but I will leave it to the reader to discover those.)

In 1800 France was still a republic, nominally run by three Consuls. For all intents and purposes, only the First Consul, Napoléon Bonaparte, mattered. He had seized power in a bloodless coup in the fall of 1799.

At first, royalists indulged in the hope that Bonaparte would step down and restore the monarchy. The pretender to the throne was a younger brother of the late Louis XVI, Louis-Stanislas. He was now known to his followers as Louis XVIII, to allow for the theoretical reign of the young Louis XVII, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who had died jailed at the Temple.

Louis XVIII

In 1800 Louis XVIII was 45. He had been friendly to reform in the beginnings of the French Revolution. But as it took a more radical turn, he had fled at the same time as the royal couple. Only he had succeeded in reaching Brussels when Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were arrested near the border.

Since then, Louis XVIII had lived the unhappy life of an exile, at the mercy of the varying generosity of foreign sovereigns and the vagaries of international politics. In 1800 he was living under the protection of the Tsar of Russia.

Louis XVIII was by all accounts, like his elder brother, a man of superior intelligence, but he was a far more astute politician than Louis XVI. He was patient, ambitious, cunning, and determined to step some day unto the throne of his ancestors.

This is what he wrote Napoléon in September of 1800:

General,
You must have long known that you have earned my esteem. If you ever doubted that I was able of gratitude, chose your own place, decide the fate of your friends.
As for my principles, I am a Frenchman: merciful by nature, I shall be all the more so by reason.


No, the victor of Lodi, Castiglione, Arcole, le conqueror of Italy and Egypt cannot prefer a vain fame to glory. However you are wasting precious time; we can ensure the peace of France. I say “we” because I need Bonaparte for that, and that he cannot do it without me.


General, Europe is watching you, glory awaits you, and I am impatient to restore peace to my people.
Keep in mind that Bonaparte had not yet given any indications that he planned to restore monarchy for his own benefit. He would only crown himself Emperor four years later. But he obviously thought the time had come to dash royalist illusions. 

Here is his response to Louis XVIII:

Sir,
I received your letter. I thank you for the kind things you write about me. You must not wish for your return to France. You would have to step upon 500,000 corpses.


Sacrifice your interest to the peace and happiness of France; history will remember it to your credit.


I am not indifferent to your family’s misfortunes. I will be happy to contribute to the comfort and tranquility of your retreat.
Bonaparte

Bonaparte had dropped the mask! These letters, by the way, provide useful glimpses into the minds of the two men. Note how Louis XVIII flatters Bonaparte, and emphasizes cooperation, and how all but one of Bonaparte’s sentences begin with “I”.

 

Napoléon

A few months later, royalists will detonate a bomb along the path of Bonaparte’s carriage, in the assassination attempt I describe in FOR THE KING.
As to Louis XVIII, he had to bide his time. But eventually, he was restored to the throne, while Napoléon died in exile on the forlorn island of St. Helena. Twists and turns of history…

Thank you Catherine for dishing us this wonderfully delicious piece of correspondence between the two men. I do have to say though that the secret of the title was one of my favorite parts and my lips are sealed. If you want to know the FOR THE KING secret you will just have to read it.

For More on Catherine Delors FOR THE KING check this out:
For the King, Amazon
Catherine's Website

Lets kick off this killer giveaway! 

The giveaway is for two finished paperback copies so that mean two separate people will score a copy of "For the King". This one is only open to the US residents. Giveaway ends July 4th 2011 at midnight west coast time.

For 1 entry enter your name and email

For 2 entries be a follower and say so in the form

For 3 entries share this and add a real link.
 

~Lizzy~

FOR THE KING by Catherine Delors Giveaway

Hello all I hope that summer has been treating everyone well this year. I am proud to announce that for the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table event for June I have up for grabs one finished, very beautiful, copy of For The King By Catherine Delors. This giveaway is open to US and Canda this time. 

Rules

For 1 entry leave me a comment with a way to contact you.

For 2 entries follow my blog. If you already do, thanks, and please let me know in the comments. You're eligible for the extra entry as well

For 3 entries blog or tweet this giveaway to spread the word. 

Giveaway will run untill midnight of July 5th, good luck to all.

" Delors follows Mistress of the Revolution with a gripping historical that chronicles the efforts of a young police inspector to capture the men responsible for trying to kill Napoleon Bonaparte. After a botched assassination attempt on Napoleon kills several bystanders, chief inspector Roch Miquel races to find the men responsible. His investigation is hindered by corruption and jealousy among his colleagues in the police force, notably from Fouché, the stridently unsavory minister of police, who, in order to keep Roch under his thumb, imprisons Roch's father under false pretenses and threatens to have him deported. Meanwhile, Roch finds some comfort in his married mistress, Blanche Coudert, who has a very unfortunate secret that will harshly complicate Roch's already precarious situation. It's not a surprise that Delors's sympathies are with her hero, and his adversaries are depicted as satisfyingly despicable. Themes of class conflict, the messy process of change, and impossible love are nicely woven into the tense central plot of this fast-moving chase through the damp, rutted streets of turn-of-the-19th-century Paris".

Still want more?

For more on FOR THE KING check out my review, a guest post by Catherine on Napoléon and Louis XVIII and be sure to stop by the HFBRT group site "For The King" by Catherine Delors.  For the groups detailed schedule of events please go to the schedule.
 

Amazon: For the King 

Catherine's Website

HFBRT: FOR THE KING Guest Post By Catherine Delors: The King and the Emperor: Louis XVIII and Napoléon

Please welcome the lovely Catherine Delors to Historically Obsessed for this months Historical Fiction Blogger's Round Table feature "For The King" is due to hit bookstores July 8th 2010. Congratulations Catherine on the new release it is for sure good reads material. With out further delay Catherine Delores please take it away.

The King and the Emperor: Louis XVIII and Napoléon

CATHERINE DELORS 
 

My novel is called FOR THE KING for a reason (for several reasons, in fact, but I will leave it to the reader to discover those.) 

In 1800 France was still a republic, nominally run by three Consuls. For all intents and purposes, only the First Consul, Napoléon Bonaparte, mattered. He had seized power in a bloodless coup in the fall of 1799.  

At first, royalists indulged in the hope that Bonaparte would step down and restore the monarchy. The pretender to the throne was a younger brother of the late Louis XVI, Louis-Stanislas. He was now known to his followers as Louis XVIII, to allow for the theoretical reign of the young Louis XVII, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, who had died jailed at the Temple. 

  Louis XVIII

In 1800 Louis XVIII was 45. He had been friendly to reform in the beginnings of the French Revolution. But as it took a more radical turn, he had fled at the same time as the royal couple. Only he had succeeded in reaching Brussels when Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were arrested near the border. 

Since then, Louis XVIII had lived the unhappy life of an exile, at the mercy of the varying generosity of foreign sovereigns and the vagaries of international politics. In 1800 he was living under the protection of the Tsar of Russia. 

Louis XVIII was by all accounts, like his elder brother, a man of superior intelligence, but he was a far more astute politician than Louis XVI. He was patient, ambitious, cunning, and determined to step some day unto the throne of his ancestors. 

This is what he wrote Napoléon in September of 1800: 

General,

You must have long known that you have earned my esteem. If you ever doubted that I was able of gratitude, chose your own place, decide the fate of your friends.  

As for my principles, I am a Frenchman: merciful by nature, I shall be all the more so by reason. 

No, the victor of Lodi, Castiglione, Arcole, le conqueror of Italy and Egypt cannot prefer a vain fame to glory. However you are wasting precious time; we can ensure the peace of France. I say “we” because I need Bonaparte for that, and that he cannot do it without me. 

General, Europe is watching you, glory awaits you, and I am impatient to restore peace to my people.

Keep in mind that Bonaparte had not yet given any indications that he planned to restore monarchy for his own benefit. He would only crown himself Emperor four years later. But he obviously thought the time had come to dash royalist illusions. Here is his response to Louis XVIII: 

Sir,

I received your letter. I thank you for the kind things you write about me. You must not wish for your return to France. You would have to step upon 500,000 corpses. 
  

Sacrifice your interest to the peace and happiness of France; history will remember it to your credit. 

I am not indifferent to your family’s misfortunes. I will be happy to contribute to the comfort and tranquility of your retreat.

Bonaparte 

Bonaparte had dropped the mask! These letters, by the way, provide useful glimpses into the minds of the two men. Note how Louis XVIII flatters Bonaparte, and emphasizes cooperation, and how all but one of Bonaparte’s sentences begin with “I”.

 Napoléon

A few months later, royalists will detonate a bomb along the path of Bonaparte’s carriage, in the assassination attempt I describe in FOR THE KING.

As to Louis XVIII, he had to bide his time. But eventually, he was restored to the throne, while Napoléon died in exile on the forlorn island of St. Helena. Twists and turns of history…
 

Thank you Catherine for dishing us this wonderfully delicious piece of correspondence between the two men. I do have to say though that the secret of the title was one of my favorite parts and my lips are sealed. If you want to know the FOR THE KING secret you will just have to read it.

For more on FOR THE KING check out my review and be sure to stop by the HFBRT group site "For The King" by Catherine Delors.  For the groups detailed schedule of events please go to the schedule.

For More on Catherine Delors FOR THE KING check this out:

Amazon: For the King
Catherine's Website

HFBRT Book Review, FOR THE KING by Catherine Delors

A superbly suspenseful page-turner, I could not put it down at about the half way marker. This is my first Delors read and I have decided her novel was riveting and also fascinating. I am adding Delors to my list of authors to watch.

Based off of one of the first real examples of a police investigation. Delors set her main protagonist as none better than a upstanding police inspector named Roch. During this time Paris is a city in turmoil, with the revolutions bloody aftermath still lingering like a dark rain cloud. This was France before Napoleon Bonaparte had won the glorious battles or given himself the self-proclaimed title of Emperor. France was a very sinister place to live at the time and it is even quite possible that police inspectors can get dragged into the darkness too.

Delors succeeds in quite literally starting “For the King” off with a big bang. A devious plot to assassinate Bonaparte by the Royalist left one city block in Paris completely demolished by a cart full of gunpowder. It left many dead or seriously wounded. It was then that the police had unleashed the hunky Roch to track down the culprits. Roch was the type of man that made sure he never had time for love. He was the hot bachelor who was a mindful careerer man.  Heading out on his new investigation on the attack of Rue Saint-Nicaise plot he had high hopes of success. He would come to find out that the biggest problem he faced was the people of Paris. During the wake of the revolution nothing was what it seemed, everyone had something they were hiding including Roch.  Hot on the trail Roch finds himself fighting a wave of dirty social and political politics that infiltrated even the most elite of Pairs social circles down to the lowly maid. A dark game of cat and mouse ensued with the conspirators but Roch had his own flesh and blood to protect from Madame Guillotine’s sights.

3.5/5 Loved it but…I got lost quite a bit and found myself rereading it more than normal.  Which is why I gave it the rating I did. I do have prior knowledge on this period but I have to admit I was lost with in the large cast of characters especially when it came to Roch's co-workers at the station. It was an invigorating read with such action that it was hard to put it down even if I did get lost.  I found the wild rid of the twisting plot enthralling and worth the effort. I would not recommend this to a newbie to HF because I believe this book should be recommended to a reader who has at least some prior knowledge of the French Revolution time period. 

For More on Catherine Delors FOR THE KING check this out:
Amazon: For the King
Catherine's Website

Be sure and check out todays event schedule for more on "For the King" by Catherine Delors. 
FTC: Thank you to author Catherine Delors for sending me this one for the June HFBRT event.

Mailbox Mondays and HFBRT "FOR THE KING" by Catherine Delors Kick Off

Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain Won from Librarything.com

"Fiona Mountain is a major new talent in the field of historical fiction."
-Alison Weir, author of The Lady Elizabeth

"They say I'm mad and perhaps it's true.
It is well known that lust brings madness and desperation and ruin. But upon my oath, I never meant any harm. All I wanted was to be happy, to love and to be loved in return, and for my life to count for something.
That is not madness, is it?

So begins the story of Eleanor Glanville, the beautiful daughter of a seventeenth-century Puritan nobleman whose unconventional passions scandalized society. When butterflies were believed to be the souls of the dead, Eleanor's scientific study of them made her little better than a witch. But her life-set against a backdrop of war, betrayal, and sexual obsession-was that of a woman far ahead of her time".

Also this week commences the Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table June event. This month's feature is "For The King" by Catherine Delors which hits bookstores everywhere July 8th. You can check out the group shedule for the down low on this months event. 

Mailbox Mondays

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl

"Prisoners in the Palace -- London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?

Meticulously based on newly discovered information, this riveting novel is as rich in historical detail as Catherine, Called Birdy, and as sizzling with intrigue as The Luxe". 

 

 For The King by Catherine Delors, final hardback copy to die for beautiful

" Delors follows Mistress of the Revolution with a gripping historical that chronicles the efforts of a young police inspector to capture the men responsible for trying to kill Napoleon Bonaparte. After a botched assassination attempt on Napoleon kills several bystanders, chief inspector Roch Miquel races to find the men responsible. His investigation is hindered by corruption and jealousy among his colleagues in the police force, notably from Fouché, the stridently unsavory minister of police, who, in order to keep Roch under his thumb, imprisons Roch's father under false pretenses and threatens to have him deported. Meanwhile, Roch finds some comfort in his married mistress, Blanche Coudert, who has a very unfortunate secret that will harshly complicate Roch's already precarious situation. It's not a surprise that Delors's sympathies are with her hero, and his adversaries are depicted as satisfyingly despicable. Themes of class conflict, the messy process of change, and impossible love are nicely woven into the tense central plot of this fast-moving chase through the damp, rutted streets of turn-of-the-19th-century Paris".

New Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table Website

Announcing the new Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table website! Hooray I am so excited about the coming together of our group, it has turned out to be such a fun group. Be sure and check the site out and become a follower so that you will not miss any of our upcoming events. This is what is on the calender so far for 2010 new releases:

Kick off Event- Notorious Royal Marriages by Leslie Carroll January- O, Juliet by Robin Maxwell
February- The Secret of the Glass by Donna Russo Morin
April- Claude & Camille by Stephanie Cowell
May- The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner
June- For the King by Catherine Delors

Charter Members of Historical Fiction Bloggers Round Table:
...::: Allie of :::... Hist-Fic Chick
...::: Amy of :::... Passages to the Past
...::: Arleigh of :::... Historical-Fiction.com
...::: Heather of :::... The Maiden's Court
...::: Me (Lizzy) of :::... Historically Obsessed
...::: Lucy of :::... Enchanted by Josephine
...::: Marie of :::... The Burton Review
...::: Susie of :::... All Things Royal

New Release, Mistress of the Revolution by Catherine Delors

March 31, 2009 Release

"In 1815 England, an exiled Frenchwoman, Gabrielle de Monserrat, begins a memoir of her days before and during the French Revolution. Gabrielle, the youngest daughter of a family of the impoverished nobility, recalls her journey through hardships and betrayals by three men in her life. A girl of quiet strength and startling beauty, a widow at seventeen with a young daughter, Gabrielle is released into the world of Paris nobility. Determined and inquisitive, with little money and few prospects, she strives to find her own freedom. Around her, the French people attempt to build a utopia based on the ideals of liberty and equality. Differing currents of thought clash over the fate of a nation as the Revolution takes an ever more violent turn. Yet Gabrielle survives, maintaining her humanity and sense of decency. On occasion, she glimpses her first love as he ascends from obscure patriot to one of the most passionate architects of the new order. At last she reaches for him and an impossible happiness. As Gabrielle writes on, twenty years later, political events again overtake her and she realizes that her tale is far more than an evocation of the past. It is the truth she owes her children."