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| There's a strange world where writers live. It's a world of history books and snatches of a song and scenes from a movie; it's a world where all these random, floating pieces come together and birth an idea. This is what happened to me.
For fun, I read a biography of various courtesans. Then I read a history book about the events that led up to the American Revolution. One quiet afternoon, I watched The Last of the Mohicans, one of my favorite movies. On a long and rainy Saturday I flipped through my 500 cable channels and stumbled upon a movie version of Pride and Prejudice and, as always, was swept into that world.
But from all those pieces, suddenly, I had an idea.
That's how The Courtesan Series was born. |
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| Naturally, there must be a courtesan.
 My courtesan is a former courtesan, even though, to the discomfort of her children, she's not at all reformed. Sophia married an earl, gave him two children, and when he died she raised them to be exactly what they were: English aristocrats.
The only fly in the ointment was that Sophia was still carrying around her old reputation as a courtesan, not that she minded. It did present problems, however, for her daughter and the need to make a good marriage to a member of the aristocracy.
Sophia, as any self-respecting courtesan, ahem, former courtesan would, has a plan. But Caroline, Sophia's daughter, has her own plans for how to acquire a man and they don't necessarily include marriage.
Caroline is, in every way imaginable, her mother's daughter.
Which presents something of a problem in The Courtesan's Daughter. Read an excerpt of The Courtesan's Daughter. |
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| Lady Louisa fell in love with Lord Dutton exactly three years ago and never fell out. It was past time for him to fall in love with her. Long past time. What was wrong with Dutton? Couldn't he see that she was the very ideal sort of wife for him? The picture of ginger haired beauty and sparkling wit? And her bosom was quite nice, too.
After watching the speed with which Caroline, Sophia's daughter, managed to snag a husband, Louisa has come to the logical conclusion that if she could only have Sophia help her then Louisa and Dutton would find themselves quickly married. With Dutton as her goal, Louisa swallows her pride and asks Sophia for help in acquiring the man of her dreams.
Sophia is more than happy to help a woman get the man of her dreams, but is Dutton that man? Lord Henry Blakesley seems a much better match for the fiery Louisa. And Sophia, an ex-courtesan, has no qualms at all in arranging things so that Louisa sees Blakesley in a new light. But it's a secret...no one can know that Louisa sought help in snaring a man from a former courtesan.
But in London, secrets are as rare as hen's teeth. Read an excerpt of The Courtesan's Secret.
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The Courtesan's Wager
Courtesan's Series - Book 3
February 2009
Lady Amelia is the daughter of a duke and, unlike her cousin Louisa, is not at all distracted by a rakish wit or a pair of seductive blue eyes. She is going to be a duchess, which means that she must marry a duke. In the three years that she's been out in Society, she has, to her complete dismay, not found a single duke who appears even slightly interested in her. Being a sharp girl of a very determined nature, Amelia cannot ignore that both Caroline and Louisa made very quick and very happy marriages. It was beyond obvious that Sophia Dalby had a firm hand in each match. Swallowing her considerable anxiety about approaching a former courtesan, Amelia asks Sophia for help in snagging a duke.
Sophia is delighted to help. But, as is becoming obvious to even the most casual observer, Amelia gets more than she anticipated from her alliance with Sophia. Will Amelia marry a duke, after all?
Private Places - August 2008
Anthology with Robin Schone
Claudia's contribution is part of The Courtesan Series
In 1782, Zoe Auvray was a young courtesan from Paris who had one spectacular asset: she was friends with Sophia, a very successful London courtesan. With Sophia's help, Zoe finds the perfect man to see to all her needs in the dashing Duke of Aldreth. In a single night at the theater, Zoe captures Aldreth's heart and Sophia meets her future husband, the Earl of Dalby. It is a night not to be forgotten!
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Gambling was a common pastime during the Georgian Age and the Regency and no wager was considered too personal or too trivial; the only shame attached to gambling was in losing.
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