Audrey Abbott
Welcome to Abbey Mead / April 2019 / Letter 9
Dear Friends of Abbey Mead,
Here I am at Barnes & Noble Book Sellers in March. Met lots of nice people and sold some books!
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What do you like best about The Lady’s Desire? The Characters? The Plot? The Setting? India is an unusual location for a Regency romance… Did you like that setting?
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Two more suggestions for actors, etc. to play William Ferguson: Liam Neeson (Northern Irish - perhaps a bit too old at this point - but he is tall at 6’4) / Tucker Carlson (American – works at Fox News)
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Let’s talk about Albert Grenville, the Viscount Westmeare.
Can anyone explain the viscount’s bizarre behavior toward Anne? Why can he not touch or be touched? Why does he always wear gloves?
The reader is offered a few details about Albert’s life. He experienced an unhappy childhood. His mother died when he was young. He was sent off to school where he was bullied by his classmates and even by his older brother. Albert knows that as the second son, he will not inherit his father’s title and he will probably be forced to exist on a reduced and meager income. And he has expensive habits, including gambling.
But when Albert’s older brother dies, his prospects improve. He becomes a “Viscount.” And when his father dies, Albert knows that he will inherit his father’s wealth, property, and the title of “Earl.”
Albert’s primary issue is sensory. He does not like to touch or to be touched. To help alleviate this problem, he almost always wears gloves. The reader is a witness to his struggles.
Lady Beatrice, his first wife, died mysteriously in a horse riding accident. She never produced an heir. The reader assumes that Albert had the same issue with his first wife that he had with Anne. Although Albert was willing (he was not gay), the inability to touch or to be touched made intimate relations with a woman difficult if not impossible.
Albert’s father, the old earl retired to Italy, desires a grandson and reduces Albert’s income as a way of pressuring Albert to marry again and to produce that much needed male heir.
To supplement his income, Albert becomes involved in smuggling. He also is selling off paintings and other expensive items from Hartwood Manor – one assumes without his father’s knowledge.
On his wedding night to Anne, Westmeare consumes too much alcohol, hoping that he will be able to consummate their marriage. But as we know, he is not successful. Desperate for an heir, Albert sees the attraction between William and Anne, and makes an offensive offer to William.
Sadly in the early 19th century, there was no understanding of Albert’s medical condition. And there was no terminology to reference this unfortunate circumstance. His family, acquaintances, and servants would have considered him to be rather odd. Today we understand this inability to touch or to be touched as part of a condition that is called Sensory Processing Disorder.
We may feel some sympathy for Albert. He was a product of the time, a spoiled and arrogant nobleman, but one sadly challenged by a disorder that no one then could understand or diagnose or even sympathize with. For the most part, Lord Westmeare led a lonely and unhappy life.
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Audrey’s Local BOOK Events in April:
Tuesday, April 2 / 7:00 PM / Romance Book Club / Penn Hills Library / First meeting for this Book Club – they will be discussing The Lady’s Desire !!!! / if you live nearby come and join us! / they have a great Library!!
Friday, April 5 / 6:30-10:00 PM / Battle of the Books Event / Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Oakland) /The Lady’s Desire is one of the ten books selected for this library fundraising challenge!!! Check the library’s website for more info: https://www.carnegielibrary.org/event/afterhours/
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Writing a Review. Please consider writing a review for The Lady’s Desire on Amazon or Goodreads. It will encourage others to select and read the book. Thank you.
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FUN DATES IN APRIL:
April 1 / April Fool’s Day
April 2 / National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
April 6 / National Tartan Day / celebrate your favorite plaid / may I suggest the Ferguson plaid :
April 7 / National Beer Day
April 14 / Palm Sunday
April 21 / Happy Easter !
April 22 / Earth Day / first celebrated in 1970 ! I remember it well!
April 26 / National Pretzel Day