Saturday’s Child works hard for a living…
After the Battle of Waterloo, motherless ten-year-old Annie travels to London with her father, Private Johnson. Discharged from the army, instead of the hero’s welcome he deserves, his desperate attempts to make an honest living fail. Without food or shelter, death seems inevitable. Driven by desperation Johnson pleads for help from Georgiana Tarrant, his deceased colonel’s daughter.
Georgiana, who founded a charity to assist soldiers’ widows and orphans, agrees to provide for them.
At Major and Mrs Tarrant’s luxurious house, Annie is fed, bathed and given clean clothes. Although she and her father, her only relative, will be provided for there is a severe price. Johnson will work for Georgiana while Annie is educated at the Foundling House Georgiana established.
Despite the years she spent overseas when her dear father fought against the French, the horror she witnessed, and recent destitution Annie’s spirit is not crushed. She understands their separation is inevitable because her father cannot refuse employment. Annie vows that one day she will work hard for her living and never again be poor. It is fortunate she cannot foresee the hardship and tragedy ahead to be overcome when she is an adult.
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An interview with Rosemary:
NA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
RM: While reading historical non-fiction I found out that after the Battle of Waterloos many former soldiers were destitute.
NA: What sort of research did you do to write this book?
RM: I studied the politics, economics and social history of the Regency era and as Saturday’s Child is set in Brighton on the Sussex coast, so I visited the town.
NA: What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?
RM: I want my readers to be immersed in the era and for the story to linger in their minds after they have reached the end.
NA: What started you on the path to writing?
RM: I can never remember a time when I did not make up stories. I developed a passion for reading historical fiction, biographies and much more, as well as a passion for history.
NA: What do your friends and family think about your being a writer?
RM: My family are very proud of me. My friends, who know how hard I work, are pleased for me.
NA: The biggest surprise you had after becoming a write.
RM: How generous other authors are with advice
NA: Do you outline your books ahead of time or are you more a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
RM: Before I begin a novel, I know what the theme and the plot are, and have completed profiles for the main characters, but I don’t make detailed plot plans.
NA: What has been one of your most rewarding experiences as an author?
RM: When I began to write novels, I was amazed by how generous established authors were with their advice; and I am very grateful for the praise in many reviews of my intriguing, classical romantic novels
NA: Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
RM: I would find it very difficult to write sex scenes but have no wish to include explicit sex in my novels. I prefer to write about intense emotion and desire.
NA: What do you like to do when you are not writing?
RM: I enjoy visiting places of historical interest, having a holiday by the sea, working in, and enjoying my organic garden where I grow herbs, fruit and vegetables, and making delicious vegetarian meals
NA: A pet peeve?
RM: Characters in historical novels who behave as though they are 21st century men, women and children who have modern attitudes. An extreme example is of a medieval knight in full armor who scaled the walls of a castle to rescue a proverbial maiden in distress. The window was too small for him to enter her chamber, but she asked him. “Would you like a nice cup of coffee?”
NA: Why did you choose the shirt you have worn today?
RM: I chose a tatty old T shirt suitable for working in my organic garden.
NA: First thought when the alarm goes off in the in the morning.
RM: What will happen in the next scene or chapter?
NA: What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
RM: If he had not left his body, I would like to dine with His Holiness, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who founded The International Society of Krishna Consciousness, translated Classical Sanscrit literature and inspired George Harrison.
NA: What are you working on?
RM: Grace, Lady of Cassio, the sequel to Yvonne, Lady of Cassio set in the reign of Edward III.
NA: What is your attitude to writing?
RM: It is extremely hard work which requires dedication and perseverance, but publication of my novels is the reward for so much self-discipline.
Meet Rosemary:
I am a multi-published, best-selling historical novelist.
There is a gigantic canvas for a me to choose from.
My novels are set in the reign of Charles II’s niece, Queen Anne Stuart, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, and the ever-popular Regency era, and in the reign of Edward II’s reign. I chose those periods because they changed the course of history.
The more I read about my chosen eras the more fascinated I become, and the more aware of the gulf between the past and present. Those who lived in the past shared the same emotions as we do, but their attitudes and way of life were in many ways very different to ours. One of the most striking examples was the social position of women and children in in bygone ages.
The characters in my novels, are of their time, not men, women and children dressed in costume who behave like 21st century people.
Research of my chosen eras sparks my imagination. The seeds of my novels are sown, and from them sprout the characters and events which will shape their lives.
I was born in Kent. As a child, when I was not making up stories, my head was ‘always in a book.’
While working in a travel agency, I met my Hindu husband. He encouraged me to continue my education at Westminster College. In 1961 I and my husband, by then a barrister, moved to his birthplace, Kenya, where I lived from 1961 until 1982. After an attempted coup d’état, four of my children lived with me in an ashram in France.
Back in England, I wrote historical fiction, joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Historical Novel Society, Watford Writers, and on-line groups including Facebook.
Apart from writing, I enjoy classical Indian literature, reading, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables and creative crafts.
Time spent with my five children and their families, most of whom live near me, is precious.
Discover more about Rosemary and her books on her website.
ween them.