My novel, The False Light, takes place in England during the French Revolution. I became fascinated with history after a holiday in England and it sparked my old desire to write. Everyone seemed to be writing Victorian or Regency novels, so I chose the earlier Georgian period. I was tired of reading about kings, queens or dukes, and immersed myself in the common people.
My heroine is a displaced aristocrat who must survive in bawdy Cornish tavern after being tricked by a devious servant. I delve into the reality of the lower classes—no sugar-coating here. Bettina may be from the higher classes but that aspect is never shown as she finds her strength with the help of two unflappable Cornish women who’ve struggled their entire lives to eke out a living. Bettina also finds herself attracted to a man who is rumored to have murdered his unfaithful wife. Before the days of the internet, I researched at the Library of Congress. I wanted to know how people ate, drank, started fires to keep warm, used herbs for healing, and the Cornish superstitions that shaped the ordinary person’s existence.
My story is a woman’s journey to understand the revolution that ripped her family apart—and her determination to begin a new life as she learns the skills to survive.
http://www.dianescottlewis.com/
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