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Have you ever wanted to step through the pages of a
historical novel to see what that time and place was really like? I love the
idea of time traveling. I’ve been a passionate fan of Doctor Who since the days
of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and I’ve always wanted my own tardis—you know,
bigger on the inside than on the outside and it takes you anywhere and anywhen
you want to go? But since one isn’t likely to be invented in my life time, I’ve
turned to reading—and writing—about it.
There are so many intriguing possibilities. Fascinating
periods in history where a single alteration of events has the potential to drastically
change the present as we know it. A young woman, competent in her own time and
place, suddenly struggling to make sense—and not make mistakes—in a world that
is alien to her. Talk about conflict!
And romance. A modern woman, a rugged, brave man who is
dealing with a personal (and incidentally historically important) crisis. A
love so strong it unites two people across the ages. And the romantic conflict
is built right in. No silly misunderstandings keep two people apart when they
belong in different eras. Culturally, socially, and even in their priorities, they
are literally worlds apart. And, even though their love for one another is
passionate and all-encompassing, how long can they remain together when at any
moment they might be torn from one another’s arms when the time traveler is dragged, by whatever cosmic forces, back to her own time?
Those are just some of the reasons I love time travels. What
are yours? Is it discovering another place and era through the eyes of a modern
woman with whom you can identify? Is it pure escapism? Is it all those tantalizing
“what ifs”? Please, leave a comment and let me know.
Catherine’s Star
by
Janice Bennett
When American tourist Andrea Wells eagerly searches the
streets of London
to find every place ever mentioned in the Regency novels she loves, she sees
more than she bargained for. The intriguing gentleman in historic costume who keeps
mysteriously appearing and vanishing must be conjured by her secret longings.
But then she sees the portrait of Richard Westmont, first and only Viscount
Grantham, in a scandal rag, accompanied by the story of his death and a cursed
Russian icon known as Catherine’s Star.
Obsessed with learning more about him and why he haunts her,
Andrea visits his home, Greythorne
Court. There she is confronted by a miniature
portrait of herself—painted in 1810. The current occupant, a descendent of
Grantham’s sister, is convinced Andrea can travel back through time and find
the missing Catherine’s Star, which is needed to save the estate. When the
impossible becomes possible, Andrea finds herself in the midst of her Regency
dream—except she didn’t count on murderous spies or falling in love with a man
whose death is tied up with the fate of the priceless icon.
