Book Series Binge: Q&A with Tasha Alexander + A Note from The Counterfeit Heiress
By Crime HQ
April 17, 2020
Describe the first time you pictured Lady Emily in your head.
Believe it or not, I woke up one morning with a vivid image in my head: a young woman, dressed in Victorian clothing, standing on the cliff path in Imerovigli, a small village in the Greek island Santorini. It was so striking that I wrote down a detailed description the moment I dragged myself out of bed. About a year later, I pulled the document out of the folder I’d shoved it in, and it became the catalyst for my first novel.
See our other #BookSeriesBinge features here
Would you like to live in the setting you created for the Lady Emily series?
While I would never object to a townhouse in London’s Park Lane or a magnificent estate in Derbyshire, I’m not confident I could adjust to living with so many servants. First, because I’d feel horrible making them work when I wasn’t helping, and second, because that way of life allows for almost no privacy.
Describe your main character in one sentence.
To quote Emily herself: An appreciation for high fashion does not preclude possession of common sense.
Tasha Alexander’s Note from The Counterfeit Heiress
This novel was inspired by two pieces of research that I had done years ago. The first came when I was writing my second book, A Poisoned Season. While searching for information about the London season, I came across a magnificent cache of photographs, taken at a fancy dress ball given by the Duchess of Devonshire in 1897—six years too late for me at the time. I took copious notes, tracked down a copy of an out-of-print book written on the subject, and filed it all away. Seven years later, as I was mulling over the plot of The Counterfeit Heiress, I decided that the book had to open at a masquerade. I remembered the photographs, and, figuring they would now be useful, pulled out my book, only to realize that the ball, given on 2 July 1897, coincided perfectly with the time my novel was set. Kismet!
I have endeavored to describe the ball as accurately as possible, this made easier by the photographs of so many of the guests. The duchess hired Mr. Lafayette to record the event, and as he explained, “I created a temporary studio in the garden, with a powerful installation of electric light; and though it may sound immodest to say so, the appearance of ‘a gay photographer’ at such a function was considered highly original, and was openly spoken of as a feature of the historic occasion.” These pictures (and the ones taken in his studio—many of the attendees chose to pose formally before or after the ball) would have been lost, had a collection of eighty thousand negatives not been discovered in a London attic in 1968. This astonishing archive of the Lafayette Studio from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was saved, but no one did anything with it until 1988, when they were divided between the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, and subsequently made available to the public.
The ball was a spectacle that London would not soon forget. The elaborate costumes, many fashioned by the top dressmakers of the time, including the House of Worth, were exquisite. Jean Worth commented that the jewels sewn into one “kept several girls busy for almost a month.” The queen herself did not attend, but the Prince and Princess of Wales led the royal party, and were seated to watch a series of processions, in which the guests marched by, divided into courts, as dictated by their costumes. First came the English Court, which included, among many others, Lady Tweedmouth dressed as Queen Elizabeth and Lady Edmonstone as Mary, Queen of Scots. The Austrian Court of Maria Theresa, the Russian Court of Catherine the Great, a group of Orientals (replete with the Queen of Sheba, a snake charmer, and any number of Cleopatras), then Italians, and, finally, those in allegorical costumes followed. The final person to parade by was Lady Wolverton, dressed as Britannia.
I based Emily’s dress for the occasion on that worn by Lady Archibald Campbell. I did not, however, give her the lady’s crescent-moon headdress glowing with electric light. That seemed better suited to Mary Darby’s version of Artemis.
All this wonderful information about the ball did not become necessary until I had first settled on the basic story of the book, and that was inspired by Huguette Clark’s obituary in the New York Times on 24 May 2011. Miss Clark, who died at 104, was the youngest daughter of a copper baron, and heiress to a $300 million fortune. She was a child of her father’s second marriage, and was unusually close to her mother. She collected dolls, was in possession of magnificent works of art, and was married, briefly, in 1928. Her former husband claimed the marriage was never consummated. When she died, she had been living in hospitals for more than twenty years, despite the fact that she had three homes, including a forty-two-room apartment on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, and two estates, one in Connecticut and one in Santa Barbara, California. Each of these residences was fully staffed and in tip-top shape, ready for Miss Clark to arrive at any time, but she had not been in any of them in decades. It was this last detail that grabbed my attention. Three magnificent homes, and Miss Clark chose to live in hospitals. Yet despite that choice, she maintained all of her residences. Why?
Estella Lamar is not Huguette Clark, but I used Miss Clark’s story as a stepping-off place for the character. A few weeks after I had finished writing the first draft of the book, I started reading more about Miss Clark, and learned that Au Nain Bleu, the shop I had chosen from a nineteenth-century Baedeker guide to Paris as Estella’s preferred source for dolls, was also where Miss Clark had bought many of hers. More eerie was the information that, before she started living in hospitals, Miss Clark had retreated into a single room in her New York apartment, lit only by a single candle. Perhaps she was more like Estella than I had imagined.
The details concerning Père-Lachaise and the Paris Catacombs are all factual. Any mistakes are my own.
Finally, I must give credit to Barbara Mertz, writing as Elizabeth Peters, for one bit of The Counterfeit Heiress. Like many of my readers, I am a huge fan of the Amelia Peabody series, and while writing this novel, I decided to include an Amelia reference. The Baroness von Hohensteinbauergrunewald, whose name Emily and Cécile discuss at Le Meurice, is a character in the second Amelia book, The Mummy Case. Cécile, naturally, is aware of the baroness, having read the newspaper coverage of Amelia’s numerous adventures in Egypt. The astute reader will also recognize my reference to the Daily Yell. Sadly, there is no redheaded reporter. If you are not familiar with Amelia’s numerous adventures, you should remedy the situation at once; I promise you will be delighted.
Two days after I wrote that scene, Barbara Mertz passed away. I am quite confident her heart balanced perfectly with the feather of Maat, and that she was sped along to a most pleasant eternal life. Would Osiris stand for anything less? Amelia certainly would not.
—Tasha Alexander
#BookSeriesBinge
Comments
Comments are closed.
It’s very good post which I really enjoyed reading. It is not everyday that I have the possibility to see something like this.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info.
This is really a nice and informative. containing all information and also has a great impact on the new technology. Thanks for sharing it.
The information you have posted is very useful. The sites you have referred was good. Thanks for sharing…
Its a great pleasure reading your post.Its full of information I am looking for and I love to post a comment that “The content of your post is awesome” Great work.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info.
The information you have posted is very useful. The sites you have referred was good. Thanks for sharing..
I high appreciate this post. It’s hard to find the good from the bad sometimes. but I think you’ve nailed it! would you mind updating your blog with more information?
Thanks for sharing the info. keep up the good work going…. I really enjoyed exploring your site. good resource…
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information…
Thank you very much for keep this information.
Thank you very much for writing such an interesting article on this topic. This has really made me think and I hope to read more.
Yes i am totally agreed with this article and i just want say that this article is very nice and very informative article.I will make sure to be reading your blog more. You made a good point but I can’t help but wonder. what about the other side? !!!!!!THANKS!!!!!!
Thank you very much for keep this information.
Thanks for sharing the info. keep up the good work going…. I really enjoyed exploring your site. good resource…
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info.
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information…
What a fantabulous post this has been. Never seen this kind of useful post. I am grateful to you and expect more number of posts like these. Thank you very much.
Hello. I have browsed most of your posts. This post is probably where I got the most useful information for my research. Thanks for posting. maybe we can see more on this. Are you aware of any other websites on this subject.
This is a truly good site post. Not too many people would actually. the way you just did. I am really impressed that there is so much information about this subject that have been uncovered and you’ve done your best. with so much class. If wanted to know more about green smoke reviews. than by all means come in and check our stuff.
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post.
Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging.
thank you for a great post.
It was wondering if I could use this write-up on my other website. I will link it back to your website though.Great Thanks.
Thanks you very much for sharing these links. Will definitely check this out..
Wow i can say that this is another great article as expected of this blog.Bookmarked this site..
You know your projects stand out of the herd. There is something special about them. It seems to me all of them are really brilliant!
Thanks For sharing this Superb article.I use this Article to show my assignment in college.it is useful For me Great Work.
The website is looking bit flashy and it catches the visitors eyes. Design is pretty simple and a good user friendly interface.
Superbly written article. if only all bloggers offered the same content as you. the internet would be a far better place..
Positive site. where did u come up with the information on this posting? I’m pleased I discovered it though. ill be checking back soon to find out what additional posts you include.
Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative. I can’t wait to read lots of your posts.
Wow i can say that this is another great article as expected of this blog.Bookmarked this site..
Thanks For sharing this Superb article.I use this Article to show my assignment in college.it is useful For me Great Work.
Nice Informative Blog having nice sharing..
Nice to read your article! I am looking forward to sharing your adventures and experiences.
Thank you very much for keep this information.
New web site is looking good. Thanks for the great effort.
Im no expert. but I believe you just made an excellent point. You certainly fully understand what youre speaking about. and I can truly get behind that.
Thanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading.
Superbly written article. if only all bloggers offered the same content as you. the internet would be a far better place..
Thanks for posting this info. I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative. I can’t wait to read lots of your posts.
Thanks for the blog post buddy! Keep them coming…
This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty much pleased with your good work.You put really very helpful information. Keep it up. Keep blogging. Looking to reading your next post.
Thanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading.
These are some great tools that i definitely use for SEO work. This is a great list to use in the future..
I high appreciate this post. It’s hard to find the good from the bad sometimes. but I think you’ve nailed it! would you mind updating your blog with more information?
What a fantabulous post this has been. Never seen this kind of useful post. I am grateful to you and expect more number of posts like these. Thank you very much.
thanks for the tips and information..i really appreciate it..
I think that thanks for the valuabe information and insights you have so provided here.
Great post, you have pointed out some fantastic points , I likewise think this s a very wonderful website.
Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting?I have read a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style. Thanks a million and please keep up the effective work.
thank you for your interesting infomation.
This article was written by a real thinking writer without a doubt. I agree many of the with the solid points made by the writer. I’ll be back day in and day for further new updates.
It is a good site post without fail. I am impressed that there is so much information about the subject that has been uncovered and you’ve defeated yourself, with so much quality. Good Works!
Thank you for taking the time to publish this information very useful!
Great post, you have pointed out some excellent points, I as well believe this is a very superb website.
Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you are a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back very soon. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a nice weekend.
The web site is lovingly serviced and saved as much as date. So it should be, thanks for sharing this with us.
This is a fantastic website and I can not recommend you guys enough. I really appreciate your post. It is very helpful for all the people on the web.
I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work.
checking through the net, Appreciation for being really thoughtful. The post contains really beneficial information. Periodico en Albacete.
Algotech adalah sebuah perusahaan yang bergerak dibidang jasa website medan, dimana anda dapat melakukan custom website.
I must say that overall I am really impressed with this blog. It is easy to see that you are passionate about your writing. If only I had your writing ability I look forward to more updates and will be returning.
Banyaknya contoh keberhasilan bisnis secara online serta meningkatnya kebutuhan hidup yang kian beragam menjadi pelengkap besarnya animo masyarakat luas.
Thanks for ones marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you are a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back very soon. I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a nice weekend.
Mengenal apa itu website, jenis, dan manfaat website untuk bisnis.
First You got a great blog .I will be interested in more similar topics. i see you got really very useful topics , i will be always checking your blog thanks.
Easily, the article is actually the best topic on this registry related issue. I fit in with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates. Just saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the fantasti c lucidity in your writing. I will instantly grab your rss feed to stay informed of any updates.
This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing this great article! That is very interesting Smile I love reading and I am always searching for informative information like this!
Many thanks for the exciting blog posting! Simply put your blog post to my favorite blog list and will look forward for additional updates. Simply wanted to write down a word in order to say thanks to you for those wonderful tips.
I want you to thank for your time of this wonderful read!!! I definately enjoy every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog!