An Unconventional Woman

Almost a year ago, Crimson Romance added novellas to their mix, opening up an entire new arena for me. I'd been wanting to write about the first Fitzpatrick couple–George and Charlotte–for some time, but didn't want to devote a full-length book to their story. A novella was the perfect solution. As my editor said, "I know readers are going to love this."

It's been apparent in my other books in this series that Charlotte is a free-thinker and a bit of a handful. And George is her perfect foil, since he keeps her on a steady keel. Or, as Charlotte says in the story, she'd show him how to have fun, and he could keep her from getting into too much trouble.

The timeline and place for the book are fairly set in stone, given the start of the series. In order for Charlotte and George to meet, court and marry before their twins, Halwyn and Pepper, were born, this book had to open in  New York City in 1829. And once again, history sided with me by having Frances Wright, famous speaker for equal rights,  give a scandalous speech about equal rights for all in Manhattan during this time. It was fortunate for me that she appeared in New York exactly when I needed her. But who was she? The cartoon at left gives us a good idea of who she was and what she stood for. It's a hostile cartoon lampooning her for daring to give lectures at a time when many thought public speaking was not a suitable activity for women.

Since I completed the story, I've had some time to get to know this fascinating woman a bit better. She was born in Scotland and became a U.S. citizen in 1825. She was a free-thinker, feminist, abolitionist, and a social reformer. Her book Views Of Society And Manners In America was published in 1821, and she became a lecturer of some renown. She hoped to educate former slaves to prepare them for freedom, and set up a utopian society in Tennessee with that goal in mind, but the commune only lasted for three years.

In 1838, Frances Wright married at the ripe old age of 43, and had one daughter before obtaining a divorce. She suffered from a variety of health problems, and spent her last years living with her daughter in Cincinnati. She died in 1852 from complications caused by a fall on an icy staircase. It seems winters in Ohio have not changed very much in the past 150 years.

Oh, and the novella? It's called An Unconventional Courtship, and will be available in June, 2015.

Photos from Wikipedia.