To win a copy of Charlotte Betts' The Dressmaker's Secret, answer the following question in the Comments below:
"Can you think of any other historical character whose downfall was the result of their own impulsive actions and their refusal to conform to what polite society expected of them?"
Then copy your answer to :
maryhoffman@maryhoffman.co.uk
Closing date 7th May
We regret our competitions are open only to UK Followers.
Good luck!
3 comments:
Romeo and Juliet sprang to mind when I saw "impulsive actions" but then I realised they are not historical characters. Napoleon's actions led to his downfall but that wasn't through not conforming to society's expectations. So I think I'll go for Hypatia of Alexandria who taught astronomy and maths and debated religious issues in a public forum. This courage and refusal to conform led to her death at the hands of a mob of Christian zealots.
I suggest Nicholas Culpeper. He was accused of witchcraft and The Society of Apothecaries were incensed by the fact that he suggested cheap herbal remedies as opposed to their expensive concoctions.
There are many men in history who refused to conform, and 'got away with it' or didn't but I tend to prefer the females heroines in history, and when they refuse to conform society crushes them and treats their memories badly. Caroline has long been a heroine of mine anyway, she was the child of a broken marriage herself and was just a royal bargaining piece in childhood. If though I had to choose someone from history I would hark back to the Greek stories of my childhood, Cassandra who knew what was to come but no one listened to her has long been one of my heroines despite being ignored she kept trying to warn those around her. When I was little I would shout at my books, to listen to her, I felt they were so real to me and she was the realest, wasn't into Helen of Troy (not a beautiful child myself) and the men were all daring do and not thinking things through and having common sense. My choice for a character who would not conform and be quiet is Cassandra, though I am not sure she was very impulsive.
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