Book Blurb:
A story of love and political intrigue, set against the backdrop of the English hunting shires and the streets of Victorian London and post-revolutionary Paris.
Book Buy Link: https://mybook.to/themerestloss
All proceeds during the month of November will go to the Racing Welfare Charity.
Author Bio:
Steven Neil is the author of The Merest Loss: A story of love and political intrigue, set against the backdrop of the English hunting shires and the streets of Victorian London and post-revolutionary Paris.
Editorial Review:
He filled in some details of his mother's life for me. I realised I had not seen her for almost five years, although we had exchanged letters and a great deal had happened in that time. I remembered more about her relationship with Emperor Napoleon. How could I not? For a while during the forties and fifties, Harriet was often in the newspapers. In 1848, she appeared by Louis Napoleon's side in a carriage on the Champs Élysées. Just before Louis Napoleon became Emperor, the society writers called her “The English Empress”.
The Merest Loss by Steven Neil weaves the story of the real Comtesse de Beauregard, Harriet Howard, into an astounding and beautifully written historical novel full of political intrigue and love. We are introduced straightaway to Martin Haryett, her son, as he attempts to discover the secrets of his mother's life and the identity of his father whom Harriet has always kept close to her heart. When Martin encounters Tom Olliver, a renowned steeplechase horseracer and friend of Jem Mason (who in history was an acclaimed London jockey), the pieces of Harriet's life fall into place as the story progresses.
“She's worth more than all the others put together. There's no one like her.”
Harriet, formerly known as Eliza Harryet, lived in Brighton and at fifteen-years-old she runs away with Jem Mason to London. As she strives to make a name for herself, changing her name to Harriet Howard, she takes to the London stage and soars into society which brings her shoulder-to-shoulder with some very influential political players of the time.
Before long, she is cast in the role of a lifetime when recruited into Her Majesty's Government to spur along the financial backing of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte of France, a man whom the British government seek to influence to bring peace between the two nations, as well as maneuver their own plans against the Russians in Crimea. Harriet reluctantly agrees, more cornered into the arrangement after being blackmailed. With quick speed, she finds herself the close companion and eventual lover of Louis Napoleon, with her son Martin being educated right alongside Napoleon's own two illegitimate sons.... and her former attachment and love for Jem Mason fade into the background. Or does it?
“You're asking me to spy for a secret government service?”
“Oh, Miss Howard, don't be so melodramatic. Her Majesty's Government does not have a secret service and it does not employ spies. We are asking you to place yourself in our care and to be available to entertain the company of certain distinguished gentlemen when we require it. Otherwise, you are free to proceed as you wish... but with certain restrictions, of course.”
When Napoleon eventually seizes power in France with money filtering from Britain through Harriet in a secret account, he becomes Emperor, and many think he has a plan to marry the woman now known as “the English Empress”. But the tables turn and Harriet finds herself abandoned not only by Napoleon but by the British Government who has found her usefulness at an end.
Finding herself free, her former love, Jem, is now married. Nearing destitution with her financial backing drying up, she marries Captain Trelawny but her heart remains forever fixed on Jem as they find a way to meet, again and again, trying to repair their relationship. Yet, fate continues to tear the lovers apart, especially with the blackmail still hanging over her head, and the dangerous man known as Nicholas Sly still lurking.
For a while, hope rises like the sunrise, and both Jem and Harriet find themselves unattached and rediscovering their former love, yet again, fate renders a decisive blow. Ultimately, Martin thinks he discovers the identity of his father, along with developing an incredible friendship with Tom and a fascination with horse racing and breeding, and as he grows up and matures, he begins to see a different side of the woman he always balked at as a youngster. Her desire to protect him and her parents were always the motivation behind every decision she ever made, putting her own wishes in the background in order to make sure they had a better life. While sometimes her choices seem frivolous, with ambition galloping in her heart, and her long absence from seeing her parents appears selfish (making excuse after excuse to see them); in truth, she is a loyal and dutiful daughter and mother, sacrificing her own happiness, no matter the cost, to take care of those she loves.
'I want to be independent. I want to be my own woman. I want to be the best actress on the London stage. I want people to say, “There goes Harriet Howard. She is a wonderful actress.” I want to have enough money to live a comfortable life. I want to look after my parents and make them proud of me. I want to share my life with someone who I love and admire. One day, I want to have children. I want Jem Mason.'
'By the Lord, Eliza. You make me ashamed. From now on, we'll do it together. You and me. Jem and Eliza. Eliza and Jem.'
This story is one you will not be able to put down the moment you read the first line. The writing style is elegant and the voice is a resplendent homage to other strong self-willed female characters whose ambition sometimes brings dire consequences, such as Becky Sharp of Thackeray's Vanity Fair. The behind-the-scenes political wranglings and spy rings are flawlessly threaded through the storyline, and Mr Neil's genius of entwining the elements of politics, blackmail, spies, horse racing, courtesans, nobility, and history is nothing less than brilliant. This book is a master class on writing historical fiction. Often writers are instructed in writing fiction to make sure words and phrases are used for a purpose, to invoke your theme, to move the story forward, and to make sure your research soaks into the story rather than overwhelms – and this one does that with spectacular finesse. The characters are so well-rounded you feel like a fly on the wall of the events surrounding Harriet and Napoleon's rise to power, as well as the heart-stopping thundering of hooves at the racecourses. Mr Neil breathes life into these historical characters, and you hear their voices from the past... voices that will speak long after you read the last word.
*****
“The Merest Loss” by Steven Neil receives five stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence
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