Winners of March Madness

The winner of Invitation to a Dance is

Alyce

and the winner of Creation of Eve is

Terri

Ladies, I will be emailing you for your addresses shortly.

March Madness: Giveaways of Invitation to Dance and The Creation of Eve

Happy Ides of March everyone! This month I'm giving away two books. The first one is Lynn Cullen's The Creation of Eve which I reviewed at the beginning of the month. The second book is An Invitation to Dance by Irish author Marion Urch, a novel about Lola Montez, who I have written about when I first started the blog.

Here is a sneak peek at An Invitation to Dance from the inside cover:

Set against the turbulent beginnings of the 19th century, An Invitation to Dance is an epic novel that sweeps from the margins of the Empire - Ireland and India - to its very heart, within the upper echelons of society in London and Europe, moving later to encompass America and Australia. In beautifully written, almost hypnotic prose she ushers us backstage and behind the headlines, to a cruel and sensual world of high stakes and shattered dreams. As she danced her way across Europe she left a string of admirers and scandals in her wake.  In Saxony, she became a source of inspiration for the romantic composer, Franz Liszt. In Bavaria, she caused the abdication of King Ludwig I.

This giveaway is only open to US residents.  Contest ends on March 21st at 12 noon.

Here are the rules:

1) Leave your name and email address in the comments section along with which book you are interested in.
2) If you tweet about the giveaway, and let me know, you get an extra entry.
3) If you are not a follower of the blog, and become one, you get an extra entry.

March Books of the Month: The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Dastardly Dames plus a Special Giveaway

Happy March everyone and do I have a treat for you! March's Books of the Month are from Goosebottom Books’ second series, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Dastardly Dames, which explores the lives of some of the most fascinating women in history, each of whom got labeled with a terrible nickname. While satisfying tweens' tastes for something a little darker, the series also appeals to its readers’ powers of analysis and sense of fairness—asking if these women’s nicknames were just. Each woman’s story is presented in rich historical and cultural context, with gorgeous original gouache paintings by Peter Malone, as well as photographs of artifacts, reproductions of archival paintings, maps, and timelines.

Just have a gander at page from Marie Antoinette:  'Madame Deficit.'  Isn't it gorgeous and a perfect way to introduce your pre-teen daughter (or son) to some of the world's most dastardly dames.  I'm not sure that I agree with including Marie Antoinette amongst Mary Tudor, Catherine de Medici, Cixi, Cleopatra and Agrippina.  Personally, I would have included her in Goosebottom book's other series, The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses. Still, I had fun reading these books and reacquainting myself with some of my favorite royal women.

Goosebottom books have generously sent me a copy of three of the books in their Dastardly Dames series, Marie Antoinette, Mary Tudor and Catherine de Medici.  It seems a shame to keep them all to myself.  Since March is Women's History Month and since Scandalous Women is about to celebrate 1,000,000 page views, I thought it only fitting that we have a little giveaway here on the blog. I can't believe I haven't given anything away since November!

One lucky winner will receive all three books, Catherine De Medici, Mary Tudor & Marie Antoinette from The Dastardly Dames series. Here are the rules for the giveaway. This giveaway is open solely to my American readers! The contest runs from today through Friday, March 23rd.

1. Leave your name and email in the comments. Email is very important so that I can contact you for your address.
2. If you are not a follower and become one, you get an extra entry
3. If you tweet about the giveaway, you get an extra entry.

Good luck!

March Madness

Welcome to March Madness here on Scandalous Women! Since it's women's history month, Scandalous Women will be featuring some of history's most fascinating women. In the following weeks, the blog will feature:

Movie review of Iron-Jawed Angels: starring Hilary Swank as suffragette Alice Paul

Book review of Pauline Bonaparte by Flora Fraser

Let's Talk About Sex Baby! - The Life of Mae West

In Search of the Queen of Sheba

Mistress of Louis XIV-Athenais de Montespan

Nancy Astor

I'll also be off to London for next week to do research but I'll be back loaded down with books! I'll try to check in while I'm away.