There is always more to the story than just what
ends up between the pages. This page takes a behind the scenes look
at One Night of Passion including
research I did while writing the book, character tidbits, and more. Happy
reading! ~Elizabeth
avon books
ISBN: 0-380-82089-7
July 2, 2002
When
I started writing Once Tempted,
I hadn't given much thought to Robert Danvers's brothers, that is until I
was writing the scene in Chapter Nine where Olivia asks Robert's older brother,
Colin, how he met his wife. It goes something like this:
"Tell me about your wife, Captain Danvers. I always wondered how it was that men of the sea found time to court a lady. How did you meet her?"
Apparently the subject was something of a family scandal, for both Colin and Robert sputtered over their soup.
"At a ball," he finally managed to mutter.
"Oh, how romantic," she said.
"Yes, it was very romantic from what I've heard," Robert said, his tone teasing. "Do tell Miss Sutton all about it."
"It was just a regular sort of ball," Colin said abruptly, turning his full attention back to his soup.
Olivia wasn't really listening, she was watching Robert. And right now his eyes sparkled with a mischievous gleam.
"It wasn't a regular sort of ball, Da," Gavin said. The impetuous boy turned to Olivia. "They met at the Cyprian's Ball."
The moment I wrote that line, "They met at the Cyprian's Ball," I
got chills. I knew I had stumbled upon a story within my story. The hardest part
about it was that I had to wait until I was done with Once
Tempted before I could
start really exploring the idea of how the very proper Colin met his wife in
such an unlikely place. I'd never thought of doing a prequel before, but that
line wouldn't stop rattling around inside my imagination, demanding to be told.
It got worse when I sent the book into my editor. She called me up almost immediately. She had only one thing to say: "I want Colin's story." It seems, she too was hooked by the idea of this scandalous ball and what kind of lady would be there. And so were readers. Within a week of Once Tempted's publication, the letters and emails started arriving, pleading their case for Colin's story. I was happy to tell them it was already being written. Now you can discover how it was that a nice girl like Georgiana Escott ends up at London's most notorious evening, The Cyprian's Ball.
I also saw this book as a chance to pay some small homage to the love affair of Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton. My fascination with their ill-fated romance began the first time I saw the old movie, That Hamilton Woman, starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Then, when I was in England several years ago, I visited the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and gazed with awe at the coat Nelson was wearing at Traflagar when he died, as well as many of Emma's personal effects. I just became fascinated with their story, and One Night of Passion offered me a chance to bring them once again to life–if only in a small way.
- Georgiana Escott -- Orphaned at an early age and at the mercy of her guardian, Georgie is about to be wed against her wishes to an aging, albeit, wealthy lord. She'll do anything to avoid this unwanted marriage, even spend the night with a stranger. As it is, Georgie's got one night to find a rake who will ruin her, but what this Cinderella doesn't expect to lose is her heart.
- Captain Colin Danvers -- Has just been court-martialed out of the Royal Navy, amidst a tide of scandal. But if Colin thinks his life is in chaos now, wait until he runs into an odd little Cyprian one night at a ball who leaves him with a shoe and heart that has finally found love. Colin first appeared in Once Tempted.
- Lady Diana Fordham -- Colin's very proper betrothed. When she discovers her fiancé has been deemed a traitor, she sends him off with nothing short of a hanging. Colin isn't broken hearted for very long. But Lady Diana is another matter... and you’ll find her story in Stealing the Bride.
- Mr. Pymm -- The infamous and shady spymaster who works covertly for the Foreign Office managing their rogue spies and taking on the British government's less honorable tasks. While reader's first met Mr. Pymm in Once Tempted, learn how he first began working with the Danvers's brothers.
Rafe Danvers -- Colin's mischievous twelve-year old brother. While you fell in love with him as a guerilla in the Spanish resistance movement in Once
Tempted, see where Rafe began showing his heartbreaker tendencies. Rafe’s story is told in It Takes a Hero
- Kathleen "Kit" Escott -- Georgie's young sister. Raised with Georgie by a foster mother in the harbor town of Penzance, Kit has a penchant for stealing and loves to flirt.
- Temple, Colin's rakish and beloved cousin -- The heir to the Setchfield duchy, Temple is anything but ducal, and sets out to help Colin become a "rake." By the way, when my editor read One Night of Passion, she called me up and said, "I want Temple's book," in much the same way as she demanded Colin's. And thus ordered, I wrote Stealing the Bride.
- Most Secret and Confidential: Intelligence in the Age of Nelson by Steven E. Maffeo. This book is a great read on the problems the Royal Navy had to surmount to gain intelligence as well as to convey their information. My guilty pleasure research read!
- Nelson's Captains by Ludovic Kennedy. A good look at the loyal men who served Nelson.
- Hornblower's Navy: Life at Sea in the Age of Nelson. This is a great overview of life at sea, as well as the intricacies of the Royal Navy. Wonderful pictures and drawings abound. I picked my copy up off the bargain table at Barnes & Noble. You don't have to love Horatio Hornblower to enjoy this book.
- The Nelson Companion, edited by Colin White. Loads of pictures and pieces of memorabilia concerning Nelson. More of an homage to Nelson the hero than a biography.
I get asked a lot where I find my books, and the two places I always look
first are:
www.abebooks.com
www.powells.com
- Georgie chafes at the bonds placed on her life by others. Were her expectations to live her own life realistic? What is it about her character that doesn't allow her to live within the confines of society?
- Do you think Colin would have been the same person through the story if he hadn't been court-martialed? Would his marriage to Lady Diana have been successful?
- Colin and Georgie fall in love during the course of one night. Do you think this can happen? How did that one night of passion then come back to haunt them? Were they guaranteed a happy ending when they were reunited a year later? How had their images of the other been colored during that time apart?
- The Cyprian's Ball was one of the Regency's most notorious social events. Discuss how the ladies of the aristocracy and the demi-monde were regarded in such different lights. What freedoms did the demi-monde have that a proper lady did not? What were the downsides of being a fallen woman?
- How had Colin and Georgie changed as individuals during their year apart? Do you think the changes made them more likely to be a successful couple or did it place more roadblocks in their relationship?
- We see a glimpse into the infamous affair of Lady Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson. Contrast and compare the two pairs of lovers. What characteristics do Emma and Georgie share?
- Georgie's nightmares about her past offer a glimpse into her parent's relationship. Do you think that she had good role models as parents? Was Mrs. Taft a good surrogate mother? How did each set of parents prepare her for the events in her life
- Was Georgie's distrust of men justified? How did Colin harm or help her in overcoming her fears of being controlled.
- Is Mr. Pymm a heroic character or a villain?
- Do you think Georgie should done everything possible to save Chloe and Kit first, rather than risk their lives to save the crew of the Sybaris?
Far left: Lady Emma Hamilton as Ariadne, by George Romney (1734-1802)
Left: Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)
Painted 1798-9 by Lemuel Francis Abbot (1760-1803)
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