BLUE SATAN

Currently reading THE BIRTH OF THE BLUE SATAN by Patricia Wynn. This is the 1st in series of 3 thus far featuring Gideon St. Mars, a viscount who becomes the highwayman Blue Satan, and his friend Mrs. Kean, in early 18th century England. This book was published in 2001 and has 325 pages. Here's a description:

In the turbulent reign of George I in England, Gideon Viscount St. Mars is accused of murdering his own father. Having no friends in the courts, he must escape to avoid being hanged. With the help of Hester Kean, the only person who believes in his innocence, he assumes the guise of highwayman "Blue Satan" to investigate the political intrigue that caused his father's death in a swashbuckling tale of romance and adventure.

The author's website is http://www.patriciawynn.com/. Here are the first couple paragraphs:

The tall, young gentleman with long, fair hair and aquiline features lounged impatiently before the looking-glass. He drummed his long, slender fingers on the dressing-table to quell his annoyance.

The longcase clock in the chamber next door had just rung eleven, yet his shoulder-length peruke was still resting in the same place it had an hour ago—on its stand instead of on his head. His valet, the little Frenchman who was busying himself in a corner, would never allow himself to be rushed.

I don't recall many historical mysteries set in this time period -- Jacobites, etc. I was thinking of one series that I haven't read, written by Hannah March, but they are set later in the Georgian era. Not as popular as the Regency, Restoration, Victorian, or Tudor periods but lots of intrigue there that I don't think has been explored (exploited) yet. And there is so much there! I can understand why England chose to go the Church of England route rather than Catholics in their monarchy, but truly, according to the rules, James the Pretender should have been king over William and Mary, Anne, and the Georges. BLUE SATAN is a little frothy tale in a SCARLET PIMPERNEL kind of way but I'm not minding it as I love the Scarlet Pimpernel (especially the made-for-tv movie with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour). As much as I love procedurals, I do have a soft spot for that dashing derring-do, too.

Don't know if I'll watch Masterpiece Theater's new remake of Oliver Twist. I read that it's dark-er than the norm but I don't know if I want to commit the time. The Avs play the Red Wings tonight -- please let the Avs win; I don't want a call from Barb about her team! Argh.

There was a dusting of snow out this morning. I pulled the board from across the deck and saw Kona footprints and I thought, phew, we avoided that last night. So then I moved to open the blinds on the front window and saw more footprints on the front walk and then the dog himself laying on our front doorstep. (sigh) So I took him back home.

Today's Blog/Website of the day is ... The Sunday Salon found at http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/. The site states, "Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake.... That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book." So I recommend doing both: read and check out the blogs. It's Sunday and a day of rest...

Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster