About Rosemary Morris

I am Rosemary Morris, an English, multi-published author of romantic historical fiction, one of my publisher’s ten best-selling novelists in 2017.

I was born in Kent. As a child, when I was not making up stories, my head was ‘always in a book.’

While working in a travel agency, I met my Hindu husband. He encouraged me to continue my education at Westminster College.  In 1961, I and my husband, by then a barrister, moved to his birthplace, Kenya, where I lived from 1961 until 1982. After an attempted coup d’état, four of my five children lived with me in an ashram in France.

Back in England, I wrote romantic historical fiction, joined the Romantic Novelists’ Association, The Historical Novel Society, Watford Writers and on-line groups, and am now published by Books We Love Ltd.

Apart from writing, I enjoy classical Indian literature, reading fiction, historical non-fiction, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables and creative crafts.

My eight foot by six-foot bookcase is so full that if I buy a new book I consider getting rid of one.

Time spent with my five children and their families, most of whom live near me, is precious.

Inspiration from History

There is a gigantic canvas for a historical novelist to choose from. My novels are set in the reign of Edward II, Charles II’s niece, Queen Anne Stuart, who reigned from 1702 to 1714, and the ever-popular Regency era.

I chose these periods because each of them affected the course of history. If Edward II had won the Battle of Bannockburn, it is feasible that he would have conquered Scotland and, perhaps, if the claim is true, he would not have been murdered. If the Duke of Marlborough had not won The War of Spanish Succession, and The Duke of Wellington had been defeated by Napoleon at The Battle of Waterloo, the history of Britain and that of Europe would be different. Defeat would also have had far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world.

The more I read about my chosen eras the more fascinated I become, and the more aware of the gulf between the past and present. Those who lived in the past shared our emotions, but their attitudes and way of life were in many ways very different to ours. One of the most striking examples was the social position of women and children in in bygone ages.

My characters are of their time, not men, women and children dressed in costume who behave like 21st century people.

Three of Rosemary’s Ten Published Novels

Research of my chosen eras sparks my imagination. The seeds of my novels are sown, and from them sprout the characters and events which will shape their lives. When I read about James II, I had an idea for my novel Tangled Love. James II, a Roman Catholic, who succeeded to the throne after the death of his popular brother Charles II. The peers of the realm disliked the man, his politics and his religion. Forced to flee the country, the peers were expected to swear an oath of allegiance to his older daughter, Mary and her husband, William of Orange who were Protestants. However, some of them were too honourable to do it while James lived.

What, I asked myself, would become of the children of those who followed James II to France? Then I wrote Richelda Shaw’s story, a Jacobite’s daughter who went from riches to rags and rags to riches.

My second novel set in the early 18^thcentury is Far Beyond Rubies. The inspiration for Juliana Kemp’s story came from a case in which a young woman fought her family for her rightful inheritance. The novel begins in 1706 when William, Baron Kemp, Juliana’s half-brother claims she and her young sister, Henrietta, are bastards. Juliana is determined to prove she is the rightful heiress to Riverside, a great estate.

The Captain and The Countess also takes place in England in 1706. The hero, young, Edward Howard, a captain in Queen Anne’s navy, was inspired by two paragraphs in a non-fiction book, about a young man.  Although the air sizzles when widowed Kate, almost ten years his senior, victim of an abusive marriage meets him she has no intention of ever marrying again. But, when Edward, a talented artist, is he only one of her admirers who sees the heart-rending pain in the back of her eyes and is determined to help her.

All my tales of times past are rich in historical detail and contain no explicit sex.

Novels by Rosemary Morris

Early 18^thCentury novels: Tangled Love, Far Beyond Rubies, The Captain and TheCountess

Regency Novels: False Pretences, Sunday’s Child, Monday’s Child, Tuesday’s Child, Wednesday’s Child and Thursday’s Child, Friday’s Child to be published in June 2019

Mediaeval Novel: Yvonne Lady of Cassio, The Lovages of Cassio Book One

Where to find Rosemary:
www.rosemarymorris.co.uk
http://bookswelove.net/authors/morris-rosemary