The Horse Accused of Witchcraft.

A modern day dancing horse.

During my delvings into things historical (researching my next book, ‘Eulogy’s Secret’) this true story caught my attention and I decided to share it with you. It is the tale of a 16^th century horse trainer, William Banks, and his dancing horse, Marocco – an act so good that they were accused of witchcraft!

Living in Elizabethan England, William Banks is the earliest recorded horse trainer. It seems likely that Banks started life as a retainer of the Earl of Essex, working in his stables, and Banks is first mentioned in 1591 as visiting Shrewsbury fair with a white performing horse.

 It seems the success of this mare, (who could count money, bow and curtsy, and pick out different colours) whetted Banks appetite for animal training as he then sold everything he owned, bought a small bay horse, Marocco, (named after a type of saddle) and moved to London. Marocco was small, lithe, muscular and intelligent. Legend has it that Banks shod Marocco in silver, but his daring paid off as the horse was an immediate success.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I painted to commerate victory over the Spanish Armada.

Banks taught Marocco to dance on two or four legs, return a glove to a specific member of the crowd, bow to the Queen of England but refuse to bow to the King of Spain (England’s deadliest enemy), count the value of a coin with his hoof, and even play dead so effectively that members of the audience burst into tears.

Part of Marocco’s appeal was that he was that he was a cheeky; he could urinate on request and play tricks such as:-

“Discern a maid from a maulkin.”

Banks would order his horse to bring him a chaste virgin from the audience, and then a harlot from the streets. By the mid 1590’s Banks was a wealthy man and pamphlets circulated country wide celebrating Marocco.

“Ballad shewing the strange qualities of a young nag called Morocco.”

But if it’s possible, Banks’ act was too good. Whilst on tour, visiting Oxford and Shrewsbury audiences began to mutter about witchcraft: that Banks was a sorcerer and Marocco his familiar. So Banks returned to safer ground in London.

But in his absence London had changed. Banks no longer had the only performing animal act and Marocco was being out done by the novelty of camels and elephants. Ever the showman Banks hit on a great idea for a publicity stunt. He led Marocco up the 1,000 step spiral staircase to the original (pre-fire of London) St Pauls Cathedral, to dance on the roof. Amazed, crowds stood in the street below staring up to see the horse “on top of Powles.”

The original (pre-fire of London) St Pauls Cathedral.

Seeking new and bigger audiences Banks took Marocco to France. It seemed the horse knew different colours and was able to give a key, to a member of the crowd wearing a purple, red, blue or green dress. But this was too much for the French and both Banks and Marocco were arrested on charge of sorcery, on threat of being burnt alive. The resourceful Banks eventually proved their innocence by asking Marocco to kiss a crucifix. After this, their accusers declared that the horse was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and freed the both.

After this experience Banks return to England and it is not known if Marocco was retired, or died in harness. Mentions of the pair stop around 1606 and Banks never trained another horse, but used the money accrued during his showman days to open a tavern.

 

(My midweek post reveals how Marocco did his tricks.)

Welcome! Carole Gill - guest author.

Today I'm delighted to welcome author, Carole Gill, to the blog.
Carole has written several novels, and her latest release 'The House on Blackstone Moor' is set in 19th century England and is a dark tale of devil worship, madness, obsession and vampirism.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/33847

Author, Carole Gill.

 Grace : So without further ado, tell me Carole, in what ways do you think working in a hospital that had been historically a workhouse and asylum in Victorian times has helped you add realism to The House on Blackstone Moor?

Carole: Well there are two madhouses depicted in the novel so it certainly helped to have worked in a place that was in the past an asylum. I found I could picture the people and situations there. The dining room for example had been the chapel and that led me to think of a chapel on the grounds of an insane asylum. The mind boggles, this was the 19^th Century and the madhouses depicted in my novel took in paupers—so one can picture all sorts of scenarios.

It certainly did help to work in such a place and I’m so happy I did.

Grace: What are some sources of inspiration that you used to help you create the setting and tone for your book?

Carole: Well I don’t live terribly far from the Bronte Parsonage or the moors that surround Haworth. As a matter of fact I became obsessed with Top Withens which is a ruined farmhouse that some say might have been Emily Bronte’s inspiration for Wuthering Heights.

The general setting of Yorkshire with its windswept moors and its howling winds—well that is very inspiring. I walk my dogs on moorland every day and find myself inspired all the time!

I think every writer finds inspiration wherever he/she lives. And when that comes through in the writing, the fiction becomes real and alive!

As for tone, I do a lot of reading and research and have read scores of books on governesses and madhouses, on Yorkshire and its history too. I don’t think one can be too prepared.

Grace: I have vivid recollections of visiting the Bronte parsonage, as a child. It was more museum than home, but even then, there was something magical, mystical even, about the place and surrounding moors that still give me shivers.

Excerpt from The House on Blackstone Moor

He waited until I was exhausted whereupon he began his tale. “Please, Rose, I must now tell you things I want you to understand. You deserve to have the truth and you shall have it. You see Rose; there are many worlds within worlds and even magical species that dwell within those worlds. There are things beyond what you know…”

He paused then to gaze at me, as if willing me to understand. I began to shake my head. It sounded insane. “It is a long story, but one you must hear, I’m afraid.” He moved closer to me. “Rose I want to speak to you to show you things which will answer all your concerns.”

“All of my concerns?”

He nodded.

I bit my lip. If I had longed for all the truth, I also feared it. My world was turning in a different direction now and I felt the movement. There were in these next moments an end and a beginning. I would not understand the profound significance of any of this for a quite while.

“The story I shall tell you is a story as old as time, my story. You will, I hope, understand all that I tell you, but first there are things you will see that will shock and horrify you. You see my dear; you are already becoming something different. It has been happening slowly and will continue to follow its slow but steady course until it is entirely accomplished.

Grace: Thank you so much for visiting today, Carole. I see that you are not afraid to touch on issues such as child abuse in 'The House on Blackstone Moor,' - truly a story of good versus evil.

If you have any questions or comments for Carole, I'm sure she'd love to chat.
Just leave a comment below.
Grace x

Bisset's 'Cat Orchestra' and other performing cats.

A modern-day cat act (Image courtesy of elisasjourneys.com)

Bisset’s ‘Cat Orchestra’ and Other Performing Cats.

I haven’t posted about cats for a while, so to put that right here is some historical trivia about performing cats.

In the mid 18^th century, Scotsman Samuel Bisset read about the success of an animal act, ‘The Thinking Horse’ and decided to have a go himself. His first foray into animal training involved a monkey who he taught to ride a pony, and dance with a dog. But Bisset astutely realised that novelty was the key to success and hit on the idea of training that least trainable of all animals – the cat!

 

A dulcimer (Image courtesy of dougberch.com)



Bisset’s ‘Amazing Cat Orchestra’ soon became the talk of London; performances of cats strumming dulcimers and singing in high pitched meouws, were held at his house, and was seemingly very popular with the public.

As the ‘Eccentric Magazine’ wrote:

‘In such a city as London, these feats could not fail of making some noise, his house was every day crowded.’

In 1758 the master showman, Pinchbeck, suggested Bisset expand and hire an exhibition room in the Haymarket. ‘The Cats’ Opera’ opened with such entertainments as…. cats strumming dulcimers and mewing, a monkey dancing with a dog and a hare that walked on his back legs whilst beating a drum. This show was also a success and earnt Mr Bisset over a thousand pounds – testament to the eccentricity of the English.

 

image courtesy of weedom.com

However not all cat acts did so well. In the following century a Danish conjurer, Pederson brought a feline act to London. The animal part of his show involved two docile cats that allowed pigeons to perch on their heads. However, the magic of the act was dispelled when Pederson naively admitted in a newspaper interview, that an important part of the act was a plentiful supply of pigeons, since his cats were no always as docile as they seemed!

Image courtesy of slurpy.org

Welcome! P J Jones - author of a spoof romance novel called...errr....'Romance Novel.'

Today I'm delighted to welcome author PJ Jones to the blog.
The rather unusual cover of 'Romance Novel' cannot fail to catch the eye...and with this in mind, I asked PJ how her humourous take on the romance genre has been recieved so far.
PS- As part of her awesome blog tour, PJ is kindly offering a $15 Amazon eVoucher to one lucky person who leaves a comment during the tour - the name to be drawn at random - so why not leave a comment for a chance to win?
Over to you PJ!

How this very different ‘romance novel’ has been received

In my past life, I’d published five romances, all of which received great reviews. This time around, my premonitions about how well ROMANCE NOVEL would be received ranged from cautious optimism to doubtful disparagement. Though close friends and critique partners encouraged me to publish ROMANCE NOVEL, I was still doubtful that everyone else would ‘get it’.

Luckily, so far, most people have gotten my  unorthodox and sometimes crude sense of humor.

In addition to the awesome critic reviews, RN has also picked up some great reader reviews and some  AWESOME personal letters from readers who seriously ROCK.

One such reader actually called me ‘brilliant’. Really? Me brilliant? In all honesty, I’d always envisioned myself as someone of average intelligence whose brain occasionally farts out sage nuggets of boorish, though somewhat comical, one-liners. Though I’m not rushing to fill out that MENSA application, I truly appreciate the compliment, and will certainly store it away in my memory to use whenever I need to win an argument against my husband.

So in a really long, drawn-out, painful, complicated round-about way of saying things, yes, ROMANCE NOVEL has been received very well thus far. Why thank you, Grace, for asking.

And just to prove I wasn’t blowing smoke up your fannies in this vague and rambling interview, here’s some SUPER-AWESOME links to some SUPER-AWESOME critics who loved ROMANCE NOVEL.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by today, and thanks, readers, for loving RN and totally making me feel all sparkly inside and out, just like a vampire, only way more sparkly. PJ

http://yougottareadreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-romance-novel-by-pj-jones.html

http://www.amazon.com/Romance-Novel-ebook/dp/B004UMOWWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308956346&sr=8-1

 http://www.nightowlromance.com/nor/Reviews/Diana-Coyle-reviews-Romance-Novel-by-PJ-Jones.aspx

http://www.favoritethingever.com/2011/05/swooning-smella-and-her-heaving-bosom/

AUTHOR BIO:

PJ Jones began writing Romance Novel in the spring of 2009 when she was seriously ill, thinking that this book would be her last dying legacy for mankind. After you read this book, you will probably wonder if she was trying to seal her fate in hell. Who knows? But PJ Jones has conquered her illness and is much better now. But you probably don't care, as long as her writing is funny. PJ Jones is also an avid reader of real romance novels. So why does she poke fun of them? Consider it comic relief.

AND FOR YOUR DELIGHT AND DELECTATION HERE IS AN EXCERPT:

“I wouldn’t drink that poison if I were you.”

He spoke with a slight accent, reminding Smella of a lonely soul from another place, another time. Or maybe just a British guy trying to sound like he was from nineteenth century Boston.

Smella’s eyes widened. Her gaze shot to the beer, then back to the stranger. “What poison?”

“You can’t pin anything on me!” The bartender hollered while stumbling backward, before falling against a shelf of beer mugs.

Locked in the stranger’s dark gaze, Smella ignored the sound of crashing glass. She was more interested in his perfectly kissable blood red lips and the cold, impenetrable aura that radiated off his stony features.  

“Alcohol destroys your kidneys.” The stranger flashed a subdued smile, revealing pearly white, jagged teeth.  

“You’re right.” Turning down her lips in disgust, Smella pushed away the offending glass. “Thank you for berating my choice of beverage. Throughout this novel, you may occasionally behave like a total control freak, but I know you are only concerned for my well-being, and because I am a woman, obviously I’m too stupid to act in my own best interest.”

Somewhere in the darkest recesses of her mind, she thought she heard the obese bartender scream, “Help me! I’m bleeding everywhere!” But she refused to let him ruin the romantic tension that she was trying to build with the tall pasty stranger. Leaning toward him, she playfully batted long lashes while twirling a lock of hair around her finger.  

But the stranger didn’t respond to her flirtation. He was too busy pinching his nose and making a gagging sound.

She scooted back. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.” He spoke through a wheeze. “I have to go.”

In a flash, he was gone.

Smella was confused, bewildered, frightened, rejected, vulnerable, hurt, self-conscious and irritated.

But never mind her PMS.

She was more concerned about her awkward encounter with the kind stranger. 

AND FINALLY....if you would like to know more, here are some links.

Links you want to include: http://pjjonesramblings.blogspot.com/

My FB page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002264026213

GRACE: - Thank you for visiting PJ! Romance Novel certainly looks an excellent holiday read - as long as you dont mind people staring because you're laughing so hard!

Dont forget - leave a comment for a chance to win an eVoucher!

Gx

Writing to Me is .....Escapism.

Today's post is in conjunction with the Blog-A-Licious Blog Tour a fantastic blog hop that brings together bloggers of all genres, backgrounds and locations. In today's hop, the blog featured before, Grace Elliot-author, is http://remembernewvember.blogspot.com

The blog featured after, Grace Elliot- author, is the captivating http://blogaliciousblogs.blogspot.com

 Do stop by and say hello plus some of us are having giveaways and contests. Enjoy! 

Widget and friend - more of Widget later......

Writing to Me is…Escapism.

The theme of this week’s Blog-A-Licious Blog Tour is “Writing to me is….”  Many adjectives spring to mind when I think about what writing means to me: addictive, essential, rewarding, frustrating…but the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest is ‘Escapism.’

Let me explain.

Life is hectic. I’m a working mother with two teenage sons. My job as a veterinarian is both intellectually and emotionally demanding. Veterinary medicine requires logical thinking and deduction, no flights of fancy or imagination, but cold, hard scientific facts in order to reach a diagnosis. And then I must translate those conclusions into words that a distressed client can understand without being baffled by long words.

I have worked at the same practice for twelve years and have known many of the patients since they were puppies or kittens.When they become ill, this is extra pressure because I feel I know them like my own pets. The temptation is to then ‘take work home with me’ and dwell on difficult cases once I’ve left the surgery, with exhausting results. I’ve learnt the hard way that everyone needs time to relax and switch off…and for me this is where writing comes in.



Widget demonstrating that relaxation takes dedication and tenacity (a skill, she says, that few humans possess.)



I started writing five years ago, after a school reunion. People I hadn’t seen for twenty years asked if I still wrote stories, (my English homework was regularly read out to the class.) In a ‘Eureka’ moments, I remembered the satisfaction and escapism of crafting a story, went home and started writing.

I’ve never looked back since. Always an avid reader, to rediscover the joy of crafting my own world is escapism without price! I have a photographic memory and visualize a scene in my head and then transfer it to the page – an almost meditative process. Mentally placing myself in Regency England, mixing with the characters and feeling their peril has trained me to let go of the worries of the present day, rest and refresh. It’s amazing how much more energy I have when I don’t waste it brooding over the day and worrying about the one ahead.

Obviously I've disturbed Widget's 'Chi' by getting up!

So for me writing is an escape from everyday cares….plus I get to spend more time with Widget (one of my five cats.) She thoroughly approves of my writing habit because she snuggles up to my leg. I’d like to think it was love, but I suspect it’s just that I’m warm…but hey, you can’t have everything!

Don’t forget, the next stop on the Blog-A-Licious tour is the lovely Pandora’s blog at:

http://blogaliciousblogs.blogspot.com

Thanks for visiting!

See you again soon, G x

Anna Maclean - author of 'Louisa and the Missing Heiress.'

Today I'm thrilled to host author, Anna Maclean. Her latest book 'Louisa and the Missing Heiress' has the unusual hook of having a writer, who is a household name, as heroine. Anna is also offering a $20 eVoucher to one lucky person who leaves a comment during her book tour. So without further ado I'll hand over to Anna to reveal a little known side to Louisa May Alcott.
APOLOGIES - my mistake, but Anna is offering a prize of a Victorian cup and saucer, for the winner of the prize draw, and not a voucher as I stated. Sorry for any confusion! Totally my error.
Grace x

The Secret World of Louisa May Alcott

One of the joys of writing about Louisa May Alcott is that there is so much about her many people don’t know!  Say Louisa May Alcott, and most people think  of Little Women.  But in fact, Louisa had a long and good career before she wrote that book for children. She wrote ‘blood and thunder’ stories, often under a non de plume or  simply as ‘anonymous.’  They were stories full of very grown-up adventures, romances and gothic tales.  Because they were somewhat racy for the time (and because she was a lady from a good family) she didn’t write them under the name of Louisa May Alcott…but they are hers, and very distinctive.

            Louisa couldn’t publish racy materials under own name for another important reason people often aren’t aware of:  she and her family sometimes broke the law, in their fight against slavery and so it was important not to call attention to herself in a controversial way.  In Boston, before the Civil War, it was illegal to harbor and assist run-away slaves, and the Alcott’s often assisted slaves who were making their way to safety in Canada. If they were caught, they could be fined five hundred dollars (a huge sum, for them) or even imprisoned.  So, it was important to live somewhat quietly and without undue attention, especially on the parts of the daughters of the family. Women were expected to know their place, and that was at home.

            Those were two parts of Louisa I wanted to introduce to people when I began writing Louisa and the Missing Heiress:  the author with an  imagination full of characters, some of them shady and of dubious character, and the abolitionist and believer in women’s rights, ready to risk her safety and security for others and for justice.

            Louisa was a ‘good’ daughter,  very similar to Jo March, but when we read Jo March closely we see the rebellion, the stubbornness, the determination to be independent rather than become a wife.  Those are very much Louisa’s qualities.  We may think we know Louisa May Alcott, but she had great depth and I think much of her life is still unknown to us.  She had to work so hard to preserve her good reputation and her family’s safety there must have been much she kept hidden.

            Little Women certainly was a spring board for Louisa and the Missing Heiress, but I decided very quickly not to stop with that initial image of the dutiful daughters gathered around the family hearth, supporting each other and their mother when their father is away.  I wanted to take Louisa into some of those areas she didn’t write about as Lousia May Alcott, into families where not all children are loved or treated well, where doing good sometimes requires breaking the law, where some pretty awful things happen to innocent people.  In other words, into the true world rather than the rich and lovely and usually benign world she constructed in her children’s novels.  Louisa knew how to write to comfort and entertain children; but she also knew how to write to amuse adults and further a political goal.  That was the Louisa I worked with, the one I wanted to introduce to readers.

Author - Anna Maclean.

Artist’s biography

Jeanne Mackin is the author of several novels:  The Sweet By and By (St. Martin’s Press), Dreams of Empire (Kensington Books), The Queen’s War (St. Martin’s Press), and The Frenchwoman (St. Martin’s Press).   She has published short fiction and creative nonfiction in several journals and periodicals including  American Letters and Commentary and SNReview. She is also the author of the Cornell Book of Herbs and Edible Flowers (Cornell University publications)  and co-editor of  The Norton Book of Love (W.W. Norton),  and wrote art columns for newspapers as well as feature articles for several arts magazines.  She was the recipient of a creative writing fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society and her journalism has won awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, in Washington, D.C.  She teaches creative writing at Goddard College in Vermont, has taught or conducted workshops in Pennsylvania, Hawaii and New York and has traveled extensively in Europe.  She lives with her husband, Steve Poleskie,  in upstate New York.

Website: http://www.annamaclean.net/

Book Link: http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781101506141,00.html?Louisa_and_the_Missing_Heiress_Anna_Maclean

From Louisa and The Missing Heiress by Anna Maclean

The clock chimed four-thirty. I sighed and stirred, tapping my foot more quickly under the concealing hem of my brown linsey-woolsey skirts. Where was our hostess? Surely she could have tried on every hat in Boston by now.  Had she forgotten? Dot had never been the quickest mind – she had wept over fractions and torn her hair over South American rivers – but to completely forget her own welcome-home tea party!

            I looked outside the room into the hall.  The huge, ornate coat tree was close enough to the parlor that every time I looked in that direction and saw Mr. Wortham’s velvet coat hanging there on its hook, I had the eerie sense that someone else was standing there, watching.  Something strange, hostile, dangerous, floated through that house where newlyweds should have been so happy.

            Much as I wished to see Dot, I decided it was time to leave. Abba was waiting for me at home with a basket of clothing to clean and mend for the women’s shelter and other tasks with which society could not be bothered.  Mr. Wortham was standing at the bay window, looking out into the street.  I went to him.

            “I do hope Dot is all right.  This is not like her.”

            “I fear a year in Europe may have changed her,” he said.  “It is liberating to travel, you know.”  But he was frowning and his dark eyes seemed darker than usual.

-oO0Oo-

Thank you, Anna, for visiting today. I wish you every success with your latest book which looks very exciting! Dont forget to leave a comment for a chance to win that voucher!

Pidgeon Fancier - bird related historical trivia.



The Song Thrush (courtesy of Arthur Grosset.)

According to a recent RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) survey, many of  Britain’s native birds are in decline. Changes in farming and horticulture have deprived birds such as the song-thrush of its favourite foods – slugs and snails, leading to a decline in  numbers. However this is not the first time that native birds have had a lean time. In Victorian times bird keeping was a popular hobby amongst city communities. Native birds such as thrushes, bullfinches and goldfinches were trapped at night in country villages and sent by train to the suburbs to be sold in markets at Greenwich, Hounslow and Woolwich.

Bullfinches and goldfinches were especially popular, since they could be trained to sing and fetch a high
price, several shillings each, whilst larks sold for six to eight pence a piece. There was even a market for
 dowdy birds such as house sparrows- once they were disguised with paint –sadly when they preened they died of lead poisoning. Even more unpleasant was the craze in the 1890’s for ‘flying’ greenfinches. These birds were sold for half a penny each, with a cotton thread tied to a leg. The idea was to bet on which bird could fly in circles longest before it dropped dead of exhaustion.

Keeping caged birds was widespread, even amongst prisoners held at the Tower of London. One prisoner wrote ‘An Epitaph on a Goldfinch,’ on the death of his pet bird,

‘Buried June 23, 1794 by a fellow prisoner in the Tower of London.’

The Spitalfields weavers of the 1840’s also prized their birds. The breeding of fancy pigeons and canaries; Almond tumblers, Pouting horseman and Nuns, was taken very seriously. Bird shows were highly competitive, matching the fashion amongst wealthier classes for dog shows. It could be a dodgy business - the prize winning pigeons at a show in Islington had had their throats stitched back to improve their appearance – the perpetrators were found out and prosecuted.

London’s pigeons are descended from those that escaped from dove cotes in medieval times, to roost amongst the cities ledges and towers. In 1277 a man is recorded as falling from the belfry of St Stephens, Walbrook whilst trying to raid a pigeons nest and in 1385 the Bishop of London complained of ‘malignant persons’ who threw stones at pigeons resting in city churches.

Nowadays, birds that interact and be part of a family, like parrots, are popular. An African Grey, Sunny, was the mascot of HMS Lancaster. The ship’s crew taught him an impressive vocabulary including an armoury of expletives so extensive he has to be hidden in a broom cupboard when dignitaries visit. His catch phrases included –

‘You ain’t seen me, right?’ and
‘Zulus, thousands of ‘em!’

Another parrot owner was W S Gilbert –  who wrote the words to accompany Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music. He owned a particularly fine parrot, reputedly the best talker in England. When a guest commented on the appearance of a second parrot in his hallway, Gilbert replied:

‘The other parrot, who is a novice, belongs to Doctor Playfair. He is reading up with my bird, who takes pupils.’

However, pet birds were not necessarily popular with everyone. George Bernard Shaw was given a caged canary, which he heartily disliked, calling it a ‘little green brute.’ He was delighted when the bird was stolen, and equally disappointed when a friend replaced it. His comment was;

‘I’m a vegetarian and can’t eat it, and its too small to eat me.’



Author and playwright, George Bernard Shaw.