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When
I was a child, my parents had a wonderfully illustrated book
on archaeological sites around the world. I loved to sit on
the floor in front of the bookshelf (since the book
was too heavy to hold!) and lose myself in the
colorful
photographs of Egypt,
Greece, the Lascaux caves, Macchu
Pichu, Viking ship burials, and read about the wonderful
idea that the past could be brought to life again. (I also
became convinced we had Viking treasure buried in the
backyard, like the Sutton Hoo hoard, and tore up newly-laid
sod in my intrepid quest to find it! I think my dad is
still mad about that…)
In
college, I took one or two classes on archaeology, but
writing took me in another direction. I never gave up my
love of history, though—and I was so happy to “meet” the
heroines of my “Muses of Mayfair” series, three Regency
sisters who share my love of study and the excitement of
discovery!
The
18th and early 19th centuries were
great ones
for the study of antiquities, spurred on by discoveries like
that of Pompeii in 1748 and the arrival of the Elgin Marbles
in England in between 1801 and 1812 (still a highly
controversial subject!). This love was the catalyst for
trends in architecture, fashion, literature, and travel, and
my Chase family is a part of that passion. Sir Walter Chase
is a renowned scholar
of classical art and history, so when
he had daughters what else could he do but
name them after
the Muses? Calliope, Clio, and Thalia are
the three eldest, all of them dedicated to their studies—in
very different ways. Through this devotion, they meet 3
equally passionate heroes.
I
loved researching the archaeology of the Regency period and
incorporating ancient Greek art into the tales! (The statue
of Artemis, the Alabaster Goddess of To Catch a Rogue,
is based on a statue in the Louvre, and the silver hoard in
To Deceive a Duke is inspired by the famous
Morgantina Silver).
Some of the sources I found useful include:
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B.F. Cook, The Elgin Marbles (British Museum Press, 1997)
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Susan Nagle, Mistress of the Elgin Marbles: A Biography of Mary Nisbit, Countess of Elgin (2004)
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Oliver Taplin, Greek Fire: The Influence of Ancient Greece on the Modern World (1989)
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David Constantine, Early Greek Travelers and the Hellenice Ideal (1984)
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L. Eitner, Neoclassicism and Romanticism 1750-1850 (1971)
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Peter Watson, Cecilia Todeschini, The Medici Conspiracy (2007)
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E.R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (1951)
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Michael Grant, The Ancient Mediterranean (1969)
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Last Updated: February 2011 Site Designed and Maintained by Kelli McBride
