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Friday, March 17, 2017

Fun facts! Or are they?

Simon debuted March 10th and is now available at all the usual places, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc., including my publisher, MuseItUp.

Troy won't give up on clearing Simon's name, and it's not an easy job. They both run into unexpected danger and......I love this book, hope you do too.

I'm an avid reader so never lack for a topic to blog about. I found a book that contains information about things we've long believed that might not be true. A bit on Lady Godiva caught my interest. Did she really ride naked through the streets of Coventry?

She was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia., in the twelfth century.  She was also wealthy in her own right, supporting several monasteries. So why did she ride naked through town? Supposedly she asked the Earl many times to lower the oppressive taxes on his subjects. He finally replied he'd do so the day she rode naked through Coventry. She called his bluff, he kept his word, and she became a heroine. She is still celebrated in Coventry, where her statue stands in the center of town.

But it's hard to find out if this is true. There was a real Lady Godiva, but the story only appears about 150 years after her death, and in the annals of a not-well credited historian, Roger of Wendover. Roger is now regarded as more of a teller of folklore. Through the centuries details have been added, like the stories saying she cover herself with her long golden hair. Other stories say she ordered the townsfolk to stay indoors and shutter their windows. One version has the town folk all complying except for a tailor named Tom, who peeked through his shutters. This angered the gods so they blinded him, but it does give reason for the term 'Peeping Tom'.

Love these crazy bits of information.  Hope you do too!

'Til next month.......Jean

6 comments:

Melissa Keir said...

Isn't that the way of most tales...they come to light after the person is gone, are highly exaggerated and lead to some lesson for others??

I do wish we knew about the truth but I'm sure it's long ago been buried. :)

Wonderful teaser for Simon! All the best!

Cara Marsi said...

I love your cover and blurb for Simon. Very interesting about Lady Godiva. We'll never know the truth.

Judy Baker said...

Make you wonder how many stories have completely changed throughout the ages. Even today, our daily little gossipy stories are stretched with our imagination - expanding, making it more interesting, I guess.

Tina Donahue said...

Congrats on your newest release, Jean! Great cover. :)

Paris said...

Hi Jean,

Love the cover! Isn't it funny about how folklore gets woven into the fabric of our lives until it's established as the truth, or what we speculate is the truth. I sometimes think of early folklore as the "Enquirer" of the times, always entertaining but maybe not particularly factual :)

jean hart stewart said...

Since I got this book it's made me even more of a skeptic. The truth is great, but sometimes the illusion is more fun. Thanks for commenting and liking my cover, ladies. Simon can seduce me anytime!

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