Tale as Old as Time…

Melanie and I have seen the new Beauty and the Beast movie twice this weekend (there were are above at dinner after the second viewing, with some new B&B treasures). I haven’t felt such pure joy at a movie in a very long while (probably not since the Kenneth Branagh Much Ado About Nothing, a very different movie but the final images have a certain similarity and I left the theatre with a similar feeling).  It’s magical film, brilliant on multiple levels. It left me crying(to my daughter’s confusion), grinning with sheer joy, and and marveling at the craft. Mélanie loved it too (“I think this is my favorite Belle story.”).

It also left me feeling creatively inspired. I haven’t done much with a Beauty and the Beast story line I realize. Possibly Harry and Cordy – perhaps more than I realized. Harry might not call himself a beast, but he certainly has a caustic exterior and he tends to stay barricaded in his house with his books. Cordelia is certainly a beauty. Harry doesn’t keep her prisoner, but he does marry her knowing she loves another man and is desperate to escape her parents’  house (something he later regrets, not for his sake but for hers, because he wanted her so much he didn’t pay attention to what she wanted/needed). They bond partly over books and she has to leave him, know he will let her go, and then come back to him and have him almost die in her arms to realize she loves him. Harry’s transformation is less dramatic than Beast to Prince, but we do see him change from a bitter loner to a loving father and husband.

I’m gong to ponder more parallels. When Suzanne marries Malcolm she moves into a world almost as alien as the Beast’s castle and at times she feels trapped by her masquerade, but she goes into it willingly to spy on Malcolm. She is shocked to fall in love with him, but she knows he’s a good person from the first.

I will say Ewan McGregor as Lumière convinces me more than ever that he’s right for Bertrand in my fantasy casting and that Emma Watson is my image for Selena in Gilded Deceit.

Who else has seen Beauty & the Beast?

 

Fall Fashion or what would Suzanne and Cordelia wear?

Last autumn I had fun doing a fall fashion blog. This year I haven’t really done fall fashion shopping, mostly because I splurged a lot over the summer, notably on the dress above in three different colors (black, coral, ivory, all very much or sale). It’s a dress that goes anywhere, from picnics to the black tie and the lace is remarkably sturdy, a plus for the mum of a toddler. Fortunately, lace is still very much in for fall, so I’m still wearing the dresses a bunch with cardigans and sweaters.

But thinking about fall fashion prompted me to think about what designers Suzanne and Cordelia and Laura might wear if they lived today. I think Suzanne and Cordy would both wear a lot of my favorite designer (the source of my three lace dresses) Alice Temperley of Temperley London. Not just as a nod to the author, but because the fluid, elegant, romantic but not fussy look seems to suit them both.

I browsed for them both on the Temperley website (very fun because they would have a much more generous clothing budget than I do :-). I could see Suzanne wearing this dress to a tea or luncheon (or to work, because a modern day Suzanne would certainly work). This dress also is perfect for Suzanne day to dinner and time with the children. Cordy might wear this to a cocktail party. I could see Suzanne in this dress (one of my favorites of Temperley’s Autumn/Winter collection) at a dinner party or the theater. Or during the day with a cardigan and flats. They could make a dramatic entrance at a black tie event in matching evening gowns, Suzanne in red, Cordy in blue. 

Or for contrasting evening looks, I could see Suzanne in this and Cordelia in this.

Laura, on the other hand, I see as a bit more tailored. I could see her wearing a lot of L.K. Bennett, another favorite I haunt during sales. I could see Laura in this day dress, or this for dinner, or this for something more formal.

What sort of clothes do you think Suzanne, Cordelia, Laura, and others in the series would wear if they lived today? Designers, brands, styles? What present day celebrities have looks that might be similar to theirs?

We’re having a lot of fun on Google + Group – so glad more of you have joined! Do check it out if you haven’t.

 

Harry’s letter to Cordelia

Happy Thursday!Recently I was looking through Imperial Scandal and found myself thinking about the letter Harry writes to Cordelia, that he gives to Malcolm to give to her in the event of his death. Of course Malcolm never does give it to Cordelia, and the reader never sees it. I found myself wondering what Harry wrote. I thought I would try writing it and perhaps find a way to include it in my WIP. Not sure about that, but I thought I would at least share it here.

So glad some of you are rediscovering the Google + Group. To those who haven’t, please check it out. Betty is making it really fun! And be sure to check out the teaser for Incident In Berkeley Square that I posted.

Have a great weekend!

Tracy

Cordelia,
So much to say and so little. I told you the practicalities at the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. You’re good at taking care of yourself and our daughter. I have no doubt you will continue to be so. Above all, I want you both to be happy.
Even in the time we lived together I don’t think I properly conveyed what you mean to me. I said I was fool enough to think having you on any terms was worth it. For your sake I regret it. I was willfully blind to who you were and what you needed for which I will never forgive myself. But for myself I have no regrets. Every moment we had together was worth it. Especially these last few days in Brussels.
Livia is remarkable. I have no doubt you’ll continue to raise her as ably as you’ve done for the past three and a half years. But I’ll be forever grateful that I had the chance to meet her. You might tell her that one day, that meeting her was one of the proudest moments of her father’s life.
I love you, Cordy. I will with my dying breath.
Yours with all my heart,
H.D.