Cathie Dunn writes...

Today it’s my turn on the fabulous  Historical Writers Forum Blog Hop , and I have a truly scandalous treat in store for you! So grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee, or a nice glass of Pays de la Loire –  have a sniff or taste first to see if it's safe to consume – then follow me to Paris in the late 17th century!  King Louis XIV reigns supreme from his ever-expanding and brilliantly glittering palace of Versailles, leaving his capital city of Paris and his old palace, the Louvre, behind. In fact, the king detests Paris! It's dirty, there are too many poor people knocking on the gates, and it's crime-ridden! As newly installed streetlights banish the shadows in some of the more affluent areas, there is still an underworld of well-organised criminals operating across the city. Poverty is high, and the many midwives, fortune-tellers and alchemists in town are looking for a more lucrative way of making ends meet.  So they found a handy way for despised husbands or wive...

Release Day went so well for The Shadows of Versailles.  A big Thank You to everyone who downloaded a copy.  It was #1 in various UK, US and Germany genre charts, and it still holds a #1 New Release spot, three days later. I’m so thrilled to bring the infamous Affair of the Poisons to readers’ attention. It’s such a fascinating event that stretched well over a decade, although the actual trials can be condensed into a few years.  It was in the late 1660s, that the Marquise de Brinvilliers had begun to poison her father and brothers, with the help of a valet, yet it only came to light after her associate and lover, Sainte-Croix, died in 1672 – ironically of natural causes. He’d locked letters from her into a casket, together with vials of poisonous substances. And her desperate attempts to get hold of the box raised suspicions. When an arrest warrant was issued, she fled to the Netherlands, then in Spanish hands, but was eventually caught in Belgium in spring 1676 and exe...

Join me as I celebrate the release of  The Shadows of Versailles , the first novel in a new series of loosely-linked stories set during the Affair of the Poisons, is now available in Kindle format!  Seduced at Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge. Follow me to the glamorous court of Louis XIV, the Sun King. But beneath all the glitter of his impressive new palace lurks a danger, and not only to his own life.  The Affair of the Poisons is a fascinating time when dark dealings came to light, involving not only ’lowly’ midwives, alchemists and fortune-tellers, but also high-ranking officials, courtiers and even the king's longterm mistress, Madame de Montespan. We only meet La Montespan briefly in The Shadows of Versailles , as the focus is on Fleur, my fictional heroine, who discovers that Versailles reveals more hidden dangers than she'd expected.  Fleur falls victim to a serial seducer in the picturesque gardens – an act that leads her into trouble as h...

Finally! I’m so thrilled to show you the cover art of my upcoming novel, The Shadows of Versailles .  Ta da...  Set in the 1670s, in the early days of the infamous Affair of the Poisons , The Shadows of Versailles tells a tale of seduction, loss, and revenge. It is the first in a new series of loosely-interlinked stories all set during the Affair of the Poisons , an event that brought to light the dark underworld of Paris, with its fortune-tellers, alchemists – and poisoners! The Kindle ebook is now available for pre-order on Amazon ! ~~~ Blurb: Seduced at Versailles. Broken by tragedy. Consumed by revenge. Fleur de La Fontaine attends the court of King Louis XIV at Versailles for the first time. Dazzled by the opulence, she is soon besotted with handsome courtier, Philippe de Mortain. When she believes his words of love, she gives in to his seduction in the shadows of the palace – with devastating consequences. Nine months later, when the boy she has given birth to is w...

Today, it’s my turn on the Historical Writers’ Forum ’Momentous Events’ Blog Hop . I’m very excited about that! There have been some fantastic posts already by your favourite historical fiction authors, so make sure to visit their blogs too. You’ll find the full list at the bottom of this page. I’m going to take you to Paris, and – via the dark quartiers of that city – to the Versailles of King Louis XIV. (Incidentally, the setting of my current work-in-progress.) Not all was bright and breezy in the Sun King’s realm. Courtiers vied constantly for the King’s attention. If you happened to fall out of favour, you might end up losing your life. And ladies tried desperately to make him fall (or stay) in love with them. They did this by using potions. But more of that later. In 1675, Mary-Madeleine Dreux d’Aubrey, the Marquise de Brinvilliers was accused of poisoning first her father, then later her two brothers. With the help of servants, the poison was administered to the men...