Blog Tour: The Myrtle Wand by Margaret Porter

The Myrtle Wand by Margaret Porter

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

Gallica Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis: The Myrtle Wand, a retelling and a continuation of the classic ballet Giselle, restores original story elements to transform a tale of blighted romances and betrayals into a quest for redemption and restorative love.

Princess Bathilde de Sevreau, her school friend Myrte, and the peasant girl Giselle have heard the legend of the vilis, ghostly maidens who rise from their graves by night to roam the forest, seeking revenge on faithless lovers. Each will fear being ensnared by that spectral sisterhood...

Bathilde, destined for a marriage of convenience with Albin, Duc de Rozel, leaves her ancestral château for the Sun King’s sophisticated and scandalous court. As participants in royal ceremonies and entertainments, the princess and the soldier gradually recognize their deep feelings for each other, as well as mutual hopes for a happy and satisfying union. But the tragic consequences of Albin’s brief masquerade as a commoner and the amorous Louis XIV’s quest for a mistress divide the betrothed couple. Together and separately, they must overcome conflicting duties and unexpected dangers to determine their fate.

Praise

"An absorbing and touching tale . . . a fully realized, moving portrait of the storied court of Louis XIV." ~ Kirkus Reviews

"Lushly atmospheric . . .rich with historical detail. Porter imagines the story behind the iconic Giselle, transporting us to France during the early reign of the Sun King." ~ Leslie Carroll, author of Royal Romances

About the Author

MARGARET PORTER is award-winning, bestselling author of The Myrtle Wand (October 2022), The Limits of Limelight (September 2021), Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, and twelve other historical novels. After studying British history in the U.K., she worked professionally in theatre, film, and television. A historian and avid traveler, Margaret returns to Great Britain and Europe for research. She lives in New England with husband and dog, dividing her time between an architecturally unique book-filled house in a small city and a waterfront cottage on one of the region's largest lakes.

More information is available on her website and blog. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, October 11
Review at Novels Alive
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read

Wednesday, October 12
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Thursday, October 13
Review at A Potpourri of Opinions

Friday, October 14
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Saturday, October 15
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Sunday, October 16
Excerpt at Reading Is My Remedy

Monday, October 17
Review at Jorie Loves A Story
Spotlight at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, October 18
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary

Giveaway

Grand prize:

Autographed book, Giselle ballet t-shirt, The Myrtle Wand 15 oz. ceramic coffee mug, myrtle plant grown by the author

2 Runners up:

Autographed book

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on October 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn: A Book Review

The Rose Code Author: Kate Quinn Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Harper Collins Release Date: 2021 Pages: 635 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: 1940, Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. Three very different women are recruited to the mysterious Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla has the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses – but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, working to translate decoded enemy secrets. Self-made Mab masters the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and the poverty of her East-End London upbringing. And shy local girl Beth is the outsider who trains as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. 1947, London. Seven years after they first meet, on the eve of the roya...

The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative by Gregg Hecimovich: A Book Review

The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of the Bondwoman’s Narrative Author: Gregg Hecimovich Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography Publisher: Ecco Release Date: 2023 Pages: 430 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A groundbreaking study of the first Black female novelist and her life as an enslaved woman, from the biographer who solved the mystery of her identity, with a foreword by Henry Louis Gates Jr. In 1857, a woman escaped enslavement on a North Carolina plantation and fled to a farm in New York. In hiding, she worked on a manuscript that would make her famous long after her death. The novel, The Bondwoman’s Narrative, was first published in 2002 to great acclaim, but the author’s identity remained unknown. Over a decade later, Professor Gregg Hecimovich unraveled the mystery of the author’s name and, in The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts, hefinally tells her story. ...

A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. Watson: A Book Review

A Right Worthy Woman Author: Ruth P. Watson Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Atria Books Release Date: 2023 Pages: 303 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In the vein of The Personal Librarian and The House of Eve , a “remarkable and stirring novel” (Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author) based on the inspiring true story of Virginia’s Black Wall Street and the indomitable Maggie Lena Walker, the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman who became the first Black woman to establish and preside over a bank in the United States. Maggie Lena Walker was ambitious and unafraid. Her childhood in 19th-century Virginia helping her mother with her laundry service opened her eyes to the overwhelming discrepancy between the Black residents and her mother’s affluent white clients. She vowed to not only secure the same kind of home and finery for herself, but she would also help others in her community achi...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

Search This Blog