Dear Readers,

I’m sharing this interesting piece of news from a faithful reader:

To the gracious Readers of this most Charming and Incomparable journal, called the Missal of Mischief by those who fail to see its Import, but more widely known to its Affectionate and Loyal friends as the Teatime Tattler, I address these remarks.

Mr S Clemens has been so kind as to bring his Custom to The Chelsea Bun House, of which my husband and I are Proprietors, for many a year. Those who have not yet honoured us with a visit will find us in Chelsea, opposite the old Ranelagh Gardens. There, since the reign of His Majesty George the First, the Hand family has provisioned London with the finest Buns the City has ever known, so much so that the Highest of the Land have been our patrons, viz., HM George II, Queen Caroline and the princesses and, more recently, HM King George III and his most beloved Queen Charlotte.

To the matter at hand. It is my intent to present a True and Accurate accounting of events that have been carelessly and, I avow, untruthfully reported by others, that is, the Twelfth Night Fire in Chelsea some weeks ago. Those who were not at the scene have cavalierly proposed that the bonfire on the Green was allowed to escape its lawful confines to wreak havoc upon the vicinity. That is not so! Every precaution was undertaken. The bonfire, having been fixed upon that spot, on that night, since the time of Elizabeth Tudor, has never caused harm to Man, Beast, or Building. I will not go so far as to say some vile design caused it to do so this past Epiphany morning, but a Discerning Eye would find much to interest it, should it be cast upon the particulars.

I would also apply the ink of correction to some slurs that have appeared in print, those directed toward the hapless young widow, Mrs Amelia de Maupassant, whose bonnet shop was the only building consumed in the blaze. That she is French cannot be contested. But her parents fled that country for our shores years ago! Should they be blamed for the depredations of that monster Robespierre? Still less their daughter, a mere child at the time, now the widow of a bold Royal Navy seaman, lost at sea in a naval action. Shame, shame, to blame the victim of three bereavements and a fire for her own woe!

The same cruel pens have made sly mention of a certain gentleman who appeared at the doorstep of Chapeaux d’Amelie before the embers had quite cooled. This gentleman, whom I shall nominate only the M of F, drew up to the ruined shop on horseback, but has elsewhere been seen in a coach bearing an escutcheon attributed to a notorious family. Of that, I can say no more, except to beg readers to remember that we are bid by Holy Writ not to visit the sins of the fathers upon the sons.

The remedy for all false rumours flying about this affair lies in a book written by England’s newest and most marvellous contraption, a lady writer. If you care to know the TRUTH of this most captivating and passionate tale of a Man, a Woman, and a Shop full of Hats, you will hie yourself to any bookseller, for all carry The Chelsea Milliner in their stock.

The Chelsea Milliner

A Regency Romance e-novella from Annie R McEwen and The Wild Rose Press

“The writing style is seamless, flowing page after page like warm, spiced, honey—you just want to keep reading.” Reader review on Amazon

All Paris-born Amelia de Maupassant ever wanted was to make hats. But overnight, her dream’s gone up in smoke, along with her London millinery shop. When witty and handsome Hugh Fyne comes to her rescue, Amelia has doubts. Is he there to save her or seduce her?

Hugh’s heart leaps to its own conclusions. He must have Amelia and he will, if she doesn’t discover his dreadful secret.

Betrayal and horror in Revolutionary France haunt Amelia. Memories of war and a father’s villainy ravage Hugh. A woman sick of lies. A man lying for love. Will the truth destroy them? Or release them from their pasts to make a future together?

Excerpt from the novel

Hugh paced. It helped with the cold but didn’t do as much as he hoped to still the spinning wheels of his brain. He rehearsed ten different opening remarks for when he found Amelia, discarding them one after another. Too formal, too intimate, too light-hearted, too unbelievable, too sodding pathetic—

“What?”

“I was just askin’ His Lordship the Captain, and beggin’ pardon, but is she worth it?”

Woolcott had pushed up his hat brim. His eyebrows were frosted like white caterpillars and arched in what appeared to be genuine curiosity.

“Yes.” Hugh went back to pacing and Woolcott pulled down his hat.

The flurries finally stopped, and the countryside took on the muffled beauty that follows snow. “Let’s go,” Hugh said, and pulled the blankets off the horses.

Things went well after that until they lost the road.

Available everywhere. On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK3WXXCW 

The YouTube book trailer link: https://youtu.be/lcrvaqOpquk

About Annie R McEwen

Granular history, intricate plotting, humour.

A career historian, Annie R McEwen has lived in six countries and under every roof from a canvas tent to a Georgian Era manor house. She writes historical romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and historical fiction. Annie is published by Bloodhound Books (UK), Harbor Lane Books (US), The Wild Rose Press, and Rowan Prose Publishing. When she’s not in her 1920s bungalow in Florida, Annie lives, writes, and explores castles in Wales.

Winner of the 2022 Page Turners Writing Award (Romance Category), Annie earned both a First and Second Place 2022 RTTA (Romance Through the Ages Award), the 2023 MAGGIE Award, and the 2023 Daphne du Maurier Award. She was a Finalist for the 2024 Page Turners Writing Award and Shortlisted for a Writer’s Mentorship Award. Annie’s short fiction appears in numerous anthologies.

Find Annie online at:

https://www.anniermcewen.com

https://facebook.com/Quillist/

https://www.instagram.com/anniermcewen/

https:www.youtube.com@anniermcewen

https://www.amazon.com/author/anniewritin

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22379947.Annie_R_McEwen

https://linktr.ee/mcewenannier

@anniermcewen.bsky.social

Dear Reader,

One could scarcely believe it unless one saw it, and fortunately, several very reliable tongues have already begun wagging. This author has it on the highest authority the Duke of Crane, society’s most recluse duke, on the road to London!

Should ladies ready their fans?

Not yet, I’m afraid. He was spotted traveling with a lady yet unknown!

This author needs your help, dear reader, so help spot this elusive duke again. Should you catch a glimpse of a tall, raven-haired gentleman with a stare dark enough to send hearts aflutter, do send word at once.

Carriage wheels turn, secrets rattle, and London waits with breath bated.

Keep your eyes sharp, dear reader. A shadow has left its haunt, and wherever he goes, scandal is certain to follow.

Your Devoted Gossipmonger

Beauty and the Lyon

A heart hidden in shadows. A beauty who dares to see.

Eternal optimist Lady Rosilee Fairchild refuses to let fate—or scheming rogues—dictate her future. When her brother is tricked into gambling away their estate and held prisoner by a ruthless man determined to force her into marriage, she takes matters into her own hands. Her solution? Find a husband of her own choosing before one can be chosen for her. And there’s only one place daring enough to help her do it without question—Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s infamous matchmaking den.

Hardened recluse Blake Faiththorne, Duke of Crane, has long been withdrawn from society, content to live in the shadows of his past. But when he learns that the woman who once saved him is now in danger herself—not only menaced by the worst sort of ruffian but on her way to the Lyon’s Den, a place dripping in scandal—he cannot stand idly by.

There is only one, big problem—though Blake has vowed never to marry himself, helping Rosilee find a husband leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. She is a flame in the dark, and he, despite all reason, is doomed to seek her radiance.

Can he break free from his haunted past and claim the woman who has always been his light? Or will old wounds and new dangers keep them apart forever?

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Beauty-Lyon-Lyons-Connected-World-ebook/dp/B0F22G7SRH

Other links:

Website: https://www.authortanyawilde.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanyawilde/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tanya-wilde

Wallflowers and Wenches Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/843373666456177

About Tanya Wilde:

Award-Winning and International Bestselling author Tanya Wilde developed a passion for reading when she had nothing better to do than lurk in the library during her lunch breaks. Her love affair with pen and paper soon followed after she devoured all of their historical romance books!

When she’s not meddling in the lives of her characters or pondering names for her imaginary big, white greyhound, she’s off on adventures with her partner in crime.

Wilde lives in a town at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains, South Africa.