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Rozsa Gaston – Author

Tag Archives: French history

Anne of Brittany asks for your #VOTE for #medieval #historical #romance Sense of Touch to win a RONE Award

21 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by rozsagaston in Anne of Brittany, Duchess of Brittany, female rulers, French culture, French history, historical fiction, historical romance, History, Queens of France, Renaissance history, romance, Salic Law, Salic Law laws of inheritance, women's empowerment

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Friends, readers, and Anne of Brittany fans,

Medieval historical romance Sense of Touch has been nominated for a prestigious RONE Award, with voting open for two days more only. If you would vote for my book, it’s FREE and you will help my tale of Anne of Brittany become discovered. When you register to vote, go to the Historical: Ancient 16th Century category and scroll down to Sense of Touch – Rozsa Gaston, 9th down on list. Click on link below to vote and thank you.

http://indtale.com/2017-rone-awards-week-one

Indtale Magazine review of SOT

Anne of Brittany and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts and hope that spring will unfold for you with extra beauty this year for the moment you took to vote for Sense of Touch. May the best book win!

Author Rozsa Gaston

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Gallery

Happy birthday, Anne of Brittany

25 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by rozsagaston in Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII, Duchess of Brittany, French culture, French history, historical fiction, History, Queens of France, Renaissance history, Uncategorized, women's empowerment

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Anne of Brittany, Aquarians, Aquarius, Chateau des Ducs de Nantes, Chateau Royal Amboise, Early Modern History, ermines, European culture, European history, French history, French queen, historical romance, life, Loire Valley, Medieval, Nantes, Renaissance, Renaissance queen, royalty, Sense of Touch, Touraine, Women in history, women of history, Women's History Tags: Amboise

This gallery contains 13 photos.

Originally posted on Fine Wines Fine Quotes:
Anne of Brittany was born on January 25 or 26, 1477, in Nantes, France. She was…

Who was Anne of Brittany?

19 Thursday May 2016

Posted by rozsagaston in Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII, childbirth, Duchess of Brittany, female rulers, French culture, French history, historical fiction, historical romance, Hot & Trending, literary fiction, Louis XII, New release, publishing, Queens of France, Sense of Touch, Uncategorized, women's empowerment

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Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII, European culture, European history, French history, French Queens, Louis XII, Medieval history, women of history, women's issues

Who was Anne of Brittany?Front cover FINAL Hi-Res
Her dates: 1477-1514.

Her personality?

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Anne of Brittany by Jean Perreal, c. 1492

  • Decidedly feminist.
  • Delightfully feminine.
  • Intelligent.
  • Highly educated.
  • Raised to rule over Brittany.
  • Generous.
  • Lavish in her spending.
  • Imperious.
  • Unyielding.
  • Shrewd.
  • Relentless.
  • A bookworm.
  • Pious.
  • Lovingly conscientious to her husbands, both kings of France.
  • Faithfully conscientious to her Breton subjects, over which she ruled from the age of eleven.
KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Anne of Brittany by Jean Perreal, c. 1492

Ever since picking up Mildred Allen Butler’s book on Anne of Brittany a few years ago (Twice Queen of France: Anne of Brittany. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1967), I’ve been fascinated by this French queen who came to power at age eleven as ruler of Brittany, then became queen of France at age fourteen.

Anne of Brittany’s travails trying to bring live children into the world rival any woman’s in history.
This girl/woman went through the wringer as a mother. Her fourteen pregnancies resulted in the survival of two children, both daughters.The rest? Three miscarriages, five stillborn infants, one son dead after three hours, one daughter dead after one day, another son lived three weeks, her longest living son survived to age three when he succumbed to measles. As a public figure, this queen’s drama played out on the stage of all of France. If I had made this up, readers wouldn’t believe it. But it’s all true, and carefully historically documented.

I began to wonder why Anne of Brittany’s story is not well known.
Many modern women share the same secret heartaches their medieval and ancient sisters suffered: pregnancy loss, inability to bring a live child into the world, inability to keep a child alive once born. Women still struggle with these issues and still suffer in silence when pregnancy and childbirth loss occurs. My heart aches for every one of them.

I wanted to bring alive Anne of Brittany’s tale for modern women, may of whom share her story in suffering and in courage. At the same time this brave woman endured continual personal tragedy she achieved great success as queen of France. She provides the world with an exceptional model of fortitude and resilience in the face of great personal suffering. Brava, Anne of Brittany!

  • Anne of Brittany ruled over the most sophisticated court in Europe.
  • She helped usher in the glories of the Renaissance from Italy to France. She ran the first finishing school for young women of noble birth, educating them in book learning and estate management and supplying or supplementing their dowries when they married.
  • Both of Anne of Brittany’s husbands were madly in love with her. Neither considered putting her aside despite her inability to produce an heir for the throne of France. Her second husband, Louis XII of France, died less than a year after her death at the age of thirty seven. It was said that he never recovered from her death.
  • Anne of Brittany was renown all over Europe as a matchmaker. Rulers of other European countries, including King Ferdinand of Spain after his wife Isabella’s death and the king of Hungary sought her advice in choosing a suitable spouse for them.
1

Cover painting by Anca Visdei, 2013, permission pending

I could say more, but I’ll save it for the sequel. Anne of Brittany: Girl Who Ruled a Country should arrive in early 2017. Meanwhile, please join me in discovering the remarkable historical figure of Anne of Brittany in my new release Sense of Touch.

Warmly,

Author Rozsa Gaston

Sense of Touch back cover
Sense of Touch back cover
Sense of Touch firepit

SENSE OF TOUCH on Anne of Brittany remains Hot & Trending

08 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by rozsagaston in Anne of Brittany, childbirth, Claude of France, Duchess of Brittany, female rulers, French culture, French history, historical fiction, historical romance, hot, Kindle Scout, laws of inheritance, literary fiction, Louis XII, love, trending

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Anne of Brittany, book, daughters versus sons, European culture, French history, French queen, History, hot, Kindle Scout, Louis XII, medieval French history, publishing campaign, Renaissance, ruler, Salic Law, trending, women of history

Detail of Anne of Brittany by Jean Bourdichon, c. 1503Sense of Touch is burning up the Hot & Trending list of Kindle Scout nominations for the second week of its one month campaign to receive a publishing contract. Why?

Readers want to know more about Anne of Brittany.

Anne of Brittany is a fascinating historical figure about whom almost nothing has been written in English. Her dates? 1477-1514. She reigned as Queen of France after Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) and before Catherine de Medici (1519-1589).

Douleur du Roi sans Fils by Jean Pichore, c. 1503

Douleur du Roi sans Fils by Jean Pichore, c. 1503

This week I uncovered a poignant painting of her with husband Louis VII by court painter Jean Pichore. The name of the painting says it all: Douleur du Roi sans Fils. Translation: Sorrow of the King without Sons.

Before you feel sorry for Anne of Brittany, don’t.

Claude of France

Claude of France, eldest daughter of Anne of Brittany and Louis XII

She may not have brought a son to adulthood, but she succeeded with two daughters, Claude of France, and Renée of France. Claude of France married Francis I, known as the Renaissance King, and produced Henry II, another important Renaissance king and husband of Catherine de Medici.

Anne’s Breton blood found its way into the French royal bloodline through her daughter, not her sons. Her leadership skills, authority and self-confidence have informed French women ever since. Long live Anne of Brittany, vive Anne de Bretagne!

Speaking of sons, she had many. All of them either stillborn, dead hours after birth, weeks after birth, or by age three.

Let’s take a look at the full Jean Pichore painting of Anne of Brittany with second husband Louis XII.

We see Louis XII, King of France, looking sad. The man behind him looks at the queen with a recriminating expression, as if to say, “Why can’t you produce a son for France?”

We see Anne of Brittany, Queen of France looking regal, confident, not sad at all. Defiant, in fact. Why?

She’s gesturing to their daughter, Claude of France. “What’s wrong with the daughter I gave you?” she appears to be saying.Sadness of a King without a Son, Jean Pichore, c. 1503

Sadness of the King without Sons, Jean Pichore, c. 1503

Who’s in the hot seat here? Anne.

Who’s the power on the throne? Anne.

Who’s appealing to whom? Louis and his court are appealing to Anne.

Who’s the boss? Anne.  She was also a loving and deeply beloved wife to both of her husbands, Charles VIII of France before Louis, and Louis XII of France.

The more I learn about this French Renaissance queen, the more I fall in love with her.

Anne of Brittany is an amazing historical role model for girls. She invited young girls to her court where she educated them, taught them household and estate management skills, arranged marriages for them and paid for their dowries. More about this in my next blog post.  Please nominate my book about her here.

Keep Sense of Touch on Kindle Scout’s Hot & Trending list until campaign ends Oct. 20. It’s FREE to vote and if Sense of Touch is selected for publication you will receive the eBook free.

I can’t wait to share more with you about Anne of Brittany, one of the Renaissance’s most important queens.

Warmly,

Author Rozsa Gaston

“To my life.”—motto of Anne of Brittany (1477-1514)

29 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by rozsagaston in Anne of Brittany, Charles VIII, childbirth, female rulers, French history, historical fiction, historical romance, Kindle Scout, laws of inheritance, publishing, Queens of France, Renaissance history, Salic Law, women's empowerment

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Anne of Brittany, be here now, Boadicea, born to rule, Brittany, Charles VIII, cleopatra, confidence, crowd-sourced publishing, Dido, French culture, French history, historical fiction, historical romance, Huffington Post, Kindle Scout, publishing, reader-powered publishing, readers, Renaissance queen, romance, Salic Law, women of history, women's fiction, women's issues

Anne of Brittany by Jean Bourdichon, courtesy gallica.BnF.fr

Anne of Brittany by Jean Bourdichon, courtesy gallica.BnF.fr

Sense of Touch was #1 on the Hot & Trending list on Kindle Scout last week, thanks to reader nominations. If you haven’t voted, please vote here for my tale of Anne of Brittany (1477-1514), French queen who welcomed Italy’s Renaissance to France. Your vote is FREE and you will receive an eBook edition of Sense of Touch as thanks if it is chosen for publication. http://bit.ly/NominateSenseofTouch

“To my life” or “à ma vie” was Anne of Brittany’s motto.

This early Renaissance queen didn’t lack for confidence. Born to rule Brittany, she was not raised to attract the attention of a king so that she might become queen consort one day, if she was lucky.

Already she was born to rule her country, the Duchy of Brittany, to the west of and independent from France.

Kindle Scout #1 in Hot & Trending 9-24-15Firstborn royal children of Brittany’s ruler, male or female, inherited the Duchy of Brittany. France’s Salic laws of royal inheritance stipulated males only inherited the Kingdom of France. Two countries side by side with inheritance laws SOOO very different…

This changed everything for Anne of Brittany AND for the way queens were viewed in France. When Anne of Brittany married Charles VIII of France she came to France as ruler of her own country.

Anne of Brittany by Andre de la VigneAnne was a female ruler in the tradition of Cleopatra, Boadicea or Dido. She was not a woman raised to attract a powerful man. She was raised to exercise power. And that, friends, is why her motto was “to my life.”

Vote here to nominate Sense of Touch for publication by Kindle Press. Campaign closes October 19 and I’ll let you know soon after if it was selected. Let me know you voted, readers and friends, so that I may add you to my acknowledgments page. You will have been a part of helping me bring this remarkable French queen’s story to life.

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  • Charles? Needs watching.—Anne and Charles for Valentine’s Day, Anne of Brittany Series, Book One
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  • Anne of Brittany? Born Jan. 25, 1477, she was raised to rule and knew how to lead.
  • Charles? Needs watching.–Anne of Brittany Series, Book One
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