Since Valentines Day is coming up, I thought I would look up
some famous couples in real history and literature to talk about. Some worked
out happily, and some not so much, but all of them were interesting to me.
Real Historical couples:
Churchill and Clementine
Honestly, I have to say I have never
thought of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World
War II as the romantic sort, but I would have been wrong in deed.
When Winston met Clementine Hozier
briefly at a ball in 1904, he was immediately taken by her. Clementine,
however, was unimpressed. They would not meet again for four years.
They met again in 1908 and Winston
invited Clementine to visit his birthplace at Blenheim Palace. A rain storm
came up and they took shelter in an ornamental Greek temple during their walk
where he proposed to her. This account
made me think of the latest rendition of
Pride and Prejudice in which Mr. Darsey met up with Elizabeth Bennett
and proposed. Things worked out a little better for Winston Churchill though
because Clementine accepted his proposal and they married on September 12.
It seems that Winston was practically
engaged to Violet Asquith prior to his proposal to Clementine which left the
poor woman somewhat devastated. ..a casualty of love.
It is said that Winston could be alternately
charming and contrary. He had a definite presence and a reputation that few men
could stand up against. But the one strong-willed who had no problem voicing
her opinion or opposition was his wife, Clementine. Maybe that is why he loved
her so.
Whenever they were apart and even when
they were together in the same house, they wrote notes and letters to one
another in which they communicated their important feelings.
It may be hard for me to imagine, but
theirs was a great romance and Winston relied heavily on Clementine’s sage
advice and support.
Churchill famously
told Clementine: “I do not love and never will love any woman in the world but
you.”
Now that is a sweet
romance.
Victoria and Albert
Now here is a romance many of us have
read about and, in fact, the TV series is presently available on Netflix. I
binge watched the entire series until I was bleary-eyed and tired, but it was a
wonderful series.
Queen Victoria married
her German first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, at St James’s
Palace on 10 February 1840. It was the first wedding of a reigning queen in
England since 1554. I had not known previously that they were first cousins, so
I found that factoid rather interesting. They were married for seventeen years
before Albert died. During that time, they had nine children: four boys and
five girls.
All was not bliss in
the royal household, however. As time went by, Albert took over more and more
of Victoria’s duties while Victoria was busy having all those babies. A real
power struggle ensued arguments, loud confrontations and Victoria’s rather
terrifying temper tantrums. Though she liked his ideas, she was unhappy to have
her power taken from her by her husband.
Power struggles aside,
Victoria never recovered from Albert’s death. It is said that every morning she
had the valet lay out Albert’s clothing for the day as if she expected him
Albert to dress and come to breakfast.
Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Well, here is one match most of us do know about—the Brownings
of Victorian literary fame for their poetry and devotion to one another. They
are as famous for their love of one another as they are of the poetry and
letters that they wrote. Between them, they wrote over 11,601 letters. I don’t think I have written that many letters
in my entire lifetime.
There is speculation that
Elizabeth was sick a great deal and some seem to believe she may have been a
hypochondriac. Be that as it may, Robert was completely devoted to her as their
letters and poetry clearly demonstrated.
Just an aside: the New York
Browning Society saved the apartment in Florence, Italy, where the Brownings
lived from 1847 to 1861, from being converted into office space. Restored and
authentically furnished, the eight-room suite, christened Casa Guidi by its
famous occupants, has been owned by Eton College of Windsor, England, since
1993, and maintained as a museum for the last twenty years.
Elizabeth
was born into a wealthy family in 1806 near Durham, England and was raised in a
twenty bedroom mansion. Even though she had “weak lungs”, she already enjoyed
success and respect for her poems and associated with Wadsworth and other
renowned poets.
Robert, on
the other hand, was the son of a bank clerk, studied at the University of
London and continued to read and write poetry extensively while at his parents’
home. Unlike Elizabeth, Robert’s first published work was harshly criticized.
He tried his hand at play writing and found he had an aptitude for dramatic
monologue.
Elizabeth
defended his work in the face of continued criticism leading Robert to write a
note to her thanking her for her praise and asked to meet her. Though she
hesitated, she agreed. Her father disliked him and considered him unreliable.
So, they held their courtship in secret and, on September 12, 1846, when her family was out, Elizabeth
Barrett sneaked out of the house and met Browning at St. Marylebone Parish
Church, where they were married. She returned home for a week, keeping the
marriage a secret, then fled with Browning to Italy. She never saw her father
again.
The
Brownings lived happily in Italy for 15 years. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s
weak health improved dramatically, and the couple had a son in 1849. She
published her best-known work, Sonnets from the Portuguese, in
1850. The sonnets chronicled the couple’s courtship and marriage. In 1857, her
blank-verse novel Aurora Leigh became a bestseller, despite
being rejected by critics. During her lifetime, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s
reputation as a poet overshadowed that of her spouse, who was sometimes
referred to as “Mrs. Browning’s husband,” but his work later gained recognition
by critics. Elizabeth died in her husband’s arms in 1861. He returned to
England with their son, where he became an avid socialite. In 1868, he
published The Ring and the Book, a 12-volume poem about a real
17th-century murder trial in Rome. Browning died in 1889.
Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane:
Well, this one will be short and
sweet. Though often paired as a couple so much in love, the sorry truth of the
matter is, the romance was entirely in Calamity Jane’s imagination. In fact,
she irritated Wild Bill greatly. He married the woman he truly loved and
Calamity drank herself to death. She wanted to be buried beside Bill who had
died before her and, as a joke, his friends did, indeed, bury her beside him.
Jane had married at some point and had a daughter. She and her husband did not
live happily ever after. Her heart still belonged to Wild Bill.
Literary Romances:
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte:
Seldom do movies
reveal the happy ending in this rather gloomy tale of love gone all wrong. Some
see Heathcliff, the Gypsy child that grows into the bitter man determined to
have Catherine Earnshaw Linton for himself—no matter who gets hurt or maimed
along the way as a uniquely villainous hero. Maybe he just wants what he wants.
But then there is Catherine who, by most accounts is the pitiful doomed heroine
who is lost in her love for Heathcliff. She’s not the sweetest heroine who ever
lived, that’s for certain. She plots a marriage to the wealthy Linton so she
can elevate Heathcliff in society. She’s jealous and mean to her sister-in-law,
who is naively drawn to Heathcliff who marries her to revenge himself on
Catherine. It’s a story more about obsession than love.
But there is a happy
ending no one seems to pay much attention to and that is between Hearton
Earnshaw and Catherine Linton (daughter of Catherine and Linton). They inherit
Withering Heights and the Grange and, God knows, they certainly deserve it for
all that neither of them has been treated very kindly by anyone in the previous
generation. Now there’s the love story in this classic novel of obsessive love
and dysfunctional families.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte:
Now here is a love
story about two people who certainly suffer and struggle before they get their
happily ever after.
Jane Eyre is hated by
her guardian after her missionary parents die. She is sent to a school for
girls run by an overzealous religious fruit loop who, apparently, is missing an
actual heart. After the abuse she suffers there, she manages to grow up and
takes a position as a governess to a little French girl who is mysteriously
placed in Mr. Rochester’s care. At first it seems Mr. Rochester is a villain,
but he seems to think the world of Jane. She falls madly in love with him and
they are to be married. Only problem is there seems to be a crazy person living
in the attic. Just in case you haven’t read this classic novel, I won’t tell
the reason for Jane running away to end up half dead on the doorstep of a vicar
and his two sisters. After some tragic events take place, Jane falls into a great
fortune, most of which she gives away to the vicar and his sisters. She returns
to Rochester who has also undergone some upheaval, but at last, they get their
happy ending.
By the way, I have to
add here that the Bronte family was odd and as interesting as the novels the
sisters wrote. They lived in isolation with their father and alcoholic brother
and neither of them ever married.
Othello and Desdemona by William Shakespeare:
Naturally, no list of
romantic classics can be near complete without some Shakespeare.
Desdemona and Othello
married. Othello is, as most of you know, a dark skinned Moor. He is betrayed
by a man he believes is his friend into thinking that Desdemona is cheating on
him with his friend, which is not really true. In a jealous rage he murders his
beloved wife by choking her to death. Domestic violence being a jealous
husband’s first approach to spousal discord in those days—and sometimes today
as well. At any rate, there certainly wasn’t any marriage counseling going on
in this tragic story of mistrust. My favorite line from this play is when
Othello chokes Desdemona and says, “Put out the light, and then put out the
light.” At least he was heartbroken about killing his wife, right?
Romeo and Juliet by
William Shakespeare:
No Valentine Day list
of classic romances can be made without including this play, probably the most
famous of all Shakespeare’s plays, and certainly the most tragic. It has been
played in so many ways over all these many years even including modern day
interpretations like the movie with Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio with
guns and cars, but using the same Elizabethan manner of speaking as the
original play. My sister and I loved this interpretation, but my niece and
great niece were so enthusiastic. They wanted swords and pantaloons.
The Capulets and
Montagues have been feuding for years. The Prince has had enough of their
brawls in public streets and declares the next offender will be banished. In
the meantime, Romeo, a Montague, and his teenage friends attend a masquerade
ball given by the Capulets. There he meets and immediately falls in love with
Juliet.
Now at the ripe old
age of fourteen, Juliet is expected to get married. Since she hasn’t found
anyone to her liking, Daddy has contracted her to marry Paris. By all accounts,
Paris is a handsome, charming young man from a wealthy family. Juliet, contrary
to her parents’ wishes, falls for Romeo and they are secretly wed.
Right after they are
married and before they even share a single night of wedded bliss trouble
erupts once again between Tibolt (a Capulet) and Mercucio (a relative of the
Prince and friend of Romeo’s). Tibolt kills Mercucio (who is my favorite
character in this play). Romeo has tried to stop the fight, but when Mercucio
is killed, like most hot-heated teenage guys, Romeo goes after Tibolt. They
have a sword fight and Romeo kills Tibolt.
All hell breaks out.
The Montagues really hate each other now and the Prince brings down the hammer by banishing Romeo.
Before Romeo leaves for parts unknown, he and Juliet get their night of
happiness. Romeo leaves in the morning and Juliet’s father, unaware that Juliet
has married, demands she marry Paris the next day.
The friar cooks up a
plan we all know is bound to fail and gives Juliet the potion that will make
her seem dead for several hours. Meanwhile he sends a messenger to tell Romeo
of the situation so he will come back and take Juliet with him when she wakes.
(Have you ever wondered why Romeo didn’t take her with him in the first place?)
Romeo doesn’t get the
message from the friar before his friend races to him with the news that Juliet
is dead. Romeo races home stopping only long enough to purchase some poison to
kill himself. He sees Juliet in her tomb, believes she is dead and takes the
poison. Only moments late, Juliet awakens, sees her dead Romeo, takes his
knife, and stabs herself.
The last scene is of
the funeral where a very somber crowd have gathered to listen to the Prince
tell them what a mess the two families have made of things with their feud. The
families kiss and makeup and that’s the sad ending.
I should write cliff
notes.
I am a romance writer.
I love what I do, but I do not like unhappy endings. Like most of my fellow
romance authors, I promise a happy ending to every story. That doesn’t mean I
don’t give the hero and heroine a rough time before I reward them with
happiness though. My recent release, IT’S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE, forces the couple
to really reach for their happy ending.
June
believed Kit loved her…until she married him
Blurb:
Beautiful June Wingate’s perfect marriage
is in shambles—and she hasn’t even left the wedding reception! When she
overhears two gossips discussing the real reason Kit Wilding married her, June
believes there must be some truth to it—after all, things have happened just
the way they said. Is her marriage only make believe? Trust is hard for June to
accept, and now, her faith in her husband has been broken—along with her
fragile heart.
Kit Wilding has loved June since the moment he laid eyes on her—a vision in
pink that he couldn’t get out of his mind. Now that he’s married her, he can’t
understand the changes that have suddenly turned her secretive and distant. How
can he make things right between them when he doesn’t know what he’s up
against?
But the tables are turned when June’s father, a pillar of the community, is
accused of a crime that brings shame on the Wingate family—along with prison
time. Kit Wilding’s not the kind of man to give up easily, but with his budding
political career at stake, will he be able to hold his marriage together? Or
will he be forced to admit IT’S ONLY MAKE BELIEVE…
Excerpt:
A loud slap echoed through the house. June’s hand
stung as she placed it back in the pocket of her dressing gown, part of her
vast trousseau paid for by her parents.
Kit stepped back and rubbed his reddened cheek with
his left hand while Snort, Kit’s dog, barked. June couldn’t help but notice the
flash of his golden wedding band in the light of the dressing room. Her heart
clenched at the sight of it. They’d been married only a few hours and now this…
“Hush that barking, Snort.” The dog quieted, but
kept a sharp eye on June just in case. Kit glanced from the dog to June. “What
the hell was that for, June? Did I do something wrong by trying to kiss my
wife?”
“You bet you did. I thought you loved me and now…”
She wasn’t quite sure how to say it to him now that she knew the truth.
Honestly, she could barely believe what she had overheard at their wedding
reception. How could she explain to him what she heard and express the doubts
she had about his love because of it? Well, best to find a way because it
seemed quite evident to her that he wasn’t about to leave her be until she did.
“You’d best tell me what this is all about, June,
because I’m beginning to have doubts about your sanity and beginning to wonder
about my own.” He cocked his head and narrowed his blue eyes at her. If this is one of your cockamamie jokes, it
isn’t funny—and please don’t tell me you married me just to spite your parents.
I’m fairly certain your mother doesn’t think I’m good enough for you. She’s
only spoken to me about four times in all the years I’ve known you. It’s a
little late for second thoughts, June.” Snort began to pace between June and
Kit as if to decide whose side he should take.
Sarah
J. McNeal is a multi-published author who writes
diverse stories filled with heart. She is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse
who lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden
Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a
great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes,
guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Prairie Rose
Publications and its imprints Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press and
Sundown Press. She welcomes you to her website and social media:
