Welcome to History Undressed my good friend and fellow author, Madeline Martin!
One of the fun things about
writing historical romance is all the interesting things we learn in our
research. While writing the Earl of Benton, I decided to have Alistair
Johnstone be a former smuggler of whisky prior to accepting his English
earldom.
Scotch whisky, commonly referred
to as “uisge beatha” literally translates to “water of life”. Not being a
whisky drinker myself, I’d have to disagree because it kind of tastes like
straight rubbing alcohol to my ignorant palate.
But I digress. Whisky was
distilled for centuries without issue until England and Scotland were crammed
together under the same crown and a tax was placed upon malt (an integral
ingredient in whisky). While some distilleries legally paid the fees associated
with the malt tax to ensure their goods were operating on the right side of the
law, many, many more operated
illegally.
In fact, so many were in operation
that at night, a trail of donkeys could be seen lugging barrels behind them to
sell in other locations. Excise men were put to task by the English to catch
these thieves and see them brought to
justice, though many of their run ins ended up in bloody shoot outs.
As time went on and the excise men
became more abundant, the whisky smugglers got creative. Some built casks to look
like a man sitting behind the cart driver with a head fashioned from leather –
completely undetectable in the darkness. And still others had steel casks made
that would fit over a woman’s shoulders, the round part of the barrel easily giving
her the appearance of being with child. Ironically the immense weight of the 2
gallons it held gave the women a rather stiff/waddling gait that made the rouse
entirely believable.
In the Earl of Benton, I got a
little creative with what one might do when being tasked with having to smuggle
twenty gallons over the Scottish border and into England. It was fun figuring
out how to make it work, especially when his lady companion couldn’t know!
In 1823, the distillation of
whisky was fully legalized and only required the payment of a mere ten pounds.
This was such a miniscule amount that whisky running became almost nothing and
the excise men were no longer needed.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
HIS ACTIONS COULD BE TREASON...
Alistair Johnstone’s days of running whisky come to an abrupt halt when he inherits an earldom. After years of living in Scotland and denying his English heritage, he now must return despite his mother’s bitter contempt and his own lack of desire. When his mother’s attempt to run whisky goes awry, Alistair is forced to step in and save her by doing one last whisky run – however, if he’s caught, he will face a traitor’s death.
SHE IS RUNNING FOR HER LIFE...
Emma Thorne’s uncle is trying to kill her and so far has failed, thank goodness. But with only one month until she reaches her majority, inherits her fortune and is released from his guardianship, she knows she is not safe. Emma escapes to a nearby estate where she stumbles upon a house party being held by the Wicked Earls’ Club and finds herself at the mercy of the most extraordinary earl. One who could save her or see her condemned.
PERHAPS THEY CAN SAVE EACH OTHER.
When innocent lies become reality and danger follows them every step of the way, could love be the answer to both their problems, or will their passions be their undoing?
Alistair Johnstone’s days of running whisky come to an abrupt halt when he inherits an earldom. After years of living in Scotland and denying his English heritage, he now must return despite his mother’s bitter contempt and his own lack of desire. When his mother’s attempt to run whisky goes awry, Alistair is forced to step in and save her by doing one last whisky run – however, if he’s caught, he will face a traitor’s death.
SHE IS RUNNING FOR HER LIFE...
Emma Thorne’s uncle is trying to kill her and so far has failed, thank goodness. But with only one month until she reaches her majority, inherits her fortune and is released from his guardianship, she knows she is not safe. Emma escapes to a nearby estate where she stumbles upon a house party being held by the Wicked Earls’ Club and finds herself at the mercy of the most extraordinary earl. One who could save her or see her condemned.
PERHAPS THEY CAN SAVE EACH OTHER.
When innocent lies become reality and danger follows them every step of the way, could love be the answer to both their problems, or will their passions be their undoing?
WANT TO READ IT?
Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/eobamz
Nook: http://hyperurl.co/eobnk
iBooks: http://hyperurl.co/eobib
Kobo: http://hyperurl.co/eobkobo
Print: http://hyperurl.co/eobprint
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Madeline Martin is a USA TODAY Bestselling
author of Scottish set historical romance novels. She lives a glitter-filled
life in Jacksonville, Florida with her two daughters (known collectively as the
minions) and a man so wonderful he's been dubbed Mr. Awesome. All shenanigans
are detailed regularly on Twitter and on Facebook.
Madeline loves animals in sweaters, cat videos, and working out (to support her love of wine and Nutella). As she is unable to have pets herself due to allergies, she has acquired a plastic Halloween skeleton named Nick and a small robot named Meccano - both of whom are dressed up regularly by the minions.
She loves connecting with her readers, so feel free to follow her on any one of her social media platforms, or send her a message :)
Madeline loves animals in sweaters, cat videos, and working out (to support her love of wine and Nutella). As she is unable to have pets herself due to allergies, she has acquired a plastic Halloween skeleton named Nick and a small robot named Meccano - both of whom are dressed up regularly by the minions.
She loves connecting with her readers, so feel free to follow her on any one of her social media platforms, or send her a message :)
FOLLOW MADELINE!
FB page: https://www.facebook.com/MadelineMartinAuthor/
Twitter: @MadelineMMartin
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Madeline-Martin/e/B00R8OGFN2/
1 comment:
Thanks for the history lesson!! How interesting and it seems through the ages there are always creative ways for smugglers! Of course loved your book Madeline. Congratulations again on your release!
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