Inspiration for The Oath
Back in 2016, as part of my MA in creative writing, I became a writer in residence at my local Victorian park. During my residency, I researched into the Montefiore family who lived at Worth Park during the late 1880s. Sir Francis Montefiore, a baronet arrived back home in England with his young bride Marianne, from Austria.
After only one year of being married to Sir Francis, Lady Marianne left for Vienna but she never returned to England. No one knew why. After writing a short prose story, The Montefiore Bride, published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press (2021), I was inspired to write a Victorian novel at some point but wanted a fictional family.
My young bride, Françoise, is French. The Oath opens in France 23rd March, 1895 on Françoise’s birthday when her father declares she must leave her homeland to marry distant cousin, Baronet Charles Dubois. When she protested, her father announced, Playtime is over. Seventeen is old enough to wed and bear a child.
Not quite the seventeenth birthday surprise she’d expected.
Françoise was left with no choice when given an ultimatum that if she didn’t do as her father asked then her vulnerable parents would risk la prison des pauvres. He opens the family Bible and explains how twin brother ancestors conjured a pact that if ever an heir to the family in England needed a bride, then the family in France would honour this promise. Françoise was that bride.
Her days of running carefree through cowslip were numbered.
In May 1895 Françoise sets sail for England with her brother for company to marry Sir Charles Dubois.
The saga makesuse of two narrators, Françoise, Lady Dubois, and Tilly, Françoise’s lady’s maid. Each young woman has their own story to tell.
The Oath takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster with its captivating story set in the late Victorian era. Although heartbreaking, it is also uplifting, both of which may cause the reader to shed a tear or two.
Blurb
Marry the baronet, or vulnerable parents face la prison des pauvres
France 1895 – Seventeen-year-old Françoise abandons her carefree life and sails for England to marry distant cousin Charles Dubois. On arrival she finds her groom aloof and evasive.
Draped in expensive silk brocade, she yearns for her homeland and comfortable gowns, and when she discovers the baronet’s clandestine visits, it is her cheery maid she turns to, her new confidante and friend.
BETRAYAL – HEARTBREAK – FRIENDSHIP
The Oath: A coming of age, historical fiction saga from the author of House of Grace family saga trilogy.
The Oath will be released on 24th July, 2023, in both Kindle and paperback formats.
Available to preorder/order on the following link.
https://mybook.to/VictorianSagaTheOath
About Patricia M Osborne
Patricia M Osborne is married with grown-up children and grandchildren. In 2019 she graduated with an MA in Creative Writing. She is a published novelist, poet and short fiction writer with five poetry pamphlets published by The Hedgehog Poetry Press, and numerous poems and short stories appearing in various literary magazines and anthologies. Her debut poetry pamphlet, Taxus Baccata, was nominated for the Michael Marks Pamphlet Award.
Patricia has a successful blog at Whitewingsbooks.com featuring other writers. When Patricia isn’t working on her own writing, she enjoys sharing her knowledge, acting as a mentor to fellow writers.
Links
Facebook: Patricia M Osborne, Writer
Twitter: Patricia M Osborne @PMOsborneWriter
Website: https://whitewingsbooks.com/
When Angels Fly 