Exclusive interview with author Carol Carr and a review of her novel about a madam engaged in espionage in Victorian England
By Gabrielle Pantera • Rating: Three Stars
“I wanted to write a novel around Queen Victoria, as I find her deliciously eccentric,” says India Black author Carol Carr. “I knew that she had survived several assassination attempts, primarily by Irish nationalists and the odd lunatic, but those occurred somewhat later in her reign. I decided to use those attempts as the basis for the story but change the villains to Scottish nationalists, as I have an interest in Scottish history and lots of ancestral ties to the country.”
India Black and the Widow of Windsor is the second book in the India Black series. India Black’s character is more defined, has more humor and is just as feisty as in the first book with lots of great interaction between the characters and some sumptuously witty dialog.
In the first book of the series, India Black, who oversees the Lotus House, an elegant brothel in Victorian London, was forced into espionage by Mr. French, a handsome British agent. In book two, India Black must make sure no harm comes to Queen Victoria who has recently attended a séance where she saw the ghost of her dearly departed Prince Albert. Is there a plot to harm the Queen and separate Scotland from England? Will India and French keep the Queen safe?
The setting is Balmoral at Christmas and since the queen never spent the holiday there, Carr had to invent a pretext for her deciding to do so. “That proved simple,” says Carr. “The queen believed in communication with the other side and frequented mediums in order to contact Prince Albert, who died in 1857. My Scottish nationalists lure the Queen to Scotland through a bogus medium.”
In this book French teaches India to fence, so Carr decided she would take fencing lessons herself as part of her research. “I needed a teacher, and I was surprised to find that an excellent fencing maestro lives here in my small city,” says Carr. “He moved here from Los Angeles, where he trained actors to fence and choreographed fencing scenes for the movies. He’s a fascinating character. We fenced to Mozart.”
In addition to learning about and observing actual fencing matches, Carr researched the physical layout of Balmoral, types of Scottish dances and songs, the train route from Windsor to Balmoral, how Queen Victoria traveled there, the names of the servants at Balmoral, and the geography surrounding the castle.
“If I can’t pin down a detail, I’ll delete it,” says Carr. “I strive to be as historically accurate as possible, inserting my fictional characters into fictional situations that involve actual historical characters.”
“I couldn’t write without inter-library loan and the Internet,” says Carr. “Between those two sources, I am able to find most of what I need. I have met some wonderful new friends via the Internet, either through book blogs or through my website. It’s a pleasure talking to other book lovers about books.”
Carr says she’s hard at work on a third India Black black. “In India Black and the Dark Legion, India, French and Vincent infiltrate a group of anarchists, with explosive results,” says Carr. “I’m also researching the subject of female agents of the OSS during WWII. I’d love to write a spy thriller set in that period.”
Carr is based in Missouri, after spending time in Washington, D.C., Texas and California. She was born in a very small town in Missouri. Her website is www.carolkcarr.com. She’s also on Facebook, but not Twitter.
India Black and the Widow of Windsor by Carol Carr. Paperback, 320 pages Publisher: Berkley Trade, 1 Original edition (October 4, 2011). Language: English, ISBN 9780425243190 $14.00
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