Without another moment of procrastination, I present to you Michaela MacColl, author of Prisoners in the Palace: How Princess Victoria became Queen with the Help of Her Maid, a Reporter, and a Scoundrel.
London, 1836. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery and treason above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen?
Queen Victoria’s Halloween
When the fabulous WORD for Teens asked for a story about Queen Victoria and Halloween, I thought it would be easy. All the research I did for Prisoners in the Palace showed me that Victoria was a girl who liked dressing up, staying up late and had a sweet tooth. How could she not have loved Halloween?
Well, as it turns out, since Victoria was also the head of the Church of England, she wouldn’t be caught dead (so to speak) celebrating a pagan holiday like Halloween. However, don’t worry, Victoria and her nine children would let their hair down on the frequent visits to their Scottish estate of Balmoral. Every Halloween, the commoners on the estate would pretend to put a witch on trial and then burn her in effigy on a huge bonfire. Far from the disapproving Court, The Queen was apparently very much amused.
Halloween has its origins in the pre-Christian Celtic Festival of the Dead which took place after the harvest. The Celts believed that on this one night, the dead walked among the living. Bonfires were lit to guide the spirits’ way to the underworld. Turnips were carved into lanterns to hang outside your house (pumpkins didn’t become part of the celebration until they were brought back from the New World). In England, people backed cakes for the wandering souls and people went “a soulin” for “soul cakes” which may be a precursor to trick or treating.
In 1605, there was a conspiracy of Catholic rebels, including a man called Guy Fawkes, to blow up Parliament. It was called the Gunpowder Plot and was a huge failure. The conspirators were arrested on November 5th and this day became a national holiday. The bonfires which once burned for Halloween were now lit for Guy Fawkes Day, a day of mischief and partying. Guy Fawkes is still a big holiday in Great Britain.
