The end is in sight

I have reached the point where the first draft will be finished this week. The end is in sight -- only three more chapters to go, and they have been sort have roughed out. Then I will put it to one side and wait to hear from my editors on what they think about the partial.

The next wip is already percolating in the back of my mind and I should be ready to get that started a bit once this is done. But for right now it is live, breathe and sleep the current wip.

I had a break yesterday afternoon because my parcel from M&B direct reader service arrived. Copies of Julie Cohen's first Fatal Attraction, Kate Hardy's latest Her Honourable Playboy and Julia Justiss's The Courtesan spilled out. The Mills and Boon website enables reader to order books a month before they are officially published.
I am leaving Julie's as a treat but did turn to page 51 where Biddy appears in a black skirt. Kate Hardy's the next in her Posh Doc series and screamed to be read. So, I did, and was very glad too. It was unputdownable and I ended up cooking with one hand as I tried to finish the book. My middle who had snuck read the first in the series, then took the book, and stayed up too late...

I have finished the Beau Brummell book yesterday morning -- a very sad end to the man, dying of syphilis in a madhouse. Dirty and alone. I suppose many in the Victorian world saw it as a comment on his lifestyle. His father had accumulated great wealth, and his younger son spent it., ending up back in the gutter. Of course, his elder brother and his sister managed very well and their families prospered.
And although it is easy to feel sorry for him, one has to think about the thousands of little people who lost their jobs by the virtue of his many brankruptcies. How much had his tailors advanced him?
It is interesting to note that the Beau was very different to say Count d'Orsay the bounder dandy who came after him. He was noted for his discretion, and was terribly upset if he inadvertently offended anyone. This being different than his deliberate attempts. His persona besides being the precursor of the modern celebrity is also the precursor of the modern sardonic hero.