Chocolate Empires and the Women Who Made Them by Eliza Redgold

We have author Eliza Redgold talking about Chocolate Empires and the Women Who Made Them this week!

Eliza Redgold is an author and ‘romantic academic’. Her natural pen name is based upon the old, Gaelic meaning of her name, Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd. English folklore has it that if you help a fairy, you will be rewarded with red gold. She writes fiction as Eliza Redgold and non-fiction as Elizabeth Reid Boyd. She is represented by Joelle Delbourgo Associates US.

Eliza Redgold’s bestselling historical fiction includes her Ladies of Legend trilogy, starting with “NAKED: A Novel of Lady Godiva” released internationally by St Martin’s Press New York. Her ‘Romance your Senses’ series of contemporary romances are published by Harlequin (MIRA) Australia. Her Victorian historical romances are published by Harlequin Historical  London (Harper Collins) and translated internationally. They include the W.H. Smith historical romance bestseller ‘Playing the Duke’s Mistress’. Her new Harlequin Historical ‘The Scandalous Suffragette’ is out now.

Eliza Redgold on the web:

Website             Facebook      Twitter      Author Page

Chocolate Empires and the Women Who Made Them

“Every step of the process of making chocolates had always fascinated her. Now she was seeking improvements in the procedure. Sometimes she took visitors on tours, to show them how their famed floral creams were made, from start to finish. The cocoa beans came from the Orient. They were ground into a buttery mass. At the factory, in huge vats, sugar and milk were added and cooked together, to make a delicious smelling warm liquid. When the liquid was evaporated, a crumbly chocolate mixture was created, put through a mill, and mixed with liquid and butter, to the correct consistency for Coombes Floral Creams.

In another part of the factory, essences were made from fruit and flower petals, to make the flavouring syrups. They stood in glass bottles, glowing in jewel colours. The syrups were mixed with sugar and cream, then kneaded by hand smooth fondant. The fondants were then dipped by hand into the chocolate, by women Violet had known since she was a little girl. A crystallised petal, dusted in sugar, was always the final element. After scrubbing her hands, she’d often been allowed to place the petal on the top of the completed chocolate sweet.

The process looked easy, but Violet knew how many times her father had failed at creating the taste that made their chocolate fondants so popular. He’d never given up.

That was the Coombes way, Violet reminded herself.”

~ Extract from  ‘The Scandalous Suffragette’

by Eliza Redgold

When chocolate heiress Violet Coombes is caught hanging her suffragette banner in a most shocking place, Adam Beaufort Esquire proposes a marriage of convenience! His good name will avert scandal for her family, and her money will save the estate Adam’s father gambled away. Violet accepts, but she’s determined nothing will distract her from the Cause – including her oh-so-tempting husband!

I am thrilled to present ‘The Scandalous Suffragette’: Harlequin Historical’s first ever Edwardian romance.

Violet’s story is inspired by the daring suffragettes who fought for the women’s vote. Today we might not be able to imagine what it was like to have no vote and few legal rights, but in Violet’s time this battle had not yet been won.  

The time period in which Violet’s story is set was when great chocolate empires such as Cadbury and Fry had come to prominence. The confectioners generally provided excellent conditions for their workers, especially for women. In this, Violet’s goals at Coombes Chocolates factory make her very much a woman of her times.

It also meant I had to research … chocolate!

My extensive research had me delving into the history of chocolate factories, such Bournville village in England, which was built especially for the factory workers.  The original ‘factory in a garden’, it was designed to make working life … sweeter. Seriously, it’s an inspiration, and a dream we could do with re-imagining today.

I was also forced to taste a range of floral-flavoured chocolate fondants.  Fortunately, edible flowers are coming back into fashion, so I was able to do some vital tests.

Here are a few of my findings on where to find Violet Creams:

·         A friend kindly gave me a box of Charbonnel et Walker’s fine English Rose and Violet Creams Grand Ballroom Collection

·         I’m still waiting to sample the exclusive  Buckingham Palace Rose and Violet Creams

·         Somehow I always find my way to Haigh’s Chocolates in Adelaide, Australia, where they make delicious Haigh’s Dark Violet Creams

·         In the USA, floral fondants are not easy to find, so I may still need to make a special research trip, but a good place to start is The Vermont Country Store

·         Or who not try your hand at making your own chocolate creams? At elizaredgold.com you’ll find my recipe for Violet Creams (I ate far too many while writing this book).

Please let me know in the comments if you have any other important research findings!

 The Scandalous Suffragette 

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