Miss Moppet’s FAQ
Who are you and why do you call yourself Miss Moppet?
I am British, 35 and live in London in the UK. I took a first degree in history, then trained as an art historian and now teach and research.
As for the name Miss Moppet: I just like it. And so do a lot of other people. I can almost never get it as a username, it’s usually taken.
But why not use your real name and your photograph?
Privacy issues – same reason I’m not on Facebook, under any name. At present, my blog has nothing to do with my day job and I prefer to keep them separate. I am Moppet at Goodreads, Miss Moppet at Historical Fiction Online and @TheLadyMoppet on Twitter. As I said above, it’s not always easy to get the same moniker, but I try to make sure people know it is ‘me’ commenting – that is, I wouldn’t leave comments/posts saying ‘Miss Moppet is fabulous and everything she does is great’ or ‘Miss Moppet is stupid. Let’s get her!’ (or anything else) as, say, Jemima Puddleduck.
You have links to retail sites on your blog. Do you make money through that?
No, not at all. I don’t make any money from the blog.
What kind of books do you like?
Historical fiction most of all, and pretty much anything else, in varying quantities.
What are your favourite historical periods?
I know most about 17th and 18th century France, but I enjoy reading about other times and places, from the Middle Ages up to the twentieth century. Oh, and I like timeslip novels.
Who are your favourite historical characters?
In birth order (more or less): King John, Henry VII, Cardinal Wolsey, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Elizabeth I, Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, the Empress Josephine, Queen Hortense.
Who are your favourite fictional characters?
In no particular order: Scarlett O’Hara, Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell), Amber St Clare (Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor), Angelique (Angelique series by Sergeanne Golon), Marjorie Morgenstern (Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk), Undine Spragg (The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton), Bruce Patman, Jessica Wakefield (Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal plus numerous ghostwriters), Tom Ripley (The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith), Lady Catherine de Burgh (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen), Angel Deverell (Angel by Elizabeth Taylor), Bailey Weggins (Kate White’s Bailey Weggins mysteries), Rebecca de Winter (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier), Nana (Nana by Emile Zola), Harriet Vane, Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries).
What are your favourite films?
Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Vertigo, The Seventh Veil, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future, The Devil Wears Prada, Dangerous Liaisons.
What’s your favourite colour?
Blue.
Who’s your favourite Disney Princess?
Belle.
Why?
She subverts stereotype, being both beautiful and fond of reading.
