Regency Fashion For July

Boy have I ever missed all of you. I must say I find it hard to believe that the last time I posted was June 18. Where did that month go and the summer half over too. I had hoped to drop by from time to time during my holiday, but found internet access less than easy, and to spend time with the computer instead of friends and relatives seemed...well ...decidedly unfriendly. Mother was well, and the rest of the family were amazingly welcoming.

Our weather in England was wet, and in Italy, hot, and the whole thing an absolute
delight.

I am looking forward to sharing my holiday forays with you all, but I thought I would start with our old favorite fashion flavors of the month, before July disappears on me altogether.

So fashions for July

What I noticed most about these 1799 riding habits was how warm they looked. After spending two weeks huddled in a light cotton jacket and not being close to warm, I can understand why. Now when the sun was out, it was lovely, but I can imagine needing these warmer outfits on cloudy days on the back of a horse. I do think that my blood is thinner than it used to be, because some folks were walking around in shorts, I should hasten to add.


These more summery outfits are from The Ladies Monthly Museum
for the same year. This is the description:

First Figure. Muslin round dress, trimmed round the neck with lace; loose, full sleeves, with white or coloured satin bands at the bottom; silver band round the waist. The hair drawn close up behind, and large curls or folds on the top, interwoven with silver bandeau, with two large ostrich feathers. Necklace consisting of three rows of pearls, with a topaz in the middle. Shoes and gloves straw colour.

Second Figure. The same dress, of yellow muslin spotted with silver; with the sleeves drawn up on the arm.



These next two, which I really find quite delightful, are from 1806, from the same magazine:

Walking Dress.
Gown of Cambric Muslin, and Straw-coloured Sarsnet; Spanish Cloak, trimmed with White Lace; Straw Hat.

Full Dress.
A short Dress of alternate Stripes of Pink Crape and Silk Net; an Under-dress of White Sarsnet, ornamented with Lace; Head fashionably dressed with Black Velvet and Silver Foil.

Anyone know what they meant by silver foil? I will try to find out.

I thought I would give you one more from later in the period. This is from La Belle Assemblee 1810




The description is as follows.

Morning Walking Dress.

A round dress of thick fine India muslin, made high in the neck, with long sleeves, which are trimmed at the wrists with a narrow edging of lace; a lace let in round the bottom of the dress between four rows of small tucks. A light sky-blue mantle, lined with pale buff, with elastic collar, which is formed with letting-in-lace, and has the appearance of a full collar, but will, if required, by drawing over the head, form a very pretty and becoming bonnet; a cape of the same materials crosses the back, which is confined at the bottom of the waist, on the inside, with a pale-blue or buff ribband, tied with a bow in the front; it is entirely trimmed round with narrow edging of lace. A bonnet of straw, and pale-blue ribband, with plaiting of lace, worn underneath, tied under the chin; with a yellow rose in the front, and hair in ringlet curls, completes the dress. Gloves of pale-buff. Boots of the same colour, calashed and laced with pale-blue.

I have put up some July Ball Gowns on my website

Until Thursday, when we will do some flora and fauna, while it is all fresh in my mind, Happy Rambles.

Michele

Rambling in Wales

Drive by Bloggin'

Because I am away and because I miss you, I thought i would blog here and there where I could.

After an excellent flight we arrived in Wales. Yesterday was a lovely day, and Father's Day here in Britain as well as in North America. It was a pretty afternoon, sunny and cloudy. My sister in law and I went for a long walk, in the countryside which is only steps from her house. I didn't take my camera - but that will be the last time I go anywhere without it. Remember my flora fauna blog, just last week, well I saw honeysuckle and dogroses and foxgloves all growing wild in the hedgerows. So I am feeling pretty good about that blog. I will be taking lots of pictures to share with you when I get back.

In the meantime here is one fashion picture for June as promised.



This is from the Cabinet of Fashion, June 1808

Fig. 1. Short dress of muslin; pelisse of fine cambric, and fashionable straw hat; yellow gloves.
Full Dress.-A round dress of pale pink sarsnet, covered with a stout robe of white crape, or net; a cap of white lace or net, and bows, ornamented with a red rose in front.

My next newsletter will be coming in July - so if you want to be sure to get a copy, you can sign up through the link posted at blogside (like curbside). Off to see the old mum tomorrow.

I will pop in for a visit later in the week and let you know what we have been doing. Until then, Happy Rambles

Regency Flora, Fauna and News

I hope you will forgive me, for running a tiny bit late today. I am off to the Historical Novel Society Conference tomorrow and had a couple of deadlines to meet.

Of course, everyone waxes lyrical about June. It is really the beginning of summer and all the flowers are putting on their best show. Of particular interest was this little extract.
Honeysuckle is an overpowering sweet odour sometimes the air is so heavy one can'tbreath. I can remember honeysuckle like that. These days it just doesn't seem to have that heady perfume. Or is it me?

What other flowers do we find in the gardens and hedgrows?


Here is a list from the



Times Telescope for 1817: Naturalists' Diary

Flowers: Larkspur, white lily, orange lily, everlasting pea, veronica, hyssop, snapdragon, linaria, yellow loosestrife, marigolds, chrysanthemum, nigella, wallfower, sweet william, iris, cranesbill, red valerian, bachelor's button, poppies, columbine, thrift, candytuft, foxglove, periwinkle, camomile, lavatera, lavender, globe
thistle, squill.


Trees, shrubs, vines: Spanish broom, yellow and white jasmine, roses, tamarisk, lime tree, cinquefoil, honeysuckle, Syringa, viburnum, Passion-flower,
Tulip-tree, spirea, Portugal laurel, sweetbriar.

Out of those I picked a couple that for me hold many happy memories of perfumes during childhood.

Wallflowers - not the kind who have to sit out the dancing.
They also have a sweet perfume and grow well in the lose mortar of walls. Hence their name.

The other one is foxglove. Come on now, don't you just love that name. We always used to pick the heads of the flowers off and pop them on the ends of our fingers, like gloves. Didn't do the flowers much good, though I must say.
Do I hear you crying, digitalis - that's poisoness. If I did you are quite correct. So if there is a murder in 1817, we know this is one plant that could be to blame.

Something else the Diarist tells us. June is when the birds stop singing. By the end of June most of them stop their call, including the cuckoo. You have to be very careful about when you have a cuckoo make its appearance - if it is the call you are using.


I am going to do more on this topic for June, because there are a few more plants and wildflowers that I would like to include, even though I cannot inclue them all.


News

I also want to tell you that I will be going on vacation from June 15 to July 10. I will be gathering lots of pictures of places for this blog as well as visiting my mum.

So I hope you will be patient if I miss a day or a week here or there, because I don't always have access to a computer.

I will be here next week and will finish up the flora and fauna and hope to get a little bit of Fashion done for June.

I hope you are enjoying some nice early summer weather. Until next week, Happy Rambles.

Sneak Peek

There is nothing more exciting or as scary to a writer as seeing the cover for your book. Well, perhaps seeing an envelope from a publisher or an agent that has had your manuscript for a while is pretty scary.

Anyway I have to share my new cover. I really love it and I thought you should be among the first to see it.

Isn't that pretty? Come on, you really must agree. I must say I am very happy with it.

You can of course order the book on amazon, but it won't be out until October and it will be in bookstores, so you can wait for a while. In the meantime I am going to sit here and stare at the cover.



Here is another cover. I bet Lori was very pleased with this one. Her book out is this month, and I can't wait to read it. Hellhounds. Yummy. I have added the link and a bit of the blurb to tempt your appetite. You will love this exciting read.

Publisher: Silhouette Nocturne
ISBN: 0373617658
ISBN-13: 978-0373617654
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: June 1, 2007

Order Now from Amazon.com
Read the excerpt listed there, shivery and intriguing. Go check it out. It will make a change from Regencies and they do say variety is the spice of life. So get living ducks.

Risk Leidolf is a hellhound—a legendary, otherworldly creature who is both man and beast. For centuries, he’s been bound to do the bidding of an immortal witch. But after being ordered to destroy novice witch Kara Shane, the man within him rebels. And the beast within him is held at bay—for now.


Fiercely drawn to each other, Risk and Kara soon form a passionate alliance as they set out to find her missing sister—and the key to his salvation. For the power unleashed by the twin witches could free him from the immortal witch’s bondage. But that freedom comes at a steep price. For the fierce battle will put more than one soul at stake
To see more books by my friends go to Your Virtual Book Bag

Thursday, we will take a a peek at some Flora and Fauna, and then I am off the to Historical Novel Society Conference. And the following week I will have some fashion and some news.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

The Peerage

Yes, pesky titles. I know I should have this down pat by now. But I just started a new work, and lo and behold the darn hero is the second son of a duke. Not the heir. Now there are all kinds of pitfalls with Dukes, not just what you call them, but what you call their sons, their wives, their sons wives and so on. I am going to deal with just a couple of them here.

I thought rather than do a dry list, I would use the 5th Duke of Devonshire as a living -- a well a previously living-- example. His first wife was Georgiana, a very interesting woman, but in the matter of titles I have chosen this particular Duke because he was around in the Georgian era.

This is a portrait of the fifth duke. Now how would you address the starchy looking gentleman. Oh and by the way, his family name (like your surname) is Cavendish. That becomes important later.

The form of address partly depends on who is addressing him and in what form, writing or speech (just to give you hiccups). A servant might well address him as "Your Grace", probably with his nose touching his knees. Anyone with the rank of baronet or below, e.g. just plain Mrs, Miss or Mr. would also call him Your Grace.

His wife would probably call him Devonshire or, if they were alone or with intimate family or friends, she might call him, "my lord" or "my love". It sounds very formal, but that in a way is the reason for our enchantment for bygone ages. It was different.



Here is a picture of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Gainsborough, while this is still in the 1780's we can see the classical influence.

The Duke's friends, if they are peers, would most likely call him Devonshsire, although they might say, "How are you today, Duke?" and as the conversation continues would address him as "sir".

A Duke is never addressed as "my lord".

Very rarely were first names used, except possibly between boys who were close friends at school, and then only in private. Last names, or the title name (e.g. Devonshire) were the most common forms of address, if not using the respectful, "your grace".

He would sign his name Devonshire on all correspondence. There is only one Devonshire, and there would be absolutely no mistake as to whom had written. If you are going to write to a Duke, you would begin: "My Lord Duke"


Perhaps one of my favorite fictional dukes is His Grace Duke of Avon, in Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades and Devil's Cub. Oh man, gotta read those books again now I have thought about them. He was also in the Black Moth, but he was an anti hero and so she changed his name, but we guessed. I always felt a teeny bit sorry for him in the first book. I do love a bad boy.

Back to titles, girl, before you lose your audience.
Note that a Duke is always the Duke of "somewhere". That is not true of some of the other titles. Remember the Duke of Wellington? He was the first Duke of Wellington.

A Duke will usually have one or more courtesy titles. These are often titles of progression, titles his family earned over the centuries, gradually climbing the ladder of the peerage. So he might also be Marquess of Malmsbury and Earl Chokingham and some others as well as being "Duke of Somewhere". His eldest son will normally take his highest courtesy title during the Duke's lifetime.

The duchess is also "Your Grace" but rather than "My Lord Duke" she is "Madam", on formal correspondence and "Madam" instead of "Sir" in informal speech. She would sign her name Georgiana Devonshire.

Now in my novel, I have an heir, who is a Marquess, so I have to follow the rules for him, but he only makes a brief appearance so I will talk about his title another time. My hero is the second son. So what do I need to know about him?

Of course the biggest fear of the writer is that by now you have so many names floating on the pages that you have made your reader fall asleep.
To wake you up, here is a picture of the 6th Duke of Devonshire. Very much a Regency gentleman. This picture was painted by Thomas Lawrence in 1811.

Anyway, younger sons of Dukes. Since he is my main character let me get it right.
Announced formally or addressed on formal correspondence as: Lord Malcolm Cavendish
(All right so Devonshire only had one son, but this is fiction so use your imagination.)
What we have above is a title "Lord" his Christian or firstname "Malcolm" and his family name or surname "Cavendish". Neither his father, mother or older brother use the Cavendish. But he isn't really a peer, he is only the second son, poor sod.

The salutation on correspondence would be "My Lord". He would be announced as "The Lord Malcolm Cavendish" He would be addressed by his friends as Lord Malcolm (or Malcolm or Cavendish, if addressed by a very close friend or relative). He would sign himself as Malcolm Cavendish or Cavendish. If he had a younger brother, a third son to the Duke, then that son could not sign just Cavendish. He would have to use his Christian name and then the family name in his signature to avoid confusion with his older brother.

Whew!!!!!

Thank you so much for helping me do my research for this book. Without you I would still have a note in the manuscript that says - must check ducal sons' forms of address.

By the way, if you would like all the detail, check out this website. I think it is very clear. You can also investigate Debrett's or Burke's, you will find them listed in the bibliography on the above website. Until next time, Happy rambles.

Town and Country Dining

Beth, you ask a good question. I think that perhaps the main difference in dining is not going to be where you are living, but who you are.




Here is a picture of the Thames in those times, you can see the tower of London in the background. Just look at all of those masts, ships up and down the river. This was how goods came in from other countries and sometime how it was transported around the country also.







Each type of food had its own market in London, Covent Garden for fruits and veg, most of those coming up for the surrounding countryside. The first picture is of Covent Garden on an election day. But you can get a sense of it.


Billingsgate for fish is the next picture. More ships and you can just imagine the smell.



The last picture is of Smithfield the meat market.




Anyway, most of this produce was home grown and seasonal and just as available in the country as in the town.

So the only thing Londoners might have that the country gentleman might not would be expensive foreign items which might not make it to the country markets. And of course those who were rich would simply have them brought in.

As I mentioned at the beginning, the real difference would be between rich and poor. Meat would be expensive, so it would have to go a lot further and be used in gruels and stews. Things like neats tongues (which were on our last menu) would probably be something the poor would never taste, whereas interestingly enough oysters were a poor man's regular diet.

So I think you are quite safe in the country with any kind of food that did not require a French chef or something not grown in England. One thing you have to remember is that England was at war with France and most of Europe during much of this period, not to mention the odd tiff with America, and therefore imported goods were limited.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Dining

This first picture means nothing. I just like it.




Since food was such a luxury in our era, dining or feasting was always a momentous occasion. I thought I would focus on one meal.

This is a description of "a most sumptuous entertainment" given by The Chief Magistrate of Chester (General Grosvenor) in the Exchange, to his cousin Earl Grosvenor, several gentlemen of the country, the Corporation and his friends in the city. This is the Chester Exchange, before it burnt down in 1865. What a busy bustling market square out front and this building is huge, much bigger than it looks.

"The town hall was most tastefully decorated with variegated lamps. The tables were laid out in the following manner: Two long tables down each side of the room, joined at the top in a semi-circular form; and in the intermediate area smaller tables were laid across; in the center was placed a fine baron of beef, ornamented with appropriate devices, encircled by the motto—"

“O! The roast beef of Old England, O! the Old English roast beef.”

"On its right was a Christmas pie, weighing upwards of 200 pounds, containing four geese, four turkeys, six hares, a leg of veal, a leg of pork, sausages &c.; on its side were the heraldic bearings of the house of Eaton, supported by those of the General, with the family motto; on the left of the baron of beef was a salad, tastefully displayed with the motto" “Prosperity to the trade of Chester.”

"This table was surmounted with two elegant transparencies representing the east and north gates of the city."

"About five o’clock dinner was served up to which two hundred sat down. The following is a copy of the:

Bill of Fare

—16 tureens of turtle; 8 boiled turkeys; 3 ham; 4 dishes of a la mode beef; 5 pigeon pies; 3 saddles of mutton; 13 plum puddings; 6 dishes of muranede pork; 8 French pies; 4 roasted turkeys; 8 dishes of rabbits; 3 legs of mutton; 4 geese; 2 fillets of veal; 10 dishes of chickens; 4 dishes of veal surprise; 3 beefsteak pies; 3 dishes of sweet breads; 6 hares; 6 venison pasties; 8 dishes of ducks; 6 oyster patties; 6 dishes of mutton casserole; 6 dishes of pig; 6 lemon puddings; 8 dishes of haricaed mutton; 4 neats tongues; 3 dishes of collard veal; a round of beef.

Removes—Ten haunches of venison; 10 necks of venison.

Sweets—30 salvers of whips and jelly; 20 moulds of jelly; 40 moulds of blancmange; tarts; cheese cakes; mince pies, puffs, &c."

I don't know about you, but this menu did not make me feel hungry. But why is it important? Why spend the time finding out exactly what they ate? Well, while I think I would not put neats' tongues in a book I might well want to put blancmange, and oyster patties, and jelly and mince pies. And by doing this little bit of research, I can happily put them on the table.



While this is an image of the coronation banquet of George IV (yes our Prinny) I think it gives the flavor of what this Grosvenor feast must have been like. No balconies.

Until next time, Happy rambles.

Today is Queen Victoria's Birthday

At least today is the day Canada celebrates her birthday. Her actual dob is May 24 1819, and this long weekend is always called the May 24 weekend. Queen Victoria was born in the Regency period, so she makes an appropriate topic for my blog. Here she is aged four, so in 1823.


It is one of the things often skipped over about her, that she was much less of the moralistic queen than she is painted. She grew up a Hanover and was not quite as Victorian as she might seem to us looking back at her era. It was the middle classes that set the tone, the conservative middle classes that were coming into their own, led by some notable politicians and thinkers.

Although christened Alexandrina Victoria, from birth she was formally styled Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Kent. She was called Drina within the family. Princess Victoria's father died of pneumonia eight months after she was born. Her grandfather, George III, died six days later.

This is an extract from her diary the day she became Queen.


June 1837 at Kensington Palace
I was awoke at 6 o'clock by Mamma, who told me that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Conyngham were here, and wished to see me. I got out of bed and went into my sitting-room (only in my dressing-gown), and alone, and saw them. Lord Conyngham (the Lord Chamberlain) then acquainted me that my poor Uncle, the King, was no more, and had expired at 12 minutes past 2 this morning, and consequently that I am Queen. Lord Conyngham knelt down and kissed my hand, at the same time delivering to me the official announcement of the poor King's demise.

As the longest reigning English monarch (interesting those that rule the longest are women) at 63 years and 7 months, it still amazes me that her influence on what were call the colonies is still evident in the fact that we celebrate her birthday, when the current Queen's birthday is all but ignored here in Canada. I love watching trooping the color on the Queen's birthday and can remember going to watch it with my father on more than one occasion as a child.

Mind you, who cares why we have a day off, so long as we do.

And we celebrate with fireworks. Endlessly. My poor little Teaser (a Maltese terrier) spent the whole evening under the bed, and its all going to happen again tonight. This is a picture of the Royal Fireworks display on the Thames in 1749, so very apt for this blog, don't you think?

What happened in the latter 19th century, was formed by what happened during the Regency. The Regency set the stage for what was to come; the era's painters, poets and enlightened thinkers; the women Hannah More, Mary Wollstonecraft, even the fascinating and shocking Lady Hester Stanhope. Perhaps in future blogs it might be interesting to take a look at some of these very interesting ladies.

And ages ago I promised you Portugal. Oh for more time.
Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion - May Part II

Sorry about that ducks, we seem to get led down the garden path by buttons and such. Anyway, pulling myself out of the ding weed as it were, we will finish fashions for May.
We took a quick peek at 1806 and 1808, so let us see what delights there are for later years of the regency. The next two are from 1810
No. 1-Evening Shawl DressAah now here we have "a rich Paris-brown French silk shawl robe, with short full sleeves, made to sit very much off the shoulders; worn over a white satin body with long sleeves. Persian scarf of green silk; white satin shoes; and white kid gloves." And just look how slender both of these young ladies are. Don't they remind you of models today?

No. 2-Evening Full Dress
A white satin, or fine India muslin, round dress, made short, and scolloped round the bottom, which is finished with a gold twist, made to sit very high over the neck; ornamented with a full ruck of white crape, or lace; long sleeves laced with gold twist, and small gold drop buttons, the sleeves scolloped to correspond with the bottom of the dress, and ornamented with gold cord; a gold net, or Persian silk sash, encircles the waist. White kid gloves; white satin shoes, with gold rosettes; tippet of white swansdown.

Obviously, the first group with the gentleman from 1817, is one of those rarities that we love to find. He is clearly dressed for evening, with the kneebreches and flat black pumps. And look at the shine on those stockings he is wearing. Now they just have to be silk, wouldn't you think? The next evening gown (1816) is just darling, so delicate, and the pretty embroidery really appeals to me.


This last picture is for Beth. It is the peliss that closes at the front. Can't give you a month or a year on this one, so far I haven't found its origins. But it is gorgeous, and I just love that hat.


That is all for this week. See you next Monday. Until then Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion - buttons

Beth asked about buttons down the back of an 1810 gown. Here is the picture I promised. And just to be sure, I found a second one. Neither of these gowns if from 1810, the first is from 1804 and the second from 1807, but as you can imagine, if they were doing it earlier, there is no reason why it could not be so in a later year. I hope that helps, Beth.

This next picture is the back view of a spencer, a little jacket it also buttons down the back which i thought you might also like to take a look at.




While we are on the subject I thought we might take a look at buttons in general. Here are a few different kinds.


The button above is a metal circle covered by cotton threads in a decorative pattern.


This button (above) is a button made of agate.

These buttons (above) are made of bone.


Clearly the above button is metal and probably not worn by a female.
This last picture is of buttons made of wood.
Also, do not forget that many buttons, including the ones in the very first picture above would be covered by the fabric of the gown.

Now to the question of gloves. Beth asked would a woman wear gloves when eating lunch alone at home. I have heard much discussion on this topic and the consensus is that women did not eat in gloves and would not normally wear them around the home. That said, there is still some uncertainty about it. Isn't it amazing what we do not know. I do think you would be safe having her not eat in her gloves when she is alone at home.

I still have some May fashions to post and plan to have the rest of them up for you on Thursday. Until then happy rambles.

Regency Fashions for May

Okay, just a quickie tonight, see it as an appetizer. We had family arrive from New York for one evening and we are nothing if we are not family oriented. So we went for dinner, then we walked the dog - a maltese terrier called Teaser - picture to be found for you, and then I said, but I hafta blog. I have friends out there, and they expect me to chat. There was some forehead wrinkling and some rounded eyes, and they said, 'yes, but be quick'. So here I am, being quick. Promise that there will be more on Monday even though Sunday is Mother's Day here in Canada.

This first picture is from May 1806. The description is as follows:

Walking Dress Curricle of Lace over a Round Dress of White Sarsnet. Spencer of Green Sarsnet. Straw Bonnet. Buff Gloves and Shoes. Beaver Hat. Indian Long Shawl. Cambric Walking Dress, with a Lace Ruff.
Full Dress.
Head fashionably drest, with a Band of Embroidered Lace. Dress of White Sarsnet, trimmed with Point. Robe of Pink Crape. White Shoes and Gloves.




This one is May 1808, not very different I think. The description is as follows.

May Cabinet of Fashion (page 264)

Full Dress.-Dress of fine muslin, elegantly worked down the front and round the bottom, and trimmed with pea-green ribbon.-Hair fashionably dressed.-White shoes and buff gloves.
Walking Dress.-Short dress of muslin, with lace trimming.-Shawl of lilac silk, and bonnet of the same colour, with a fancy flower in front.

I really really like the one with the green ribbon down the front. It is elegant and pretty and very wearable, I think.


This last one is just for fun. It is Victorian and is May 1860. We sure have come a long way since then.



Promise, more fashions on Monday. Until then. Happy Rambles.

Regency Flora and Fauna - May

I took the little gem that follows from the Naturists Diary of our period. My last excerpt from him was gloomy, but this really caught my imagination since he waxes so lyrical, and he also mentions heart's-ease which I just may have mentioned is the title of my recently completed manuscript. I tend to put this wildflower in April, but you know, Spring is coming earlier and earlier to England, so I really ought not to discount what was written in our period.

So, my diarists says: “We know little or nothing of the common flowers among the ancients; but as violets in general have their due mention among the poets that have come down to us, it is to be concluded that the heart's-ease could not miss its particular admiration,--if indeed it existed among them in its perfection. The modern Latin name for it is flos Jovis, or Jove's flower,--an appellation rather too worshipful for its sparkling little delicacy, and more suitable to the greatness of an hydrangea, or to the diadems of a rhododendron.

The name given it by the Italians is flammola, the little flame;--at least, this is an appellation with which I have met, and it is quite in the taste of that ardent people. The French are perfectly amiable with theirs:--they call it pensee, “a thought”, from which comes our word pansy:--

"There's rosemary," says poor Ophelia; "that's for remembrance;--pray you, love remember; and there is pansies,--that's for thoughts."

[What a great quote]

Milton in his fine way, gives us a picture in a word,--"The pansy freaked with jet." [Fabulous writing!] Another of its names is love-in-idleness, under which it has been again celebrated by Shakespeare in the "Midsummer's Night Dream."

All right, I’ll stop about the heart’s ease already and talk about some other sights in nature.


The butter-cup (ranunculus bulbosus) spreads over the meadows; the cole-seed (brassica napus) in cornfields, bryony (brionia dioica), and the arum, or cuckoo-pint, in hedges, now show their flowers.

Interestingly enough, at least to me, I have a very pretty scene in Heart’s Ease where mother and daughter make daisy chains and of course put the buttercup under each other’s chins to see if they like butter.

And this is the picture of a cuckoo pint in flower. Ugly right? And poisoness. You should see the fruit of this plant. Remind me to put it up in August if I forget.

But what about the fauna you ask. Well the naturist waffles on about insects, glow worms, which surprised me, because I never saw one in England growing up, crickets and May bugs which I can certainly remember. They are huge and they seem to fly straight at one's face.

He also talks about birds, and one in particular I thought quite interesting and not one I was familiar with:

The sedge-bird (motacilla salicaria)[This was the only picture I could find.] "This bird is found in places where reeds and sedges grow, and builds its nest there, which is made of dried grass, tender fibres of plants, and lined with hair. It sings incessantly night and day, during the breeding time, and imitates, by turns, the notes of the sparrow, the skylark, and other birds, from which it is called the English mock-bird." Who knew! England has a mocking bird.

The animal kingdom will have to wait until next time.

Until then, happy rambles.

A Regency Writer's Day Off - Or How to promote your books without really trying

Okay, not really, but I did have fun. As I announced a couple of weeks ago, April 28 I booksigned at the Chapters Indigo in the Town of Vaughn. For those of you not familiar with Ontario, or Canada, Vaughn is the City above Toronto and Chapters/Indigo is our Barnes and Noble.

As you can see from the picture, three of us signed on Saturday. We all write very different kinds of books. Teresa Roblin, my critique partner, writes contemporary, comedic, magic. Great books. And Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, a multi published author with the Toronto Romance Writers Chapter of RWA writes, fantasy and paranormal, some with a romance, but not all, and a bit on the dark side. And a lovely lady. It was a priviledge to sign with her. Well you already know what I do and I brought along Pistols at Dawn and my shop early for Christmas Holiday in the Heart Anthology from Highland press.

Saturday turned out to be a rather wet day for the last days of April in Ontario, but that didn't seem to stop the customers. Boy that store was humming! And the Manager, Vania, gave us pride of place, right by the front door, offered us water and coffee and generally made us feel very at home.

We even had the deputy mayor pop in. How about that. Teresa deserves the credit for organizing such a special day.

And, best of all, Vania invited us to go back again~~ any time.

So what made the event so successful. I thought it might be interesting for me to let you in on what seemed to work for us and what didn't work.

1. Working as a team with the manager really helped. We were accomodating, we provided advertizing, we arrived on time looking smart and professional.
Even though we were nervous, we looked the part.

2. This is only my second booksigning. What I noticed the first time was how people walk through the doors, see you sitting at a table and immediately avoid eye contact. I've done it myself, for heaven's sake. And when you smile and say hi, they almost jump out of their skins, and definately think you are selling raffle tickets and keep on moving.

3. It is even easier for them to pass on by if you sit at the table talking to each other.

4. Having friends and family drop by -- not all at once -- helps, when other people see a crowd, they tend to want to see what is going on. But let's be honest, you need to do lots of booksignings and you can't ask family to turn up for them all. But I did notice that if you can get one or two people to come to the table, others will at least take a peak.

5. We took turns in going around the store and speaking to people. It's great practice for figuring out how a character feels doing something totally outside of their comfort zone, if nothing else. Oh, that's the writer talking, not the promoter, sorry.

6. Something I found very helpful with the meet and greet around the store was my brochure and my bookmarks. I handed a browsing customer a brochure with a smile and told them we were local authors doing a booksigning at the front of the store and that they should feel free to pop by and say hi. Then I offered them a free bookmark to use in whatever book they were going to buy. My brochure has an excerpt of the first scene of my book and I think once they read a little bit of it, they were intrigued.
Several of those people bought books, some of them from all of us, wanting to support their local authors. And that is why Vania was so pleased. She could not believe how many books we sold in such a short time.

7. I used the fact that Mother's Day was coming up as an ice-breaker. You know, mother might like a personalized author signed book... and it is a romance, wink. One gentleman said his mother was fussy. I don't think he meant to be insulting because he looked exceedingly nervous.

8. Depending on what kind of books you are signing, watch your age group. I did tell a couple of mothers with teenagers that the books were at an adult level. I think it is only fair to be honest.

7. Some people dropped by for candies, and stayed to chat or buy ~~ so I do highly recommend bribes.

9. I also signed up a couple of people for my newsletter, so I feel as if I made some friends, perhaps even now you are reading this blog. If so. It was a pleasure to meet you last Saturday, and do feel free to write or leave a comment.

Now, if any of you are browsing your local bookstore and you see a person sitting behind a pile of books with a pen in their hand, go and say hello. Authors don't bite and they don't mind if you don't buy their books. What they hope is that next time you are looking for a book you remember their name.

I do hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the writers life. Until next time~~ as always ~~ Happy rambles.

Regency Dining

I thought we might continue on the theme of food. As I mentioned in my introduction, because they did not have refridgeration, foods tended to be in season.

Here is an interesting link showing food timelines that you might find helpful.

Meats like beef, mutton and pork and various kinds of poultry, pullets, capons, and chickens would be available most of the time. Those that we do not regularly find on our tables today, are things like pigeons and rabbits and leverets (baby hares).

Vegetables included cabbage, savoys, coleworts (what on earth are they? Ah.. a form of kale) sprouts, broccoli, and root vegetables that keep over the winter, potato, turnips and parsnips. But I also find references to things being forced -- strawberries and radishes, so these would have been grown in greenhouse conditions to bring them on early. The picture above is of a street vendor in London selling turnips and carrots, though I can't actually see the carrots.

In the eighteenth century, the main meal, dinner would normally be at what we would now consider lunchtime. By the Regency, at least for the aristocracy, dinner had moved to the evening. Not so with poorer folk who would still take their main mean at mid-day. Indeed, in England in many households it is still traditional to have Sunday lunch as the roast beef and yorkshire pudding meal we associate with England and certainly in many homes Christmas dinner is still served between 12 noon and 2pm.

Remember Joshual White of last day? He says about dinners "One of the greatest peculiarities in the diet of the people, is the quantity of meats which they use; and if excellence is their kind, (especially beef and mutton,) be any plea for the apparent superabundant quantity that is met with in most houses, they may offer it with truth, and boast of it with justice."

And Robert Southey had this to say. The quantity of meat which they consume is astonishing! I verily believe that what is drest for one dinner here, would supply the same number of persons in Spain for a week, even if no fast-days intervened. Every where you find both meat and vegetables in the same crude and insipid state. The potato appears at table all the year found: indeed the poor subsist so generally upon this root, that it seems surprising how they could have lived before it was introduced from America. Beer is the common drink. They take less wine than we do at dinner, and more after it; but the custom of sitting for hours over the bottle, which was so prevalent of late years, has been gradually laid aside, as much from the gradual progress of the taxes as of good sense. Tea is served between seven and eight, in the same manner as at breakfast, except that we do not assemble round the table. Supper is rather a ceremony than a meal; but the hour afterwards, over our wine and water, or spirits, is the pleasantest in the day.


And while we know of the wines, brandy and ales that people drank in those days, what about this advertisment from the Winchester paper.

OXYGENATED SODA POWDERS.
For making Soda Water.
The Water made with this Preparation possesses all the Virtues of Soda Water in Bottles. Being portable, it will be found exceedingly useful to persons travelling; and as it will not injure by keeping, or change of climate, it is particularly recommended to Gentlemen going abroad.
Prepared and sold by William Randall, Chemist, Southampton, in boxes sufficient for one dozen half-pints of Soda Water, at 2s. 6d. Each.

Now I really thought soda water was a modern invention.

People also enjoyed homemade lemonade.
Pies always seem to be a feature of English dining, why there is even a nursery rhyme about four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. These particular pies are a work of art. These days you are lucky if you get a couple of leaves plonked on top of a meat pie as decoration.

Here is the description of a dinner from a contemporary. I think you will see that Southey was right, there was indeed a large variety of meats.
The first course:Part of a large Cod. A Chine of Mutton. Some Soup. A Chicken Pye. Puddings & Roots &c.
Second course:Pidgeons and Asparagus. A Fillett of Veal with Mushrooms and high Sauce. Rosted Sweat-breads. Hot Lobster. Apricot Tart. A Pyramid of Syllabubs & Jellies.

A Desert of Fruit.

MadeiraWhite Port & red to drink as Wine.

At the risk of grossing you out, I thought the following was an interesting recipe. However, I do caution not to do this at home.

Tainted Meat

Meat tainted to an extreme degree may be speedily restored by washing it
in cold water, and afterwards in strong camomile tea; after which it may
be sprinkled with salt, and used the following day; or if steeped and
well washed in beer, it will make pure and sweet soup even after being
fly-blown.

I am going to see if I can find a description of a dinner from start to end, something like the one above, but with more information. However, I probably will not be able to find pictures.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Food - Part I

The Georgian era was a period of hedonism, self indulgence if you will. Not, if I might be so bold, unlike ourselves today. Look what a swelter we are in about recycling and reusing. But I digress.


What did they eat and drink?


No freezers, although we know northern inhabitants had long ago figured out the benefits of keeping food on ice. They did have ice houses, so things could be kept cool for a while.

Here is a picture of an ice house that I took at Gnoll House in Wales, in February. The house is gone but the ice house and the cellars are still there and the grounds are quite stunning. The first picture is of the entrance which was some little distant from the house.

The second picture is taken through a grill with my camera pointed straight down. They would have brough the ice from the various fresh lakes in the grounds in the winter, piling it up week after week, packing it with straw, until it was full. It looks like a well. I assume you would climb down a latter to chip away at it as it gradually reduced and got lower and lower inside.


There were some greenhouses, called conservatories (that's where the debutante meets the hero and gets caught out when they kiss and then they have to marry.... oops digressing again, but only the rich had those. Glass was a luxury. And there were orangeries. Did I spell that right? I went to the one at Kensington Palace and had a cream tea. There is also a particularly fine one at Bowood House, they have a 360 degree shot from the inside, although there are only paintings there now. It is basically a long gallery with huge windows facing south where they grew citrus fruits. This is an outdoor scene of the orangery at Kew.

They stored root vegetables and hardy fruits like apples, remember Treasure Island and Jim Hawkins hiding in the apple barrel, and of course pickled and preserved soft fruits and vegetables. Jumping jellybeans, my old mum still makes her own pickled onions, marmelade and yummy blackberry and apple jam.

Some stuff grows wild. Blackberries (see jam above). I can remember going blackberry picking with my dad. He would stand in the biggest prickliest bush, push with his basket until he was almost inside the bush and pick and pick. Not the ones at the bottom though. It's like yellow snow - you don't eat those, especially not if you know how many people in England walk their dogs everywhere.

Other stuff growing wild, mushrooms - gotta know the difference from a toadstool. This red spotty one would be easy. Others are not. Some are magic, I'm told (little joke). Elderberry. Now there is an interesting tree, you can use the flowers and the berries. And of course they grew wheat and oats and barley and cabbages.

They raised cattle and hunted wild game.

But all of these items had seasons. So what you might eat in January, would not be what you would eat in July.

Breakfast

Robert Southey had this to say in 1802 about English Breakfasts

The breakfast-table is a cheerful sight in this country: porcelain of their own manufactory, which excels the Chinese in elegance of form and ornament, is ranged on a Japan waiter, also of the country fabric; for here they imitate everything. The mistress sits at the head of the board, and opposite to her the boiling water smokes and sings in an urn of Etruscan shape. The coffee is contained in a smaller vase of the same shape, or in a larger kind of tea-pot, wherein the grain is suspended in a bag; but nothing is so detestable as an Englishman’s coffee. The washing of our after-dinner cups would make a mixture as good; the infusion is just strong enough to make the water brown and bitter. This is not occasioned by economy, though coffee is enormously dear, for these people are extravagant in the expenses of the table: they know no better; and if you tell them how it ought to be made, they reply, that it must be very disagreeable, and that even if they could drink it so strong, it would prevent them from sleeping. There is besides an act of parliament to prevent the English from drinking good coffee: they are not permitted to roast it themselves, and of course all the fresh and finer flavour evaporates in the warehouse. They make amends however by the excellence of their tea, which is still very cheap, though the ministry, in violation of an explicit bargain, increased the tax upon it four fold, during the last war. This is made in a vessel of silver, or of a fine black porcelain: they do not use boiled milk with it, but cream instead in its fresh state, which renders it a very delightful beverage. They eat their bitter bread in various ways, either in thin slices, or roasted, or in small hot loaves, always with butter, which is the best thing in the country.



According to Joshua White in his letters from England written in 1810, breakfast in Regency England was a miserable affair.

...generally very frugal, consisting commonly of tea, and muffins or hot rolls, with good butter. Coffee is less frequently used; and it is seldom good.

On the morning after my arrival, I observed on a small table large enough for one or two persons, a tea-cup and saucer, a tea-pot, milk-pot, sugar dish, plate, and a small catty with tea: the tea-kettle was boiling on an utensil with live coals; and presently a plate of warm rolls was brought in. The waiter said breakfast was ready. I asked where it was, and he pointed to the table.



You will have notice the mention of butter by both writers. It takes 21 pounds of fresh, wholesome cow’s milk to make each pound of butter like this pat of butter on waxed paper. Now just imagine how long it took to milk the cow by hand and then churn that teeny weeny pat.

Well, there we have it, and introduction to food, and the first meal of the day. I will continue on with this topic for a few more blogs, because it is good for me to study what my characters ought to eat during my stories and I best get it right, and of course I hope you find it of interest. I really like it when I can find observations from diarists of the day, but of course the writing is always a bit stiff. I have chopped these quotes a bit, but not so much that you do not get the flavor. And getting the flavor, is what food is all about.

Until next time~~~~ Happy rambles.

The Regency and the Armies of Europe

One of the things that struck me when researching Paris after Waterloo for "No Regrets" due out in November 2007, was that the city was under occupation by the allies, the chief of whom were Prussia, Russia, England. One of the complaints of the citizens of Paris was all the foreign uniforms on their streets.

One uniform did appeal to me. The Austrians were said to wear white coats and light blue breeches with heavy embroidery. I have looked high and low for a picture, but so far no luck.

Here are some other that may have been seen on the streets of Paris during this time, or if not these exactly then some very similar.

The first grouping are Russian Cavalry officers all dressed up for an evening out I would think.


This next officer is Prussian. A handsome and impressive fellow.



These are Russian cossaks, sadly not in color, the description says they wear red jackets and black baggy trousers, at least the ones that arrived with the Tsar did. They were an odd bunch, apparently prefering to cook their own food even when offered hospitality in the grand houses in Paris. They certainly started a fashion for those baggy trousers in London after Waterloo.

Then of course there were the English, who also had a variety of uniforms and not just the red coats we commonly think of as British. For example these are 13th, 20th and 22nd Light Dragoons.




Of particular note were the highlanders. They were as popular a sight with the Parisiens then as they are today.



Well that is all for me this evening. See you next Thursday and until then, Happy Rambles.

Champagne Anyone?

In my novel, No Regrets, Caro, the heroine of my story, is a champagne heiress. Not that she knows it at the beginning of the book, it is all part of the plot, ducks. Anyway, any writer with any gumptions has to make sure she knows what a champagne estate looks like. And if there is one thing I like about Europe, they keep their buildings.

The Champagne region in France is north of Paris, around Reims. So like any good researcher we went there for a few days.
Because this was bdc (before digital camera) and because my wonderful but typically English b-i-l was driving (Englishmen stop for no man or author) I do not have my own pictures to show you. But I did take extensive notes. And of course I have located some pretty pictures on the internet.

One of the striking things I noticed about the champagne region of France is that while it is rolling, it is basically flat. It also has a very chalky soil. So chalky that the ground looks white. It reminds me very much of Kent on the other side of the channel. Probably because at one time they were connected. I am sure you knew that right?
This picture gives a good sense of the green in the valley, the rows of grapevines on the open land and the white soil. In this second picture, the chalk soil is very clear. It is also clear that I did not time travel. These are definately not 18th century farm laborers. But the job hasn't changed. Anyway the other thing about the second picture is the farm in the distance. Everywhere we went in this region, farms were walled and usually had a tower in one corner.


We only visited one winery while we were in Reims, Tattinger. There was a particular reason for that. This winery is built on the site on an old monastary/abbey and the champagne is aged in bottles in cellars made of chalk. In my book, it is the chateau that is built above the chalk cellars, they were just too old and scary to resist.
Hmm, we will see what that turns out like, but the big thing for me was those ceilings and white white walls that glistened. How low the ceilings were and how chilly. All those bottles were turned a quarter turn by hand by one man until the wine reached maturity. Can you imagine that? This chateau now belongs to the Tattinger family. Originally it belonged to the philosopher Cazotte, who was sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution for his loyalty to King Louis XVI. For my novel, I combined this building with the idea of the round towers that I saw everywhere in the region and .... well you will just have to read the story when it comes out.
As you can see, authors make great sacrifices for their art, all that travelling, my dears. Actually, I can't wait for June when we are off to Europe again.

Happy Rambles until next time.

And we interrupt this program to bring you....

I am blogging Titlewave today and so I direct your attention there.
Happy rambles until Thursday when we will resume normal programming.

Shoes

Well we all love 'em don't we? At least I do. I can't buy one pair of shoes. I never walk out with less than two pairs. And I have a closet full that I've only worn a couple of times and others that I wear over and over again.
Before we start I will apologize for the formatting. The preview doesn't always provide an exact placement, so I think I have it right and then I look at it the next day and there is too much white space.

Shoes are not something we think much about when talking of Regency fashion, but I am sure our foremothers loved them just as much as we do.

This is a ladies pump from 1785, so just before the Regency. I thought it might be interesting to see how they changed from the end of the 18th century into the 19th century.

With the classic lines of the Regency these yellow slippers seem much more appropriate than the heeled pumps of the earlier century. Note the pointed toes and the lack of a right or left foot. These are from about 1800. And the pink ones are pink kid, and in the same era, 1800-1810


The next pair tie right up around the ankle. They look really sweet to me with the little ruffle across the front.









Something we always read about in Regencies are half boots. I imagined them to be a lot heavier duty than these below, but they certainly would have been better than the slippers shown above, for a march across the field, or at least for a gentle stroll. They are not very elegant compared to the high heeled well fitting boots we wear today. The first pair is leather and the second a cotton jean half boot which was very fashionable in our era. This pair is 1812-20















These flatties, as my mum would have called them, are pair of men's shoes from around the same time-frame. Not so very different from the ladies as you can see and very flat after the previous century's penchant for men to wear high heels similar to the first picture and for the very rich, they would be jeweled. Of course, for novels we mostly have our gentlement in Hessian boots, they sound more heroic somehow than these rather balletic looking shoes or how about the velvet ones. Yep those are guys shoes too.













I thought you might be interested in what the everyday folk might have worn. This pair of boots would probably served either gender for working in.





That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed a visit to the shoes of the Regency. If you are ever in Toronto the Bata shoe museum, from which some of these examples were taken, is just down the road from the Royal Ontario Museum.

Until next week Happy Rambles.

Writing Life Update and a Regency Story

PS: I just learned the comments got turned off by mistake on this post. Many apologies. Have now fixed. Of course I want your comments. Best wishes

It has been a while since I posted any writing news, but with the hunt for chocolate a sweet recollection and after a fun day spent with family, I thought it was probably time. In addition to that, of course, I have news.



I am issuing my newsletter, as well as making several appearances over the next two months, a book signing, two talks which will include booksignings, and probably my favorite thing the Historical Novel Society annual conference where I will get to sign books with Bernard Cornwall and Diana Gabaldon. Okay, so I don't expect a long line up at my desk, but it will be quite a thrill and hence the picture of a Highlander and some soldiers of the 95th Rifles.


Upcoming Events

April 28, 2007 2pm - 5pm Booksigning at Chapters in Woodbridge on Highway 7

May 10, 2007 6:30 pm I will be at the Richmond Hill Central Public Library speaking on Weaving History and Romance into the modern genre novel

May 17, 2007 6: 30 pm I will be at the Stouffville Public Library chatting about novels along with my good friend Kimberly Howe.

June 9, 2007 4pm I will be in Albany New York at the Historical Novel Society Annual conference and will be signing books with Bernard Cornwall and Diana Gabaldon, and a host of other historical authors. How big a thrill is that! I will also be pitching a series of adventure stories set in the peninsular war.

Also this month I am also issuing my first Regency Rambler Quarterly Review issued four time a year because that is what quarterly means, right? Anyway, each issue will contain news about my writing, information about events, signings and such, and a dreamscape minibyte about some event during the Regency.

What is a dreamscape-minibyte? Well I just invented it. And it is a small story about an historical event. There will be some returning characters and new ones depending on the event.

I start with the birth of the (eventual) Prince Regent, so my timeframe is a bit longer that the Regency in its strictest interpretation and that gives me lots of minibytes I can write for you.

These dreamscape-minibytes will only appear in my newsletter. To subscribe and get your fictionalized serialized look at 200 years ago use the sign up form in the sidebar or go to Yahoo Groups and look for Regency Ramble.