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Monthly Archives: November 2011

Four French Ladies All Duded Up.

I took the photo above with my Nikon D-80, a camera I love, but for which I do not have the correct sort of lens for this endeavor. My apologies for their blurry feet. You’ll have to take my word for it, their shoes are cute. Over on the left, underneath the cute slippers, the text says “Restoration 1815” Since this is FRENCH fashion, that would be the restoration of Napoleon. Over there on the right, it says “Restoration 1830”

It’s from my book “History of Fashion” which you don’t find out until you look at the interior that it’s

The History of Fashion 
In France

The book does have all the original color plates on very thick paper. They’re really, really vibrantly colored so I love looking through this book.

Anyway, in just 15 years, fashion changed pretty dramatically.

French Lady No. 1: Well, no, jeune fille. Awesome reticule but the flounces are a bit much for me. Not a complete fail. She’s rocking the colors: pink ribbon, pink hat, green gloves and yellow and green shawl. Sorry French Lady No 1. I will have to vote you off the runway for excessive use of flounces.


French Lady No. 2: Eglantine wears a more successful concoction. This is a prettier gown if you ask me. But come on. That gown makes her look pregnant. Or else she is. If she is, awesome maternity gown! If she’s not, that’s a fabric fail. The picture strongly suggests her scarf is attached to her head. A secret weapon, perhaps? It looks like a ribbon scarf but it’s really a lasso.


French Lady No. 3: Well. I say her name is Martine, and but what the F are those yellow things? I mean I know they’re bows, but to me they look like squirrels disguised as bows. If I were a guy, I’d be afraid of those bows. Nevertheless, lose the bows and I like this dress. The enormous sleeves will keep squirrel lovers at bay.

French Lady No. 4: Pink. That rocks. I used to hate pink but now I don’t. From the hem to the waist this frock is a major win. Above the belt? That’s a superhero costume. I am umbrella lady! Radioactive bullets shoot out of my sleeves! Also, how the hell can she possibly breathe with that belt so tight? That’s why she looks sad. Because she can’t breathe. She doesn’t have to be voted off the runway. She’ll fall off when the oxygen runs out. 3…2…1 Kablam!

You decide who wins

So, who wins the Time Travel Project Runway show? Opine in the comments.

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving is recovering from their feasts.

This year we brined our turkey and let me just say this is the first year ever when we did not have dry turkey. I also made pumpkin pie (from fresh pumpkin) and pumpkin bread (with and without cranberries). I also put whipped cream in my coffee for as long as the whipped cream lasted. I want more.

Chimneys

I have been unable to stop thinking about my post from last week in which I went off the deep end with the inventory of the contents of Fonthill. The reference to “chimney glass” continued to nag at me. So did “chimney ornaments” so back I went to Google and now I have a few more things to share.

First this:

Antique Chimney from Jamb

I came across Jamb which aside from being a beautiful website, is also a fantastic resource for chimney information and pictures. As well as lots of other things.

Any way, chimney glass is as you might have guessed, a mirror set above the chimney, though usually, from what I gather, in a large plate. If you were looking to cut corners, you might devise a decorative panel between the ceiling and the top of the chimney glass so you didn’t have to use as much glass. For quite some time, in rooms that needed to impress, the chimney glass went from mantle to ceiling.

At Fonthill, the South Bed Chamber contained: A chimney glass in a white frame, 2 plates 31 by 16 (I am pretty sure that’s inches, not feet, but 62 inches by 28 is darn big). In the Turkish room, there was this: A ditto [french plate glass] over the chimney, Seventy-three Inches By Fifty-nine, in a blind frame.

If you go back to the Turkish room inventory, most of the room that wasn’t windows was covered with mirrors. (Gee, I wonder why? They wouldn’t have done anything naughty in there would they? Nah.)

Chinmey Ornaments

Chimney ornaments on the other hand, are much more fun. They were, more or less, brik-a-bak for your mantle. They might be brass (such as a flat brass fiddler) or porcelain — one writer made a rather snide remark about all the porcelain Buddhas from China. They were also a source of craftwork for women. Things to make with which to decorate the mantle. There were also numerous instructions for making chimney ornaments from vegetables — cutting off the top of a carrot and letting the green part grow, for example as well as a recipe for crystalizing objects for the mantle using alum. You might crystalize a rose, for example, or any number of decoratively arranged objects from nature.

Fonthill, by the way lists: Two India and 3 china chimney ornaments so really, I think you could have anything there. Tasteful or otherwise.

Questions for the Risky Among you

So, if you were a rich Regency lady, what kind of chimney ornaments would YOU make? Or would you save your pennies and buy them? Would you give a crystalized rose to your beau?

Also, just curious, what would YOU do in the Turkish Room and who would be there to party with you?
 

I just had to share this with our Risky Regencies readers!

The Harlequin Historical Authors Holiday Giveaway is back. And you can win a Kindle Fire! In the spirit of an Advent calendar, we Harlequin Historical authors are giving away daily prizes and a Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire. Starting November 29–That’s TOMORROW!!–play every day for daily prizes and more chances to win the grand prize.

Each participating author will have an activity planned for their special day. You may be asked to comment on a blog, find an ornament, or visit a Facebook page. Just click on the calendar to reach that author’s giveaway. (Or click on the author’s name below)

For each day you participate, your name will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. On December 23, one entrant from all the calendar days will be randomly selected to win the Kindle. The more days you visit, the better your chances!

“What if I miss a bunch of the days,” you ask. Don’t worry. You can go back, enter on each day, and catch up. You might miss some daily prizes but you can still have multiple chances to win the Kindle Fire.

“What if I live in a country that doesn’t have access to Kindle Fire?” you also ask. No problem. If you win, we’ll substitute a Kindle you can use.

The promotion is open to U.S., United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and European countries where a Kindle may be shipped.

My day is Friday Dec 2. Because I’m at the first of the month, I’m going to have both a prize–a $10 Amazon gift certificate– for that day and a prize–another $10 Amazon gift certificate– at the end of the contest. Come to my website on Dec. 2 to enter. Amanda’s day is Dec. 21.

Official rules and eligibility

Participating Authors

November 29 – Michelle Willingham

November 30 – Elizabeth Rolls

December 1 – Charlene Sands

December 2 – Diane Gaston

December 3 – Annie Burrows

December 5 – Elaine Golden

December 6 – Barbara Monajem

December 7 – Michelle Styles

December 8 – Deborah Hale

December 9 – Marguerite Kaye

December 10 – Lynna Banning

December 12 – Carol Townend

December 13 – Blythe Gifford

December 14 – Julia Justiss

December 15 – Terri Brisbin

December 16 – Ann Lethbridge

December 17 – Bronwyn Scott

December 19 – Sarah Mallory

December 20 – Kate Bridges

December 21 – Amanda McCabe

December 22 – Jeannie Lin

December 23 – Grand Prize Drawing

michelle willingham elizabeth rolls charlene sands diane gaston annie burrows elaine golden barbara monajem michelle styles deborah hale marguerite kaye lynna banning carol townend blythe gifford julia justiss terri brisbin ann lethbridge bronwyn scott sarah mallory kate bridges amanda mccabe jeannie lin harlequin historical authors

 

 

Posted in Giveaways | 6 Replies

How was everyone’s Thanksgiving?? Did you eat wonderful food and spend time with friends and relatives? Did you do any Black Friday shopping? (I did all my weekend shopping online…). Did you read any good books??? I have been writing, reading (The Night Circus, which is terrific), and getting out Christmas decorations. But today I’m taking time out to show you my new covers!! I am so excited about them.

They’re the first two books in my new Laurel McKee series for Grand Central, the Victorian-set “The Scandalous St. Claires,” about a notorious underworld family of gamesters, actors, and rakes, and their centuries-old feud with a ducal family (begun by a romance gone bad, and now ended by new romances):



They will be out in June and December of next year! You can pre-order One Naughty Night here

I also wanted to say Happy Anniversary to William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, who were (possibly) married on November 28 in 1582. At the time Anne was 26 and Will was 18 (below the age of consent, scandal!), and Anne was pregnant (not uncommon–it’s estimated that 1/3 of Tudor era brides were pregnant before the wedding). On Nov. 28, two husbandmen of Stratford called Sandells and Richardson were sureties for 40 pounds in the consistory court of Worcester so the marriage of “William Shagspeare and Anne Hathwey” could go forward with only one publication of the banns. They were married at St. Andrew’s Church at Temple Grafton, about 5 miles from Stratford (possibly–see this link for more info…). The couple moved in with Shakespeare’s family and 6 months later their daughter Susanna was born. No details are known about the clothes or music, it was probably very quiet.

More wedding info can be found here

And some Elizabethan wedding customs here

What historical wedding would you like to attend? What are some wedding customs you especially enjoy (or think we could so without)???

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This week, the ebook edition of The Incorrigible Lady Catherine, the first of my “Three Disgraces” series, went live.

Catherine is the most flawed heroine I’ve written so far and she’s drawn a lot of mixed reactions. In any case, readers have loved the hero, Philip. He’s been described as the perfect Beta hero. The way I see it, he’s a strong man to deal with a mess like Catherine.

This is a story about healing and since I often seek healing in nature, I decided to set it in one of the most beautiful places I visited in the UK: the English Lake District, near Ullswater, where Wordsworth was inspired to write his famous poem about the daffodils. My husband and I paddled around it in a canoe, enjoying the play of light and shadow cast by scudding clouds over the hillsides, until rain forced us back to shore.

We also hiked to see Aira Force, a waterfall that the characters visit in the story and that is featured on the new cover.

Below is a picture of Castlerigg Stone Circle. Since I have this fascination with “old rocks”, I invented a similar fictional stone circle and set it on Philip’s lands.

I’ve set other stories in Kent and Sussex (where I lived during my assignment). I’ve also used the Cotswolds and Cornwall. I have a story in the idea file that would feature the North York Moors.

What are some of your favorite places, in the UK or elsewhere? Where would you like to see more stories set?

I’ll be giving away 5 Kindle copies of The Incorrigible Lady Catherine to commenters chosen at random. If you win, you can also nominate a friend to receive a free copy. Void where prohibited. You must be over 18. No purchase necessary. Post your comment by midnight EST on December 2. I will post an announcement on Saturday, December 3, so please check back to see if you have won.

Elena
www.elenagreene.com
www.facebook.com/ElenaGreene

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