Meet a Publicist

Danielle the publicist for sourcebooks is blogging at the Casablanca Authors blog today.

She is talking with the authors about attending the RWA conference in San Franscisco at the end of July. Drop by and say hello.

On Monday, we will be doing fashions for June!

Until then. Happy Rambles.

Regency Style - Thomas Hope 1769 - 1831

Robin watch is over. Baby flew off yesterday morning. My planter now has a plant in it.

While in England I was fortunate to be there for a very special exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. We got up early and went up to London on the train.
a great way to travel I might add. And the V & A does a lovely lunch too.

Thomas Hope pictured here in Turkish Costume helped define the Regency style. He was fascinated with classical purity. A son of a rich banker, he went on the Grand Tour and was much taken with the architecture and the arts of the Ottoman Empire.

On his return, his family having moved to London to escape the French, he set out to improve modern design. He opened his house in Duchess Street, off Portland Place, with a view transforming modern British taste. Very kind of him, I'm sure, being a Dutchman! The Prince of Wales attended the opening. Hope then issued tickets to the house in 1804 to members of the Royal Academy and other notables in society, artists, scholars and designers.

The styles he employed included Egyptian Greek, Roman and Indian as well as a version of French Empire. It really is quite a mismash and is all rather heavy looking, but fascinating.


The house was divided into rooms, to display furniture, sculptures and vases. this is one of the vase rooms, a popular addition to many homes in the era. The Egyptian Room displayed Hope's belief that the ancient Egyptians were the origin of western culture. The walls were of pale yellow and bluish green relieved by masses of black and gold. There is heavy black and gold settee with arms carved with sphinx for example.

The Aurora Room contained a statue of the Aurora, Goddes of Dawn surrounded by mirrors and scarlet curtains, so the statue could be viewed from all sides at once. it is really quite lovely.

He created his own designs in a book called Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in 1807 and provided measurements to help furniture makers make their own copies. This is the first time the words "interior decoration" were used. Sounds far more moderns that that, wouldn't you say. Some of the furniture is almost art deco in appearance.

Much of his furniture from this period can be found at Deepdene, the country estate he bought in Dorking in Surrey. The exhibition shows how this originally red brick Georgian mansion was adapted to blend into its irregular landscape.

If you get a chance to visit, I am sure you will be delighted with this exhibition. I am definitely going to try to visit Deepdene when I am next in England. And I have ordered Hope's book, so I am sure I will be sharing some more of it with you.

I leave you with a picture of his wife, wearing what Hope saw as the quintessential attire for woman, it is of course the Regency gown.

Until next time, happy rambles.

Sherborne Castle, Dorset Part II

Terradactyl is doing well, growing by the day, and now has feathers -- just in case you wanted to know. lol

Shorborne castle was modernized starting in 1757, so it really very Georgian. George III visited the house with the Queen and three of the Princesses in August 1789, pending the day riding in the park and staying for dinner. The house remained unchanged.

I spent quite a long time looking at the furniture in this house, since so much of it was contemporary to the Regency.
We often read about the commode, this is a George III version made of tulip and rosewood and was one of a pair. They are in the serpentine shape that was very popular through this period. They are attributed to Pierre Langlois. These chests were drawing room furniture, and would hold candelabra while the drawers might contain a writing slide or a reading stand.


Another interesting piece of furniture was an adjustible gout stool similar to that pictured here.


The hall chairs, similar to these, looked very uncomfortable and no doubt the footman waiting outside the door was unlikely to fall asleep, even if he was permitted to sit down.

The house also boasts a set of Henry Alken prints showing what is purported to be the first steeple chase on record. that is a race from one church stteple to the other. These were officers, and note they are in their night clothes, and they are racing from Ipswich Barracks to Nacturn Village. Hilarious.


One thing I did want to describe to you was the clothes press, made of mahogany from the Regency period which was a little different to most I have seen, it had a cupboard in the middle and drawers on each side. And by the way did you know that the word cupboard stems back to the middle ages when a lord would put his cups out on a board between two trestles to show his wealth? Eventually the board was closed in with doors, but it retains its original word. You probably did know that, but I only discovered it recently.

Well that is it for today. Sherborne Castle which is not really a castle is simply a treasure trove of wonderful things. If you ever get a chance to visit. I highly recommend it.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

News

Today is Victoria Day. Yes, each year Canada celebrates Queen Victoria's birthday with a long week end and fireworks. We also have Canada Day for fireworks, and if I had my way we would have Guy Fawkes day as well!

Our baby bird is doing well, he/she is called Terradactyl, because that is what he/she looks like. The other eggs have not hatched, but at least one baby has survived so far. We are still using our back door and creeping around, but the mother bird is quite used to us, and spends quite a bit of time searching for food. We are thinking there is no daddy bird, but it is really hard to tell, because they look alike.

Big news, I have a cover for my next book. Always exciting and of course you will be hearing lots about it over the coming months as we move to release day.

We will continue our roam around Sherborne Castle on Thursday. Until then Happy Rambles.

Sherbourne Castle, Dorset

Robin update.
It looks as if we will only have one baby. The rest of the eggs are still sitting in the nest while our Mothers Day baby grows apace. He has a few straggly feathers and
we can still see right through his skin, but he is getting big. I have a feeling we only have a mommy bird, and not a pair. But we will see. I am going to try to sneak a picture next time she leaves the nest.

I apologize for being late today, but my internet was down first thing this morning and thus I got engrossed in my next project--yes the book after The Lady Flees Her Lord is already going full steam ahead, and by the time I looked up, here we were, nearly midnight and I had wanted to tell you all about our next stop after Kent.


We went to Dorset, Thomas Hardy country, and also once the home of Sir Walter Raleigh.

This house deserved more time than the afternoon we spent there, first because it has been in the Digby family since poor old Raleigh lost his head and secondly it has furniture from all down the ages.
So I am going to talk about some of it now, and again after my next visit, next year.The town of Sherborne itself is another place on my list
I know, already planning to go again, but there is just so much to see.

While it is called a castle, it is a manor house, originally a hunting lodge. In this second picture, you can see the face of the original lodge across the courtyard and one of the wings which was added later. but added in keeping with the original building, so it is hard to tell it is an addition.

Because we are focussing on the Regency, I am not going to get into much detail about poor old Sir Walter, who was beloved of Elizabeth the first - she gave him this lodge -- and charged with treason by King James I. He was int the Tower from 1603 to 1618 when he was beheaded and he forfeited his house to the crown, who then sold it to the family who owns it now.

Breathtaking history.

This house was a deer park, and still has deer in the park.

This is a view of the park, taken by me. As you can see, the weather while cool has improved dramatically from our snowy Easter weekend. Imagine having a view like that from your bedroom window.

I am going to stop here, because we will get to the Regency part of the house next day.

Until then, Happy Rambles.

Searching for Regency England IV

I am excited and nervous. My robin hatched a chick sometime overnight - didn't quite make Mothers Day. I do hope you all had a wonderful day. We spent the day at home, very much a family time. Now we are once more trying to think of ways not to use the front door.

Otford is another of those English villages in Kent that reminds us how rural England was in the Regency. Otford is a Kent village on the river Darent two miles north of Sevenoaks and twenty-five miles south east of London. The Pilgrim's Way passes through the village and its centre is the spring-filled duck pond. The pond is in fact in the middle of a modern day roundabout, when I am sure originally it would have been the village green.

One of the buildings facing the pond is chantry cottage dating back to 1150. Pilgrim's Way by the way is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent.


Another feature of English villages in Kent around Sevenoaks is the oast house. They are farm buildings used for drying hops in preparation for the brewing process. They consist of two or three storeys on which the hops were spread out to be dried by hot air from a wood or charcoal-fired kiln at the bottom. The drying floors were thin and perforated to permit the heat to pass through and it escaped through a cowl in the roof which turned with the wind. The freshly picked hops from the fields were raked in to dry and then raked out to cool before being bagged up and sent to the brewery.


The earliest surviving oast house is that at Cranbrook near Tunbridge Wells which dates to 1750 but the process is documented from soon after the introduction of hops into England in the early 16th century. Early oast houses were simply adapted barns but, by the early 19th century, the distinctive circular buildings with conical roofs had been developed in response to the increased demand for beer. So very much a Regency era building for a very popular form of entertainment. Beer Drinking.

Hop picking by hand is a most labour intensive business and once the acreage began to grow it was necessary to bring in pickers from outside the immediate area. Oh, and while the hops were grown in fields they were called hop gardens.

The migration of town to country to pick hops continued for more than two and a half centuries – it is first mentioned in an Act of 1710. Ellis in his Modern Husbandman 1750 refers to a Kent grower who was providing a small hut or shed for his pickers furnishing it with wheat straw for bedding, and a cask of small beer ‘so that they may not lose time in a quest for drink’. Each morning he gave each picker a quartern (1/6 of a pint) of gin which he thought to be a preservative against the Kentish Ague that generally has the greatest power to seize those who live the poorest. Another Mr Ellis, a grower from Barming, the largest grower in Kent in the 1830s, employed between 3,000 and 4,000 pickers each year. Kentish Ague was in fact Cholera. Gypsies, who were migrant workers, also picked hops during Regency times.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Searching for Regency England III

We arrived in England just before Easter, and on Easter Sunday we went for a drive. I actually went to take photographs of primroses, but they were covered in snow. Still, it was a lovely day to drive around and the roads were quiet. We took the biways along the Dart valley.



You never know what you are gong to discover in England. In Kemsing, a small village, we sighted this house. It is called St Clere and from 1630, modernized in 1700. Much of the garden layout seems to date from early 18th century and features include: orangery, terraces, exotic plants, and a 19th Century kitchen garden. Sir John Sedley, who owned it during Cromwell's time was known at the time as ‘the hottest Parliamentarian in the county’.

This house then looks exactly as it did in the Regency. It is currently a working farm. One can walk on the estate on a prescribed route and if the weather is better next time I go, I certainly plan to do so. However, had we passed by when the trees were in leaf, we would not have seen it. And of course I had to spend quite a long time looking for information on it. This house is definitely going to end up in a story, along with the village.


The village of Kemsing also proved to be interesting. It was the birthplace in AD 961 of Saint Edith of Wilton; and one of the focal points of the village is St. Edith's Well. People used to come to this well for eye problems. The village church, which I picture here, Saxon in origin. I will make sure I visit it next time I am there.

Kemsing is another of those English villages that one cannot resist.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion for May

Fashion is one of my favorite part of this blog and with Spring well underway, we can
start to see the lighter fabrics. This is an evening gown from May 1811. It is so very classical, one could almost see a Roman lady wearing it. The white wrap gown with the gold scroll, or leaf edging is exceedingly simple in style. The cloak is draped from one shoulder and wraps around also. The turban is also typical of this time period. The square neckline would be exceeding difficult to wear I should think, but I do very much like her necklace. I also like the way her hair is curled to frame her face, softening the turban. The train is very long, and if she wanted to dance, she would need to pick it up. I can see this one going to the opera or the theatre.


I could not resist showing this next one with is from May 1812 from the Ladies Monthly Museum.

A real Andalusian dress, formed of a bodice of pink or rose coloured velvet with a puff sleeve of white satin; the rest of the dress being of the same materials and edged at the bottom a la Vandyke, and ornamented with tab fringe; the bodice is terminated in a jacket behind and edged with the same fringe as the dress; the stomacher crossed with white lacing, in braid, fastened at each lacing with a diamond or paste button; ridicule of rose or pink coloured velvet; white gloves and shoes of white with the quarters the colour of the bodice; ear-rings of plain pearl. The Sevigne curl is the most prominent fashion for the head dress.

While this is labelled as an afternoon dress it is described as an evening dress. I think it would do well for either.

In the same article, the Ladies Monthly Museum tells us quite strictly I might add:
"The ridicule is no longer worn except at the evening party; and the demi-botte, with gold fringe, is nearly exploded, from its inconvenience; it catches at the dress and causes the leg to be shown in an indecorous and inelegant manner." This last I believe refers to half-boots.

Well that was fun. More fashion next month, in the meantime we will continue on with some of my discoveries, earlier this spring.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Flora and Fauna of Regency Britain - May

May 1. Spring has sprung. So much so that this morning I was trapped. I could not move out of my front door for fear of disturbing the robins who have made a nest in the flower pot outside my front door-four pretty blue eggs so far-or move around my kitchen for fear of disturbing the cardinals visiting my feeder.

But what of spring in England.

As always, we consult the naturist first. "The goatsucker, orfern-owl (caprimulgus
Europaeus), (nightjar or nighthawk or Jar-owl (old form of nightjar) makes its appearance only in the dusk of the evening, to search for prey, uttering a dull jarring noise caused by wind rushing out of the sides of it's mouth as it hunts.
Okay, who can resist that kind of sentence.The name goatsucker is based on an ancient belief that these birds fed on goats' milk by night, but their presence near such animals was no doubt due to the insects attracted by the goats. The stuff of nightmares here. Another interesting thing about this bird is that it sits along the branch, parrallel to the limb, rather than at rightangles the way most birds do. And as you can see from the picture, it is not really an owl, although it does feed at dusk and during the evening.



Another bird remarked upon by the naturlist is The spotted fly-catcher (muscicapa grisola), the most mute and familiar of all our summer birds, builds in a vine or sweet-briar, against the walls of a house, or on the
end of a beam, and sometimes close to the post of a door. Can you guess what caught my attention about this particular bird?




The horse chestnut comes into flower at this time, these are huge trees covered in conical white blossom. One will often find them planted as avenues on great estates, or even along roads. Sadly they are being devastated by a virulent bacteria at the moment, something like dutch elm desease.


About the commencement of this month, the flowers of the lily of the valley (convallaria maialis)

There are of course lots more. But you will have to wait until next May. Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Searching for Regency England II

And the winner is, Wendy Davis. Wendy, you take home a copy of Brides of the West. I will be in by email touch real soon!


Back to Knole Park. One thing I should mention. Quite often the family lived in simpler apartments just as they do today in fact. This door looks like a secluded entrance. I wonder where it goes.

I often wonder what it must be like to live in one of these great houses.

The rooms we see as visitors are usually State rooms or show rooms, kept specially for important guests. Something like our parlors or best rooms, only used for special guests and containing all the best furniture. That is not to say they did not use them at all. The second floor galleries were great for ladies to walk in in inclement weather, and I shouldn't wonder if they weren't great for children to roller skate in, or for bike riding in more recent times. In fact, I do recall the current Prince of Wales mentioning roller skating in Windsor Castle.

On the topic of furniture and fittings, Knole is a treasure trove. Knole was mostly unoccupied since the end of the seventeenth century and the furniture remained as was, under dust covers. Unfortunately one cannot take pictures.

Most of the rooms have dark wood paneling. The great hall's floor is black and white tile laid in a diamond pattern, pretty much as you will find in Hugo's great hall, in my new book, The Lady Flees Her Lord, out in October 2008. It still has its screen, the wooden wall which blocked the view to the kitchens, and a dais, where the lord and lady would eat in early times. It would only have been used for parties in the Regency era, and if you have read No Regrets, you will know that Lucas rode his horse through the great hall.

This bedroom dates back to the 1620's and gives you a sense of the quality of what you can see at Knole House. One fascinating piece of equipment is the hundred-eye-lantern. They are cylinders pierced with holes in which candles were stood to prevent accidents, throwing a patten on the walls and ceilings which give rise to their name. The tapestries are mid 17th century Flemish verdure and the capet is English turkey-work, so now you know what is referred to in a book that cites a Turkey carpet. The chairs look quite uncomfortable with those heavily carved strings, but I expect they used cushions, don't you. I also really like that little table with the washing bowl. Reminds one of the lack of running water. Although that was becoming more prevalent in our era.

There were also examples of x-frame chairs, and early couches or setees, both terms are ancient. Stools were also much in evidence in the bedrooms. Beechwood was commonly used for furniture

One also finds early nineteenth century Worcester china in the house, though much of the porcelain is French, Sevres and Vincennes acquired in the late eighteenth century.

Another room of interest was the billiard room on the second floor off one of the long galleries. The ivory tipped cues are a curved stick, called maces, something like a hockey stick, and the balls were pushed through a hoop rather than struck.

Straight cues came into being in 1800. So it might be not be rare to find this old game at a country house, as well as the newer version.

The table has an oak base, making it not exactly flat! The next picture is of the nineteenth centurey version. Just look at that huge table!

A sad story -- the balls were made of wood or of ivory. Only female elephant tusks could be used because of their smooth grain, and it took one elephant to make six balls. I must say I did not feel too happy about that one. I'm pet crazy. Right now we can't use our front door, because a robin has built a nest in the flower planter on the wall right next to the door.

I hope some of these artifacts give you an idea of Knole and if you ever have a chance to visit, please do. You will not be disappointed.

Well, Thursday is May 1, and we will start the month with our usual articles on fashion and flora and fauna. Then we will return to our search for Regency England.

I will be putting out my newsletter in a few days. If you are not subscribed and would like to be so, now might be a good time. this link is on the side bar.

Until next time. Happy rambles.

Searching for Regency England

Well RT was fun. I had a sign up for a draw for a free book and I will be posting the winner's name on Monday. In the meantime, I want to start sharing all the sights I collected on my last research trip to England, Wales and Jersey.

Before we start, one piece of big news. I have seen my cover for my next book! And it's gorgeous. The moment I am allowed to give you a sneak peek, I will.


Let's get ready to ramble!! (couldn't resist): The first place we visited, after the snow, was Knoll House. This house is in Seven Oaks, in Kent, not very far from where I grew up. This was not my first visit, I went there with my now husband when we were courting. I think this time it made a much greater impression.

This first picture is from 1880, but as I compare it to my picture from a similar angle, the only thing missing is the cars! The house belongs to the Sackville family, who still live there, with the National Trust owning the house itself, and the family still owning the estate and gardens. The estate is a 1000 acre deer park. And although many trees were lost in 1987 in a great storm, it is still beautiful. Here is a picture of some of the deer.


Knole house is pretty well as it was in the seventeenth century. Yes, I do mean the 1600's. This means it is very rare and very beautiful. It also means that it looks the way it did during the Regency.

Reading the history of the house and it's inhabitants, one comes to realize that the Regency era was the least auspicious for the family and the house. The 3rd Duke of Dorset, a true Georgian era rake, and well worth a story one of these days, married and had a son only nine years before his death. His son, the 4th Duke and our Regency Duke, died months after he came of age in a hunting accident in Ireland. Accounts of his youth, make it sound very lonely and unhappy.

This is him, George, his father died when he was eight in 1799 and he had only just come of age when he died in 1815. So much for the glamorous life. Still, I bet he had fun as a teenager.



This sketch gives a good idea of the layout of the house itself, which is magnificent, and the following picture of a section of the Green Court, which is surrounded by low buildings on two sides and entered through the magnificent archway. It is just so seventeenth century, one can almost imagine Elizabeth the first arriving here -- or Prinny for that matter. The house is a series of courtyards, all leading towards the great hall.




One of the things I noticed on the inside of the house, was the thickness of the internal walls. When you move from one room to the next, that wall thickness creates a short passageway, only a step or two, but way grander than our doorways which are only a few inches thick. They are usually lined with ornate oak paneling and of course there are doors at both ends. Quite often they are very low and one has to duck.

Much of the furniture dates back to the seventeenth century and I will try to describe some of it in my next blog.


One of the custodians pointed out a building outside of the house, and said it was a gaol where workers who misbehaved - stealing, drunkenness - were kept until the next assizes. Only trouble was, the owner of the house was the judge.

The other thing that is beautiful about this house are the galleries. Most houses dating back to this period have them. They were used as connecting corridors from one major part of the house to the other, usually a side wing of the courtyard. They were also great inclement weather and exhibiting family portraits. This particular gallery is known as the Brown gallery, is Jacobean and is in one of the earliest parts of the house.


There you have it. A glimpse, a very small glimpse of a very grand house. Until next time, happy rambles.

Romantic Times Conference 2008

I just returned from the Romantic Times conference last night. I found Pittsburg, what I saw of it, a very beautiful city downtown. The river ran right past the hotel and the opposite bank is so high the locals call it a mountain.

The highlight of this conference for me was of course the booksigning and meeting old and new friends whereever I went. I signed No Regrets, which you all know was my American Title finalling book for the 2006 contest. I sold out!!!! squeeee!!!!

I was especially grateful to the ladies who bought my book including booksellers and those who brought my book from home, what a humbling experience. I am also grateful to Rebecca York, a very gracious lady, who was my only signing companion, since I was the last person on the list, and we chatted throughout the four hours of the signing.

I severely damaged my car while driving around Pittsburg looking for the hotel, losing the bottom door panel of the car when I made a tight turn and hit a very high curb. I heard it go clunk, but there was no stopping in the middle of such a busy city. It wasn't until I got to valet parking that I saw what I had done. A huge strip of skirting gone from my beautiful grand prix.

As you can imagine, I was so mad at me. And kept thinking about that big piece. Maybe I should find it. But I didn't have a clue where it had happened by the time we had driven around the down town twice. But I couldn't let it rest. So I put on my running shoes and walked the nearby streets.

Well I finally found it. Some kind person had picked out of the road and put it against a building on the sidewalk. It was at least six foot long, but made of fibreglass, so I picked it up and marched back through the fancy downtown core of Pittsburg with it under my arm, trying to look as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Lord knows what the valet guys thought when I calmly asked them to put it in my car, which of course had disappeared to who knows where valeted cars go. But he smiled sweetly, and said yes ma'am and leaned it against his booth.

And I marched into the hotel with cheeks blazing. Anyway when I told my husband what I'd done, I was able to announce with some pride that I had the missing piece. No, I'm not going to tell you what he said. lol. Actually he was much calmer about it than me.

After such an inauspicious start, the rest of the conference was great. Busy. But very enjoyable. I met lots of old friends and made some new ones who I hope to meet again, either here or on line.


I had lunch with writers I admire very much, Gaelen Foley and Barbara Pierce. Both historical writers and both of them were getting awards and I met them in the line up for lunch and they asked me to join them.



My critique partner Molly O'Keefe received an award for best superromance of the year, so that was a thrill and thoroughly deserved might I add. Here she is making her acceptance speech.



There was so much packed into four days, I can't really begin to tell it all in such a short space. But I did want to share the flavor of it all with you. I guess I will leave you with one more image, the blue fairies! This is me and Helen Scott Taylor the latest American Title winner at the Fairy Ball. Who said writers are introverts?

I will announce the winners of my draw for a copy of Brides of the West on Thursday. Until then, Happy Rambles.

Flora and Fauna of Regency Britain - April

One thing it does in England in April, it snows. It snowed over Easter at the end of March and again on the day we left in April. So that is one thing to keep in mind, while the grass is green and the fruit trees were in blossom, they were covered in snow.

The Naturist from 1817 has this to say about April.

Many and lovely are the flowers which are showered, in profusion, from
the lap of April which adorn our fields, at this time:Among them are the checquered daffodil (fritillaria meleagris); the primrose; the cowslip (primula veris); the cuckoo flower (cardamine pratrensis); and the hare-bell
(hyacinthus non scriptus). The yellow star of Bethlehem (ornithogatum
luteum) in woods; the vernal squill (scilla verna) among maritime
rocks; and the wood sorrel (oxalis acetosella), are now in full flower.

I certainly saw primroses on all the banks. They are a protected flower. I also saw cowslips and daffodils aplenty.

Indeed the first picture through the window, is of daffodils in the snow. And the second a bank on the roadside covered in primroses. I realize as I type this, that both of these flowers are yellow.




So to complete the picture for April, I will show you a cowslip. Now it is an odd name for a wild flower, but it is a pretty flower and a countrified name. Perhaps more importantly are its herbal qualities. It is used medicinally as a diuretic, an expectorant, and an antispasmodic, as well as for the treatment of headaches, whooping cough, tremors, and other conditions. However it can have irritant effects in people who are allergic to it. It was also made into wine.

Willow trees start to show their green leaves, as do birch trees at the beginning of the month. The larger trees come into leaf by the end of April when wild violets also appear.

And that is it for this week, except to show you what Toronto looked like when we left for England. Teaser was not impressed when he tried to go for a walk.

Until next time, when I will be sharing some of the sights I visited on this last trip, Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashions for April

I had a wonderful time in England and Wales searching for signs of Regency England, to share. I will be at Romantic Times next week. I will sign No Regrets. I do hope you will drop by. Now we need to take a peek at what our Regency lady would be wearing in April. By the way, we had snow in the south of England! Yes, and enough for the folks to drag out their toboggans. Not that they got more than a slide or two before they hit mud. Anyway, more of that later.

Regency Fashions for April


I chose this image because it not only has a lady, but it also has men. We do not often get fashion plates of our Regency gentlemen. Unfortunately, I do not have a description, I only have the year, which is 1809. Just a little before the actual Regency, but noteworthy are the frill on the shirt of the man on the left. Also note, he is wearing a chapeau bras, literally "hat arm", a hat he could flatten and tuck under his arm when indoors. He is very much dressed for the morning call. The other gentleman looks as if he is dressed for riding, with his boots and buskin breeches and of course that wonderful plaid waistcoat peeking out from his coat. Note the pin in his cravat and the fobs hanging from their pockets. The brushed forward hairstyle is typical of this era.

And what of the lady, you might ask. Well I would say, this is an afternoon dress. she is wearing the classic high-waisted white muslin, with just the smallest amount of embroidery around the hem, but the train suggests to me that it would not do well for walking, especially not in rain and wind and snow, although the coat, which is quite short is quite lovely and certainly would get her from the carriage to the house. Her bonnet is very plain, almost more like a cap to be worn under a bonnet. I could certainly see using this as a gown one of my heroines might wear.

These are from 1812 and again we are missing the magazine descriptions, but they are so lush I wanted to show them. This is an afternoon gown and and morning gown. The latter is clearly intended for walking given the length. The heavy shawl and closely buttoned spencer with its warm looking trim indicate that cool weather is to be expected.

The afternoon gown is blatant in its classical origins, right down to the bracelet around her upper arm. The cap sleeves with inserts of lace which make the drape are quite delightful, in my opinion. I do wonder about the hair ornament though. It is supposed to represent a crescent moon, but I think it might poke out an eye if one bowed ones head at just the wrong moment.

That is all from me for this time. We are going to have some flora and Fauna, next Thursday and then we will be back on track and I will start posting my the pictures from my Travel. Until next time, happy rambles.

The Regency English Village - part of the second

Later today I am off to England to gather more pictures and to research more stuff, all of which I will share with you.

Last time I wanted to talk about a little village I pass by on the way to Old Sarum. So little, I didn't find a name. The only sign said "Ford" not suitable for motorized traffic. Needless to say we turned the car down there straight away.

We drove down hill by way of a twisty lane with high hedges, always fearing we might meet a car coming the other way. But my sister is an ace and did very well.

This is a picture of the road ending and then starting again. When we were there the water was high, and we definitely would not put a car through there. But one could imagine a horse and cart slowly making its way through the stream. And you can see the walkway, a bridge, for those travelling on foot these days.

Fords were important during our period. Many of the old medieval towns were built at places where the river could be forded - crossed. Oxford is an example that springs to mind. Mainly because I lived there as a child and had the whole concept explained to me by my mother. Stockbridge, which we saw last day, would have started as a ford, a narrow shallow place where the river could be crossed, but because of the marsh, it quickly became a "bridge".




These next two images show you where the river goes on each side of the ford. My guess is that the building once served as a mill. Or if it did not, then at one time a mill might well have stood here. You can see how fast the water runs out of the building, when the rest of the river looks quite sluggish.

Oh and don't forget - this is January. How green the grass and dotted with mole hills too.

As I say, I love fords, I saw one up by Hadrian's wall and my naughty mind has been playing with a story ever since. I posted a picture of one located in Kent last year, I beleive. I guess to me it is wonderful to see that the car hasn't taken over the lanes and byways in their entirety and we can still get a sense of what it might have been like to travel through the English countryside.

I used a ford in my first book, for a major conflict in the story. I am sure I will find a way to include one again.
This last picture shows a typical view of a stream running down the side of the road, into the river crossed by the ford. I lived in a village that had a stream just like this one, a home to tadpoles and newts and other water loving creatures. Of course, this can create some problems in your house, if the banks overflow! But that is a story for another day as are the pictures of my visit to Abbotts Ann, another wonderful village in Hampshire.

For the next little while I will pop in and tell you about my travels. Then we will get back to normal programing and Flora and Fauna for April and our beloved fashions.

Until next time, Happy Rambles.