prizes and discoveries

Starting with -- winners! I promised a book by random draw, and one for the best hussar adjective.
The adjectives were interesting, and I checked them at the OED for nuances.
Interestingly, "peacock" is mostly used for vain rather than colourful.
effulgent (lovely word) is mostly radiant. 1738 GLOVER Leonidas II. 89 Whose spacious orb collects th' effulgent beams.
ebullient, can be bubbling and enthusiastic.1828 SOUTHEY Ess. (1832) I. 352 The general and ebullient feeling with which all Britain overflowed imposed silence upon the lying lips.
resplendent, brilliant, splendid. 1638 SIR T. HERBERT Trav. (ed. 2) 36 All now adding lustre to the Moguls rich resplendent diadem.
spangledashed gets top marks for creativity, but isn't in the OED. (I know, I know. I didn't say it had to be.)
grandiloquent is more of voice and I suspect many dashing hussars were terse under all that glitter.

So, though I'm tempted by some of the images here, I choose resplendent, which was Jane O's contribution. Congratulations, Jane. :)

Now for the random pick..... Congratulations, MJ.

MJ and Jane, please choose a book from my booklist and e-mail me your choice and address. [email protected].
Sorry, I'm out of copies of my trad regencies, but I think I have all the rest. I don't have my author copies of LB yet, however, so if you'd like that, there'll be a delay.

Now, on to new business. I was intending to blog about something else entirely, but in searching for a detail, I came across this gem of a book at Gutenberg. THE ENGLISH SPY An Original Work CHARACTERISTIC, SATIRICAL, AND HUMOROUS. COMPRISING SCENES AND SKETCHES IN EVERY RANK OF SOCIETY, BEING PORTRAITS DRAWN FROM THE LIFE BY BERNARD BLACKMANTLE. THE ILLUSTRATIONS DESIGNED BY ROBERT CRUIKSHANK. 1825

It's very like Egan's LIFE IN LONDON but travels farther affield and contains many anecdotes of real people and has great coloured pictures. Like Egan, the style can be hard reading, but what bits I paused on were fascinating. Here are some bits.

Unfortunately, it often moves into verse. Whence came the passion for writing long books in verse? I
confess I find it most peverse. But in descrbing a venture into London -- strange to have it called Cockney Land -- we get this.

'Twas morn, the genial sun of May
O'er nature spread a cheerful ray,
When Cockney Land, clothed in her best,
We saw, approaching from the west,
And 'mid her steeples straight and tall
Espied the dome of famed St. Paul,
Surrounded with a cloud of smoke
From many a kitchen chimney broke;
A nuisance since consumed below
By bill of Michael Angelo.{1}'

1 M. A. Taylor's act for compelling all large factories, which have steam and other apparatus, to consume their own smoke.

Now isn't that interesting? That effort must have failed, or most of Northern England wouldn't have been black when I was growing up there. In fact, I think we're still working on emmisions today.

Then what about this description of a woman in Hyde Park? Very interesting for the rest of the fashionable round.

Mrs. S———, a most voluptuous lady, the discarded chère amie of the late Lord F-1-d, said to be the best carriage woman in the park: she lies in the Earl of H———- —'s cabriolet most delightfully stretched out at full length, and in this elegant posture is driven through the park.

Then we have this variation on the famous Brummell story. I'd not heard the Big Ben reference. (The A is for Alvanley.)

Lord A———y, the babe of honour—once the gayest of the gay, where fashion holds her bright enchanting court; now wrinkled and depressed, and plucked of every feather, by merciless Greek banditti. Such is the infatuation of play,that he still continues to linger round the fatal table, and finds a pleasure in recounting his enormous losses. A—-y, who is certainly one of the most polished men in the world, was the leader of the dandy club, or the unique four, composed of Beau Brummell, Sir Henry Mildmay, and Henry Pierrepoint, the Ambassador, as he is generally termed. When the celebrated dandy ball was given to his Majesty (then Prince of Wales), on that occasion the prince seemed disposed to cut Brummell, who, in revenge, coolly observed to A———y, when he was gone,—"Big Ben was vulgar as usual." This was reported at Carlton House, and led to the disgrace of the exquisite.

Shortly afterwards he met the Prince and A———y in public, arm in arm, when the former, desirous of avoiding him, quitted the baron: Brummell, who observed his motive, said loud enough to be heard by the prince,—"Who is that fat friend of yours?" This expression sealed his doom; he was never afterwards permitted the honour of meeting the parties at the palace. The story of "George, ring the bell," and the reported conduct of the prince, who is said to have obeyed the request and ordered Mr. Brummell's carriage, is, we have strong reasons for thinking, altogether a fiction: Brummell knew the dignity of his host too well to have dared such an insult. The king since generously sent him 300L. when he heard of his distress at Calais. Brummell was the son of a tavern-keeper in St. James's, and is still living at Calais.

I'm curious as to the meaning of the Big Ben reference. The bell, Big Ben, wasn't in exisltence then, and I can see no connection between Ben and the Prince Regent. Does anyone have any ideas?

Then, after our naked blog, where we debated swimming and bathing, I couldn't resist this.

And we are about to present the reader with a right merry scene, one, too, if he has any fun in his composition, or loves a good joke, must warm the cockles of his heart. Who would ever have thought, in these moralizing times, when the puritans are raising conventicles in every town and village, and the cant of vice societies has spread itself over the land, that in one of our most celebrated places of fashionable resort, there should be found baths where the young and the old, the beauteous female and the gay spark, are all indiscriminately permitted to enjoy the luxurious pleasure together.

That such is the case in Bath no one who has recently participated in the pleasures of immersion will dispute, and in order to perpetuate that gratification, Bob Transit has here faithfully delineated the scene which occurred upon our entering the King's Bath, through the opening from the Queen's, where, to our great amusement and delight, we found ourselves surrounded by many a sportive nymph, whose beauteous form was partially hidden by the loose flannel gown, it is true; but now and then the action of the water, produced by the continued movements of a number of persons all bathing at the same time, discovered charms, the which to have caught a glimpse of in any other situation might have proved of dangerous consequences to the fair possessors.

The baths, it must be admitted, are delightful, both from their great extent and their peculiar properties, as, on entering from the Queen's Bath you may enjoy the water at from 90 to 96 degrees, or requiring more heat have only to walk forward, through the archway, to obtain a temperature of 116. The first appearance of old Blackstrap's visage floating along the surface of the water, like the grog-blossomed trunk of the ancient Bardolph, bound up in a Welsh wig, was truly ludicrous, and produced such an unexpected burst of laughter from my merry companions, that I feared some of the fair Naiads would have fainted in the waters from fright, and then Heaven help them, for decency would have prevented our rushing to their assistance.

The notices to prevent gentlemen from swimming in the baths are, in my opinion, so many inducements or suggestions for every young visitor to attempt it. Among our mad wags, Horace Eglantine was more than once remonstrated with by the old bathing women for indulging in this pleasure, to the great alarm of the ladies, who, crowding together in one corner with their aged attendants, appeared to be in a high state of apprehension lest the loose flannel covering that guards frail mortality upon these occasions should be drawn aside, and discover nature in all her pristine purity—an accident that had very nearly happened to myself, when, in endeavouring to turn round quickly, I found the water had disencumbered my frame of the yellow bathing robe, which floated on the surface behind

If you go to explore the book for yourself, bring back a choice sample for us.

But here's a question. It's clear to me from this, Egan, and other writers, that the early decades of the 19th century could be very different from Jane Austen's world. In the manly circles, they were often rough and even crude, and I've certainly come across writing to indicate that even worthy souls plunged into roistering wildness with ease. (Which could still be true.) What do you think about that? And would you want it shown in historical novels?

And yes, Lady Beware is in stores now.

Enjoy!

Jo :)

Comments

[Pam P]

Congrats Jane and MJ. I did like that creative spangledashed, lol.

Jo, a quicke google on the Big Ben reference got me to the below, taken from this page:
http://www.dandyism.net/?page_id=188

"Finally, the pleasant interlude came to an an end. George IV became fat - a sort of gastronomic suicide for a dandy - and Brummell’s insolence went to the point of referring to him as Big Ben, the familiar name of the prodigious footman at Carlton House."

More about it here, also:
http://onkayaks.squarespace.com/beau-brummell/

[MJ]

Love that bathing story....
although yellow is not my favourite colour....and can you imagine wallowing (that's what I would be doing, not you) about in a Flannel Gown in a hot bath??

I think you actually include a wee bit more of the roistering spirit in some of your Georgian books (and your Medievals, too) than I've seen in others set in that period. You have a couple of memorable 'parties' (orgies) etc.... I rather like the earthy bits, and the language and jests were certainly a bit pithier and suggestive, if not downright bawdy, in earlier times...which again, I rather like. True to the prevailing mode and sensibilities of the times.

[MJ]

Oops, hit send prematurely - time for the AM coffee...
Thank you VERY much for the book! (-; I'm feeling very fortunate today!

[Kalen Hughes]

Pam beat me to outting the footman! But the clock is actaully named after a boxer of a later date (it's not known if the boxer got his nickname from the footman).

[RevMelinda]

Hi Jo,
You picked the best word, I think! Congratulations, Jane O!

I do want to add that my own choice of "ebullient" was mysterious to me (I'm so out of touch with my inner self, LOL)-- until I was driving to work today, when it "clicked" that it "sounded" right because it sounds like "bullion." As in gold bullion.

I looked bullion up in the on-line dictionary and found these other definitions:

" 3. Also called bullion fringe. a thick trimming of cord covered with gold or silver thread, for decorating uniforms.
4. embroidery or lace worked with gold wire or gold or silver cords. "

I love words.

:-) Melinda

[RevMelinda]

Hi Jo,
You picked the best word, I think! Congratulations, Jane O!

I do want to add that my own choice of "ebullient" was mysterious to me (I'm so out of touch with my inner self, LOL)-- until I was driving to work today, when it "clicked" that it "sounded" right because it sounds like "bullion." As in gold bullion.

I looked bullion up in the on-line dictionary and found these other definitions:

" 3. Also called bullion fringe. a thick trimming of cord covered with gold or silver thread, for decorating uniforms.
4. embroidery or lace worked with gold wire or gold or silver cords. "

I love words.

:-) Melinda

[Jo Beverley]

Good find, Pam!

I found the book latish yesterday and didn't have time to Google Big Ben, but I'm surprised I haven't stumbled upon that extention to the "Who's your fat friend?" incident. Where did you hear about the footman, Kalen?

Brummell is fascinatingly self-destructive, isn't he? But so many of those "image people" are.

Did you know he has a space at My Space? I'm finding it interesting how many fictional people, institutions, and even places do.

Jo :)

[Kalen Hughes]

I read about him in the Brummell bio by Ian Kelly. It's a really amazing book.

[Jane O]

Thank you Jo. I do look forward to the book. Aren't words fun? Some of them just feel so good rolling around in one's mouth, even silently.
As for the book-length verses, wasn't that more or less the norm? Aside from the veneration of the epic, consider Don Juan and Marmion, or much of Pope. Besides, schoolboys doing Latin translations frequently had to do them in verse - it was a gentlemanly skill. It's only in the 20th century,I think, that shorter poems became the norm - probably a sign of our shorter attention spans.
Thank you again.

[Michelle]

There's a fancy man's clothing store called Beau Brummell in the upper west side in New York City. Is the My Space page related to the store?

-Michelle

[Mary Falls]

IMO a writer needs to present all the peripherals of a period when writing about it. A writer can't just pretend everything was perfect and ideal where the story takes place. The facts have to include the site, the sounds, the smells and actual view of it and maybe even the history concerned.
If you write about the battle of Waterloo there has to be some indication of the carnage that occured there just the same as you'd need to have an indication of the atmosphere of where she lived and worked if you were writing about a prostitute.
To me, this is the value of good research. It doesn't need to "intrude" into the story, but it has to be there in order for the story to ring true.
I don't want to get grossed out with gory details, but as a reader I still need to understand why the people I am reading about are upset by what they are living through. I'm also sure a sense of good taste is involved in knowing where to draw the line.
Many readers love historical details but due to seeing too many movies, they are not as aware as they might be of how it really was way back when.
You do a wonderful job of telling them and I wish you'd keep on doing it.

[Kalen Hughes]

"It's only in the 20th century, I think, that shorter poems became the norm"

I'm going to have to disagree with this statement. Epic poems have been a separate species from at least the 16th century (and maybe even earlier). There are tons of poets working in shorter forms long before the modern era (Shakespeare, Donne, and Wilmont, just to name a few).

[Jo Beverley]

True about the short poems in the past, but I don't think we have many epic poems now. I'm glad of it as I tire of them.

Of course they were often read aloud, but even then, how long does one want to sit and listen to that, even to the Corsair, with its drama and action?

But they had different tastes and would probably not like our entertainments at all.

No one's gone to the book and found something intriguing? It looks like a great resource for anyone writing about Eton and Oxford, as well as various other locations.

I'm in one of those moments when everything's coming at me at once. Including demands for a title for my next book, not due out for a year!

Jo, spinning today. :)

[linette]

I have finnished reading most of this series and was woundering when this book would be out , thanks for writing them i really do enjoy reading them .

[Kalen Hughes]

I can tell you (much to my horror) that their are still people out there working on epic poems. They're in MFA programs. LOL! We had one in mine that was working on an epic poem that was a sequel to THE CRYING GAME, but written with the premise that the guy had known all along that it was a man. *sigh* It was complete torture. I’ve read a few other very looooooooong poems over that years that were wonderful, but nothing novel/novella length.

[Jane O]

Kalen, I agree that there have always been shorter lyrics, which are apt to be all we read these days, and that many of the lengthy poems are ghastly, but that doesn't mean they weren't considered the ideal (along with verse drama, a la Shakespeare). In the same way,"historical" paintings were held, in the Romantic period, to be the highest form of art - think of Severn and Hazlitt. That doesn't mean we would actually like to stand in contemplation of them these days. Maybe in a few hundred years people will have come to their senses and Romance and other genre novels will receive their due while the more pompous and self-important "serious" works will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

[Jo Beverley]

Is anyone having trouble with that link to the book? It worked when I composed the post, but now it doesn't work for me.

Try this.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20001/20001-h/20001-h.htm

Jo

[Jo Beverley]

Is anyone having trouble with that link to the book? It worked when I composed the post, but now it doesn't work for me.

Try this.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20001/20001-h/20001-h.htm

Jo

[Jo Beverley]

Is anyone having trouble with that link to the book? It worked when I composed the post, but now it doesn't work for me.

Try this.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20001/20001-h/20001-h.htm

Jo

[MJ]

From that wonderful book, page 306 - on the beach at Brighton - sounds rather like a spa treatment....

"A dingy empiric has invented a new system of _humbug_ which is in great repute here, and is called _shampooing_; a sort of stewing alive by steam, sweetened by being forced through odoriferous herbs, and undergoing the pleasant sensation of being dabbed all the while with pads of flannels through holes in the wet blankets that surround you, until the cartilaginous substances of your joints are made as pliable
as the ligaments of boiled calves' feet, your whole system relaxed and unnerved, and your trembling legs as useless in supporting your body as a pair of boots would be without the usual quantity of flesh and bone within them."

There's a bit about bathing and bathing machines, entertaining but not terribly helpful....

The Oxford and Eton descriptions are fantastic..
But I especially am enjoying the opera commentaries, which start on p 198 (and there are PAGES of London gossip preceding that... about everyone and everything. Very funny...)

[MaryK]

"In the manly circles, they were often rough and even crude, and I've certainly come across writing to indicate that even worthy souls plunged into roistering wildness with ease. (Which could still be true.) What do you think about that? And would you want it shown in historical novels?"

I think I'd like it. Done well, I expect it would add a humanizing element and give the story more grounding in the time period. Heroes can sometimes have an unreal good-duke air. Of course, extremes of wildness would probably be off-putting. A hero who is sometimes wild but capable of self-control could be quite yummy.

[Patricia Rice]

Fantastic find, Jo! But I really want to see the images. Do they download? I just read online but the list of illustrations (and Cruickshank himself) are so tempting...

Around page 30 there's a description of My Lady's Dining Table that describes characters we've all written and read about, just as if they came right out of one of our novels. It starts out:

"At the head of the large table on the right hand you will perceive the
Honourable Lilyman Lionise, the second son of a nobleman, whose ancient
patrimony has been nearly dissipated between his evening parties at
the club-houses, in French hazard, or Rouge et noir, and his morning
speculations with his betting book at Tattersall's, Newmarket, or the
Fives-court; whose industry in getting into debt is only exceeded by
his indifference about getting out; whose acquired property (during his
minority) and personals have long since been knocked down by the hammer
of the auctioneer, under direction of the sheriff, to pay off some
gambling bond in preference to his honest creditor;"

[Jo Beverley]

Good one, MJ. That was a Turkish Bath that sat close to the beach, not actually on it. I have a reference somewhere. Ah, yes, Mahomed's Baths. I even have a picture. It says on the side, "Original Medicated Shampooing. Hot cold douch and shower."

Someone wrote a romance using that setting once. It was pretty good except that I wondered whether men would "shampoo" women, even through the cloths.

On the roistering, I came across an account of Wellington and some eminent friends in the post Waterloo period playing in some grand house which had plain floors in the corridors. They sat on a carpet and first tried to harness a goat to pull them along. The goat didn't cooperate, so they pulled each other.

Strange image,

Jo :)

[Jo Beverley]

Yes, Pat, there's a long about wastrels in the book.

If you look at the HTML version, the pictures are all there, and can be downloaded by right clicking.

Wonderful book.

BTW, I just put the above blog, but without links or images because it wouldn't work for me, in my blog Minepast. Below it is a link to some camera-scans of old places I stumbled across.

Minepast is my place to put anything strange I come across while researching. I often find thing that I think are interesting and want to share, but if I store them up, I forget. So I just pop them there. Months can go by without anything, especially if I'm into intensive writing mode as opposed to research mode.

Today, it was a quick check on Nouvion, which sucked up about an hour.

Jo :)

[Sherrie Holmes]

Oh, Jo, the image of Wellington and friends had me laughing out loud! It also gave me an idea for a wonderful scene--the dignified hero getting talked into sitting on a rug and bumping down the stairs on his butt, like we used to do as kids.

One time when I was a kid, I tripped at the top of the stairs and fell on my bottom, and shot down the very steep steps on my back. I was mortally embarrassed because my mom was at the foot of the stairs, laughing her head off. I had the last laugh, though. By the time I hit the bottom I was going so fast that I bowled her over like a nine-pin.

[Cathie]

Congrats MJ and Jane. And too to you Jo on the release! It was great to chat with you recently too at a chat. And a great post! I'm often speechless here in all that I've read! Love it.