Word Wenches

An interview with Anna Jacobs

by Mary Jo

I’m delighted to have my friend Anna Jacobs as a guest today.  Anna’s books aren’t well known in the US, but in Britain and Australia, she’s a bestseller as well as one of the most borrowed authors in both countries’ library systems.  (And this matters, since unlike the US, authors earn money from multiple book borrowings under the Public Lending Rights schemes.)

Anna is remarkably versatile, having started in fantasy under the name Shannah Jay.  (Those novels are now available as e-books.) 

 More recently she's written many historical novels as well as a number of contemporaries.  Her stories are classified as “romantic” rather than “romances;” in the American genre classifications, they’d probably be considered women’s fiction. 

She’s known for her happy endings (warm fuzzies is how she describes it) and in this day of e-books and free shipping from www.bookdepository.com her books are available world wide.  So—over to Anna Jacobs!

MJP: Let’s start with the present and work back.  Just this week, you have a new historical release called The Trader’s Sister.  Can you tell us something about this book, and about the series of which it’s book 2?

AJ: The four-part Traders series is set in Western Australia, the Orient and Ireland from the mid 1860s to the early 1870s (all of them make sense as single stories, too). I live in Western Australia and I felt its history had been neglected compared to Sydney and the eastern side of Australia, so I’m personally remedying that - and giving readers stories that are a bit different, I hope.

The Trader in question is Bram Deagan, a former groom from Ireland who has risked all to set up as a trader, bringing goods from Singapore to Western Australia. He’s the hero of Book 1. The Trader’s Wife, and is present in all books in the series, but is not the hero of the others. He’s my favourite hero out of all the books I’ve written.
 

The Trader’s Sister tells the story of Ismay Deagan. When her father tries to force her to marry a brutal man, she runs away from Ireland to join her brother in Australia. She meets Adam Tregear on the ship and finally starts to believe her dreams of future happiness may come true.

Before she reaches Australia, however, they’re flung into danger in Suez, Ceylon and Singapore. Dare she tell Adam the truth about who she really is? Does he have secrets of his own? And will her past catch up with her and ruin her new-found happiness?

I’ve loved researching this series. #3, The Trader’s Dream is about Bram’s young aunt Maura, and we sail with her in the flotilla of ships that passed through the Suez Canal at its opening. I’d been waiting ten years to put that incident into a book.

You can read the first chapters of all my books on my website plus information available nowhere else. The Trader’s Sister is at: http://www.annajacobs.com/book.aspx?title=The-Traders-Sister&bookID=64

 MJP: You got your start in historical novels in the “clogs and shawls” style for which Catherine Cookson was known.  (And perhaps she invented it.)  Can you tell us more about that genre?

AJ: I got a false start first with a regency romance called Persons of Rank, which won a $10,000 prize. But that led nowhere as the publisher’s management changed what it was doing.

I got my real start by writing ‘sagas’ (UK style) and ‘clogs and shawls’ is one type of saga. They always involve a working class woman battling the odds - and winning! There’s always a romance, but the stories have several subplots as well as the main one. Authors who write sagas try very hard to get their history right, because UK readers are sticklers about the details and enjoy ‘tasting’ daily life of the times. Sagas usually have a strong regional base, so each saga writer is known for a particular region.

That doesn’t mean the books are overloaded with historical information. My goodness, no! They’re about characters and their relationships above all, with a happy ending romance between main hero and heroine. I sometimes have two or three romances in a book, though. I can’t leave my nice minor characters unhappy, can I? And what is happier than finding true love?

Sagas have been a top-selling genre in the UK for many decades and they’re still going strong. I’m writing sagas for two publishers, both under my Anna Jacobs name. For my main publisher that’s moved towards Aussie historicals; for the other I still write traditional sagas - set mainly in Wiltshire.

 MJP: Your historicals have evolved over the years.  Could you tell us more about that?

AJ: I started off not even knowing I was writing a saga (pre-Internet, less information about). I wanted to write a book about the other people in a Lancashire mill town, not those who work in the mill or wear clogs and shawls. (When I was at school, we so looked down on children who wore clogs!)

So I wrote Salem Street, first in the five-part Gibson Family Saga, a rags to riches tale set in my home county of Lancashire. It was published in 1994 and is still being reprinted regularly.  It’s my best-selling series of all, and is now in ebook format as well as in paper books.

After a few years, since I had moved to Australia, I wanted to try an Aussie (pronounced Ozzee) saga. My publisher was doubtful but gave it a go with Lancashire Lass. It sold really well, so they continued to let me write an occasional Aussie tale. Then the Aussie branch of my publisher got involved and began publishing its own editions, so I write only Aussie tales for them now. I’m loving it. More importantly, so are my readers.

I had also written some historical romances for another publisher in my early days and they’re now out as ebooks. They aren’t like US romances, because they have a stronger, non-romance story line and several sub-plots, but they’re closer to romance than to sagas. One of them, Mistress of Marymoor, is my bestselling ebook of all. It’s a gothic tale set in 1759, with the heroine making a marriage of convenience in order to inherit a house on the edge of the moors, and having to cope with plots against her and her new husband.

And as Mary Jo said, I also write modern ‘women’s fiction’, which is actually starting to sell in the USA. The variety of stories is one thing that keeps me fresh and interested. My latest modern novel Winds of Change, set in both Australia and the UK, and was published in March. Here's an excerpt of the first chapter.  

MJP: On a more personal note, you’re a citizen of two nations—born and raised in the UK, emigrated to Australia, and you now have homes in both countries.  Many British citizens emigrate to other countries for opportunities, particularly the old Empire nations of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.  And often they later return to their homelands, as our Jo Beverley has done after decades in Canada.  Could you tell us more about this?  And about the joys and complications of living in two countries?

AJ:  We emigrated to Australia in our 30s, with our two young children, and we love living here. We have a house on the water’s edge, where dolphins swim past regularly, and several sorts of parrot fly around our garden. It’s wonderful. But we also love the UK because it has the history and the lush beauty of landscape you don’t get in a much drier and younger country. But we couldn’t cope with the winters and snow (shudder) which were partly why we emigrated. We saved money carefully to buy a second home in the UK.

It’s hard work living in two countries, though. You have to prepare one house to leave - and do a lot of shopping when you arrive to open up the other house. I have to move an ‘office’ as well.

We start preparing for the next change-over the day after a move. Some things are better in each country, so we transport them. Would you believe it, we take our plastic food storage bags from Australia? I know that sounds silly, but they’re so much better. And the Aussies have a truly efficient opener for glass jars of food - we’ve taken several over as presents for family in the UK. We bring things from the UK as well. I love Marks & Spencer underclothes, for instance, and they have much nicer skirts in the UK. I could go on - and on - but you get the idea. It’s amazing what details make life pleasanter.

The flight itself takes 20 hours and is exhausting. I simply cannot sleep on planes, even in business class. It takes me two and a half novels to get through that flight. And about one flight in eight there are problems and delays, so we have to hang around airports or even spend a night somewhere as a new plane is brought. I consider flying the price I pay for a wonderfully rich life.

We both have family in the UK, a sister each above all, and Dave’s mother is still alive at 92. It’s been wonderful reconnecting with our siblings and their children. I’ve even forgiven my nieces for turning me into a great-aunt. (Doesn’t that sound old? How dare they?) And then there’s research and PR and business with my three UK publishers. Lots to do in each country.

 MJP: You’re a very prolific writer, usually doing three fairly lengthy novels a years.  You refer to yourself as a writing addict.  Could you tell us more about that?  (And if it’s contagious, where can I catch it?!!)

AJ: I’m very lucky. I was born without the housekeeping gene, so don’t waste my time on ironing and dusting, and have always paid someone else to do the housework. I focus on what I love most - telling stories. I’m not robust physically, because I have a bad back, I’ve never been good at sport anyway (pitiful, actually) and I don’t enjoy travelling, so what does that leave? Writing or as I think of it, story telling. Oh, and reading, too. I read at least three novels a week.

I’ve found I can write a better story if I push myself on as quickly as possible, then polish it carefully afterwards, so that’s how I work. After 57 novels published, I’m getting faster.

And then there are the characters. It’s partly their fault that I write a lot of stories. Characters from my next book come and haunt me in the half-awake time just before dawn and show me scenes from their stories, demanding to have the story told now, this minute. So I have to hurry up and finish the current book.  That’s my excuse anyway.

Oh, and don’t forget the lovely readers, who want more than three novels a year and write me delightful emails. I can’t do more than three, though. I have a life outside writing and like to spend the evenings with my own personal hero, our daughters and our grandson. And anyway, my imagination fades as the sun sets, I don’t know why.

Really, my life is like anyone else’s. I work hard and that’s how I produce the books.

 I’d like to thank Mary Jo and the Word Wenches for having me on their blog. What a great bunch of writers they are! I hope you’ve found my views of the world interesting. You can find more information on my website at http://www.annajacobs.com

Happy reading!

MJP: Anna, thanks so much for visiting us and broadening our view of historical novels! 

Anna will give a copy of The Trader's Wife to someone who comments between now and midnight Tuesday, so comment away!  Feel free to ask questions about the sorts of books Anna writes.  (But she's on the other side of the world, so she'll be checking in at different times from those of us in this hemisphere!)

 

Mary Jo
 

The What Ifs of History

Hello, Nicola here. Lately I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the “what ifs” of history, those moments when the future and sometimes the fate of nations hangs in the balance and when history could have turned out so differently. What if Wellington had lost the Battle of Waterloo? He said himself that it was “the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.” What if the Roman Empire had never fallen? What if the South had won the Civil War? I read a brilliant article once on what would have happened if the infamous British weather had not played havoc with the invasion of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Counterfactual or alternative history is a fascinating topic for historians to speculate about. It’s also a very imaginative area for a writer to explore.

What got me started on alternative history this time around was the discussion we had here on the Wench blog about our favourite mystery and crime reads. Qute a few of us mentioned The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey as one of our favourites for it’s brilliant sleuthing and its characterisation. The Daughter of Time looks at an enduring historical mystery - who murdered the Princes in the Tower? It also prompts the question of what might have happened had the Yorkist dynasty survived.

As a confirmed fan of King Richard III I have often reflected on what might have happened if he had won at Bosworth rather than lost the battle to Henry Tudor. As is so often the case, victory hung on such a slender thread, Richard’s betrayal by traitors. If he had fled the battlefield and regrouped in the North where he had strong support, would he have won his throne back? And if he had, would he have hung on to it or would there always have been usurpers coming along to challenge him and his Yorkist successors?  

From there is was a small hop in my reading to Pale Rose of England by Sandra Worth which tells the story of Perkin Warbeck from the perspective of his being Richard Plantagenet, the surviving son of King Edward IV. I had previously read Perkin by Ann Wroe and found it fascinating to speculate on whether Perkin was indeed Richard and what would have happened if he had taken back the throne from Henry VII. No succession of the Tudor dynasty! No six wives of Henry VIII! No Anne Boleyn, one of my history heroines. Well, presumably she would still have been born but maybe she would have married Henry Percy instead of Henry VIII and gone to live in Northumberland.

After Pale Rose of England I moved on to the early 18^th century and to Shores of Darkness by Diana Norman. I love her historical novels and this one grabbed me from the first. (Anyone read it? - it's a wonderful historical novel!) At Ashdown House we have a fabulous portrait collection bequeathed to William, 1^st Earl of Craven by Elizabeth of Bohemia. We tell the story of how it was Elizabeth’s grandson George who became King of England after the death of Queen Anne. (I feel a bit sorry for George I – he is so often portrayed as a distant German cousin whom no one liked very much but the truth is he had a cast iron claim to the throne of England as a direct descendant of King James I.) Anyway, amongst our portrait collection is a swoonworthy painting of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Elizabeth’s son. William Craven was a great friend of Rupert’s and godfather to his illegitimate daughter Rupertina. But Rupert had another child, Dudley Bard, by the Honourable Frances Bard, daughter of Viscount Bellomont. Frances always claimed that she and Rupert were married and that she had the marriage licence to prove it. What if this were true and Rupert and Frances’s descendants had a better claim to the English throne than George? It’s a great premise for a story. (And there would have been no Regency period as we know it!)

There are so many points at which history could have turned out so differently and so many historical mysteries left unsolved. I was left wondering what it was about historical mysteries and historical speculation that so appeals to me. There’s something romantic about the not knowing and something intriguing about historical speculation. There’s the space to let your imagination roam over the possibilities and the “might have beens”. As writers we are constantly saying "what if." What if the plot twists in a particular way, what if this happens to our characters... What will they do? What happens next? It's no wonder that as historical writers - and readers - we are intrigued by alternative history and historical mysteries.

Do you have a favourite historical mystery? A moment in history you wish you could go back to witness to see what really happened? Or is there a historical event that you wish had turned out differently? 

The Servant's Directory

Hi, here's Jo.

No, that's not me, but it's a cheeky bit of clip art, isn't it? It seems to be my season to revisit or buy research books. I can't remember where this one was mentioned -- it might have been here -- but I purchased The Servant's Directory, or House-Keeper's companion etc by Hannah Glass. It's a POD facsimile from ECCO, the Eighteenth Century Collection Online.

I can't recommend buying this book for two reasons. One is that it throws little light on the roles of servants in the 18th century, being mostly recipes and instructions for cleaning. The other is that in 400+ pages only about 80 are useful text. The rest of the pages are blank forms for various household records. These may well have been useful for an 18th century housekeeper, and if they had been filled out, could be interesting now, but as it stands, not.

I complained to the Book Depository  (an exellent place to buy books, and which ships around the world for free) saying I was returning it for a refund. They made the refund and told me to keep it, so I still have it to comment on.

As a side note, I think ECCO should take a little more care with their cover illustrations. I bought an 18th century travel book which had a Victorian illustration. This one has what looks to me like a 16th century Dutch picture.

However, here are notes on the servants.

The Chamber-Maid

I thought a chamber maid was closer to the house maid below, but I found some clarification in Swift's satirical description of servants' duties. Apparently if working for a family of considerable estate the duties differ from those of the house maid. I wouldn't have thought Glasse was writing of such a family, but it's another puzzle from the past.

This section is mostly instructions for caring for her lady's clothing, some of which could be useful to an author when it comes to washing silk stockings and such.

You might be interested in this warning about hair. "If you cut it in the decline of the moon, it will all come off your head, and on the contrary, cut but the ends of your hair in the increase of the moon, and it will grow thick and prevent its falling off."

The House-Maid.

An odd thing here is the instruction to have very clean feet, "that you may not dirty your rooms as soon as cleaned, nor make any noise..." The house maid went barefoot?

There's quite a bit of detail about lighting fires and cleaning and caring for hearths followed by a routine of cleaning carpets, curtains, woodwork, stairs etc etc. No rest for the house-maid!

The Landry-Maid (sic)

Mistress Glasse says that every girl knows how to wash, being taught by her mother, but does give some suggestions for improving ease of washing.

The Nursery-Maid

Glasse says that the care of children requires a book, and recommends The Young Married Lady's Companion, or Nursery-Maid's Directory. I can't find this on line.

The Scullion

There's no description of duties at all, but instructions for cleaning pewter, tin, copper etc. There is a long section on collecting the drips cleaned off candles and making cakes of them to sell to the tallow chandler. We should remember how little waste they tolerated back then.

Thus ends the servants' section on page 67.

At the end, we have calculation tables and details of weights and measures, which illuminate how complex and variable the 18th century world was. For example, a firkin of butter is 56lbs, but a firkin of bacon is 64lbs.

These days a stone = 14lbs, but in these tables a stone of iron is 14lbs, but a stone of butcher's meat is 8!

At the very end there are some details of charges for traveling on the river, and some on coach routes, but these pages aren't well copied and the coach routes would need a lot of extra study to really understand them.

As with most primary sources, the useful pages of this book raise questions, but they also give a window into the organization and complexity of life in the past.

Do you like much attention paid to servants in a historical romance? Do you enjoy a book where a principal character is a servant, or is pretending to be one?

My taste is for servants to be portrayed accurately, but I'm happy enough for them to be well in the background in most fictional creations, with the exception of the sort of lady's maid or valet who is also a close companion, as many were.

Cheers,

Jo

NO LONGER A GENTLEMAN: Another Dead Hero

by Mary Jo

No Longer a Gentleman, Lost Lords #4, is about to hit bookstores. (April 24th is the official release date.) 

Sometime back I wrote a blog called “Another Dead Hero” because raising characters from presumed death is obviously a plot trope I enjoy.  But Greydon  Sommers, Lord Wyndham, was deader than most.

There are references to him earlier in the series. First, just oblique allusions to a lost and much mourned friend. Gradually it’s revealed that he was in France when the Peace of Amiens ended. 

This was a brief truce from March 1802 till May 1803.  The wars between France and the rest of Europe had been going on for almost ten years, and when peace was negotiated, everyone wanted to party,

And Paris is where the party was.  Hordes of well-born Britons poured into the city—including my hero, Grey.  One of the first class of students at the Westerfield Academy for “boys of good birth and bad behavior,” he was the golden lad who was equally adept at getting into mischief and charming his way out of the consequences.

Grey’s father, the Earl of Costain, sent his heir to Westerfield in the hope that the formidable headmistress, Lady Agnes, would be immune to Grey’s charm.  While not immune, she did call him on his behavior, but it wasn’t enough to teach him good sense. 

Which is why consequences finally caught up with Grey in Paris in May 1803, just as the Peace of Amiens ended.  Every British male in France between the ages of 16 and 60 was interned, and most weren’t freed to return home until 1814, after Napoleon abdicated.   

In the chaos of renewed war, Grey vanished.  Friends such as Lord Kirkland, even then a budding spymaster, had warned him to return home before war was renewed, but Grey, who’d never been in real danger, lingered until it was too late.

But he wasn’t interned, which is why friends and family back in England didn’t know if he was alive or dead.  Caught in the bed of a French official’s wife, he’d been condemned to solitary confinement in the private dungeon of the lady’s husband.

And there Grey stayed for ten long, harrowing years.  What happens to an extrovert deprived of human company?  To a golden haired charmer whom even close friends doubt has the will and grit to survive a harsh captivity?

Cassie Fox is a half French, half English spy who appeared in Nowhere Near Respectable.  A tough and guarded woman, she lost her whole family to revolutionary violence.  She has spent the last dozen years as one of Kirkland’s most capable operatives, and never expected to survive the war. 

It is Cassie whom Kirkland sends to check out information that an English lordling has been held captive in Castle Durand for ten years.  It is Cassie who frees Grey and must get a crazed, semi-feral man back to England.  And it is Cassie who becomes the one person who can touch Grey’s anguished soul and make him feel safe. 

So—not only a dead hero, but a tortured one.  I loved Grey!  Cassie is also fairly tortured, but Grey’s taut courage and vulnerability begin to crack the barriers around her frozen heart.  This is a romance, so you know that one way or another they’ll work things out, but as always, the journey is the fun—and Grey and Cassie have a lot of journeying before they reach their happy ending.

Here’s a brief excerpt of when Cassie, disguised as an old woman, rescues Grey:

He scrambled to his feet, feasting his eyes on the sight of another human being. Better yet, a clean, normal woman. He impulsively wrapped his arms around her and crushed her warm body into an embrace, his heart pounding.

She swore and shoved at him.

"Please," he said, his voice shaking. "I've been so…so hungry for touch. Only a moment. Please!"

She relaxed and let him hold her. Dear God, she felt good! A warm, breathing woman with a sweet old-lady scent of lavender that made him think of his grandmother. He never wanted to let her go.

Here’s another excerpt that shows what happened just before this snippet.

In an extra bit of fun, Kensington did a mini-site for No Longer a  Gentleman.  There’s a map with the four key locations of the story.  Go to the site and click on each star, and you'll get an image, a description, and a bit of music.  Very cool!

I’ve been really delighted by the reviews NLAG has received.  A sampling:

“Romance and wartime espionage mix delightfully in the fourth Lost Lords Regency…The unusually balanced and sensitively depicted romantic duo, suspenseful adventure, and well-researched historical background make this a must for Regency fans.”
 Starred review, Publishers Weekly

“The incomparable Putney returns with a Lost Lords novel that touches readers’ hearts.  No ballrooms or marriage marts appear, but spies and danger, passion and adventure and love and redemption keep readers glued to the pages and immersed in another unforgettable tale.”
 Romantic Times BookClub, Kathe Robin. 4½ star Top Pick.   Romantic Times BookClub KISS designation: “Mary Jo Putney’s Lord Wyndham is No Longer a Gentleman, but he’s all sexy, courageous hero.”

“With sensitivity and inimitable skill, Putney rescues another lost lord; gives him a brave, resourceful heroine who helps him heal; complicates things with foiling villains, readjusting to society, and falling in love; and weaves it all together in another beautifully written, unforgettable romance.”
 Starred Review, Library Journal, reviewed by John Charles

Considering how I slogged my way through the writing, this is vastly gratifying!

I’m now working on Lost Lords #5, which is scheduled for September 2013.  There will be at least a couple more books beyond that, but I really can’t say how many.  These interesting, tortured fellows just keep turning up….

In the meantime, I’ll give a copy of NLAG to someone who comments between now and Tuesday midnight.  (It will probably be an ARC since I don’t have author’s copies yet.) 

So if you've been waiting to read about the mysterious, long missing Wyndham, here he is.  And while admittedly I put Grey through a lot, he thanked me for it in the end.  Really!

Mary Jo

 

Books, Blooms and Blossoms

  Cara/Andrea here, There’s an old saying—‘April showers bring May flowers’ . . . which in my mind is a very Good Thing because I have a new book about to bloom in which flowers play a prominent role. In TOO TEMPTING TO RESIST, which officially releases May 1, (though many of the online stores have it available April 24th) both the hero and heroine have an interest in gardens. Eliza is a superb botanical illustrator and Gryffin—Gryff to his friends—has a secret passion for landscape design. They can speak knowledgeably on ha-ha walls, decorative follies, and ornamental planting  . . . and they are also conversant in the secret language of flowers.

Flowers speak, you might ask? They do—and quite eloquently, I might add!

The concept of a language of flowers has been around from the days of antiquity. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered hawthorne blossoms a symbol hope and marriage, and it was common at wedding ceremonies. China and the Ottoman Empire had its own complex symbolism and myths, some of which were brought back to medieval Europe by the Crusaders.

But it was Lady Mary Wortley Montague who is credited with bringing the concept of a ‘language” of flowers to England in 1718. The wife of the British ambassador to Constantinople, Lady Montagu, (A fascinating woman in her own right who is credited with being the first woman to write about the Orient) penned a series of letters to friends at home describing the Turkish custom of sending messages through objects, including flowers. These letters were published as a book in 1763, shortly after her death, and explained the nuances of selam, which was a complex system by which the flower or object sent didn’t actually symbolize a concept, but rather it was a more of a word play—for example a pear would rhyme with despair, so that was the message. (Sound awfully complicated to me, but apparently the harems were hotbeds of intrigue and innuendo so it I suppose it provided a more secretive way of communicating.)

In Europe, the notion that lovers could communicate with each other through a “secret” language seemed to strike a romantic chord, and through the late 1700s and early 1800s. the concept developed into one where each individual type of bloom took on a specific meaning. One of the first books on this “floriography,” is credited Charlotte de Latour, a Frenchwoman who published a little handbook on the subject in 1819.

But the real heyday for communicating with flowers was the Victorian era. Most people were familiar with concept—and woe be to the fellow who sent his sweetheart the wrong blooms! Women often carried tiny bouquets called “tussie-mussies” on their daily outings, with which to compose little messages to the friends they would be seeing. Handbooks sprouted up in every bookshop, presenting extensive lists on the meaning of a vast array of individual flowers. (It should be pointed out that there is actually no definitive list—they all vary somewhat, though most of the standard blooms, like roses and lilies, gave come to have a universal  symbolism.)

Now, we all know that a red rose means true love. But did you know that 15 red roses signifies an apology? Or that 108 red roses is a proposal of marriage. How about that a pink rose means ‘perfect happiness’ and also ‘friendship, or a rhododendron bloom symbolizes ‘beware’ or ‘danger, or a hydrangea says ‘thank you for understanding’?

Here’s a short excerpt from the beginning of  TOO TEMPTING TO RESIST in which Gyff, my hero, gives a little primer on flowers to his friend Sara Hawkins, who happens to own one of London’s most notorious gaming hell and brothel.

   “Oh, I’m so glad ye stopped by for a visit, sir. The Wolfhound has always said ye have a discerning eye fer art, so I’m anxious to get yer opinion on this.” Sara Hawkins stripped the last of the wrappings from around a gilt-framed watercolor painting and let out an admiring whistle. “Don’t ye think it will look lovely hanging in the Eros Bedchamber?”
   Gryffin Owain Dwight, the Marquess of Haddan, shrugged out of his overcoat and came over to take a look. “You intend to hang that in there?” A dark brow shot up. “I wouldn’t advise it.”
   “Why not?” Sara sounded a little crestfallen. “Roses are my favorite flower and this one is awfully pretty.”
   “Indeed it is. But in the secret language of flowers, red roses symbolize love—a sentiment that would likely make a number of your patrons rather nervous,” said Gryff dryly. Patrons was putting it politely, seeing as Sara’s establishment was one of the most notorious gambling hells and brothels in London. “If you must pick a rose for a decorative touch, make it an orange one.”
   “And what does that mean?”
   “Fascination.” He curled a wicked smile. “Better yet, find a print of a yellow iris, which means ‘passion.’ Or sweetpea, which means ‘blissful pleasure.’”
    She let out a snort of laughter.
    “Or a peach blossom, which means ‘I am your captive.’”
    “Fancy that.” Setting aside the painting, Sara perched a shapely hip on the sideboard and gave the marquess her full attention. “Now who would have ever guessed that flowers could talk.”
    Gryff nodded gravely. “And then there is the grapevine . . .”
    “Which means?” Sara leaned forward, her eyes widening in anticipation.
    “Which means, ‘I am very thirsty so do you have any more of that expensive Scottish malt stashed away in your private cupboard?’”
    A crumpled kidskin glove hit him square in the chest. “Oh, ye horrid man! Here I thought I was learning some fancy bit of knowledge. But ye was just pulling my corset strings.”

My heroine Eliza, who is dealing with her selfish spendthrift younger brother, is not in quite as playful a mood as the story opens:
    Unsure whether to laugh or weep, Eliza set her elbows on the table and took her head in her hands. Otherwise she might have been tempted to hurl the earthenware jug of flowers at his head. Was there a bloom that symbolized ‘bumbleheaded idiot?’
    “Harry,” she said slowly. “Let me try to phrase this simply, so that even your fuzzed wits might understand. Our coffers are nigh on empty. The farmlands are in a state of shambles from neglect. The butcher is threatening to cut off credit, and . . .” She paused to pick up a stack of bills “And your tailor and bootmaker are asking for a sum that would likely launch a four-deck ship of the line for His Majesty’s Navy.”
    Her brother’s lower lip jutted out in a petulant pout. “A fellow has to cut a fine dash in Town.”
    “Yes, well, your ‘dash’ is going to run us straight to the sponging house.”
    “Can’t you do something?” he whined. “What about your paintings? I thought you made some blunt illustrating those silly little flower books.”
    Eliza looked away. The silly little flower books were, in fact, an impressive set of beautiful quarto-sized books on English wildflowers, written by a noted authority from Merton College.
    And yes, she had been paid—quite nicely in fact. But she would be damned if a penny more of her hard-earned savings went to fund Harry’s debaucheries. She was getting close—oh-so close—to saving enough to buy a snug little cottage of her own in the Lake District. A place where she could live independently at last, free from the grasping demands of the men in her life.
   Another commission was pending, and if her work was chosen, the dream might actually be within her grasp . . .

So what’s you favorite flower? (If you are interested in what it “says”, you can explore the full bouquet of meanings here.) Do you care what it symbolizes? Or are you just as happy to appreciate it for its physical beauty?

Please chime in! I’ll be giving away a copy of TOO TEMPTING TO RESIST to one lucky person chosen at random from those who leaves a comment below between now and Saturday evening.

Politics and Religion, Oh My!

Pat here:

I don’t have much time for historical research these days, which is a shame, because I enjoy the details of how we got where we are today. Unfortunately, my interest isn’t in how styles changed from chemises to brassieres, but how economies changed political structures and led to wars and industry. Hardly the stuff of romance, huh?

But I’m interested in economics and politics and religion because they affect everyone, including my romantic characters. Unlike most little girls, I was never much interested in dressing up my dolls. I wanted their stories. And stories require backgrounds, and that’s how I still write books today. It simply isn’t enough for me to know that Jane Heroine is wearing an elegant patterned muslin with a taffeta bow when she sets out to seduce Dangerous Hero. I think it’s more interesting that Hero brought that muslin back from India on a ship that could cover the seas in less than half the time of a previous decade because American ship captains had developed a racing schooner. And Jane’s father has lost his wealth because he refused to change to the new ships and cargo. Now we have a story.

Which pretty much explains how The Marquess and The English Heiress came about. Sure, we have dark and stormy nights and a forbidding castle and a scarred hero, his mysterious brother, and a pair of terrified heroines running from a killer. But how they got to that place was as interesting to me as how they end up. The clash of two impoverished Americans being flung into the midst of English Regency aristocracy is just too juicy to ignore.

But ignore that world conflict, we in romancelandia do. The Regency era is rife with comparisons to today’s contemporary problems. Young men torn from their families to fight a war defending the wealthy one percent return triumphant, only to live in poverty and shame because once they conquered Napoleon, they had no other purpose. By the Regency era, the aristocracy had grown so distant from their rural roots, that they scarcely knew their tenants. How many of the upper class actually cared for the well-being of the people whose toil had made them rich? But in our books, we show the pretty balls and the romantic horse rides and ignore the homeless soldiers and poor houses unless Jane Heroine happens to sponsor a charity. And touching on the Catholic Problem has practically outlawed Irish romances. So we create pink Disney confections.

I realize we read for escape. But at the same time, we jump all over authors who don’t get the dress code or the marriage and title laws right. Why do we never complain when the rest of Regency reality is ignored? Is it because we lack that knowledge or because we don’t care why our soldier hero is trying to petition parliament on behalf of his comrades? Is the fantasy only about pretty gowns and marriage? Spies are interesting but a homeless hero is not?

I think I probably know the answer to all those questions and what I really want to know is why am I so weird? Maybe I should write a dystopian Regency. But I keep looking for a niche in the marketplace that wants real history and romance, not Disney make-believe. I catch lovely glimpses of it in most wench novels, so I assume wenchly readers enjoy a brush of reality. Share your book finds—who else includes nice touches of history in their romance? Let’s go out and buy their books and show NYC that we like books with depth!

Ask-A-Wench — Mystery and Crime

Anne here, continuing our discussion of mystery/crime stories. It started when I mentioned on our Word Wench loop that I was going to talk about mystery series, and the wenches started to chat about crime novels they'd been reading. And when the wenches get chatting about books...
So here, as an Ask A Wench post, are the word wenches, chatting about crime novels. 

Nicola: I've just ordered Elizabeth Bailey's latest, The Deathly Portent. She writes Georgian crime/romance. I enjoyed the first in the series, The Gilded Shroud, very much so am looking forward to this one.

Cara/Andrea:  Oh, must look for that one too, Nicola. The first one was great.

Anne: I've been meaning to order it. I used to love her historicals. Her FRIDAY DREAMING is one of my all time favorite Regencies. 

Joanna: Lately I've been reading my way through the C.S. Harris mysteries.  They're set in my own time period.  Regency mysteries.  And a long-time favorite Historical Romance author, Roberta Gellis, wrote a series of Medieval mysteries solved by the formidable Magdalene la Bâtarde, madame of the local brothel.  The series starts with A Mortal Bane.

I'm about to read an Anne Perry (I had dinner with her once at the Surrey International Writers Conference.  We agreed that Fouché was the most interesting figure of the Revolution.) as soon as I finish the  CS Harris I'm in the middle of.  How's that for Historical Mystery?

Jo: I like the Gellis ones a lot, especially as she shows how being a whore in theright circumstances could be a better option. I always like the way Gellis doesn't pander to conventional, modern expectations.

Cara/Andrea: I enjoy Anne Perry's books, especially the later Hester and Monk ones. I feel she does a good job at peeling back the layers of personalities, and deals with the complex conflicts of human nature in a thoughtful way. It seems to me she grapples with the good and evil that is inside everyone, and how people choose one path or another—and tells a good story in doing so. 

Nicola: Other historical crime I enjoy - Ellis Peters and Susanna Gregory but most of all C. J. Samson. I love his Tudor mysteries featuring Matthew Shardlake. The one about the sinking of the Mary Rose haunted me for days.

Sherrie: Has anyone here read any of the Alexander McCall Smith #1 Ladies Detective Agency books?  I have 2 of those as audiobooks.  I’m looking forward to them.  I also have several of Sue Grafton’s ABC series (A is for Alibi, etc.) and I’m really enjoying them. 

Mary Jo: I read the McCall Smith books for the characters and the wonderful sense of a healthy, deeply loved African society.   

Sherrie: I’ve also become a rabid Neil Gaiman fan.  He writes everything—fantasy, YA, graphic novels, comic books, screenwriting, etc., and has won just about every award there is.  I love his The Graveyard Book, about a young man who was raised by ghosts in a graveyard.  It’s an odd and charming book with very dark undertones and clever humor.

Anne: I love Neil Gaiman, too, Sherrie, and was lucky enough to hear him talk when he came to Melbourne last year. The Graveyard book is wonderful. 

Susan: Neil Gaiman is an amazing writer - my sons love reading his stuff. I've tried Coraline and one or two others. Sherrie, if you like Gaiman and some of the darker fantasy stuff, have you tried Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer series? Deep, beautifully written, moving, challenging and brilliant. I got my sons hooked on those when they were teens, and now they're huge Gene Wolfe fans. 

Thinking about historical mysteries, I'd have to say that Lindsay Davis and Falco are probably my favorites, along with Ellis Peters and Cadfael, and Elizabeth Peters everything. I've read more of the Falco and Cadfael series than any other long series.

I love the early Amelia Peabody books, but got overwhelmed with the sheer number of books and fell by the wayside. And I agree, Jo, I did enjoy the other Elizabeth Peters mysteries quite a lot, particularly the art history ones. I was thrilled that she wrote a mystery about a missing Tillman Riemanschneider! <g>  

Totally love the Barbara Michaels ones as well. Love ghosts. I watch all those ghost shows on TV. Some of them are beyond stupid, and I still love them. 

Susan: Perhaps my favorite perfect mystery, single book, is Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. I wore out a paperback of that one years ago, and bought a new edition a few years back just to read it again. It's excellent. The hospital stuff for the Inspector is of course dated (he's laid up in traction in the hospital, deals with a robust and bossy nurse, and out of boredom tackles the enigma of Richard III) but that can be seen in a historical perspective by now! And the rest is just classic, brilliant sleuthing and characterization.

Mary Jo: I'm another lover of Tey's THE DAUGHTER OF TIME  It made me a confirmed fan of Richard III. <g>

Nicola: Oh yes! I love all Josephine Tey's mysteries but that one will always be closest to my heart!

Joanna: Yes. Definitely Daughter of Time has to be mentioned.  And Dorothy Sayers.

Andrea: Oh yes, Dorothy Sayers is to die for. <G>
 

Susan: Omigosh, yes!  Read those voraciously when I was in college. 
 

Joanna: And with Sayers we have both the mystery and the love story.  *sigh*
 

Susan: Yes, sigh indeed on Lord Peter and Harriet! And then there's Agatha Raisin, fun as well. I love the Hamish Macbeth mysteries too.

Anne: My latest glom is Louise Penny. I read the first one while on the plane heading to my retreat a couple of weeks ago and ordered the rest of the series when I landed. They arrived last week and I've now read all except the last. I like crime, especially cosy crime that's beautifully observant about people, which this is. And I have very fond memories of Quebec from many years ago, so it's lovely to revisit.

Cara/Andrea: Anne, thanks for the mention of Louise Penny. I have been hearing wonderful things about this series and meant to get one of them, Now it's moved right to the top of the Must Get list. I think she's going to be at the mystery conference I'm going to in Washington DC later this month, so will look forward to meeting her too. The conference is much smaller and more low-key than RWA.

Authors all tend to hang out in an author's lounge during the day, and last year I got to sit around and chat with Rhys Bowen, whose Royal Spyness series I love.

This year another favorite of mine, Charles Finch is on the list of attendees—as is Elizabeth Peters!  I think she's in her mid-eighties, so not sure how much time she'll spend in public, but she really is one of my all-time favorites, so would love to just rub shoulders with her for a bit.

Joanna:  I signed next to Rhys Bowen at RT last year.  (I think it was last year.)  I told her I loved Her Royal Spyness.  Very nice woman.  Interestingly enough, RT seems to be good for mystery writers too.  She was very popular.

Cara/Andrea: Oh, fun, Joanna. Yes, she's delightful. And as the Spyness books have a fun romance element, they definitely cross over to romance readers.

Anne: I am so envious of you guys who have conferences all around you and famous and beloved authors attending. We really do suffer the Tyranny of Distance here (title of a famous Australian history book.) I love the Rhys Bowen books -- Mary Jo put me onto her last year. And Elizabeth Peters -- Crocodile on the Sandbank is an all time fave, of course and I also loved Die for Love. I've never heard of Charles Finch. Will investigate. Thanks

Cara/Andrea: Anne, Crocodile on the Sandbank is one of my all-time favorites. I adore Amelia and Emerson, and the start of the series has some priceless moments.

Charles Finch writes a very nice Victorian mystery series. It's very low-key with charming characters and well-woven plots. I like his writing, so do give him a try. The first book of the series, A Beautiful Blue Death, won a lot of awards.

Yes, we are lucky in that conferences do allow a chance to meet favorite authors. 

Joanna: I'm going to join everybody else in loving Elizabeth Peters and the remarkable Peabody and Emerson.  I also like her her modern supernatural mysteries written under the name Barbara Michaels.  Ammie Come Home is a classic. 

Mary Jo: I've read a lot of mysteries in the past, but I'm not much into them these days--I've gotten too wimpy to find murder entertaining, I guess.  But like the other Wenches, I adore CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK, though it's because of the hilarious romance and the marvelous voice of Amelia Peabody, who is one of the great historical heroines.  

Among modern historical mysteries, I find Rhys Bowen's Royal Spyness books, set in England in the early 1930s, to be enormous fun.  The heroine, Lady Georgiana, is 34th in line to the throne, being a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  Her position means she's supposed to act like a lady, without having any money to support her royal bloodlines.  <g>  They're great, frothy fun, especially the one where she's sent as a royal emissary to a royal wedding in Transylvania.  

And last but hardly least, I mustn't overlook the Regency chocolate mysteries of our own Cara/Andrea! Writing as Andrea Penrose, she's published two delicious mysteries, SWEET REVENGE and THE COCOA CONSPIRACY.  Not only mystery and chocolate, but romance!  What more can one ask for????

So, are any of your favorites mentioned here? Any we've missed out? Do you have others to suggest? Go for it.

Serial Crime — with Character

Anne here talking about a mystery reading binge I've been on recently. I've always been a reader of mysteries, and still have an occasional yen to write a mystery one day. In the meantime, I enjoy reading other people's, and I thought I'd share my current faves with you, concentrating on series with ongoing characters.

I should explain that I'm not a fan of the scary/gory/horrific kind of crime novel — there's a reason I'm a romance writer; I like happy endings in my crime novels, meaning I like the scales of justice to be balanced by the end of the book. More or less. So my preference is for the kind of book called "cosy" mysteries. 

A famous crime writer whose name escapes me, commented once that in crime, it's the characters that people come back for again and again, that though readers enjoy nutting out the puzzle, afterward, they frequently forget the details of the puzzle, but not the characters. That's certainly the case with me. 

Kerry Greenwood - crime, baking and cats.

This particular reading binge of mine started a while back, when I discovered Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman series. I talked about her 1920's Phrynne Fisher books back here, which I've known about since the first one came out in the '90's. But this year I belatedly discovered her Corinna books, which are contemporary, not historical. And after the first, I devoured the rest of the series in short order.

They're set in the inner city of Melbourne (my home town) where you get a mix of wealthy apartment-dwellers and some lost, stolen and stray types — cats, as well as humans. There's warm-hearted, plus-sized Corinna, a former accountant now turned baker, Daniel, her sexy, mysterious boyfriend and Jason her apprentice — one of the strays I mentioned. 

The baker shop is at the bottom of a quirkily designed apartment building which houses an eclectic collection of humans, and from the second book in the series, cats, and it's this community of people that for me is the real draw card of the series. There are six books, so far, and Earthly Delights is the first. 

Louise Penny — Crime, Quebec and Characters
The next surge in my reading binge was caused by a Canadian writer, Louise Penny. Set in Quebec, much of the action takes place in the small village of Three Pines. It's an idyllic kind of village with a quirky collection of characters, often escapees from the rat race of city life. The star is the detective, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the Sûreté du Québec, thoughtful, wise and deeply human. Again, it's the characters and the community that appeal to me most. 

What I particularly enjoyed in these books, apart from the writing and the story, were the small touches of human observation, wry and sometimes gently humorous. For instance, this is from the first in Louise Penny's series — Still Life, the introduction of Gabri, the large and flamboyant gay chef who, with his partner, runs the local cafe.

Just then a large man in a frilly apron that said, "Never Trust a Skinny Cook" made his entrance through the swinging door.  Gamache was startled to see more than a passing resemblance to his grandmother.

Gabri sighed hugely and put a wan hand up to his forehead in a gesture not often seen this side of Gloria Swanson.

"Muffins?"

The question was so unexpected even Gamache was thrown off-guard. "Pardon Monsieur?"

"I have carrot, date, banana and a special tribute to Jane called 'Charles de Mills'." And with that Gabri disappeared and reappeared a moment later with a platter holding rings of muffins marvelously decorated with fruit and roses.

"They aren't Charles de Mille roses, of course. They're long dead." Gabri's face dissolved into tears and the platter lurched perilously. Only Beauvoir's quick action, fueled by desire, saved the food. 

"Desolé. Excusé-moi. I'm just so sad." Gabri collapsed on to one of the sofas, arms and legs flopping.

Gamache had the feeling that for all the dramatics, the man was sincere. He gave Gabri a moment to compose himself, fully realising it was possible Gabri had never been composed.

There are three more crime series I want to recommend, all of which are historical. 

Lindsey Davis — Crime, Humor, In-laws and Devious Politics.
First is the Lindsey Davis "Falco" series, set in ancient Rome. The books are funny, complex, clever, beautifully researched and  also contain a gorgeous ongoing romance between Falco and his beloved Helena Justina.

Ellis Peters — Crime, Monks, Medicine and Politics.
Next is the Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series, which I've been reading and enjoying since the first or her medieval mysteries came out. Brother Cadfael is wise, clever, and though a monk, well seasoned by life. A wonderful series, engrossing, and rich in history. I also enjoyed the TV series of the books.

Lastly — and I'm very aware that I'm leaving out lots of wonderful books — is a newer writer — well, she's relatively new to crime, although she wrote some wonderful historical romances under the name Candice Proctor. I'm talking about C.S. Harris and her Sebastian St. Cyr series. 

C.S. Harris  — Crime, Regency England, Romance.
Set in Regency England, these books are a delight. Clever, compelling, wonderfully researched and with a continuing romantic thread, they plunge you into the world of Regency England — both the ton and the underworld — in a wonderfully atmospheric way.

Now, there are many more wonderful mysteries, I know — the word wenches have had an ongoing conversation about them all week, which I plan to share next week, but for me, the above are the series that never fail. There are others — for instance, I adore Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile on the Sandbank — and why has that not been made into a movie yet? — but not all the books in the series have engrossed me as much. And I've read every Dick Francis book ever written, but I don't call that a series, because only a few have continuing characters.

But there are plenty of mysteries I've yet to read. So I'm asking you, do you read crime or mystery? If so, do you read for the puzzle or the characters, or both? Do you like series? What are your faves? Have you read any of the books mentioned above? Any recommendations?

Behind the scenes at the “real” Downton Abbey!

Nicola here! Last week I had the pleasure of a visit to Highclere Castle in Hampshire, which is the location where much of the hit TV series Downton Abbey is filmed. I was pretty excited about this trip as not only do I enjoy the TV programme very much I also love visiting historic houses so this was combining two of my favourite things.

With Downton Abbey the house is far more than just a setting; it feels like a character in itself. As we drove towards it the house was immediately recognisable. It’s enormous (fifty bedrooms!) and grand in a way that only a Victorian mansion can be (it was built in 1838). It’s not the first building on the site. There was a medieval hall at Highclere, a manor house and a classical Georgian mansion before the transformation that created the current castle. It is said that the grand central tower of the house cost a fortune and Lord Caernarvon’s land agent warned his employer that the plans were “pregnant with the most alarming danger to your Lordship’s pocket.” Despite this, the 3^rd Earl was determined on a grand plan and when the house was finished it dominated its surroundings in the most dramatic way.

Before we went on our tour of the house we strolled across the parkland and admired the cedar trees that were part of the landscaped grounds created in the 18^th century. We had Rochester the Guide Dog Puppy with us and as he is a Yellow Labrador we thought we would do our own version of the Downton Abbey opening credits, filmed on my mobile phone with my husband standing in for Lord Grantham. Alas Rochester was not as majestic as Lord Grantham’s Labrador Isis, who had her own storyline in the second series, but he did love wandering through the park. Although NBC was also filming that day at Highclere I think I can claim that Rochester was the star of our particular show. He was made very welcome by staff and visitors alike and the sight of this small guide dog puppy descending Highclere’s fabulously grand central staircase as though he was to the manor born was very funny.

The interior of the house was also instantly recognisable from the TV programme. I loved the dining room, where so many of those splendid dinners in Downton Abbey take place, and the magnificent oak staircase that ascends from the Saloon up to the Gallery and the Gallery Bedrooms. It is around this landing that some of the bedrooms are situated that are used in the filming. We saw “Lady Grantham’s room”, “Lady Edith’s room” and “Lady Sybil’s room” and also the room given to the cad and bounder Kamal Pamuk in the first series. This is decorated with bright red flock wallpaper and is known as the Stanhope Room. It was refurbished in 1895 for the visit of the then Prince of Wales. It was also great to meet some of the room stewards who had their own anecdotes to tell of the Downton Abbey cast and the filming. Mrs Patmore the cook, Mr Carson the butler and the Thomas the footman were their favourites!

Highclere wears its Downton Abbey connections lightly with only a few signboards in the rooms to tell visitors of a specific link to the TV series. This leaves plenty of room for the “real” history of the house. I loved the Library, which resembled a gentleman’s club and was furnished with Georgian and Regency desks and tables. My favourite room though was the lovely south facing drawing room, which felt warm and intimate because it was comparatively small. I could quite imagine the ladies withdrawing there for tea and a chat!

The Castle became a centre of political life during the late Victorian era and in the 20^th century it saw different uses during the two World Wars. During the First World War it was a hospital for wounded officers. In this the storyline in the TV series mirrored the real history of the house. 

My favourite part of the visit was discovering about the life of a servant at Highclere during the Edwardian era. Once again, Downton Abbey mirrored reality perfectly. Guests at Highclere ranged from Royalty to politicians, Egyptologists to aviators. Behind the green baize door (there really was one, and a stone flight of steps leading down to the servants’ hall) the butler reigned supreme with Lord Caernarvon’s valet and the housekeeper also at the top of the pecking order. The butler ran the castle, looked after the wine cellar and waited on the family at dinner. He was also expected to announce visitors, take calling cards, escort departing visitors from the premises, organise the post and oversee the secure closing of the house each night. The valet managed the Earl's personal accounts as well as his wardrobe and travelled with him. The Highclere footmen had navy coloured livery and buttons sporting the family crest. They were all required to be clean-shaven and the more handsome and presentable the better it reflected on the family! 

After lunch in a marquee on the lawn – with Rochester being offered a drink of water out of special Highclere china! – we took a tour of the gardens. The Monks’ Garden has surviving Georgian walls and arches and is a beautiful and tranquil place to walk. The grounds are dotted with "follies;" decorative ruins in classical style designed to enhance the view.

We finished the day climbing Beacon Hill to the grave of the 5^th Earl of Caernarvon, the Egyptologist who with Howard Carter, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. Highclere Castle was framed in the distance, the perfect view to end a wonderful day.

Is there anywhere that has featured in a film or TV programme that you would like to visit? Have you even been “behind the scenes”? I am offering a copy of Dauntsey Park, my Edwardian-set book, to one commenter between now and midnight Thursday!

Before Mrs. Beeton

Hi, Jo here, with Charlie at Versailles, talking about a Beeton style publication, but from 1756 not 1861. By the way, you can read Mrs. Beeton's book on line here.

The 18th century domestic expert was Mrs. Martha Bradley, and her work is The British Housewife, which I have in a six volume facsimile edition from Prospect Books. The book is organized by months and each volume contains two months. 

I was accused in the last blog of tempting you all with time-eating sites, but Prospect's catalogue is well worth a browse. Alas I can't find my edition there.That makes it an even more treasured part of my book collection.

As my Malloren books are set in the 1760s, I often refer to Bradley for foods and activities suitable to the season. The peculiar use of stonecrop mentioned in The Scandalous Countess came from Bradley, as did the proper way of treating quince, which Georgia demonstrated at Danae House.

A side comment about the interpretation of novels.

A belated review of A Scandalous Countess quibbled with the Danae House scene as being there to show that Georgia wasn't totally self-centered. I don't think her totally self-centered, but the scene was there to illustrate the complex life of a high-born lady of the time. She was expected to be a patron of the arts and charities, as were the gentlemen. Not to be involved at all would have been seen as crass.

(The image of a quince is from this blog, and there's a page about quince.)

I thought it was clear that Georgia wasn't an enthusiastic do-gooder, but merely doing her symbolic duty and giving money until a minor crisis obliges her to inspect the water supply. The character aspect revealed was that a) she answered the call to of duty, and b) she had been trained in household management and so had some competence, but little true interest. Thus later in the book, when she faces managing Dracy's property, it is a real challenge.

I know that every reader brings themselves to the book, but it's a bit frustrating when information in the text is overlooked, and it makes me wonder if sometimes it would be better to be bluntly didactic. Any opinion on that? If you've read Scandalous Countess, how did you see that scene? 

Back to Martha Bradley

There's very little on line about her, which is a shame. Like Eliza Beeton, Mrs. Bradley wrote a weekly piece which was then compiled into a book. The weekly pieces seem to have been published entire, not in any magazine. The "January edition of The Gentleman's Magazine has an advertizement for The British Housewife No 1. To be continued weekly. 3d." (This information from the excellent introduction to the six volume facsimile written by the compiler, Gilly Lehman.)

It is a fascinating book in many ways, but I don't have space for its history or organization. I'll probably share bits in future blogs. Today I'll provide one item from April that raises a question.

A Wedding Supper

This is the illustration at the beginning of the volume (click to enlarge), showing the table lay-out. As was the norm at the time, the dishes are all laid out, which meant a great deal of serving of oneself and others at the meal. Though chaotic, this must have been very sociable and even fun, if the company was good. As it was a supper, however, it's possible this was a buffet.

My question is "wedding supper?" Except by special licence a wedding had to take place in the morning, so "wedding breakfast" would seem more suitable. However, in The History of Sir Charles Grandison, by Richardson, we have an account of a wedding which progresses through dinner in the afternoon with music and dancing to supper at midnight and guests leaving at 2 am. There is something similar in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, by Smollett.

If anyone knows more about this, I'm eager to know!

The Dishes

Down the center of the table are the dessert dishes: two pyramid of sweetmeats, with jellies of all sorts between them, doubtless prettily arranged.

The main dishes down the left side are: 6 turkey chickens larded, hasht patties, tarts, sturgeon, oyster loaves, and pheasants larded. A set of smaller dishes in the middle are french beans, tongue, asparagus, petit patties, and probably coxcombs.

On the right the large dishes are: Partridges larded, oyster loaves, souced salmon, cheesecakes and custards, chickens a la creme with lettice (sic), 5 wild rabbits half grown larded. The small dishes on this side are identical to those on the other.

There are two other sets of small dishes each containing mushrooms, fat livers, peas, sweetbread, and a pupton oy quinces.

Though a bit short on veggies, there was something for everyone. What three dishes would you make a grab for, given the chance? Which would you avoid?

I couldn't find a recipe in the books for a pupton of quinces, but if you have time and ambition, here's the modified instructions for

A pupton of apples.

Pare 18 good apples, peel and core.Simmer them with a little water and 5 ounces of sugar until they're tender, then add half a teaspoon of sugar. (Apple sauce, I thought. But that's only the beginning.)

Cook them a little longer until thick, then put in a bowl to cool.

Grate some bread very fine and beat six egg yolks. Mix the eggs with 4 ounces of butter and some of the crumbs.Mix into the cold apples and put into a baking dish and put into a slow oven (ie low, but you'll have to guess) for about half an hour. You should then be able to turn it out onto a dish and should serve it hot with extra butter in a dish and fresh parsley.

Bon appetite!

There's no particular connection, but I'll give a copy of The Secret Duke to one commenter on this blog. Have at it!

Happy spring,

Jo

 

 

 

 

To Surrender to a Rogue

For a limited time, Cara's RITA-nominated To Surrender to a Rogue is available in digital format for the special price of $1.99 wherever e-books are sold!

Eloisa James: Paris in Love!

by Mary Jo
 
Two months ago we were fortunate to have Eloisa James visit to discuss her latest historical romance, The Duke is Mine.  (Incidentally, her previous title, When Beauty Tamed the Beast, is a RITA finalist for historical romance, so congratulations, Eloisa!) 

Besides discussing your novel in January, Eloisa, we also touched on the subject of your memoir, Paris in Love, which has just been released.  The book sounded so fascinating that all the Wenches and many of our regulars wanted to know more! Here's an excerpt.  

I’m most of the way through the book, and it’s a marvelous mosaic of observations and feelings, amusing anecdotes and poignant insights, that together form a rich, in-depth picture of Eloisa’s year in Paris.  But don’t just take my word for it. <G>  Here’s a blurb from Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love:

"What a beautiful and delightful tasting menu of a book: the kids, the plump little dog, the Italian husband. Reading this memoir was like wandering through a Parisian patisserie in a dream. I absolutely loved it."

MJP: Eloisa, you seem to have the perfect, glamorous romance writer’s life.  You’re a bestselling novelist, a tenured professor of Shakespeare and creative writing, you have a handsome Italian husband, two great looking kids (one of each gender), and an adorable rescue dog.  So—why did you run away to Paris for a year?
 
EJ:  I’m laughing at my laptop screen! Mary Jo, you know perfectly well that a glamorous sounding life can be its opposite, and that’s certainly the case here.  Those kids, for instance? Teenagers.  Enough said.

To return to your specific question, our great adventure happened after my mother died of ovarian cancer; two weeks later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  After I finished treatment for a (blessedly) early case, I was desperate for escape. We sold our house and cars, rented an apartment on the Internet, and took off.  We ran away.
 
MJP: I love the cover of the book, which sketches a tall, elegant woman with short bright hair striding confidently down a Parisian street.  In the background are a man and two children.  It seems to be a family portrait of sorts, though I notice that the chubby Chihuahua seems to be getting higher billing than the family. <G>
 
Oddly, what immediately came to mind is the fashion style of French women.  They have an impressive, put together elegance.  Even riding on the Metro, I would find myself studying average women with bags of vegetables and thinking how well dressed they looked.  Wonderful detailing.  Is that just me, or did you find that to be the case also?  If so, did you find yourself changing your own personal style?  Or didn’t it need to be changed?
 
EJ:  I spent hours and hours doing just that. A significant chunk of the book is taken up with figuring out how Frenchwomen dress; I even wrote an essay on how to achieve their flair.  The year did significantly change the way I dress, but not so much in what as how. The biggest lesson I learned had to do with tailoring: unless you are a perfect size, a tuck here or there will make any garment far more flattering.  In short: become friends with your local tailor!
 
MJP: Of course another thing France is justly known for is the food—I learned a lot about cooking by reading Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Following recipes step by step was really educational, and the results were pretty good, too.  Were you a foodie when you moved to Paris? Were you one when you came home? <G>  Did you experiment with new foods and cooking techniques while you were there?
 
EJ: I did play around with cooking in Paris. It was the first time in a long time that I had time to experiment, and I hugely enjoyed myself.  (I even put some recipes in the book.)  While my experiments involving French ingredients such as lavender mustard were signal failures, I ended up perfecting recipes that I already knew—mostly learned from my Italian mother-in-law. 

MJP: In your previous interview here, you talked about how you wanted to capture the special moments of this family year, so you tweeted and did Facebook posts about your experiences—in other words, a real time diary.  How much shaping, editing, and reflecting was involved in turning that material into a full length memoir?
 
EJ:  Oh, it was awful.  It took a solid two years, and I found it a far more difficult process than writing a novel, which actually makes sense:  I didn’t know how to write a memoir, and I wrote my first novel so long ago I can hardly remember.  Luckily, I had a wonderful and patient editor, Susan Kamil.
 
 MJP:  What are your favorite places that you visited in Paris or beyond? 
 
EJ:  May I turn this question on its head?  I fiercely believe that our happiest memories come from daily life rather than visits to extraordinary places.  My favorite memories of Paris stem from the fact that every day I would stop my daughter off at school on one side of Paris and walk home to the other side, crossing the Seine.  Paris has wonderful lemony light; watching it bounce off the water and reflect gilded statues and pale marble was even better than Versailles’s majesty.
 
MJP: If you were to run away another year—where would you go?  Paris again, or some other marvelous city? 
 
EJ:  I love Paris!  But I’m not sure that running away works the second time… I doubt there will be a Moscow in Love, for example.  It was a very special year, a healing year.
 
MJP: Any last words you’d like to share?
 
EJ: For those of you who are thinking, II love romance, not memoir , I just wanted to tell you that there is indeed a romance in Paris in Love!  And in fact, the end of the love story I tell here is about as romantic as anything Mary Jo or I ever imagined—plus it’s true.  I hope you love it!

 
MJP: Thanks so much for visiting us today, Eloisa!  I've been thoroughly enjoying Paris in Love, and I'm sure many of our readers here will also.  I was even tempted to find some lavender mustard and use it to turn a chicken purple!
 
Eloisa will be giving away a basket of French goodies and a copy of When Beauty Tamed the Beast to someone who comments between now and midnight Saturday.  So talk to us about the book, or your experiences and/or dreams of Paris....

Mary Jo

Beauty and the Book

Cara/Andrea here, It should come as no surprise that I, as a writer with a background in graphic design, have a soft spot in my heart for the art of the book. So when I recently saw a museum exhibit which included a display of what many experts consider the most beautiful book ever printed, you can well imagine that it my colophon all aflutter. (In book design, the  colophon is traditionally the page where a printer gives a little information about the production of the book—where and when it was printed, the typefaces used, the illustrations, etc. And if it is a limited edition book, the number will be handwritten—for example, 5 out of an edition of 100.) So I thought I’d share some of the backstory and visual images from this stunning bibliographic achievement. 

“If we live to finish it, it will be like a pocket cathedral . . .” —Edward Burne-Jones

Published in 1896, The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer—known today as The Kelmscott Chaucer—was a joint labor of love by William Morris, a luminary of the artistic and intellectual scene in late 19th century Britain, and his good friend Edward Burne-Jones, a painter/ illustrator who was one of the leaders of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The two had met as students at Oxford, where they were part of a circle of aesthetically-minded young men headed by the artist and poet Gabriel Dante Rossetti.

William Morris is a fascinating figure who influenced a wide variety of artistic and intellectual movements of his time. He was not only a textile and furniture designer, but was also a Utopian Socialist who wrote extensively on the need to make a more ideal society. He was appalled by what he saw as the shoddy quality of mass-produced items, which he felt degraded the human soul. Dedicating himself to creating everyday items of beauty, he joined with a group of other artists and craftsmen to establish a company making furniture, textiles, wallcoverings, stained glass and other household items. Through this visionary work, Morris pioneered the British Arts and Crafts movement.



He looked to the past for both ideas and decorative motifs, and was an avid medievalist who translated many old tales and texts. (He also wrote fantasy novels and is considered by some to have inspired the that genre of literature, as his work greatly influenced J.R.R. Tolkien.)

Because of own his prolific writings, Morris became interested in printing and publishing later in life. Feeling that most books of the times were ugly and ill-made, he decided to set up his own shop, which he named Kelmscott Press after Kelmscott Manor, his beloved country house in Oxfordshire. Given his interest in traditional methods and aesthetics, it was no surprise that that he chose to study incunabula (a term which refers to books printed before 1500) in order to formulate his own concepts about how the printed page should look.

“It is the finest book ever printed—if William Morris had done nothing else it would be enough.” —Edward Burne-Jones

  Morris considered Chaucer one of the greatest writers in the English language . . . “the most genial and humourful healthy-souled man that England had ever seen.” So the decision to create a book in homage to his hero was a natural choice. According to the British Library website, the project brought together two of Morris’s passions. “First, his love of medieval literature, which inspired the subjects and style of much of his own writing. Second, his socialist philosophy, which looked back to a time before mechanization and division of labour had destroyed, as he saw it, the personal fulfillment and social function of meaningful work.”

To begin with, he designed his own typeface for the book, using the letterforms created by the famed 15th century Venetian printer Nicholas Jensen as a model. (Jensen’s original typeface is considered a classic by graphic designers and a version of it is available today for our computers.) The design, fittingly enough, was named “Chaucer.” Page ornamentation was the next phase, but illness delayed work for nearly a year.

In the meantime, Burne-Jones was working hard on illustrations for the text, worried that Morris might not live long enough to complete their magnum opus. In all, he created 87 drawings, which were then meticulously copied onto wooden blocks and engraved by master craftsman William Harcourt Hooper.

The richly detailed decorative borders were finally completed and represent Morris’s visionary interpretation of medieval ornamentation. Inks and handmade paper were meticulously chosen, and the book when to press in 1896, the same year that Morris died. It  is hailed by bibliophiles as nothing short of a masterpiece. (The original edition of 425 copies sold for £20. A special run of 13, priced at £126 were printed on vellum and bound in white pigskin. At recent auction, a paper Kelmscott Chaucer sold for $160,000.)

I first fell in love with the Kelmscott Press books during college, when I saw an edition of The Wood Beyond the World, a fantasy novel written by Morris himself. The textures, scale, symmetry and proportions created by Morris and his collaborators are, to my eye, exquisite. And just as importantly, the decoration doesn’t overpower the text—the type remains very readable as all the elements work in harmony with each other. So I wholeheartedly agree with the museum curators that the Kelmscott Chaucer may be the most beautiful book ever printed.

How about you? Do you have a favorite book that takes your breath away with its beauty? A favorite illustrator? I love Burne-Jones, and also Aubrey Beardsley, especially his drawings for Le Morte d'Arthur.

Lady M's Trailer & Books to Movies

Movies and books! What could be better!

Susan here ... the other day I saw The Hunger Games, after reading the books, and yeah, I loved both forms of the story. I absolutely adore movies, especially in movie theaters -- I love seeing the stories and characters made so convincingly vibrant, I love the clear and magnificent visuals, the surround sound, the tubs of popcorn, the chocolate, the trailers for other movies ... all seen in the darkness that focuses the whole experience and provides a total escape for a couple of hours. Being a highly visual person as well as a writer and reader, I'm a total sucker for a movie translation of a book, especially if I've already read it (I always try to read the book before I see the movie, so the film visuals won't overlay my own imagination in the reading).

I'm very visual in my own writing, in descriptions as well as storytelling. When I'm thinking about what to write next, I can sometimes see scenes in my head as if they’re playing out on a movie screen—characters, setting, action, all of it.  While I'd love for one of my books to become a movie someday (what author wouldn't!), it's fun to have book trailers created - sort of a teeny-screen version of a book!

A few months ago, I blogged about Queen Margaret’s Video and interviewed Jim lefter, my video producer, about the process of creating a book trailer. At the time, we were also working on a video for Lady Macbeth: A Novel. That video one ran into some delays, but it's finally ready!

I’m delighted to debut the Lady Macbeth video here on Word Wenches. This gorgeous book trailer was also created by Jim Lefter. I am so grateful to Jim for his creative vision (for example, he beautifully expressed the difference between Shakespeare’s Macbeth and my Lady M, and he found some stunning images). I’m truly thankful for his patience in the process and his amiability each time I changed my mind or asked for just one more tweak... I'm also thankful to Dougie MacLean for the use of his wonderful music in the background, which helps make the two videos true companion pieces.  Click here and enjoy the video! 

Here on Word Wenches, we've talked about favorite historical movies, but seeing Hunger Games got me thinking again about books translated into movies, whether historical, contemporary, fantasy, and so on. Sometimes the translation works beautifully … sometimes it doesn’t.

A book stands on its own, and the movie version that follows should be able to stand on its own as well as a different medium. Complete faithfulness in detail is not always necessary. The movie is a different expression of the story and characters. It's not required that it be an exact replica of the book, though fans of a book will look for that and make comparisons in their minds. WIth or without intentional faithfulness, the movie should succeed as film, just as we can expect a book to be the best it can be within its own creative form.

Here are some favorite novels that successfully translated (I think!) into some outstanding movies and cable series:

1. Pride and Prejudice (more than one version!)
2. Harry Potter films
3. Lord of the Rings
4. Game of Thrones
5. To Kill a Mockingbird – one of the best, most faithful screen captures of a novel
6. Gone With the Wind

What favorite books of yours have been made into movies? Did it work for you, or did it change your imagination's interpretation of the book?  Has any movie replaced the book as a favorite for you? 

~Susan

 

 

 

Guest Eloisa James

On Friday, April 6, Mary Jo will interview returning Honorary Word Wench, Eloisa James.  Eloisa will talk about her memoir, Paris in Love, describing how she and her family (and her dog) ran away to Paris for a year.  The book launch is this week--a perfect time for us to interview Ms. James!