Word Wenches

Of hair dyes and turbans

Anne here, with a slightly frivolous post.

I pinched this image off the web because not only did it make me laugh, there was a central truth to it — and a truth very much of our times. 

Because of lockdown, and because a number of my dark-haired friends have been getting tired of having to pay to keep restoring their natural hair color, several of them have decided that while they're not going out and not socializing, they're going to just let it happen and see what they think about their new shade of pale. And thus, CoronaLisa.

Of course, people have always dyed their hair and tried to stave off the aging process.  It's generally the dark haired ones who battle with the grey most. We fairer types are lucky in that the grey hairs are fairly easily absorbed and don't stand out as much.

 The Egyptians made lavish use of henna and other products — such as the blood of black animals — to try to stave off the grey. The richer ladies simply wore wigs made from the hair of slaves. The Romans, too, experimented with dyes made from various plants, though they were often toxic and damaged not only the hair, but the person growing it. Eventually they came up with a formula made of fermented leeches — yes, delightful I know.

And unless you were a prostitute, up to this time the color choices were mostly reddish (henna) or black. Prostitutes? you ask. Yes, in Ancient Rome they were required to dye their hair yellow as a sign of their profession and while the more prosperous wore wigs made from hair taken from conquered and enslaved fair-haired Germanic people, some tried various concoctions of herbs and ash and nuts to create the effect. (And no, the image on the right is neither Roman nor Egyptian. You'll discover the connection at the end of this post.)

What the Wenches are Reading in April!

Christina here to tell you what the Wenches have been reading this month – an eclectic mix as always! With all of us being in isolation, we’ve had plenty of time to dive into our TBR piles and we hope you have too. Have a look and see if anything appeals to you!

I’ll start off with my own April favourites: First and foremost I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Wench Nicola’s upcoming release, The Forgotten Sister – published tomorrow! – a Tudor mystery and time slip (dual time) novel. I can safely say that this is one of the best books I have read in a long time! It has everything you want from a time slip story and it was utterly, utterly brilliant!!! Nicola has managed to intertwine the story of Amy Robsart (wife of Robert Dudley in Tudor times) so cleverly with the characters in the present. Robert is part of Queen Elizabeth I’s court and Amy doesn’t seem to figure much in his plans. She needs a way out of their loveless marriage and thinks she’s hit on the perfect solution – but has she? The present day heroine Lizzie has her own problems to contend with and when her life begins to echo the happenings of the past, she has to uncover a centuries old secret in order to move forward. I couldn’t put this down and the characters will stay in my mind for a long time.

An Inside Peek at the Pantry!

Andrea here, musing on an essential staple of the current sheltering-in-place life that most of us are living . . . or so all the food bloggers are telling us! A number of recent online articles have been waxing poetic on that humble kitchen element—the pantry!

I have a very spiffy one built into my kitchen. It is quite tall and features lovely roll-out shelves . . . which I confess are crammed to overflowing with . . .um, stuff. I actually do use the ‘stuff” in those shelves, as I like to cook. But inspired by a guide to stocking a pantry in the New York Times, I decided to take a closer look at mine.

It wasn’t pretty . . .

We have a winner!

Anne here.

Our most recent guest, Bronwyn Parry, appeared on the blog recently, discussing Regency-era fabrics, costume, and her new book,THE CLOTHIER'S DAUGHTER.

She also offered a giveaway to someone who left a comment. The winner of the book is Janice, who has been contacted privately.

Congratulations, Janice. 

Thank you to all those who visited the blog and read the interview, and thank you to all those who took the trouble to leave a comment. We do appreciate it.

And a special thank you to Bronwyn for visiting the wenches, sharing her knowledge and offering this giveaway.

Praising Peppercorns!

by Mary Jo

I've always been intrigued by spices, so much so that I wrote a blog about them years ago, and liked it so much that years later I posted it again while under deadline. <G>

So naturally I read an article on black pepper when browsing an issue of Cook's Illustrated, a publication of America's Test Kitchen.  Even though I learned a lot about cooking by working my way through recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking when I lived in England, I don't do a lot of cooking these days, but I do like reading about food and food related items. 

Cook's Illustrated does articles on things like how to make the New England cod and potato cakes, or Indian Butter Chicken, or chewy peanut butter cookies, all of which are in the May/June 2019 magazine, but the magazine isn't just recipes.  It's also exploring what works in different dishes, and why. 

 

Costume Dramas: They don’t make them like they used to do. Or do they?

Nicola here. One of our lockdown activities during this period of self-isolation has been to have a weekly film night (or sometimes a double bill!) it’s been great to catch up with some of the new movies that are out, some TV series I hadn’t yet seen, and some old favourites too. My viewing has included Knives Out, a sort of post-modern Agatha Christie style whodunnit with more twists than a roller coaster and Daniel Craig doing a bizarre accent, and Yesterday, a sweet and funny time -travel romance that I loved.

Costume drama has always been my catnip though, so the first film I streamed was the new version of Jane Austen’s Emma. Wench Andrea has already blogged about the film here so I’m not going to give my own take on it, especially as I agree with practically everything she said! New versions of Jane Austen’s books seem to come along more regularly than trains these days and it’s always interesting to see what new angle can possibly be taken. In the case of Emma, it really did feel like a film for the Instagram generation with every shot so beautifully curated. Unlike some viewers I did enjoy the fact that there wasn’t such an age disparity between Emma and Mr Knightley as there was in the book, and the sexual tension between the two of them was hot enough to burn down a Regency stately home!

Meet Bronwyn Parry

Anne here, and today I'm interviewing Bronwyn Parry.
Bronwyn is best known for her romantic suspense novels, published in Australia by Hachette. She's received a swag of awards; she won RWAmerica's Golden Heart, and in 2008 that became her first published novel As Darkness Falls. She's a two time RITA finalist, for Dark Country and Dead Heat, which were also listed in the Daphne du Maurier award for romantic suspense. And three of her novels (Dark Country, Dead Heat, and Storm Clouds) have won an Australian Romance Readers’ award for best Australian romantic suspense novel.

She lives with her husband in rural NSW, and regularly posts photos of costumes, kangaroos and dogs on her FaceBook page.  
Now, Bron has moved into the Regency-era with The Clothier's Daughter, a move that's not a huge surprise to those of us who know about her passion for history and for historical costume — not just how it looks, but how it was made and how it was worn. She volunteers in a small local museum and has conducted several workshops on historical textiles at national RWA conferences in Australia. Bron has also taught herself to pen letters using a quill and will dress up in costume to do so. 

Anne: Welcome to the Word Wenches, Bronwyn. Tell us a little about your passion for costume and what you do at your local museum.

Tales of Bears & Bunnies

Book illustration, Jessie Willcox Smith

Susan here, with tales of bears and bunnies, lambs and kitties—soft, plushy friends who have been with us for a long time, or have left memories and tracks in our hearts. Recently the Wenches were chatting about the “teddy bear hunts” that neighborhoods around the world have been creating for children walking around with their families. Setting a teddy bear or stuffed friend in the window to greet a child walking past is a gesture that’s one of the bright and wonderful lights emerging from the gloom of these challenging weeks. We began sharing stories about our own favorite teddy bears and bunnies and other cuddly toys, and the comforting joy of those friends when we were kids. And since it’s just past Easter, it seemed like the perfect time to share our stories with you . . . 

Anne here:

I was never much of a doll person as a child. I grew up with animals -- real ones. Until I was four, we had dogs, cats, a pair of goats, two cows (one of which always had a calf) a sheep (a lamb we raised each year until it got too big) and poultry of various kinds. So it's not surprising that I wasn't interested in dolls. But then there was Teddy, and he was my best friend. I don't remember not having Teddy. There is a photo of me when I was two or three, and they had to stand me on a cake tin to keep me still, and there I am -- holding Teddy.

My Teddy is balding and his feet and hands are patched, and he only has one eye -- I took him to kindergarten once, and some rotten kid pulled out one of his eyes. My godmother, who came to us every Easter, was a toymaker (among other things) in her spare time, and I remember her replacing Teddy's very worn and possibly holey hand and foot pads, and she did offer to replace the missing eye, but I wouldn't let her. I was worried it would hurt him, having a big needle stuck into his head -- and he'd been brave enough about the new paws. Besides, I didn't mind his missing eye -- I loved him all the more for it.

I still have Teddy. Almost all my childhood belongings were passed on or tossed out, but Teddy survived — I think because, being deeply suspicious of my mother's habits, I took him with me when I left home. The only other toy that survived is Snoodle, a lambswool rabbit made by one of my father's friends who was recuperating from something in hospital and given "occupational therapy" -- so he made me Snoodle. And of course, you can't give away such a personal gift, so Snoodle survived and came to live with Teddy and me again after my parents died.

This Wenchly conversation started when we were talking about people putting teddies in the window to add a little interest to cooped-up kids, and to make the neighborhood a friendlier place and so, here are Teddy and Snoodle in my front window.

Pat here:

I am Leo, hear me roar! And apparently I knew it at a very early age. When I was six, my baby brother got a beautiful stuffed lion for Christmas. I coveted that lion more than any of the gifts I received, none of which I can remember as well as that lion. I even had pictures of me and the lion on Christmas Day, although in dividing up old photos, my brother apparently got that one. The details are muddy, but eventually that lion ended up mine. It slept with me well into my teen years. By that time, I’d had to sew on new button eyes and patch his mane with gingham and calico patches left over from sewing projects, and he was about as dirty and scruffy as a lion can be, because he wasn’t washable. He quietly disappeared sometime between my getting married and my mother throwing out everything in the house when she moved. I hope he received a decent burial. He was a good protector for years.

 

WASH YOUR HANDS!

 

Pat here:

Talk about timing— I was researching the use of antiseptic soap for my doctor hero in my current WIP to make sure I could have him insist on washing hands and what he would have used. And now here we are in the midst of a plague that requires we wash our hands all the time, although the antibiotics my Victorian doc needed aren’t the same as the fatty soaps we need to melt a virus.

But as happens, I fell down the research rabbit hole looking up soap. We have solid evidence that a form of detergent made from animal fats and wood ash was used in Babylonia around 2800 BC. From all accounts, it was used in cleaning wools and textiles, and there is some evidence that it was used medicinally, although no one is telling me if they tried drinking the stuff. Uck ptui.

The Power of Song

Andrea here, musing today about lifting the spirits in times of trouble. We writers are used to a more solitary daily routine than most people (and we tend to be introverts by nature) so the shelter-in-place restrictions that most of us are facing right are perhaps a little less disruptive. Nonetheless, the sense of isolation can feel daunting. I think a profound part of being human is the need for connection with others, especially friends and family.

There’s the physical connections—hugs, just holding hands—that so many of us of us miss. And voices. Many of us have been on the phone or video chats with our loved ones to share that bond. But what’s also struck me is how music—again, an elemental means of communicating that seems deeply ingrained in humanity—is a source of solace and a means of lifting the spirits. A lot of us have been sharing links to songs to create flickers of sunshine among the dark clouds.

I shared a very fun virtual concert with the Wenches the other day. It was by an a capella singing group from my alma mater, which has a wonderful heritage in this genre of unaccompanied singing. They loved it, so I thought I’d share a few links with you of these marvelous college students raising their voices in song, along with a little background on their singing groups.

Because...Dragons!

Mary Jo

I'm happy to announce the first ever digital release of my novella, The Dragon and the Dark Knight!   I've written a number of novellas and shorter works because they're an enjoyable change of pace and give me the chance to go to new and different places. They can also be quirkier or more humorous than full length novels.  In short--fun! 

The Dragon and the Dark Lord was originally published as a longish novella in the Dragon Lovers anthology with Jo Beverley, Barbara Samuel, Karen Harbaugh, and me.  The four of us were friends and enjoyed working together, and we did three different romantic fantasy anthologies: Faery Magic, Dragon Lovers, and Chalice of Roses.  Most anthologies are started by an editor, then they look for authors, but for these three, we authors put together our ideas and sold publishers on them.  Which has also fun.

The four stories in the anthology were all very different.  I loved twisting some of the traditional. dragon tropes. <G> Here's the blurb for my story:

Base-born Sir Kenrick of Rathbourne has earned his living as an itinerant tournament knight. His skill supports him and his squire, but his dream of a manor and wife and family seems impossibly distant.  Then he hears of a wealthy baron in Cornwall who is looking for a champion to slay the dragon that is terrorizing his lands. The reward will be a manor by the sea.  Kenrick believes dragons are only a legend--but the prize makes the story worth investigating.   

But there really is a dragon--and a dozen knights have failed to vanquish it.  And when he finds a luminous lady in distress, the real challenge is protecting her and her dragon…

 

Welcome to the New Wench

Anne here, and today I'm delighted to introduce you to our newest wench — Christina Courtenay.

Christina is an award-winning, bestselling author of sweeping historical romances, regencies, time slip/time travel novels, and young adult novels, among others. She has won several awards, twice winning the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014), and won the Big Red Reads Historical Fiction Award with The Scarlet Kimono.

She also chaired the RNA (Romantic Novelists Association) in the UK from 2013-2015. (Read an interview here.) Naturally she is friends with wench Nicola, but she's also very good friends with our departing wench, Susanna. Here's a photo of the two of them together at an RNA event some years ago.

I first came across Christina's books five years ago, when Nicola mentioned one of her books, saying that it was set partly in Asia, something that always interests me. I bought Trade Winds, read it, and immediately glommed the rest of her backlist. I loved her big sweeping stories where Scottish and Swedish people found love and adventure in Japan and other parts of Asia.

Christina: Thank you Anne, so glad you enjoyed them, and I’m hugely honoured to have been asked to join the Word Wenches! I have been a fan ever since Susanna first told me to seek out this blog many years ago (thank you, Susanna, great advice!) so to actually be a part of it is just amazing.

Anne: Christina, you had something of an adventurous youth yourself; born in England, raised in Sweden and then, when you were sixteen, your family moved to Japan. What was that like?

Historical Icons and Celebrities

Nicola here. A new book about celebrity was published a couple of weeks ago. Called “Dead Famous” it’s written by Greg Jenner, a historical consultant on Horrible Histories and traces a history of celebrity from the Bronze Age to the modern day. The Amazon blurb reads: “Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realise.” Quoted examples are Lord Byron, the Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean and Sarah Bernhardt.

Way back in 2007(!) I wrote a book called Lord of Scandal which was about a Regency celebrity. I was writing it at the same time that I was researching my MA dissertation and it was this research into heroes that fed into the book. Now I have a new book, The Forgotten Sister, coming out in a couple of weeks that also features celebrity, this time in a slightly different way, drawing on parallels between the cult of Queen Elizabeth I and modern-day fame.

On Shawls

Anne here. It's the 1st of April, but I doubt we're in the mood for silly jokes, but maybe I'm the April fool, because today, I was halfway through writing this blog on shawls, I went looking online for an image I knew I had buried in the old computer, but didn't want to dig out — this one, which comes from a book I own by Auguste Racinet. Pure shawl porn, don't you agree? I love all the various styles in which a shawl could be worn.

 

 

But guess where I found the image? In a blog I'd written for the Word Wenches back in 2012, on the topic of — you guessed it — shawls. Not a bad blog, if I say so myself, but it covered a lot of the territory I'd planned to cover today. Curses!

 

But after a bit of grumping around, I decided to soldier on and write a second blog on shawls. Not as informative as the first, which you can read here, but hopefully entertaining enough.