Word Wenches

Wild Swimming

Christina here. There’s a lot of talk about wild swimming these days. It seems to be a recent concept, even though the practice is as old as time. The term just means swimming outside in a body of natural water – lakes, rivers, waterfalls or the sea. The main thing is that it isn’t man-made. The phenomenon is increasingly being romanticised (at least here in the UK) as it becomes more popular, with lots of people extolling the virtues of going back to natural bathing in this way. Perhaps because we were all shut in for so long during the pandemic, the freedom of swimming outdoors seems extra special. And I agree – it is!

I’ve long been a huge fan of freshwater bathing in particular – I much prefer it to the briny sea, although I’ll happily swim anywhere. Unlike the ocean, though, the water in lakes and rivers isn’t salty so you end up feeling really clean and refreshed. There is no need for a shower afterwards and even your hair will be extra soft.

June What We're Reading!

Mary Jo here…

…with the Wenches' ever popular "What we're reading" blog.  Dig out your credit cards, we're going for a joy ride!

I've always known that Jennifer Ashley is a very talented, prolific author who writes historical romances, paranormals, and historical mysteries, but I hadn't found her Leonidas the Gladiator series, written under her Ashley Gardner pseudonym.  So far there are only two novels and a novella, but more are coming.  The first book is Blood of a Gladiator.

Leonidas is the premier gladiator in Rome, a rock star fighter who is recognized in the streets, but he has reached the point where he can't face any more killing.  That is the moment when he receives his freedom from slavery and can finally quit being a gladiator and make his own life--if he can figure out how.

He has no financial resources, but an unknown benefactor gives him a modest apartment and a slave of his own: Cassia, who is a scribe.  Illiterate Leonidas doesn't know what to do with  a slave who does doesn't cook or do housework, but she can help him find jobs and is very good at negotiating contracts and making sure they get paid. 

Initially Cassia is afraid of him, but he's a good guy and doesn't ravish her and gradually they develop a bond of trust.  And have to deal with unexpected murders.  Ashley Gardner creates a wonderful sense of place and what it would be like to live in Rome during the reign of Nero.  But the best part is the characters and their slowing developing relationship. 

 

A Little Peace

Cassatt, Blue Armchair

Susan here. Well, this has been a week … we've had a whirlwind of news, distraction, stress, strong opinion - not necessarily a great time to focus on the usual things we attend to in our lives. For me, that's writing and tasks that are sitting when they should be moving along. Sometimes it's good to set things aside and find a little peace, calm, and respite wherever we can. So sit back and let the Wench blog be a bit of a haven today. Take a deep breath, smile, relax. We could all use a little kindness and love and something real pretty right about now.

Here's a gallery of work by artists who have created little pools of peacefulness here and there. A lovely way to breathe and recalibrate if needed (and if you happen to have a romance on hand - maybe even written by one of the Wenches! - we hope you find a little time to read today, another great way to recalibrate).  

When a bowl or cup or something valuable is broken, the Japanese have a tradition called kintsukuroi, “golden repair” – the item is put back together with an application of gold that adheres the broken pieces, making the item not just useful again, but gives it a new beauty as a work of art and a meditation on renewal and growth. It’s a lovely tradition—and the next time I drop something, I will wish for gold instead of glue to make it right again.

Dreaming in trees

Anne here, and today, for something a little bit different, I'm going to talk about trees. I'm very fond of big old trees and spent much of my childhood up in a tree, dreaming, or reading or surveying my imaginary kingdon. I remember once, when we moved house and I was feeling really unhappy about it — it was in the city, and having come from the country where I roamed far and wide at will, I didn't like the look of all those cramped streets and houses and roads.

But then I found a big old tree in the back yard, behind the garage, and I immediately climbed it and found a spot to sit in it and gaze out over the rooftops, and that made me feel much happier.
This is a favorite painting by a favorite artist, Anita Klein and I think you will see why I love it so much. 

When Europeans came to this country a couple of centuries ago, they set about cutting down thousands of big, ancient trees. That legacy horrifies me, even though I understand that they needed to clear land  to grow food, and that the native hardwood timber was good for building, but even so, some of the old photos are so devastating to look at, knowing that they cut down trees that were hundreds of years old.

Peacock Splendor—A Gallery of Regency Military Men

Andrea here. Summer may be just starting here in the northern hemisphere, but the book calendar means that I’m already in “Autumn mode” for the upcoming release of my new Wrexford & Sloane mystery. MURDER AT THE SERPENTINE BRIDGE will hit the shelves on September 27 . . . By the by, my publishers is doing a Goodreads giveaway of 100 free ARC copies. Just click here by July 1 to enter for a chance to win! 


On my end, I, too, am starting to think about promo stuff. An introvert at heart, I would rather be writing the stories. But this book is particularly fun to talk about. There are times when an author get extraordinarily lucky and history provides a setting for a mystery more perfect than any author would dare to make up!

The actual Peace Celebrations which were held in London during June of 1814 play a leading role in the book’s plot. I’ll be talking more about the specific events in later blogs. Today, however, I’m musing about the pomp and splendor of the famous guests—especially the victorious military brass—who came from all over the Continent to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon (this is, the first defeat!) and his exile to the isle of Elba.

Midsummer Celebrations

Photo by Markus Bernet

Christina here. In a few days it will be midsummer and as I’m going to be in Sweden then, I’ll be celebrating more than usual. Nordic summer nights are special and there’s nothing more special than midsummer – it’s a big deal in Sweden and should preferably be experienced in the countryside somewhere. People head out of the towns en masse in order to enjoy nature. Maybe because of the long, cold dark nights they have to put up with for half the year, they appreciate the light warm evenings of summer all the more. Summer is short, so this time is precious, and especially the longest night of the year.

This year summer solstice falls on Tuesday 21^st June but here it's not always celebrated on the correct date. The Swedes have decided to always have Midsummer Eve on a Friday, so it can be any day between 19^th and 25^th June. But the sentiment is the same.

The Butterfly Effect

Nicola here, talking about insects (as you do!). I’ve got to admit that I’m not a big fan of insects, especially if they sting or bite, or even if they don’t. I quite like a ladybird (ladybug) and I make an exception for butterflies and moths, and obviously I appreciate honey (thank you, bees.) But I’m not naturally drawn to beetles or other insects. (I also dislike spiders, but in the course of writing this blog piece I’ve discovered they aren’t insects but arachnids.)

Last week, however, we were away for the few days on the trail of one of the most beautiful and scarce insects in Britain. Fortunately it is a butterfly, the swallowtail. Whilst there are 550 species of the swallowtail family in the world, we only get one in Britain and then only in one relatively small area, the Norfolk Broads in the east of the country. So off we went to find them. (The photos are all by my husband who is a massive butterfly fan as well as a great photographer).

Initially we had planned to hire a small boat and cruise the Broads in search of these elusive but beautiful creatures. However I have a love hate relationship with boats and fell in on my last visit to the Broads as did our dog, who could swim better than me so got out more easily. We compromised on a houseboat, which was a lovely experience. Waking up on the river listening to the call of the birds and watching the moon on the water at night was very relaxing and peaceful.

Ask A Wench: our noble ancestors!

Jean Hasbrouck House

Pat here:

The wenches thank Jane Irish Nelson for this fabulous question: Have you traced your family history? If so, what interesting stories have you discovered? And have you ever incorporated those stories into your books? Jane, you’ve won a copy of one of my books!

Wenches, being the history nuts we are, have delved into the lives and stories of our ancestors where we can and have some fabulous tales to tell…

Except me. I may have mentioned previously that both my parents were orphaned, my mother at birth and my father when he was young. I never had biological grandparents and have no family stories to tell. But after doing the DNA search on one of the genealogy sites and consulting with a cousin, I’ve traced bits and pieces. My father’s ancestors were deeply rooted in the Hudson

Huguenot cemetery

Valley of New York, well back to the original settlers. (There was a good deal of intermarriage in these early families. The same names pop up frequently on the tree.)  One of them has even written a small book with all the research he has done, although I seem to have lost the link. I have pages of research notes from family members, and all I can say is that I’m pretty sure that side of the family came from a lot of vain storytellers with too much time on their hands. <G> If I follow their irregular notes, I am descended from half of European nobility.

A panel discussion

Anne here. I recently drove up to Ballarat, a large former gold-mining city in regional Victoria, to take part in a library event — a panel discussing "The Anatomy of Romance" — my first live event in several years, thanks to CoVid.

It was chaired by historical novelist Darry Fraser, and the other speakers were Tobias Madden and me. (Toni Jordan was to have attended but she was ill and had to cancel.) 

It was a very chilly day — icy and wet — and I feared that nobody would want to venture out to hear a library discussion. But as the organizing librarian said, "Ballarat people are used to this kind of weather," and so it proved when more than fifty people showed up. At any rate I was very glad that at the last minute packing I'd tossed in my Irish ruana (the "sea-violet" wrap I was wearing.) It's soft and light and beautifully warm.

Punches and Pugilists—Random Fcts on Regency Boxing

Andrea here, offering yet another down-the-rabbit-hole research discovery today. I love research, as part of the fun is discovering things you didn’t know you wanted to know! Now, I am not a bellicose person, so I’m not at all interested in an actual boxing match. But as I needed to know a few specifics about ‘pugilism’ for a WIP scene, I had to research a few basic things.

And voila! Down the rabbit hole! Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I find the history of just about anything fascinating on an intellectual level, and as I happen to like sports (the other Wenches have dubbed me the ‘Wench Jock’) I actually found myself very interested in the resources I found. One of the most intriguing is “Fighting Words," an online exhibit from the Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame, from which I have cheerful poached some of the following information.

Tiny Things

Christina here and today I’m going to revisit a subject I think we’ve talked about before – miniatures.

I don’t know what it is about tiny things, but they are immensely appealing. Just because they are small, they are much cuter than anything on a larger scale. It’s as if we equate cuteness with size and the smaller something is, the better. There’s an article here explaining the science behind this obsession with miniatures. Basically, it seems to be connected to our instinct to look after anything small and helpless, like a baby. Or maybe we are just nostalgic for our childhood?

A couple of weeks ago I went to a doll’s house fair and I was awestruck by the amazing objects for sale. It’s incredible how tiny replicas of everyday items can be produced, and the care and attention to detail some makers put into crafting them is unbelievable!

Greek Highlights

by Mary Jo

All of the destinations on this cruise were interesting, but I particularly wanted to see Greece and Turkey, and I was not disappointed!

Corfu: 

Our first Greek port was the island of Corfu, which is the extreme northwestern corner of Greece with Albania easily visible across a narrow sea. (It's also the setting for the Mary Stewart novel This Rough Magic.) 

The island has an abundance of history and has been under many rulers, including the Venetian Empire and the Ottomans.  (The same is true of the rest of Greece.) Our Viking cruise had numerous excursions options, but we decided to for "See Corfu by 4x4." This meant joining a small convoy of itty bitty Suzuki four wheel drive vehicles and climbing up up a dramatic mountain.

 

Jubilee Jubilation

Nicola here, in the UK, where we are marking Queen Elizabeth II’’s 70th anniversary on the throne with Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The series of events being held to celebrate this milestone reminded me of 1977 when I was twelve years old and was living in Leeds in Yorkshire. We had a street party and in the park down the road from us there was a big concert which you could hear from our garden - which was great as my parents wouldn’t allow me to go as I was too young!

Jubilees don’t come around that often. They mark a major milestone in the reign of a monarch and only start after 25 years on the throne with the Silver Jubilee. They are named in the same way that anniversaries are: silver, golden, diamond and platinum but there’s no pearl or sapphire jubilee and none of the smaller anniversaries in between. However, they may be infrequent but they have a long history. The origins of jubilee celebrations go back to Ancient Egypt when a pharoah would take part in various ceremonies to demonstrate his or her fitness to rule. The word “jubilee” derives from the Hebrew word ‘Jobel’ which refers to the ram’s horn with which these ceremonies were proclaimed. Jubilees are, as the name suggests, times of jubilation.

Love in June

Susan here on the first of June, a month famously associated with many things—roses, summer, last day of school, Gemini, more recently LGBTQIA Pride Month, Men’s Health Month … and traditionally, of course, weddings and marriage. Why weddings? Aside from the chance for beautiful weather and lots of roses, June is named for Juno, the Roman goddess (she was once Hera) and protector of women and marriage, a strong warrior woman and wife of Jupiter (Zeus). (Juno, fresco in Pompeii). 

So here’s a look at some gorgeous artworks that convey a June-like sense of love, marriage, devotion, passion. Images can be shortcuts to evoking a mental and emotional response that we can connect with instantly. A romantic subject can convey immediately as a visual.     

King Tutankhamun and his queen, Ankhesenamun, depicted on the back of a golden chair found in Tut’s tomb, 18th dynasty. This shows the tenderness and affection between the teenage king and his young half-sister/wife – a sense of emotional intimacy that appears elsewhere in Egyptian art (particularly of this period).

Codex Manesse, German, 14th century - medieval imagery of lovers is often stiff and unnatural, but this little image has a sweet joy and a flirting embrace that is genuine and affectionate with echoes of courtly love.

The Arnolfini Portrait, Jan Van Eyck, 1434, National Gallery, London. An enigmatic double portrait of a possible marriage between (tentatively identified) the Bruges merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife (her right hand in his left, the artist’s signature and image in the mirror on the back wall make this a possible legal document; other symbolic representations refer to marriage, loyalty, fertility and so on). Arnolfini was once described by a scholar as “a cold fish,” yet there’s a certain vulnerability and shyness in both groom and bride that is endlessly fascinating, and – even if one just absorbs the exquisite beauty of this little painting-– it has a romantic, what-will-happen-to-them sense that captures our curiosity. Among the theories is that this may be a memorial portrait of a wife who had died - making this portrait even more romantic and poignant - and certainly less cold than some suggest. 

Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride 1667, Rijksmuseum. The subjects of this picture are unknown - perhaps Old Testament figures, which Rembrandt painted often - or perhaps another couple. Whoever they are, the painting of these two is exquisite, rich with a real yet understated emotional content that seems lasting and powerful. There is such love in this painting, from the quiet, protective gestures to the warm lighting—even the build-up of paint on the surface adds layers of golden richness that deepen the emotional content.

Pierre-Auguste Cot, The Storm, 1880, The Metropolitan Museum, NYC. In college, this was the poster I taped on my wall--the young lovers fleeing a storm or some unseen enemy, all gorgeous passion, swirling energy, devotion and the mystery of romance.  

Frederick Burton, The Meeting on the Turret Stair, Museum of Ireland, 1864. Poignant and powerful, the last meeting of a couple doomed to be apart--the last touch as they pass each other to be forever separated. The polished realism, the vivid color, the solid figures and the spiral of their bodies all work together to give this image its emotional power. 

The Painter's Honeymoon, Lord Fredric Leighton, 1864, Boston MFA. This picture so beautifully conveys a moment of devoted, contented new love -- light, textures, the contrast of hard and soft, light and dark, all contribute to the strength and quiet beauty of the image. And those clasped hands, just lovely. 

The Order of Release 1746, Sir John Everett Millais, 1852, The Tate. The Highland wife in this exquisite painting is the very image of strength in love, accepting her Highland husband from English custody. Her control and determination here are stirring and beautiful. Another love story is related to this painting, as the model was Effie Ruskin, the wife of John Ruskin. She fell in love with the painter when the Ruskins traveled with Millais on a trip to Scotland; two years later, when her marriage to Ruskin had ended, they married.

So there you go, some of my favorite romantic paintings. Please share your favorite images too!