A cross-post from The Regency Redingote
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding are on the menu for traditional Christmas dinner in many homes in Great Britain and in parts of the former British empire, even today. They were, of course, a regular part of many British Christmas dinners during the Regency. But just what is Yorkshire pudding, where and when did it originate, and how was it made?
The rise of Yorkshire pudding …
Sally Orr is today’s featured Beau Monde Author
After her graduate education at the University of California Irvine and Caltech, Sally worked for thirty years as a Ph.D. scientist specializing in the discovery of gene function. Several years ago, she joined an English message board, where she posted many, many examples of absolute tomfoolery. As a result, a cyber-friend challenged her to write a novel. Since she’s a hopeless Anglophile, it’s not surprising that her first book is a Regency-era romance. Today she’s writing three novels for Sourcebooks. The first one, The Rake’s Handbook: Including Field Guide, was published on November 4, 2014. The second, When a Rake Falls, will be published on April 7, 2015. She lives with her husband in San Diego, surrounded by too many books and not enough old English cars.
What do you love best/interests you most about the Regency Era? Continue reading “Sally Orr – Featured Beau Monde Author”
The holiday of Thanksgiving as it is known in America was not celebrated in England during the Regency. Nevertheless, large game birds were an important part of the autumn season, for many English gentlemen devoted a great deal of time to shooting them. In today’s article, Regency romance author, Regina Scott, whose most recent book is The Bride Ship, gives us the details the annual autumn practice of shooting birds during the Regency. In between parties, of course.
Continue reading “Birds of a Feather Hate Fall by Regina Scott”
Kathryn Kane is today’s Featured Beau Monde Author.
Kathryn is a historian and former museum curator who has enjoyed Regency romances since she first discovered them in her teens. She credits the novels of Georgette Heyer with influencing her choice of college curriculum, and she now takes advantage of her knowledge of history to write her own stories of romance in the Regency. She now has a career in the tech industry but she has never lost her love of the period and continues to enjoy reading Regency romance novels and researching her favorite period of English history. Though she was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Kat now lives and works in Boston, Massachusetts. She misses the warm sunny winter days of the desert southwest, but access to the rich research collections of the libraries of Boston is some compensation for the snow and cold of New England. Kat is occasionally assisted (or impeded) in her writing by a furry feline friend whose primary responsibilities are neighborhood surveillance and cuteness, at both of which she excels, along with exuberant purring.
Deflowering Daisy is Kathryn’s debut Regency romance. As a play on the title, she has woven a number of snippets of floral history into the story, some of which may be unknown even to life-long Regency aficionados. Others maybe known to some readers, though probably not used in the contexts in which they will be found in this story. An extended excerpt can be found at Kat’s web site.
Find her at KathrynKane.net — The Regency Redingote — Kathryn Kane Romance
Regency romance author, Ann Lethbridge, whose new book, Captured Countess, will be released in December, often writes about Regency fashions at her blog. During the course of her research, she discovered that in the fall of 1813, there were gowns named for a grand fete which had been held that summer at Vauxhall Gardens. The fete was given to celebrate the great victory in Spain which had been won by General, the Marquis of Wellington over the French forces in the Peninsula.
In today’s article, Ann tells us about the grand fete given to celebrate Wellington’s victory at Vittoria. It sounds like quite a crush, at least for some of those in attendance. Perhaps the event might be just the setting for a few scenes in one of your upcoming Regency romances.
Jane Lark, author of a number of historical romances, spent some time at historic Belton House, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. This great seventeenth century house played the part of the many-windowed mansion of Rosings Park, Lady Catherine de Burgh’s country estate in the 1995 series of Pride and Prejudice. Today, Jane tells us about her tour of the servants’ areas of the great house.
Continue reading “Below stairs at Belton House — Lincolnshire by Jane Lark”
Caroline, Princess of Wales, was not a highly visible presence during the Regency. She had long since separated from her husband, the Prince of Wales by the time he became Regent. In the late summer of 1814, Caroline left England and did not return until her husband had become king. In today’s article, award-winning Regency author, Cheryl Bolen, reviews Flora Fraser’s biography of the Prince Regent’s estranged wife.
Continue reading “The Unruly Queen: A Review by Cheryl Bolen”
Fire is something no one wants to think about today, but it was even more terrifying for those living in the Regency. Today, Regency author, Regina Scott, whose latest release is Ballrooms and Blackmail, tells about the measures that the residents of Regency London took to protect their property. She also tells us about those men who were willing to risk their lives to protect others.
Continue reading “A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight by Regina Scott”
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
In her debut novel, Deflowering Daisy, romance author, Kathryn Kane, lets her heroine, Daisy, put her importunate suitor in his place by use of a dog-cart. In today’s article, you can learn more about this very handy Regency vehicle.
How many times have you been reading a novel set in the Regency and come upon characters who ride in or discuss riding in a dog-cart? I have run across a great many over the years, and the descriptions of these vehicles varied widely. So much so I could never get a clear mental picture of a dog-cart. I decided to do some research to learn more about the appearance, use and construction of dog-carts during the Regency. The more I read about them, the more I realized they were often used rather like the SUV of today.
It is August, which means days are getting shorter, summer is coming to a close and soon it will be time for lots of children to go back to the schoolroom, if they are not there already. In today’s article, romance author, Regina Scott, whose boxed set, Timeless: Historical Romance Through the Ages, is available now, tells us about the country house parties which often took place in the month of August during the Regency. But these parties were not all bucolic pleasure. Once you know about the many requirements for a guest at one of these parties, would you look for an invitation, or would you settle for the hot and smelly metropolis in August?
Continue reading “Nineteenth Century House Party by Regina Scott”
Susanna Ives, author of Wicked Little Secrets, provides us with two different sets of instructions for making Stilton cheese, one from the Regency and another from the early Victorian period. This quintessentially English cheese now enjoys protected status by the European Commission based on its location of origin. But before the twentieth century, Stilton was made at many farms across much of England, certainly in the north. Once you have read these instructions for Stilton, would you make some yourself, or might you have one or more of your characters make it in an upcoming novel?
Continue reading “Stilton Cheese (for Abigail) by Susanna Ives”
In today’s article, award-winning Regency romance author, Cheryl Bolen, reviews the book Victorian Parlour Games. As Cheryl tells us, despite its title, this book is a very useful reference for Regency authors who are planning to include the playing of games in their stories. Many of the games in this book were played long before the Victorian era and are quite appropriate to a novel set in the Regency.
Once you read Cheryl’s review, the existence of which game in our favorite period surprises you the most?
Continue reading “Victorian Parlour Games: A Book Review By Cheryl Bolen”
Ah, June, a popular month for weddings. And during the Regency, quite a number of those weddings took place at the small village of Gretna Green, the first hamlet over the English border in Scotland. Last year, Jane Lark, whose most recent Regency is The Scandalous Love of a Duke, spent some time in modern-day Gretna Green. Today, she shares with us what she learned about the famous, or infamous, Scottish capital of clandestine wedding.
What really happened in Gretna Green …
Just a reminder that registration is open for the Beau Monde’s mini conference!
Quick details: The conference will be held Wednesday, July 23rd in San Antonio (kicking off the national RWA conference!). Registration includes breakfast, lunch (featuring our keynote speaker Vicky Dreiling) and delicious treats at the soiree, plus access to six Regency-themed workshops!
For more information (and to register) check out the link here: http://thebeaumonde.com/resources/annual-conference. Early Bird prices available until June 15, 2014. Full conference fees include breakfast, lunch and soiree (available separately).
We hope to see you there!
Regina Scott, whose latest print book is The Husband Campaign, shares with us some fads in medicine which held sway during the Regency. As she points out, the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. Regina’s article makes an interesting follow-up to Angelyn Schmid’s article on Sir Henry Halford, a fashionable Regency doctor, posted last week.
After reading this article, do you think you prefer medical fads from the Regency or those from modern times?
Award-winning Regency romance author, Cheryl Bolen, whose romance novel, A Lady By Chance, is part of the Scandalous Brides boxed set, offers some valuable writing tips. In today’s article, Cheryl shares some secrets from a prolific author on how to avoid those sagging middle sections which can bog down a great story.
Perhaps some of these tips will be just the thing you need to help you liven up the middle part of your book when your enthusiasm for the story begins to flag.
Continue reading “Prescription for Sagging Middles by Cheryl Bolen”
In today’s article, Regency romance author, Ann Lethbridge, whose latest romance is Falling for the Highland Rogue, gives us a brief virtual tour of a charming, ancient Welsh town. A town through which any book lover, history buff or Anglophile could ramble with pleasure for many hours.
On 1 April 2014, Regina Scott released her most recent Regency romance, The Husband Campaign. Today, she shares her research into the art education which was considered proper for young ladies, including the future queen of England, in the early nineteenth century. As Regina explains, options for expressing themselves in painting were very limited for the young women of the Regency, and continued to be for many decades thereafter.
Continue reading “Rule England, But You Still Can’t Study Painting by Regina Scott”
Jane Lark, whose most recent Regency romance is The Passionate Love of a Rake, was released this past November. Today, Jane tells us about her visit to the grand estate of Attingham, which was the home of Lord Berwick and his young wife, the former courtesan, Sophia Dubochet, in the early years of the nineteenth century. Fortunately, this elegant house is now the property of the National Trust, and is open to visitors. Once you have read Jane’s tale of its history, you may want to see it for yourself.
Continue reading “Attingham Family Tales, Sophia Dubochet and the 2nd Lord Berwick By Jane Lark”
Cheryl Bolen, award-winning Regency romance author, today reviews an important historical reference with which most Regency authors and aficionados will want to be aware. As Cheryl point out, this book is most definitely not for children, but it is a treasure trove of previously unpublished images and information. She has added this book to her own Regency research library, and many other Regency devotees may very well want to do the same.