Monthly Archives: June 2015

Fabric Resources

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Isobel Carr

I’m currently working on jazzing up my workshop on Georgian Textiles for the Beau Monde’s mini conference at RWA next month. So I thought today I’d share a few fabric resources with you all.

There is an amazing reproduction of one book belonging to a particular woman out there: Barbara Johnson’s Alum of Fashions and Fabrics. Unfortunately, it’s out of print and very expensive these days. But if you Google it, quite a few of the pages are posted on the internet and it’s fairly easy to find in most large library collections. Her book is fascinating as contains not only swatches, but period fashion plates and notations about the gowns made with the fabric.

Page from Barbara Johnson’s Alum of Fashions and Fabrics

There used to be a couple of great swatch books that were readily available (Textiles for Regency Clothing and Textiles for Colonial Clothing) but both are out of print and shockingly expensive now.

There are also the Threads of Feeling books, which are devoted to scraps of fabric that infants and children left at the Foundling Hospital were wearing (they were meticulously kept as an aid in identifying the child should the parent return to the claim them). This is a great resource if you want to know what people of the lower orders were wearing (there’s an amazing amount of color and pattern to the fabrics; nothing drab about them).

Page from Threads of Feeling

A recent lucky discovery for me is the fully digital collection of swatch and pattern books in the Winterthur Museum’s collection.

For example this image is from a swatch book dated 1800-1825. The entries indicate the producer and amount on hand, indicating that this was likely an inventory book for a store.

Page from the Winterthur swatch book

And there are always museum collections. The Victoria and Albert has a large digital collection that features quite a few fabrics (hundreds from the Georgian era alone).

While it’s perfectly fine to simply describe your heroine’s gown as “sprigged muslin”, it can be a bit more fun to occasionally delve further into the history and describe it as a “block printed muslin with meandering floral embroidery”.

Indian muslin, Victoria and Albert museum.

Posted in Isobel Carr, Risky Regencies | 2 Replies

Playing in the Past

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Gail Eastwood

Historical fiction addicts –er, fans –like us love being swept back in time to the period of whatever story we are reading (or writing). At this blog, we focus on the English Regency primarily, but not exclusively. Sandy’s writing a series set in Roman times. Amanda’s been creating Elizabethan mysteries for a while now. Clearly, we all love history. Immersing ourselves in stories set in the past offers us a very satisfying way to “play in the past”, living it through the characters on the page. But have you ever felt that you wanted more of a direct experience than you could get by imagining yourself in a story? Have you ever tried participating in “living history” activities?

Confession time: I am a renegade medievalist. Yes, my historical stories are all set in the Regency, a period I love. But in my rare spare time, I sometimes play in a recreated “living history” medieval world as a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). I also occasionally do Regency, 18^th century, or even Victorian.

The concept of “living history” as a hobby has had tremendous traction over the past forty-plus years. Back in 1966 when the SCA began as the result of a medieval-themed party in Berkeley, CA, there were nowhere near as many different groups recreating as many different time periods as there are today. If you Google “living history groups US” you get 332 million results!! (better specify time period and location!) Wikipedia offers a “historical reenactment groups” list with over 300 entries, still far from complete. Among those, the SCA, an international educational organization that covers “early medieval to early Renaissance” periods, is one of the largest, now in ten countries, but still not as widespread as Nova Roma (covering ancient Rome), found in 15 countries.

SCA fighters on the battlefield at “The Pennsic War”, an annual event in held in Pennsylvania.

“Living History” has also become widely adopted as a teaching method in museums and at historical recreation sites, but that’s a little bit different. I can tell you it’s a great way to do research for stories, through the people you meet and the opportunities to learn. Do you want to know how it feels to wear a corset? Or how to load a flintlock rifle? How period food tastes? Or how heavy a “two-handed” sword might be? But be warned, doing it can be consuming and highly addictive because it’s such fun!

Gail (center) & friends in 18th century garb -in 1981!

“Living History” enthusiasts differ from re-enactors, although there is plenty of overlap. Most re-enactor groups are military, recreating specific units and/or specific events, especially battles. There’s going to be a reenactment of the Duchess of Richmond’s ball on the night before Waterloo, as part of the anniversary of that famous battle 10 days from now. (Wouldn’t you just LOVE to be there?) Despite differences, all these groups attempt at varying levels to capture the details of life and “portray the look and actions of” people from a particular time period –the clothes, the food, the day-to-day activities, the pastimes, the arts, crafts, science –in the effort to bring the time to life.

I can’t speak for other groups, but in the SCA the key to all of one’s participation is the creation of a persona, a character who is your medieval alter-ego, anchored in a specific time, place and culture within the range the SCA covers. Creating a persona gives you the entry point for the research and practice of whatever you are interested in doing. My persona (English, of course), Asenath Chamberly of Morrismount, slides around in time a bit, because my interests in costuming and dance expanded well beyond what would have fit her lifetime. But other SCAdians (and other groups) may follow a much stricter approach.

This interest in “recreating” the past as recreation isn’t just a modern idea. Queen Victoria was fond of giving costume balls themed to specific times in history, and the first Queen Elizabeth enjoyed tournaments that were intended to recreate the jousting feats of an earlier age. Here is a link to a brief video of an “Assembly” I recently attended, held in a 1789 ballroom where George Washington may have danced. (I bet the floor was a lot more even back then!) I am standing in the back watching the dancers, as we were very hot and tired by then!

If you are interested in groups concentrating on the Regency, there are many to choose from, depending on where you are located. Some western U.S. ones include: Bay Area English Regency Society, the Oregon Regency Society, the Arizona Regency Society, and PEERS (the Period Events and Entertainments Re-Creation Society –not limited to Regency). There’s also the Regency Society of America, FOER (Friends of the English Regency), the Elegant Arts Society, and many more.

Do you “play in the past” beyond the pleasures of reading? If you were going to, what time periods would you most be interested in recreating?

Posted in Frivolity, Gail Eastwood, History, Regency, Risky Regencies | Tagged Gail Eastwood, Historical Recreation, Living History, research, SCA, Society for Creative Anachronism | 14 Replies

Winners of Camille Elliot’s giveaway

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Gail Eastwood

Susan/DC, Annamarie Shea, and Robin Greene have won copies of Camille Elliot’s upcoming release, The Spinster’s Christmas, from the giveaway in her guest post on May 29!! Congratulations, ladies!

Camille asks if you would contact her to make arrangements, either by emailing through her website: http://camilleelliot.com, or via Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorCamilleElliot

Posted in Gail Eastwood, Giveaways, Risky Regencies, Winners announced | 1 Reply

Countdown to Waterloo – The Charter of 1815

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

Jean-Démosthène_Dugourc,_Napoleon_Bonaparte_at_the_Champ_de_Mai,_June_1,_1815

Napoleon at the Champ de Mars

When Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France, the constitutions adopted during his reign (Constitution of the Year VIII, Constitution of the Year X, Constitution of the Year XII) had been replaced by the Bourbon Restoration Charter of 1814, which gave some power to King Louis XVIII. Naturally that would not do, so Napoleon asked liberal political activist Benjamin Constant to draft yet another constitution.

Ironically, the Charter of 1815 was not very different than the charter under Louis XVIII. Both gave the French people unprecedented rights, such as the right to elect mayors for communities of 5,000 or fewer. Censorship was ended.

The Charter of 1815 was adopted by a plebiscite on June 1, 1815 by a large majority of the five million voters. Many eligible voters abstained, however. It was formally decreed in a ceremony at the Champ de Mars.

But, then, a mere 18 days later came the Battle of Waterloo. The Charter of 1815 never really took effect.

Are you counting down to Waterloo?

Posted in Diane Gaston, History, Research, Risky Regencies | Tagged Diane Gaston | 3 Replies

Lisa Chaplin and The Tide Watchers

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

Today our guest is my good friend, Lisa Chaplin. Lisa and I “met” on an Australian/American writers group that came about because of our interest in Romance writing. Some of us have gone on to other ventures, including Lisa, but we’re still in touch by email several times a week.

Lisa’s first Historical Fiction, The Tide Watchers, will be released June 30, just a few days from now. The Tide Watchers has already earned some rave reviews:

A Starred Review from Library Journal –
In this brilliantly complex novel, Australian author Chaplin…tightens the suspense at every moment while exploring sympathetically the motivations of republicans and aristocrats alike and highlighting the allure and danger of families, secrets, and false identities. Highly recommended for anyone who likes a “ripping good yarn.”

Four and a Half Stars from RT Book Reviews
…incredibly strong and moving tale….A fast-moving pace and a wonderful melding of accurate historical events with honorable, passionate characters make this book impossible to put down.

New Books in Historical Fiction
…a fast-paced story that will keep you riveted in your seat as the pages turn.

You can listen to an interview with Lisa here.

To celebrate Lisa’s Historical Fiction debut, I’m giving away a copy of The Tide Watchers to one lucky commenter here.

Tell us about The Tide Watchers.
Here’s my one-minute blurb: In early Napoleonic France, Lisbeth’s husband abandons her without her papers, without her child. She’s determined to be reunited with her baby and return home. The English baronet’s daughter makes a desperate deal with mysterious British spy, Tidewatcher: she will move in with brilliant American inventor Robert Fulton as his housekeeper, learn how to use his submarine, and charm him into giving it to her. Then she must teach Tidewatcher in turn so they can infiltrate a blockaded French sea-town, find Napoleon’s secret invasion fleet, and somehow disable it just before its launch.

You have written fabulous books for Intimate Moments and Harlequin Romance as Melissa James. How is it you came to write a book of Historical Fiction like The Tide Watchers?
Funnily enough, in a way The Tide Watchers is a natural extension of my old Intimate Moments Nighthawks series. When the line closed, I wasn’t invited to write for the new Romantic Suspense line. I was lucky enough to be asked to write for Harlequin Romance, which I happily did for 6 years. But I never stopped loving espionage novels, and my favorite reading was always historical. I’d read a biography called The Terror Before Trafalgar, which awakened a hunger to write a historical espionage book. Eight years later, The Tide Watchers finally sold, and to my perfect publisher.

The Tide Watchers has already been making a big splash. What’s been the most exciting part of this experience so far?
The whole thing has been an amazing ride for me! William Morrow is a fabulous publisher to write for, and my editor and agent have made it almost like a dream. Getting the power of choice over my cover, my back cover copy, and the like has been wonderful. But the sales rep from Barnes & Noble, a Napoleonic history buff, loved the book – and recent reviews I’ve received from American Library Journal and Romantic Times, it’s all really blown me away. I received the former at the NY office of HarperCollins, and I had to blink back tears of joy. To know others that love history and know history really like my book…I can’t describe it.

What is risky about The Tide Watchers?
The whole book throws the characters far outside their comfort zone. Most of them are seasoned spies, and in a position to save Britain in this time of terror, but ultimately each major character pays a terrible cost. Brilliant, unconventional Lisbeth risks life, reputation and family to save Britain, and to save her child, but she cannot reconcile her sacrifice with what she loses after. Duncan risks the family he always craved to stop Napoleon’s invasion, and loses everything. And his half-brothers risk life and career to save their brother – and the cost to them comes in book two!

Tell us about one piece of research for the book that surprised you or that you did not know before.
The one that surprised me the most, I suppose (there are two), was that brilliant American inventor Robert Fulton was not only in France at the exact time I needed him to be, but was working on early submarine and torpedo technology – and, biggest of all, he seems to have disappeared from the record in the exact months that the book takes place! He turned up again a few months after, which again made it perfect for my second book. The other (sorry, I love both) was the intervention of Lord Camelford at this time, the man called “The Mad Baron”. His attempt to kill Napoleon, and its repercussions for both France and Britain, led to the most bizarre discoveries! But that’s for book two J

You just attended the 200th Anniversary Battle of Waterloo Reenactment. Did you see our fellow Risky, Susanna Fraser there???
Haha…sorry, but I did meet, purely by chance, a Napoleonic military expert walking off the station at Braine l’Alleud! We walked to the battlefield together, and spent the day with him. He pointed out which uniforms were from what battalion, country and where those men fought on the field that day, where they were in earlier battles, etc. He also told me about the role some women played, as victuallers, nurses etc. He gave me his email address and said he’s available for any military question. He’s one of several knowledgeable people I’ve met on this trip that are willing to share their knowledge, so I feel very fortunate.

What’s next for you?
I’m currently on a research trip for the next book in the series (current title Blind Winter). When a past mission gone horribly wrong catches up with Alec Stewart, he puts his brothers and cousin in danger of their lives, as well as his ex-lover and her family. With bounty hunters chasing them all, a fledgling nation fighting for its independence, and Lisbeth’s baby’s father after his son, the vicious power games being played by leaders and spymasters alike change their world forever, including “The Mad Baron”, Lord Camelford. You won’t believe what happens to him! As they say, real life is stranger than fiction…

Thanks, Lisa!

Remember, everyone, comment here for a chance to win a copy of Lisa’s The Tide Watchers. Tell us what you like about Historical Fiction. How is it different than Historical Romance, in your opinion? Or just say hi to Lisa or ask her a question.