Category: Research

Posts in which we talk about research

Waterloo Again

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

June 18th will be the 207th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the epic battle that marked the final defeat of Napoleon and gave Europe a century of peace and prosperity broken only by WWI. It is no surprise to long time readers of the Risky Regencies blog that I am fascinated by this battle. I’ve blogged about it at least seven times.

My friend Kristine Hughes of Number One London Tours is offering a Waterloo Tour in September 2022 and I just signed up! I am actually going to fulfill a long time dream to visit the battlefield and see in person what I’ve written about so many times. Kristine will be joined by Gareth Glover, a Waterloo expert who will, I am sure, make the battle come alive.

So what I’m doing to prepare is reading all the books on Waterloo that I’ve collected on my Kindle and have used for research from time to time.

First of these is Kristine’s Waterloo Witnesses: Military and Civilian Accounts of the 1815 Campaign. I’ve peeked into this book many times since its release a year ago, but this time I’m reading cover to cover.

I also just discovered The Longest Afternoon, a book about the defense of La Haye Sainte, an important part of the battle fought by the King’s German Legion. That’s on my list, too, now.

I discovered this book in a rather unusual way — I was searching YouTube for videos on Waterloo and I came upon this one:

Not only does this prove that there are other obsessed people in the world but also that one can find a book recommendation anywhere.

Because my Kindle books are not nearly enough, I’m also going through other YouTube videos on the battle and am listening to Bernard Cornwell’s Waterloo, which I borrowed from my library.

Can you tell I’m excited about this trip?

Posted in Diane Gaston, History, Places, Research, Risky Regencies, TV and Film | Tagged Diane Gaston, Reading and Writing | Leave a reply

Diane’s Trip to Waterloo

Updated on January 24, 2023 by Diane Gaston

As you might realize, most of my books’ heroes are British Army officers. Perhaps because I grew up as an army brat, the daughter of an army colonel. I’ve placed many of my heroes (and heroines) at the Battle of Waterloo. Imagine my excitement, then, when my friend Kristine Hughes of Number One London Tours (and author of the fabulous Waterloo Witnesses) offered a Waterloo tour this year. I’ve traveled often with Kristine and every one of her tours is fabulous. The Waterloo Tour was no exception. Kristine brought in Gareth Glover, author of several books about the battle and the Napoleonic War, to be our expert guide at Waterloo.

The tour covered all the sites relevant to the battle. Here are some highlights:

The Lion’s Mound

The Lion’s Mound was built in 1820 by King William I on the battlefield at the spot where his son, the Prince of Orange was shot in the shoulder. Lest you think the Prince was a hero, know his inexperience and incompetence got several of his soldiers killed.

Next to the Lion’s Mound was a wonderful Waterloo museum, featuring a 3-D depiction of the battle that put you right in the action.

Hougoumont

Hougoumont was one of the farms on the battlefield that saw the first action of the battle. The Allies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, managed to hold the fort until the very end, although Napoleon made it a priority to be captured.

Hougoumont is now a museum and featured another film of the battle.

La Haye Sainte

La Haye Sainte was the farm on the other side of the battle, another strategic place of the battle held by the King’s German Legion, one of Wellington’s divisions, until the Legion’s ammunition ran out and the French finally took possession.

The farm is now privately owned and not open to the public so we could only gaze at the outside of it.

We walked the battlefield while Gareth explained the battle. I’ve done a lot of reading about the battle and I was pleased that I got most things right in my books.

This view of the battlefield is from the top of the Lion’s Mound (a 226 step climb). The land was farmland then and is farmland now.

Apsley House

We had one day in London to walk the sights that related to the battle. When Wellington returned victorious, all sorts of awards were heaped on him, including the funds for a London house and a country estate. So we visited Number One London, Apsley House’s address.

The house is one of my favorite sites in London and I’ve visited it several times. It is now a museum filled with the treasures heaped upon Wellington after the battle.

The Tour was everything I’d hoped it would be and left me with many memories I’ll always cherish.

Posted in Diane Gaston, History, Places, Research, Risky Regencies | Tagged Diane Gaston, Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, Lions Mound, Waterloo, Wellington | Leave a reply

Leap Repeat

Updated on November 17, 2022 by carolyn

I am in the middle of edits on deadline so tight my ears are popping. Thus, even though technically I’m getting an extra day, I am in a bit of a panic. You should check out this post from the past:

Alas, I can only provide you with a link since I don’t have time to actually steal the content.

As was the custom of late Victorian and Edwardian genre painters, Talbot Hughes had amassed an extensive collection of historical costumes and accessories as studio props dating from the 16th century through the 1870s. The collection was donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum after it had been exhibited at Harrods department store in 1913. Samples of Hughes’s costume collection remain on public view at the V&A to this day in the British Galleries
– Wikipedia

Basically, in 1913, a bunch of folks put on these gowns and they took pictures of them. Scroll down a bit to reach the Regency gowns.

Go here to see the photos.

And, just because I’m nice, here’s the Wikipedia entry for the Victoria and Albert museum, which is a pretty huge time suck. You’re welcome. You should be glad I’m not linking to the V&A because then you’d NEVER get free. Oh wait, I’m not that nice. Victoria&Albert Museum.

Posted in Former Riskies, Regency, Research | Tagged Clothes | 2 Replies

We’re all in Trouble Because I’ve been Thinking

Updated on November 17, 2022 by carolyn

Here’s what I’ve been thinking.

1. It’s important, to me, to know a lot about the historical era I write about (The Regency).

2. Some things were invented/discovered/thought of AFTER the Regency

3. People haven’t changed all that much.

4. People today have been affected by things invented/discovered/thought of AFTER the Regency.

5. Because of No. 4, people in the Regency used/believed/needed things we don’t today.

So. If you’re going to write historical fiction, you should know about the things invented/discovered/thought of AFTER the Regency so you don’t have your hero driving a car a wee bit before Henry Ford started mass producing the automobile.

Number 5 is interesting, though. There’s all these things we know nothing about that people in the Regency used every day. And it shaped their world and their view of the world.

How you interact with the spaces around you is different if there’s no electricity. When you enter a darkened room, you don’t automatically reach for the light switch and speed along into the room on your merry way.

Instead you have to go a little slower, maybe. You, or your servant, might be carrying a light source already. But it’s not as bright as electric light, right?

And if you don’t have your light source with you, then there should be one by the door. Where else would you put it? It has to be by the door so you don’t kill yourself walking about in the dark.

Since the room is darkened (assuming you didn’t bring your light with you) you have to pause to light a candle or a a lamp or something else before you proceed.

Now you’re carrying something flammable…. I’m not aware of non-flammable light sources until electricty came along (no sun, doh, the room is darkened, besides, the sun IS a flammable object) you need to be paying at least a little bit of attention to how and where you’re walking.

Your light source is also unlikely to light the entire room the way turning on the electric light does. Again, you probably have to watch your step.

We know there were clever ways to increase the amount of light in a room, mirrors, for example.

I really do sometimes just sit and think about all the ways things were different and how that shaped what people did. In the dark I can proceed to the light switch and flick. Instantaneous light fills the room. Now I can walk quickly to my destination. Also, I am not wearing layers and layers of clothes…. I am less encumbered by my clothes, I’m pretty sure, than a Regency lady was by hers.

I do my thing and turn out the light on my way out.

The Regency woman is either still carrying her light source or still followed by the servant with the light or is headed where she won’t need the light. But the light needed in the darkened room can’t be disposed of with a flick. Someone has to deal with that.

That what I was thinking lately. About all those extra things people had to do or think about. More steps. More work. More time.

Thank you Mr. Edison. And Mr. Tesla.

Posted in Former Riskies, Regency, Research, Writing | Tagged Lights, Thinking | 10 Replies

Looking at Details (Post Regency Visual Rhetoric)

Updated on November 17, 2022 by carolyn

The images in this post are from my copy of GWM Reynold’s Penny Dreadful series, Mysteries of London. The publication of the series spans the period from about 1837 to 1844.

I apologize for the images: I don’t have the correct lens for these kinds of pictures, and I didn’t want to scan them because then I’d have to lay the book flat and further break the binding.

Cross-Dressing in 1831

There are readers (and authors) with strong opinions about cross-dressing heroines. I have heard some people state categorically that such historicals are wildly inaccurate. That might be true. Depends on the book, I suppose. Below is an example of a cross-dressing heroine for a story that opens in 1831. It is, in fact, the opening of the wildly popular and successful Mysteries Of London, a series that made GWM Reynold’s fortune, by the way.

Obviously, the popular culture liked some ladies dressed as men.

There are many other interesting things present in this illustration (above), such as the smog. The horse’s ass is another. It has, I’m pretty sure, just relieved itself. Or maybe is actually in the process. Then again, as you’ll see, there are many tricks of shadow.

Keeping in mind the choices the artist made, note the pregnant woman in tatters with three young children and just to left, a plainly well-off couple. What does that suggest about the consequences of poverty and a woman not being able to control her fertility?

Ah, the cross-dressing heroine. Her hair is down, which seems odd if you wish to be taken for a man. The “meta” conversation about this illustration is to what extent the illustrator either deliberately, by instruction, or sub-consciously, drew a figure that possesses so much of the feminine that I look at that picture and say, yeah. Chick. Not fooled.

It’s interesting, I think, that so many of the figures appear to be looking at her and they don’t look happy.

Sorry for the poor quality. Too lazy to go take a better one. However, this picture (above) fascinates me most because of the hats hanging from pegs above the door. This is a well-to-do home. Now, how handy is that? Pegs for the gentlemen’s hats? So much for the butler carrying away the hats. Maybe in the really rich houses.

Note as well the key in the door to the left. Keys in the doors. Yeah.

She’s a Lady. She’s Not A Lady.

Hmm. What messages might there be in the next two pictures?

In the picture above, there are obvious things such as the house, surroundings, the woman’s position and posture that tells us she’s wealthy and a lady. The table next to her has books and a flower. Itty-bitty flower and flower pot, which is interesting.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a historical where the flowers in a room were anything but large bouquets. In this book, however, there are plenty of examples of small pots containing very small greenery. They show up in several of the illustrations.

Well. The woman above is NOT a lady. So say I. Because, look at her. She’s not sitting up straight and the upper bit of her gown looks to be about to fall off any minute. And what’s that on HER table?

No books. Alcohol. I believe in the foreground those are pipes. This is not a neat table. It’s cluttered. She has been drawn so that she looks dissolute. And thus, we see the signs of dissolution.

The LADY is plainly thinking wistful thoughts. Oh, Howard, how I miss you, my darling. I cannot even read my book without you.

The NOT A LADY does not look wistful. She looks tired. (I will represent to you that in the rest of this illustration there is a man standing by the fireplace.) She looks like she’s thinking: If that asshat asks to see my tits again, I’m going to smack him. Why doesn’t he ever ask if I want a foot rub? Oh, fuck it, I want a drink.