March is a strange month. It’s not quite the “armpit of the year” (that would be February, the Darkest Month), but it’s not quite spring, either. Sometimes it’s cold (last week), sometimes summer-warm (this week), and it’s always allergenic. But I can see spring just over the horizon as the tips of my lilac bushes turn green, and Daylight Savings Time (not to mention St. Patrick’s Day) is only a couple weeks away!

One thing I’ve been doing this week is planning my garden. I have a tiny house with a wee back yard, but I do like to put in flowers along the front walkway and in pots on the porch, and I have a vegetable patch in the back yard. I’ve been looking over seed catalogs, and think I’m going to try some new heirloom tomatoes this year, as well as cucumbers, green beans, and peppers. Any other suggestions?

So, it seemed appropriate to find that today marks the anniversary of the founding of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804! (It was just called Horticultural Society then, and gained the “Royal” in 1861, by charter from Prince Albert). According to the Society’s website, “The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening. Our goal is to help share a passion for plants, to encourage excellence in horticulture and inspire all those with an interest in gardening.”

The Society was first suggested by John Wedgwood (son of Josiah) in 1800. “He wanted to hold regular meetings, allowing the society’s members the opportunity to present papers on their horticultural activities and discoveries, to encourage discussion of them, and to publish the results. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements.” It was 4 years before the first meeting, with 7 members, on March 7, 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. The other members included William Townsend Aiton, Superintendent of Kew Gardens; Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society; and William Forsyth, Superintendent of the gardens of St. James’s Palace and Kensington Palace.

The RHS now has 4 flagship gardens in England, all of which look gorgeous. Wisley Garden, near the village of Wisley in Surrey (pictured at left); Rosemoor in Devon; Hyde Hall in Essex; and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Their first garden was in Kensington from 1818 to 1822, and in 1821 they leased part of the estate of Chiswick to set up an experimental garden. They held fetes there, and shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables.

They’re also famous for their annual flower shows, the most well-known being the Chelsea Flower Show. There are also 8 London Flower Shows at the Royal Horticultural Halls, the yearly Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire, and they also administer the Britain in Bloom competition. (I’ve never attended one of these shows, but I love looking at the photos every year and trying to find out if the plants featured would also flourish here).

A good source to learn more about the RHS is Brent Elliott’s The Royal Horticultural Society, A History: 1802-2004.

Reading about all of this just makes me want spring to get here sooner, so I can go out and dig in the dirt! Do you garden? What are some of your favorite “crops”? And if you’ve ever attended one of these flower shows, or seen the RHS gardens, tell us about it! Happy almost-spring, everyone…

It will be no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that I subscribe to way more fashion magazines than are good for me. This year, I have resolved to save money and cut back to just 2 or 3. But which ones? I really ought to cut Vogue. They often have, er, questionable cover model choices (Blake Lively? Really? Don’t they know those Gossip Girl clothes are chosen by a wardrobe team???), condescending articles about The Wonders of Shopping at Target (who knew?), and too many socialites no one has ever heard of, yet who Vogue seems to think we should really, really care about. And yet, Vogue, I just can’t quit you. Because once in a while you come with a fabulous issue like the new March ’09.

I squealed when I opened my mailbox and saw this gorgeous Michelle Obama cover. It makes up for Blake Lively last month. Plus articles about Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Queen Rania of Jordan, and one about English country estates incorporating contemporary art into their gardens (like Sudeley, Lismore, and Houghton Hall. I’m not sure what I think about this, really, after seeing that ridiculous Koons exhibit at Versailles last fall, but the houses look gorgeous…)

The Obama article actually deals very little with fashion, aside from a couple paragraphs and some speculation as to what influence she will have on American style. Obama says, “I love clothes. First and foremost, I wear what I love. That’s what women have to focus on: what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.”

Fashion ‘leaders’ are nothing new, of course. There was Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, etc. And Marie Antoinette became Queen of France at a very young age, after a long line of dowdy, dusty queens (it was seen as a mistress’s job to be fashionable, not a queen’s). Caroline Weber, in her great book Marie Antoinette: Queen of Fashion says, “From her earliest days at Versailles, Marie Antoinette staged a revolt against entrenched court etiquette by turning her clothes into defiant expressions of autonomy and prestige.” And others followed her lead, even as she shocked with her rebellious innovations. Felix de Montjoie, in his 1797 biography of the queen, said, “By one of those contradictions that are more common in France than anywhere else, even as the people were criticizing the Queen for her outfits, they continued frenetically to imitate her.”

She introduced the “pouf” hairstyle, the idea of a ‘trendy’ color (such as the vividly named ‘caca dauphin’ when her first son was born), and the frilly muslin ‘gaulle’ dress and straw hat (“the unofficial uniform of the Petit Trianon,” says Weber). She also liked polonaise-style gown, the masculine-tailored redingote and tricorn hat for riding, and shorter trains and smaller panniers even for court life.

In England, queens were also not traditionally looked to for fashion trends. (Not since Elizabeth I, maybe, with her ruffs and white makeup. No one asked Queen Charlotte for style advice, I’m sure!). That was up to ton ladies, especially dashing, charismatic ones like Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Her every outfit, every accessory, was observed and avidly copied (towering plumes, picture hats, colors like “Devonshire brown”). The gaulle caught on in England when Marie Antoinette made a present of one to Georgiana (which she then wore to a ball given by the Prince of Wales, setting off a furor). The Lady’s Magazine wrote, “all the Fair Sex now, from 15 to 50 and upwards…appear in their white muslin frocks with broad sashes.”

In 1785, a purveyor of perfumes and toiletries advertised he had ‘just imported a quantity of curious, beautiful, and sweet Powder a la Duchesse, or Devonshire Powder.’ In 1786, a scandal ensued when one of her dressmakers sold drawings to several ladies, supposedly of Georgiana’s latest gowns. Imagine the horror when they all showed up at a ball in the same gown–and Georgiana in something else entirely!

She was, like Marie Antoinette, not shy about using fashion in the service of politics. She often wore the Foxite “blue and buff”, especially when on the campaign trail. During the first Regency crisis, she and her friends donned a ‘Regency cap’ designed after the Prince of Wales crest with three feathers.

There could, of course, be a post days long on the crazy fashions of Marie Antoinette and Georgiana! I’m only grateful now that Michelle Obama tends toward sleeveless dresses as a trend and not poufs. But what do you think? Who are some of your favorite Fashion Icons? (I like Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel).

And be sure and check out my Oscar picks here, and don’t forget to become a ‘fan’ of Risky Regencies on Facebook! Happy weekend, everyone…

Happy Saturday, everyone! I am off to our annual Friends of the Library book sale this morning (500,000 books all piled up, just waiting for me! And super-cheap, too). But first, a couple items. I’ve been doing research this week on 18th century fashions, and posted some of the gorgeous images on my own blog. And I’ve finally set up my own Facebook page, so “friend” me, if I haven’t already tracked you down! And I just added a Risky Regencies page yesterday, so while you’re at it come and sign on as a Fan…

And, of course, tomorrow is the Oscars. My predictions–Actress, Winslet (she is way past due!); Actor, Penn (maybe Rourke); Supporting Actress, Cruz, the only really good thing in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, except Barcelona itself (or maybe Davis–she only had one scene in Doubt, but it was an amazing one); Supporting Actor, Ledger; Picture, Slumdog Millionaire (a good movie, IMO, but not a great one, not a Best Picture for the Ages, but still the best of this lackluster line-up). And Costumes, I’m going to guess The Duchess.

Plus Hugh Jackman is the host. I would watch for that if nothing else.

Now on to today’s RR topic! A few weeks ago, Julia Justiss guest-blogged about smugglers. I’ve never written a book featuring smugglers, though I’ve thought about it. But I do love me some anti-authority characters, both as a reader and a writer (and in real-life historical figures, too!). I’m always attracted to characters who follow their own natures and hearts, even when it has the potential to get them into trouble. Who refuse to conform, to compromise their own essential characters.

At the moment, I’m wrestling with this in my WIP. It’s the first book in my “Irish trilogy” (out from Grand Central Publishing in February 2010!), set amidst the 1798 United Irishmen uprising. In this story, it’s my heroine, Eliza, who is anti-authority–despite being a countess (and thus not really “outsider,” as Megan talked about yesterday), she believes fervently in Irish independence, and has been writing “seditious” pamphlets and aiding fugitives. Back into her life comes her girlhood sweetheart, William, the gorgeous man she never forgot. But he is a major in the British Army. He sees the injustices of life in Ireland, but believes they can only be solved from the “inside,” reforming politics–not overthrowing it, as Eliza and her friends think. Neither will budge–which will prevail? (And when will they stop being stubborn and do what I tell them???)

Any which way, the dilemmas of these two strong people have me tied up in writing knots…

Who are some of your favorite anti-authority characters? (Or types–smugglers, pirates, rebels, bluestockings?). Any Oscar predictions or favorites? And now I am off to book-shop, yay! I will let you know if I make any great finds today.

Sorry for the late post!

My brain has been offline since sometime yesterday evening.

I need a massive reboot.

Any suggestions? So far I’ve tried sleep and tea…

(Hence the picture here of tea! I’m massively creative today. Obviously.)

And don’t forget…

on the first Tuesday of March…

So please join us…

Cara
Cara King, who can’t think up anything clever for her sig line either

Diane is still in the throes of revisions with only two hours to go before her deadline passes one way or another.

Here is something to console you in the meantime.