Long before the twentieth century invention of aerosol hairspray, Victorian women were using sticky hair products to fix their wayward locks stiffly into place. Of these, the most popular was a clear gum solution known as bandoline. Liquid bandoline could be purchased at most Victorian perfumers. It could also be made at home from ingredients […]
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Victorian Hairspray: A Brief History of Gum Solutions and Bandoline
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The Victorian Case of the Turnip-Wielding Trick-Or-Treater
Today, if you don’t wish to hand out candy on Halloween, you can simply switch off your porch light to indicate that you are not at home to trick-or-treaters. Unfortunately, not all trick-or-treaters accept this withdrawal from the holiday with good grace. Some even retaliate by smashing pumpkins in your driveway or against your front […]
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A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty: Cover Reveal!
At long last, I can reveal the beautiful cover of my upcoming book A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Fashion and Beauty. It was designed by Jon Wilkinson at Pen and Sword Books (UK) and features one of my favorite historical paintings: Toilette by Jules James Rougeron, 1877. I hope you love it as much as I […]
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The Lost Letter is ON SALE for $0.99
Dear Readers, Tomorrow is release day for my new Victorian romance novel The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter! I’ll be over at USA Today this morning with an exclusive excerpt. To further mark the occasion, I’m thrilled to announce that the eBook version of my debut Victorian romance The Lost Letter is going on sale for just $0.99! This sale […]
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The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter Blog Tour, Giveaway, and More!
It’s release day for my new Victorian romance novel The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter! To celebrate, there’s a blog tour with excerpts, reviews, and interviews. I’m also hosting a special Victorian-themed gift giveaway here at my website, featuring a wax sealing set and a signed paperback copy of my book. To top it all […]
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Feline Dress Improvers: The Victorian Fashion in Bustle Baskets for Cats
“As the basket was padded and lined with satin, and bedizened with fringe and ribbons, pussy did not object to being a prisoner therein, and to being placed on the lady’s bustle as a pack.” Truth, 1887 During the mid-1880s, the silhouette of women’s gowns was characterized by the size and shape of the bustle […]
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The Vulnerable Victorian Governess
A governess occupied a unique position in a Victorian household. She was neither servant, nor family member. She existed in a sort of in-between world which often left her feeling isolated and alone. To combat this, the young governess was advised to cultivate a tolerance for solitude. Author Susan Ridout addresses this in her somewhat […]
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The Dangers of the Victorian Pleasure Garden
When thinking of nineteenth century pleasure gardens, most of us instantly conjure up images of Vauxhall. But those in the Georgian era weren’t the only ones to enjoy a pleasure garden in London. In 1830 Cremorne Gardens was opened in Chelsea. Over the decades that followed, it offered concerts, circuses, dancing, and fireworks. It also […]
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Some Wonderful Book News to Share!!
Dear Readers, I have some exciting news to share. My Victorian romances are going to be made into audiobooks! Tantor Media has just bought the audio rights to both The Lost Letter and The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter. Tantor Media is one of the biggest names in audiobooks, with titles by historical romance titans […]
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How Much Scent is Too Much?—Victorian Advice for Ladies and Gentlemen
In the Victorian era, perfumed products abounded. In addition to perfume, cologne, and toilet water, there were scented soaps, scented pomades, and even scented mouth waters and dentifrices for the teeth. But how much scent could a lady or a gentleman wear without being offensive? It’s a question many of us puzzle over even today. […]
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Mermaids Sightings in the 19th Century
According to historians, tales of mermaids and mermen can be traced back to the Babylonian sea deities Oannes and Atargatis in 1000 BCE. Since then, mermaid folklore has appeared in every era and every culture, from ancient Greece to Victorian England. But mermaid lore was not limited to the realm of folklore and mythology. During […]
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The Pug Who Bit Napoleon U.S. Release Day!
Today is the United States release of my non-fiction animal history book The Pug Who Bit Napoleon: Animal Tales of the 18th and 19th Centuries! The paperback is now available in the U.S. and can be purchased at Amazon and other online or brick and mortar booksellers. The Pug Who Bit Napoleon features historically accurate—and thoroughly cited—animal […]
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Victorian Romance 99¢ Sale!
The eBook versions of The Lost Letter and The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter are both on sale this week for 99¢. The sale runs from April 2-April 9 on Amazon and Amazon UK. If you haven’t yet read my Victorian romances, I hope you’ll give them a try! You can click through to […]
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Audiobook Narrator News!
I’m thrilled to announce that my audio publisher, Tantor Media, has cast Justine Eyre to narrate both The Lost Letter and The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter. Justine has done the narration for some really fantastic historical romance and historical fiction authors, including Amanda Quick, Eloisa James, Sarah MacLean, and Tasha Alexander. She’s the actress […]
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Companion Dogs as Seers, Healers, and Fairy Steeds
When considering dog folklore, we generally think of those stories which feature the Grimm, the Gytrash, or other sinister black dogs roaming the moors in the North of England. But there is more to canine folklore than the ominous black dogs of legend. Companion dogs, such as pugs and corgis, have their place in dog […]
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The Curious Case of Miss Schwich: A Victorian Girl in Boy’s Clothing
In October of 1886, at the Marlborough Street Police Court in London, a young woman dressed in boy’s clothing was charged with stealing from her employer. Her name was Lois Schwich (sometimes spelled Schwick). She was twenty-one years old and had been wearing male attire since the age of seventeen. According to a 29 October […]
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The Etiquette of Broken Betrothals: Victorian Advice on Ending an Engagement
In the Victorian era, a broken engagement was no small matter. If a gentleman jilted his fiancée, he risked doing untold damage to both her reputation and his own. Even so, if an engaged couple discovered that they were incompatible, Victorian era marriage manuals and books on etiquette strongly advised breaking the engagement rather than […]
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Beauty and the Beast: From French Folklore to Victorian Romance
In 1740, French author Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve wrote and published a collection of stories entitled La Jeune Ameriquaine et les Contes Marins. Within, was the fairy tale La Belle et la Bête. Widely viewed as the oldest version of Beauty and Beast, La Belle et la Bête contained all of the now familiar elements […]
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From Arsenic to Electricity: A Brief look at Victorian Hair Removal
In the Victorian era, ladies with excess facial or body hair didn’t have the luxury of making an appointment at their local salon. Instead, women employed various methods of hair removal at home. There was shaving and tweezing, of course, but there were also more dangerous methods. These ranged from caustic depilatories made of arsenic […]
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The Lost Letter 99¢ eBook Sale!
To celebrate next week’s release of The Lost Letter audiobook (coming June 12 from Tantor Media), the eBook version of The Lost Letter is going on sale for only 99¢! The sale runs from June 4-June 10 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo. If you haven’t yet read my debut Victorian romance, I hope […]
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