Biographies and the Lady Patronesses

As part of my research, I have been trying to discover any recent or even not so recent biographies of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's.  Basically we know the Lady Patronesses in 1814 because Captain Gronow mentions them in his bio of Brummell. The ones from the founding in 1781 are also known. Others are more shadowy. It is not known how often they changed or how they were chosen or indeed when they were elected. YOu can get sketchy biographies of the women and sometimes you can get the collected letters (Princess Lieven's to her brother Alexander for example) but there is not any really good modern biographies. Why not?
These women had enomormous influence. Both Princess Esterhazy and Countess (later Princess) Lieven played active roles in promoting their respective countries in England.  Princess Leiven's letters give a much more cosmopolitian slant on London and the ton. Lady Castlereagh was the wife of the Foreign Secretary. Lady Jersey was the senior partner of Childs Bank, played an active role in its affairs and did not allow the men in her life to interfere with her duties at the bank. Lady Jersey and Countess Lieven's soirees were known for their political influence. Lady Jersey is credited for introducing the square dance (the French Quadrille) and Countess Lieven the waltz. The women had a number of affairs with influential men. Lord Palmerston figures quite a bit.
So why isn't there a series of modern biographies -- either of the place or the Lady Patronesses (here I am thnking specifically of Sarah Fane Child Villiers, Lady Jersey)? Note it is not my field. I write fiction, not non-fiction. It just irks. I wanted to know more!
Currently I am reading Lady Dorothy Nevill's Reminences from 1902. She is an untrustworthy narrator (her contra-temps in the summer house with George Smythe MP which led to her marriage to Mr Nevill and explusion from court is glossed over -- never mentioned) but fun.

The Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary

For a very long time, I have actively desired a book that would tell me what a word meant in a given time period, rather than if it was simply used. Words over time change their meaning.Various etymology sites helped but many times I was left floundering.
 And for years, I have silently gritted my teeth with the whole reticule/ridicule debate. Which came first? For me it seemed an impossibility that reticule was derived from ridicule.
Then the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary was published last year and I took possession of my copy just before the RWA conference. It is the definitive resource for such a thing.
In the question of women's bags: 1801-1806 they  were indispensables, 1801- present day reticule and 1805-1838 ridicule.  Handbag starts in 1923. Forgive me but I punched the air. 
It makes things so much easier to check on if a word had that given meaning during that period. For example, I checked hot-foot as he hot-footed up somewhere. Nope. Not in use with that meaning during 1848. I used ran like a redshank instead as it was in use.

It is also interesting to see when certain things start being named. It is sure to become an indispensable part of my revisions. It helps to give a more authentic feel to the work.
The entire book was 45 years in production and it is expensive.  There are two large volumes and a complicated reference system. I would imagine that most university libraries have it, but it is much handier just to be able to look up a word.
My very lovely husband said when I asked for it for Christmas that if I needed it for my work, I should just get it.  Luckily I did as the Folio Society had it on special offer and they are no longer stocking it. You can still get it through Amazon.
Apparently there are plans to put the whole thing on disc and cross reference with the OED. However, I like paper. You discover things as you flip through, staring at the mouse-print.
If you lust after words and their meanings, or if you write historical novels, this is fantastic resource.

Road trip to Haworth

Yesterday, I drove to Haworth and the Bronte Museum. The trip from Northumberland took me through the very rainy but beautiful Yorkshire dales. There was an odd moment of panic when I took a wrong turn and discovered that I did not have my atlas with me. Luckily we recovered and eventually Haworth was found. It is quite easy once you know the right way!

There are several car parks in the town but luckily the one by the parsonage was not full.

In high summer, I should imagine the place heaves with tourists but yesterday, there were not many and so we were able to enjoy the Bronte house in peace. The rooms are far smaller than one might imagine from the frontage so it is no wonder thre is a sign -- house full come back in 10 minutes.

There are two exhibits on at the moment which are displayed in the rooms as well as the Bronte furniture. The exhibition of costumes from the recent ITV adaptation of Wuthering Heights adds to the atmosphere and one can learn a lot from it. The costume designer spent ages researching the costumes and she also made visual changes to show the character shifts. For example, Cathy's clothes become more pastel and less vibrant as she gets 'tamed' by Linton.

The other exhibition --Ghosts is of modern paintings of the moors hanging in the various rooms and that give a disconcerting note. They have spent a lot of time and effort to make the rooms be as they were in the Bronte's day and then hung these modern windswept landscapes.

Anyway, I loved their travelling desks with bits of sealing wax, pens and in Emily's case gummed puzzle acrostic labels. Charlotte Bronte was absolutely tiny - very small hands and feet. It is amazing that after her death, her dresses were cut up and sold as souvenirs. She also did not take kindly to critics. Her publisher refused to publish a preface as it was potentially libellous.

The gardens are planted in an early Victorian manner with plants that the Brontes would have known.

It is the setting of the house against the moors and graveyard that gives it atmosphere. The dining room where the sisters wrote overlooks the graveyard as does the old nursery cum children's study. Apparently at that time, the air was rank with decay and the greasy pools seeped up in the church floor. There were no trees in the graveyard. After the Brontes, measure were taken to aid in the decomposition of the bodies -- including lifting the gravestones to upright, planting trees and rebuilding the church.

The moors are great but the skyline has been spoilt by wind turbines.

We had a lovely lunch at the Apothecary Tea Rooms. The owner was wonderfully friendly. They had pictures of the Jenny Agutter movie -- The Railway Children as it was filmed in the area. On the weekends and daily during the summer, it is possible to take a steam engine ride along the railway.

It is definitely a place that I would recommend visiting as it does give insight and inspiration.

Snow and moles

There is a light dusting of snow on Mt Molehill this morning. Even my dh who is partial to moles has agreed, it is time to call in the mole catcher. At least a quarter of the lawn has now been turned over to the mole's excavations...

My dh's one condition is that I wait until the cold snap is over. So we continue to level the hills and I hope Mr Mole decides to find a new place of residence. Of course, he could be busy inviting his friends and relations in for the holidays as well...

The new wip (which is not a M&B) is going slowly. As it is a bit more plot heavy, I have had to do a lot of thinking and rejigging.

This has been compounded by the fact that I discovered Lady Worsley's Whim An Eighteenth Century Tale of Sex, Scandal and Divorce by Hallie Rubenhold. It is thoroughly fascinating account of one of the first celebrity divorce trials and happening as it did at the end of the American Revolution and with one of Lord North's most loyal supporters embroiled in a sex scandal, it may have influenced when the end of the war came.

My imagination has been sparked in many directions, BUT this is also when I have to apply discipline. There are other ideas who are screaming to be written. On the strength of this book, I did get Rubenhold's other book -- The Covent Garden Ladies which tells the tale of the Harris Book of Courtesans and its beginnings. Research can be fun. It is one of the reasons why I write historical romance.

No longer a decorating refugee

I have moved back into my study, but still need to figure out which pictures go where. I am also waiting for the curtain rail to go up. The room does look far warmer and I do like coralline as a colour. It contrasts nicely with the white and gives a lovely classical feel.

Coralline was popular in the Kingdom of Naples. The royal palace at Casserta is painted coralline on the exterior, for example.

My current wip is going slowly and I made the mistake of reading a research for another time period. Immediately my daemon started whispering story ideas. But it is also a ruse as my daemon dislikes hard work at times and sometimes, dangles the prospect of a lovely new story, unsullied by words that do not turn out properly. I have learnt to resist such blandishments. BUT I have learnt a lot...

The history of diseases

Diseases over time mutate. People might not understand the exact mechanism but they do change. And the symptoms of a disease may or may not be the same from one period to the next.
Take Rheumatic fever. I am currently researching scarlet fever as a character has contracted it before the start of the book. I was going to use polio but it wasn't really fully understood until approximately the 1830/1840s and as this story takes place in 1814, I want to have something where the boy has a chance of living.
Scarlet fever is one of those things you read about -- think Little Women or the Velveteen Rabbit, but once I started to do my research I discovered that it is not scarlet fever that is the problem, but rather the rheumatic fever that follows. And around 1800, the nature of that disease changed -- rather than simply just attacking the joints, it began to attack the heart and the St Vitus dance or chorea appeared. Suddenly over half of the victims developed heart problems. Most recovering within six months. Then it took an even worse turn in the early 20th century. Anyway I would hazard a guess that part of the changing nature of the disease down to the over -crowded conditions. Several hospitals owe their existence to wealthy benefactors founding them AFTER their children died. It is a disease that is mainly confined to children aged 5 -15.
Today, thanks to modern medicine, the incidences of rheumatic fever have been severely cut. Antibiotics form a good line of defence as does simple measures such as covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze and washing your hands before eating.
I found it intriguing though how it changed through out history. But having discovered the answers I need, I now need to write the book, instead of led down ever increasing labyrinths of research.

Falling off horses and other bits of extreme research

My post about Taken is up today at Unusual Historicals and Delia asked about research. This reminded me of the lengths I went to do my research for Taken by the Viking.

When I was in Iceland last year, not only did I visit museums, but I also went riding in the lava fields with Is Hestar. At the end of the 2 hour ride, the horse decided to make a run for the stable and I fell off. Totally my fault I should add, and the people running the stable were lovely. If anyone is interested in the Viking period, I would certainly recommend going to Iceland to ride one of the Icelandic horses. The horses are direct descendants of Viking horses and have an unusual gait.

I also tried on Viking armour and lifted a replica sword. The picture of my youngest, doing the same, mainly because my children objected to their mother having her photo taken. But I thought it was important to gauge the weight of a sword and how cumbersome a shield might be. This came in useful when I was writing the opening chapters of Viking Warrior, Unwilling Wife.

One of the great things about being a novelist is that it does give me an excuse to go out and try things.

Ho and hooray for England on beating the French. Jonny Wilkinson's boot proved golden in the end. But the game was very tense. And now, England are in the final. Can they go all the way? Certainly the 30 men of the squad think so.

Using astrology in tweaking

As my earlier post about astrology led me to remember Love Signs, I thought I would have a reread. It is every bit as good as I remembered it. I was doing some research on the Cancer/Scorpio relationship for my next wip and happened to glance at the Leo/Leo relationship. It gave me a light bulb moment for my current hero and heroine. They are both Leos. Have to be because of their behaviour. It explains much about their relationship -- why it failed the first time, and what has to happen to make it succeed this time. There are certain conflicts that are inherent in the Leo/Leo relationship -- not the least being both wanting to be the one in charge. There is also a hint of how the conflict needs to be resolved -- involving sacrifice and sharing the limelight.
It is part of what makes it such a wonderful resource for writers -- Linda Goodman examines the internal conflicts inherent in relationships. It is 1200 pages long but thoroughly useful. One forgets exactly how useful.
Goodman examines the relationship not only from a non gender basis, but also specifically with the male/female.Why would a Cancer Male,Scorpio Female relationship be different from a Scorpio Male/cancer Female relationship. What are the conflicts and how can some of them be resolved in general rather than specific terms.


This is one of the reasons why I love doing research by the book, rather than on the Internet. You have to flip through pages and other things catch your eye. Luddite maybe, but it is the way I like to do things.

The wip needs a few tweaks but I have promised my editor the full for 23 March. This will keep me on track for writing four mss this year.