Tag Archives: Regency period

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Starting with Now

Hi, friends. It’s been hard to come up with things to post about. I wanted to post things that were related to my book which is set in the early 19th century. Things like clothes people wore, the events people attended, and/or who the king or queen was at the time.

The problem I’m running into is that I did all my research several years ago. You see, I wrote my book, then went back to college hoping to get a better job. In all that time of raising my family, working full-time, and studying for college classes there was no time to write much less think about writing.

Now, I’m trying to build an audience through this blog, twitter, Facebook, goodreads, and I don’t know what else. It’s been such a long time since the research that I don’t have time to go back and research it all again. The stories in my head I want to get down on paper and social networking is just taking so much of my time (along with everyday life).

So, from this time on, I’m going to start posting about what I’m researching on my current book. In reality, it won’t be much different. My second book is about two secondary characters in the first book. The time period is the same and hopefully this will give me a chance to get back to it.

Also, I started writing a short story. It’s set in the medieval time period. It has been so much fun to write, but it’s already close to 15,000 words. I don’t think I can really call it a short story. Plus, there is no spiritual aspect to the story and I would really like to go back and write it in. I have really gotten to know the heroine. I love how she has developed and I want to see what I can do with her in a novel. I haven’t really done any research on this time period, but I could post what I learn. The whole idea of doing that is that my audience can learn with me, so when they read the book they will know what they are reading.

Where do you draw inspiration for your blog?

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An Interview with a Character

Hello Friends! I had a great opportunity to interview a wonderful Christian lady. She is the mother of Lord Prestonshire from my book “The Search.” She is the Duchess of Blackfield and she agreed to answer a few questions for me. Here is my interview with her:

I smiled at Lady Blackfield as she sat down in a chair next to me. “Welcome Lady Blackfield and thank you for joining me.

Lady Blackfield smiled. “It’s my pleasure and, please, call me Eva.”

I placed my hand on my chest, “Oh, I don’t know if I can do that since you’re a duchess and all.”

Lady Blackfield rolled her eyes delicately, “Don’t be silly, dear, I’m just like anyone else. If you feel more comfortable, call me Lady Eva.”

I sat back in my chair beginning to feel quite at ease, “All right, if you insist. Lady Eva, your oldest son, Lord Prestonshire, met Cynthia Clarkston at a masquerade ball. It is my understanding that, though they danced together, when he left he had no idea who she was. Is that true? And if it is can you explain how that could have happen?”

Lady Blackfield laughed, “Yes, it is true, but you must remember it was a masquerade ball.”

I raised my eyebrows, “Oh, so Cynthia didn’t know it was Lord Prestonshire, either.”

Lady Blackfield shook her head, “Actually, she did know it was Preston. He didn’t wear a mask like everyone else. Before he left that evening, I questioned him about it. He said he thought it was silly since everyone knows everyone even if they wear masks.”

I smiled, “But he didn’t know everyone.”

Lady Blackfield grinned at me, “No, I think that is one of the things that intrigued Preston about Cynthia.”

I nodded, “What else do think drew Preston to Cynthia?”

Lady Blackfield hardly had to think about it, “Besides being very pretty, I think the mystery that surrounded her really intrigued him. For every question he found an answer for, there always seemed to be more questions.”

I nodded my head again, “I think you might be right. Well, I think that is all the questions I have for you right now. I appreciate you joining me and answering my questions.”

Lady Blackfield touched my arm, “Your very welcome.”

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Ball Gowns: Regency vs. Victorian

When I selected a time period for my book, right or wrong, I picked a time when dresses had the Victorian look, but women had not yet started to wear corsets. It was a time just before Queen Victoria’s reign. Somewhere around the middle to the end of the 19th century was when women began to wear the big hoops under their dresses like you see in “Gone With the Wind”.

In the first chapter of my book (which you are welcome to read here on my blog), my heroine, Cynthia, wear’s a  late Regency dress. I won’t tell you why because I don’t want to spoil the fun of who the dress once belonged to. To get an idea of what she was wearing compared to what all the other ladies were wearing I’ve put together a chart.

Regency

Victorian
Filmy, gauzy material Heavy material
Usually made of muslin Usually made of velvet or silk
High waistline Waistline at waist
Bolder ladies dampened their chemises underneath As many as 6 petticoats and a corset

As I’ve mentioned before, ball dresses were white, but did you know that most wedding dresses were not white? That tradition hadn’t started yet. I’m not sure when it started. I’m sure you can imagine why ladies didn’t wear white dresses. After a year or two of going to balls and having to wear white gowns, I suppose a different color was refreshing.

With the Victorian dress, there would have been an elaborate necklace. Women word their hair up and decorated with a hat often times with a long feather or two sticking out.

Of course, I’m not an expert on what was fashionable for the Regency lady or the Victorian lady. If you know something of interest, leave a comment and tell us. 🙂

Which do you prefer? Regency or Victorian? Why?