Dawna from Dayton, Washington won:
A Captain’s Courtship by Regina Scott. Thank you Regina for stopping by and gifting one of readers. Keep visiting Regency Reflections for more chances to win.
Originally posted 2012-08-05 12:58:46.
A Christmas Tree?
If you see a Christmas Regency romance in the bookstore with a big tree on the cover, all decorated with baubles and sparkly stuff, it is certain the author and/or publisher and/or illustrator didn’t research adequately.
While the tall tree was introduced to England in 1800 by Queen Charlotte (the Regent’s mother), it wasn’t copied except by a few wealthy aristocrats, if at all. Queen Charlotte was of Germanic descent, and Christmas trees had been used in her country for ages. It was a new idea to England, however, and very few people even got to see it.
During the regency, if there was a tree at all, it was a table-top specimen, much smaller than what we are accustomed to, nowadays. Dickens recounts memories of one Christmas of his youth and describes a great, wondrous tree beneath which lay wonderful presents and toys. (No wrapping paper, by the way. Another sign of an ill-informed publisher/illustrator or author is a description of wrapped gifts beneath a tree during the regency. Christmas wrapping paper just wasn’t around, yet.) We have to assume that Dickens was remembering an early experience, in which case even a table-top tree would appear large. We know he was young, because by the time he was 12, his father was sent to debtor’s prison, and you can rest assured that put an end to his having Christmas trees for a time.
In any case, it wasn’t until Prince Albert (also of Germanic descent) once again introduced the really tall Christmas
tree in it’s glorious splendor, (in 1845, if memory serves) that it suddenly became all the rage and everyone everywhere started putting up tall ones like his. The newspapers ran a picture of the royal tree and that did it. The growing middle class, now with the power of spending money, ran out to copy the wonderful sight and the upper classes did so, also. But this was long after the regency
Left: Even the larger, royal tree is upon a table! And this is 1845
(When I refer to the regency, by the way, I use the stylistic parameters; in other words, not the POLITICAL regency which was a mere nine years, from 1811 to 1820. But even using the stylistic regency, which extends to the death of George IV (formerly the regent) in 1830, Prince Albert’s large tree is still fifteen years away.)
So, now you know one cool Christmasy fact about this fascinating period. Stay tuned for the 2012 update of my Christmas ebook to learn much more!
Warmest Blessings,
Linore
Originally posted 2012-08-03 19:47:48.
The early nineteenth century didn’t afford much opportunity for the British to France, seeing how the two countries were at war. But the Treaty of Amiens was a one year break in a 22 year long war between France and England that lasted from 1793 to 1815.
During the Peace of Amiens, which started in March of 1802, English aristocrats flooded to Paris en masse. This delectable country with it’s fine chocolates and lace and silk had been off-limits in both travel and trade for a decade. When the Treaty of Amiens was signed and peace declared, British aristocrats wasted no time making Paris a holiday destination.
Paris offered several major attractions, and Napoleon was more than happy to show off his country’s charms, one of which was the Observatoire de Paris, the most prestigious astronomical observatory in France.
British visitors could now also tour The Louvre, which first opened in 1793 after France and England had already declared war. During this time, Napoleon was busy acquiring (or forcibly taking) pieces from all over Europe to put on display.
Plus Paris’s famed Salon held one of the most impressive collections of paintings on the continent (and just a warning, not all models in such paintings were fully clothed).
Visitors to Paris during the Peace of Amiens included the Whig Statesman, Charles James Fox, the painter JMW Turner, and astronomer and composer William Hershel, and even some female writers such as Maria Edgeworth and Francis Burney.
Unfortunately, neither Napoleon nor the British Parliament were truly interested in honoring the Treaty of Amiens, which called for both countries to remove troops from certain occupied locations.
Britain, for the most part, didn’t remove any of troops delineated in the treaty, but it did stop it’s blockade of French ships from ports around the world. Napoleon removed troops from several areas but reinstated most of them in the fall.
Britain was the first to declare war, in May of 1803 and then promptly captured two French ships. Napoleon, in no mood to be nice with his own countrymen captured, then ordered the imprisonment of all British males, ages 18 to 60 who were in France.
Since France had been such a popular holiday destination, that meant a good number of Brits spent the next twelve years in French prisons. In fact, one author, Francis Burney, who had traveled to France during the peace to visit her French husband, found herself stuck there until 1815 as well.
My writer’s imagination just can’t stop thinking of a couple British aristocrats who happen to be stuck in France when the Peace of Amiens fails. Hmmm. Sounds like there might be a story there. What do you think?
Note: All photographs in this blogpost came from Wiki Commons
Originally posted 2012-07-30 10:00:00.
|
THE POSITIVE SNARE Proverbs 6:2 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth; thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. A snare is something one uses to catch unsuspecting prey. To be taken means one is forced somewhere against his will. James has a lot to say about the tongue in chapter three. He talks about blessing and cursing coming from the same mouth. In his opinion the tongue is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. How much power do our words hold? We write beautiful, interesting stories for the world to read, hoping we bring something good to their lives; yet I listen to the people around me, and for the most part all I hear are negative things. “I hate my job, I am so fat, my hair looks awful, I’ll never be able to do that, I just know I’ve got Cancer, I’m going to die young all the men in my family die young etc…” What about the things we say about others? For instance, a car is driving down the road speeding. It passes in a curve. Are the first words out of our mouth, “ look at that idiot, he is going to find himself wrapped around a tree if he doesn’t slow down”? Five miles down the road we see the same car in a ditch with policemen all around it. Did our words snare that poor man? What if his little girl was very ill and he was rushing her to the hospital. If we turned the situation around and our words were, “Father please protect that person and get them safely where they are going”, would it have made a difference? Is it second nature instead to wear a satisfied smirk and say,” See what did I tell you?” Do our words give the enemy power by speaking things into being? God’s word says we are snared by the words of our mouth. Take the news for instance, how many times do you hear a feel good positive story off the news? Nearly everything that is “NEWS” is negative. If we listen to negative all day long that is what will come out of our mouth. I rarely listen to the news for that very reason. I want to hear things that lift me up. I know that we have to be aware of things going on in the world, but I wish there was only one or two negative stories and a day full of happy endings. That’s what most of us write. Wouldn’t it be great if that were how we lived every day? I challenge you to think before you speak and if your words are negative, stop them before you make a snare for yourself or someone else. Turn it around into something Jesus would be proud for us to say. If we’re going to be snared let it be with positive words. I just know that will irritate the devil to no end and that makes me happy! |
Send
Originally posted 2012-07-27 10:00:00.
Travel Time
One of the distinctives of the Regency is that it was a time of enormous industrial development. Not only were civil engineers learning how to make already common methods of transport (horses, wind-powered ships, etc.) more efficient, they were also developing new ways to get people and materials across vast distances in less time. According to the Oxford Illustrated History of Britain:
“It took nearly a fortnight to travel from London to Edinburgh in 1745, two and a half days in 1796, and around 36 hours by coach or steamer in 1830.”
That’s a lot of change in well under a century. And, of course, rapid technological development led to changes in society as well.
The manufacturers
England was a country that made a lot of its money on its exports, many of which were produced in its northern regions. Items like coal and wool were manufactured in the north of the country and carried down to the south (and thence to distribution points across Europe) by ships on the sea, and, more and more by the time of the Regency, by canal.
So, while the aristocracy might find themselves traveling to the seashore for a holiday, the lower-class man was much more likely to find himself traveling the way most of us have always found ourselves traveling: when our jobs say that we must.
The armed forces
And who, in the Regency, had jobs that were most likely to force them to travel? Besides the merchants, it was the men in the army and navy. As in every era, wars and rumors of war abounded in the Regency. Take your forty shillings from King George and you were likely to find yourself far, far away from your native England. America? France? Even India? All these destinations and more were possible for the man in uniform. No promises of holiday feasts or vacation amusements, but if you wanted to see the world in the early 1800s, joining up would almost guarantee it.
Peace of Christ to you,
Originally posted 2012-07-23 10:00:00.
Laurie Alice here,
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
Luke 12:22-28 NIV
I’m a worrier. I fully confess it. I worry about whether or not I’ll have enough milk until the next time I can get to the store, and I worry about whether or not the pets are getting equal time. I worry about whether or not my husband has a proper lunch, and I worry about every word I write.
Do you know that the word “worry” as into stress over a problem was so new in the Regency that it was not recorded in writing until after the official Regency. I doubt it means they did not worry. They had plenty to concern them in daily life. Especially if you were a single female, you worried about a mate, about whether or not you would always have food and shelter, whether or not you were a burden on your relatives if no mate came along. Mothers worried about their children with infant mortality shockingly high, and men worried about money, crops, wars, the government’s actions. . .
Hmm, you know what? A lot of those issues about which they worried have not changed. Do not single women still worry about a spouse, a life mate? Do not men—and women now, too—worry about jobs, income, wars, the government? Mothers still worry about the safety and health of their children. We worry if our clothes are appropriate for the occasion, or if one really can wear white shoes after Labor Day, despite what your friends tell you. I cannot believe Regency heroines did not have similar concerns.
Yet worry was not in the vocabulary.
And neither should it be in ours. I am sure they used other phrases as distress over or get blue-deviled, fret comes to mind, etc. Yet today we focus on worry far too much.
Jesus commanded us not to worry. God takes care of flowers and sparrows, so why would He not take care of us, His children? The answer is simple: He will. He will supply all our needs.
So let us step back two hundred years and remove “worry” from our vocabulary.
Originally posted 2012-07-20 10:00:00.
Question: What important item have you forgotten when you went on a trip?
“My cell phone charger.” ~ Laurie Alice Eakes
“Cell phone charger.” ~ Ruth Axtell
Noticing a bit of a pattern?
“My family goes off to a small cottage almost every weekend, June through August, so opportunities to forget abound. I have forgotten many ‘essentials’ such as, butter, swimsuit, camera, milk, jam, and more. The good thing is, there’s always next weekend to try to remember it all.” ~ Susan Karsten
“Ha! I’m not sure my answer is blog-appropriate: I managed to go on my honeymoon without remembering to pack a bra. :)” ~ Jessica Snell
“Well, there’s the very obvious toothbrush. I think I ended up using my husband’s for the night, and hotels usually have toothbrushes available to purchase. (Thank goodness!)
I’ve also forgotten my pajamas before, which is even more embarrassing. Especially when you’re staying with other women. If my hubby had been there, I could have taken one of his extra t-shirts to sleep in. But nope. There I was staying with two other women, and rummaging through my suitcase hoping to find a sleep worthy t-shirt. Not fun!” ~ Naomi Rawlings
“My mother. It wasn’t actually a trip. My 3 year old granddaughter was in her first beauty pageant. I didn’t realize I had forgotten to bring mom until someone at the pageant asked how she was doing” ~ Tammy Kirby
“Socks. I think I forgot them because I was wearing sandals while I packed. For me it wasn’t that big of a deal – I just wore my sandals for the trip. My husband, however, had a bit of a tougher time. Fortunately, there was a Wal-Mart nearby.” ~ Kristi Ann Hunter
What important items have neglected to make their way into your luggage before a trip?
Pictures courtesy of www.MorgueFile.com
Originally posted 2012-07-18 10:00:00.
Staycations.
The word has entered our vocabulary in recent years as an attractive and affordable option to the once popular family road trip. Whether it be a jaunt to the beach or that all important theme park visit to stack up some childhood memories, going on holiday has been an important part of our American heritage. But in recent years, this ideal has changed. Due to the American financial crisis in 2007-2010 and the weakening of the British pound in 2009, families have begun to look for alternative and less expensive ways to celebrate their summer holidays a bit closer to home.
Holidays in the Regency Era were somewhat similar in this respect. They could be of the traveling kind of course, with a long carriage ride to a choice location like Jane Austen’s Bath, fashionable Brighton or for a trip into London’s posh Mayfair district to stake out the latest fashions of the day. But there were some holiday options that were quite similar to our modern staycations: trips to the lake for swimming, charming strolls through the gardens, outdoor picnics and even the all-important country ball.
Holidays may have been spent at locations that were closer to home but as you’ll see for a few Regency staycation ideas here, they were anything but second-rate celebrations.
Image: Traving.com
Country Strolls –
Stepping into a staycation was often as easy as popping outside and walking through the garden gates of a Regency Era country home to the generous hills beyond. Often manicured to the level of a grand home in the city, the country garden and estate grounds offered sights and sounds void to the eye during the harsh months of winter. Time spent out of doors would have been prized during the summer holiday months, both for the relaxation of the atmosphere and for the rejuvenating act of walking.
Royal Navy officer John Byng’s 1792 journals boast a lively description of the glories of the simple stroll through the countryside, saying, “to view old castles, old manors and old religious houses, before they be quite gone; and that I may compare their ancient structures… with the fashions of the day.”
Similar to Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennett’s country pilgrimage with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, a well noted tourist route took them past the grounds of Darcy’s Pemberly in the pursuit of appreciating nature. Remember the line, “Oh, what are men compared to rocks and mountains?” To the Regency mind, it’s almost true. (Almost.) Their pursuit was often more to see the grounds along a tourist route than to spend time inside the grand house. (Mrs. Gardiner even states, “If it were merely a fine house richly furnished,’ said she, ‘I should not care about it myself, but the grounds are delightful.”)
Picnicking –
At the turn of the nineteenth century, the flourish of blossoming ideals about nature fed the popularity of more than taking the occasional stroll in the garden. It popularized the idea of eating outdoors where one could have a closer communion with God’s creation. In the beginning, picnics were less organized, quiet affairs. But as the popularity of an alfresco lunch became a more sought after invitation to receive, these quiet country lunches evolved into quite elaborate and well-planned out social affairs.
A famous scene in which picnicking takes center stage is the picnic on Box Hill in Jane Austen’s classic novel, Emma. Film adaptations have given this scene a comparably beautiful landscape, as picnickers revel on a sunny hillside and enjoy an afternoon tea time with remarkable views of the English countryside all around. Like our modern day holiday cookouts, these Regency Era picnics would have boasted attendees that included family and friends, and would have involved the dining experience alongside amiable outdoor activities of the day (such as the strawberry picking or archery described in Emma). Even more like our modern idea of the potluck dinner, Regency picnickers would have toted wicker baskets with a dish to share with others (possibly deviled eggs, cold roast, or fruit sandwiches). As these picnic affairs grew more elaborate however, a host would usually organize the dishes to be brought (to eliminate duplication) or would have supplied a carefully selected menu of food altogether.
Click here for a nice anthology of links around Regency Era picnicking {LINK}.
The Country Ball –
A spectacular setting. Amiable company. The pleasures of food and fun in the sun – this could easily describe picnicking just as it could describe the more eloquent evening affair of the country ball.
Country balls could be just as lavish as their city sisters – fine gowns, pristine manners, sumptuous meals and plenty of dancing would have permeated the country ball atmosphere as well as for balls in the city. Stringed quartets would have played the same upbeat music, though the violin might have been termed the “fiddle” for the playing of country tunes. Dancing was still on the top of the agenda. The jovial camaraderie of friends and family engaging in lively dancing, eating and generally making merry, made the event prized among the staycations of the day.
Click here for more information on Regency Era country balls, as in the ball at Netherfield, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. {LINK}
It’s interesting to note that through all of the country or staycation activities, Regency Era holidays were as much about family, love, and communion with God as ours may be today. We see the value in a quiet country stroll. We have church picnics and family reunions under the great blanket of God’s sky. We even step out ourselves, sometimes all alone, to find private solace in quiet prayer walks with Him.
Whether you’re traveling miles away from home or taking a nap in your backyard hammock, remember how we all value our holidays at home, for we can stay in God’s presence. Wherever we walk, our journey is with Him.
~ Kristy
Originally posted 2012-07-16 10:00:00.
I’m an amateur word nerd.* So when I see the world “holiday” I can’t help but remember that it came into our language from the phrase “holy day”.
Because, of course, it used to be on the holy days observed by the church that the people were released from their work duties. You can still see this in our own calendars: Sunday is the day we weekly remember the resurrection, and many of us still have it off. Christmas vacation is rooted in the remembrance of Jesus’ birth, and spring break in the celebration of the events of Easter.
Thinking “holy day” when I see “holiday” is a pedantic bit of geekery, I admit it. At least, it is on the surface. But when I look deeper, it gives me a hint about what really makes for a restful holiday or a good vacation.
“I need to get away” – from what?
We talk about “needing to get away”, and I, for one, certainly do feel like I am escaping when I’m lucky enough to leave the city for the mountains, or my everyday life for a week of kicking back.
But what is it that we really need to get away from? It’s not like everyday life is a horror, for most of us. Our days are busy, sure, but for many of us, they’re filled with good things, with everyday duties like working and housekeeping, caring for kids and feeding ourselves and our families.
It makes me think that maybe I’m asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, “what do I need to get away from?”, I ought to be asking, “what do I need to run towards?”
Sabbath Rest
Work is good, but no one should be always working. It is rest that we are running towards. Resting after labor is so important that it was God himself who set us the example of how to do it.
And rest is not an emptiness, rest is a fullness. It is rest in the presence of God. It is being with, not being without. Even in seemingly run-of-the-mill vacation activities – things like swimming in the ocean or games of catch or long walks on a mountain trail – you can hear echoes of the Edenic rest our first parents enjoyed. In Eden, Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening. In our vacations today, we still take great joy in being somewhere beautiful in the company of those we love.
And even for introverts like me, when I am alone, I am not alone. The urge for silence and solitude is, really, an urge to be alone with God. To be still in His presence.
This is rest.
Peace of Christ to you,
* Amateur because the professionals are the ones who have etymological dictionaries. I make due with my precious hardbound edition of the shorter OED.
Originally posted 2012-07-13 10:00:00.
Leaving your problems in London or at your country estate while you jaunted off to stroll down the street in front of the Royal Crescent and sip from the therapeutic spring water could improve a mood faster than anything else.
It’s the same reason so many people love vacations. It’s why you have to book your Spring Break hotel room six months in advance if you’re hitting one of the more popular beaches. It’s why travel sites thrive and credit cards offer hotel and airline points.
People have long acknowledged the benefits of changing scenery. Entire businesses have been built on people needing a new perspective on things.
Several years ago, I had a major decision to make. I struggled over it for months. Finally, it was coming down to the wire. I had to make the decision. One night, my husband took care of our daughter and I checked in to the hotel down the street. I was less than five miles from home, but it might have been five states because in that hotel room was nothing from my regular life.
My daughter didn’t cry and wake me up.
The dishes in the sink didn’t mock me for not cleaning them right after dinner.
No harsh buzz emitted from the laundry room informing me that the next load was ready to be folded.
The change of scenery let me spend focused time in prayer and thought so that I could make a decision.
My husband is a minister and I am a stay at home mom and unpublished writer. Translation: Our work hours are ridiculous and we don’t make a lot of money. That means vacations are really difficult to fit in and afford.
While you may want to take and 30-day cruise across the Atlantic to explore Italy or even just spend a week at the beach, it isn’t always feasible. I dream of one day taking a research vacation to England. Right now, it’s not even in the budget book, but I still dream about it.
That doesn’t mean you can’t get away.
When we feel overtired and overstressed, we take a trip to my in-laws. It’s one place where we are expected to do virtually nothing. My fabulous mother-in-law takes care of the kids when they wake up so we get to sleep in. We get to take an afternoon to ourselves every trip and go stroll around their small-town main street.
It costs us nothing but gas to get there, and we usually leave feeling rested and refreshed.
We’ve also done staycations, where we change our perspective just by changing our expectations of the day. It doesn’t work quite as well as getting fully away, but it does help. We’ve done local overnights by booking hotels three or four days in advance. You have to be flexible about where you go, but you can get really good deals.
Every year we take a weekend trip with my family as well. Traveling in a group often defrays the cost of the trip. Plus it has the added benefit of allowing you to deepen important relationships on the trip.
To really reap the benefits, you have to change your perspective. Vacations and changes in scenery are temporary. It’s why we keep taking trips and looking for the next break.
But it’s possible to bring that serenity and bliss home by allowing God to transform your mind and thinking.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:2
When we allow God to form our thoughts, opinions, and desires to His will, we can find peace and tranquility among the chaos of everyday life. Imagine having vacations as a treat, something to enjoy instead of needing them just to maintain your equilibrium.
God can change your vision, making that same old couch, cubicle, or mini-van look like completely new scenery.
Photos by FreeDigitalPhotos.net unless otherwise noted.
Originally posted 2012-07-06 10:00:00.