Vanessa Riley’s Regency Reflections

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Do you love fairy tales?
  My new book Yuletide Truce, which comes out next week, starts with dueling reviews of a collection of fairy tales: The Fairy Ring, published on 9 December 1845 (though the title page gives the year of publication as 1846), in … Continue reading →
• Heat and Light in Austen’s Novels (Part 1): Fires – Rachel Dodge
  At the heart of every household in Jane Austen’s time, a fire burned. Fires provided a fixed source of heat and light, around which people gathered and moved, cooked and cleaned, lived and socialized. And while it’s lovely to imagine that families in Austen’s day gathered together in the evening simply because they enjoyed one […]

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-09-14 06:21:27.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Regency Picnic or a Labor Day?
  Happy Labor Day! This US federal holiday celebrates the economic and social contributions of the American worker. It was first observed in New York in 1882 and became a federal holiday in 1894. Today it has also become the traditional … Continue reading →
• Ch-ch-ch-changes
  This past weekend I dropped off both daughters to college (the younger for the first time). It’s a very strange experience to become an empty-nester. I miss them so much! But I’m also an introvert recovering from a challenging phase … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-09-07 06:20:19.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Cool things from the 1780s
  I love strange little bits of real history to decorate my books with. Sometimes you stumble across them randomly and jot them down for later use, and sometimes you’re in the middle of the book and you can’t stand to … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-08-31 06:21:07.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• English Cottages Rock!
  So much of the time, our Regency stories evolve in the settings of the elegant mansions, grand townhouses and large country estates of the rich aristocrats who people the stories. There’s good reason for that, for certainly the elegance helps … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-08-10 06:20:18.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Jane Austen on the Go
  Dear Readers, Once again I found myself traveling between Richmond and Baltimore to visit family. In theory, the route over I-95 should take only 2 hours and 45 minutes. Hah! This time the trip took 5 hours due to heavy traffic and a thunderstorm or two. While driving, I love to listen to my favorite […]

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-07-27 06:20:07.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Exploring Jane Austen’s Prayers
  Exploring Jane Austen’s Prayers, by Rachel Dodge As we reflect this month on the beautiful written treasures Jane Austen left behind her in this world, we also celebrate the wonderful life that she lived. Though she has been gone 200 years now, her novels are a continual gift we can enjoy again and again. And […]
• Animal Characters and a Sale!
  A lot of my favorite romance authors include animals in their romances. In Regencies, we often have horses, but other animals, usually pets, can add fun to a story. Laura Kinsale usually (always?) includes some sort of “mascot animal” in … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-07-20 06:20:26.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Visiting Jane Austen’s Home: Celebrating 200 Years in Hampshire, Rachel Dodge
  “Ah! there is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” This line from Mrs. Elton in Emma is quite humorous, but the quote itself holds an eternal truth for most of us. There really is no place like one’s own home. For Jane Austen, “home” was in Hampshire, a lush, green county in the […]
• On Research & Rabbit Holes
  I know you understand the issues –I think all of us here tend to be research geeks. Sometimes it’s hard to pull ourselves away from the endless journey of searching out more information, more fascinating details –just a little more … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-07-13 06:20:09.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• House Hunters, Lake District Style
  I just returned home from the Number One London tour of the Lake District. What a fabulous time! We saw vistas like this: And this: What an inspirational trip! I just so happen to be starting a new book and … Continue reading →
• Ice Cream in July During the Georgian Era
  Gentle Reader, This week marks the July 4th holiday in the U.S., which means family gatherings, outdoor picnics, firework celebrations, and, most of all, ice cream! This delicious treat became more and more common at the turn of the 19th century when the method of transporting and storing great big blocks of ice over long […]

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-07-06 06:20:41.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Queer in the Regency: a Slice of Once-Hidden LGBT History
  How much do you know about LGBT history during the Regency period? Today we offer you a guest post by writer Graham Stokes (who happens to be Risky Gail Eastwood’s son).  As most of you probably know, June is LGBT … Continue reading →
• Jane Austen and Duck Eggs
  Last week a colleague at work, who lives in one of the prettier areas of rural Virginia, brought a dozen duck eggs to work. She had purchased them from a local farmer. Several of us pounced on these exotic avian gifts, since most of us obtain eggs from the lowly chicken from local grocers. Curiosity […]

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-06-29 06:20:57.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• A Visit to Bath: Tony Grant
  Dear reader, Jane Austen and the Georgian city of Bath are closely entwined throughout her novels and later life. Tony Grant’s contributions regarding Bath have been vitally important to me and this blog. His thoughts, images, and insights have enhanced my posts about this topic. Tony has generously allowed me to link to his popular […]
• Voices from Old London
  This year I’m back in Victorian London, and as it so happens I’ve got a couple of new research books, among them Voices from Dickens’ London by Michael Paterson from 2006 (republished as Inside Dickens’ London). Right in the introduction … Continue reading →

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Originally posted 2017-06-22 06:20:09.