Historical Belles and Beaus

Just as the Quarter Days mark the beginning of the seasons in England (see previous post ), the Cross-Quarter Days mark the midpoints of the...

The Scarlet Pimpernel inspired me to write a Georgian adventure romance with my own mystery man, Christian Hartley. Maggi "The...

Magic played a strange and ambivalent role in medieval society. Wise-women and wizards were sometimes tolerated or revered or sometimes pers...

Dollies and possers I can well remember watching my grandmother using a posser, and even helping on occasion. It comprised a long stick w...

For societies located in the temperate latitudes, the turning of the seasons provides a natural division of the year into quarters. In Br...

I haven't blogged for a while and I feel nostalgic. Not for blogging, but for the kind of experience that got me fired up with history i...

As I'm working on another Regency romance, I decided to do a series of blogs about this fascinating era. .  I The Dandies During the...

As many authors claim, I am frequently plagued by a very mischievous muse who chooses the most inconvenient of times to summon me - most f...

Coronets and Nobel Hierarchy: From Admirals to Generals, politicians to Royal bastards, a peerage has been the highest honour bestowed by a ...

Why are Vikings romantic? When Vikings were raiding Celtic monasteries they were not romantic. When Vikings - unkempt, insanitary, prone t...

Addresses don’t come much grander than ‘Number One London’, the popular name for Apsley House. On a recent visit to London and find...

Anne Stuart, 1705 As an American, I've always been intrigued by European monarchs. My favorite nations include: Britain, France, and...

In the seventeenth century many grander houses in England had a "still-room". This was originally a brewing chamber, but was soon ...

For many centuries in the Middle Ages the basics of fashion for men and women remained the same - a gown for women and a long or short robe ...

Article – Primary Sources   Primary sources, I feel, are a writer's best friend, especially a historical writer. I collect Victorian di...