Benedictine, the Exquisite French Liqueur

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

datarfcsdfnz0lfprhsm0ublxdzhdrdfhtmhhn1u-gmttwbax97-ht3uagx-omdkqxbtsrb1oxduybpn5gxcjnzqzzyg_oa1qw9fal5y-2xe1axcwogz_5ft0awt6pqyagv1vjmj5258awilt1sncnkkyfjdual8alvlwitzns82vwwom1u_133keum27wpxquxqm8 First made by Dom Bernardo Vincelli, a herbalist monk of the Order of St. Benedict, Bénédictine came into being in the Sixteenth Century. Vincelli devoted his life to the study of curative herbs and plants. The area surrounding the Abbey at Fécamp was fertile and herbs were plentiful, for it was part of the Caux district near the sea. The Pays de Caux is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French département of Seine Maritime in Haute-Normandie. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary. Vincelli used them to concoct his various balms and cordials, including the Elixir Bénédictin. 

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Alexandre Le Grand via Wikipedia

The recipe for the elixir was kept in a safe place within the Abbey. During the Revolution of 1789, monasteries were destroyed and monks were driven from their orders. Fécamp was set afire, but not before the monks placed certain jewels, tapestries, and archives in the care of trusted townsmen. Therefore, in 1862, M. Alexandre Le Grand inherited many of the old manuscripts from ancestors within the local town. Le Grand was a simple merchant before that time. Among those manuscripts was the one from Dom Vincelli, which listed the 18 ingredients for Elixir Bénédictin. However, Le Grand’s fortune was not made immediately for the document did not describe how the plants were treated and processed or the precise amounts and order of the mixture.

It became Le Grand’s purpose to learn more of the plants and experiment with the combinations. He used the Abbey’s long-hidden manuscripts as his guide. It took him a year of relentless experimenting to claim what he termed as the “exact essence” of the elixir. The fame of Benedictine grew rapidly, and within three years Le Grand had a substantial business. He had buildings constructed in the Renaissance style in which to manufacture the elixir. One of the larger building was one called Abbot’s Hall. At its end, one can view a large stained glass window commemorating the visit of Francois the 1st, King of France, to the Abbey of Fécamp in 1534. It was on this visit that the French monarch declared Vincelli’s liqueur’s excellence. “By my faith, never have I tasted better.”  

Others say that Alexandre Le Grand invented the recipe himself, helped by a local chemist, and he told this story to connect the liqueur with the city history to increase sales. [According to an interview of Alain Le Grand, last family owner of the distillery in the TV-Document Le Palais bénédictine de Fécamp on FR3 – Normandie.] He began production under the trade name “Bénédictine”, using a bottle with an easily recognizable shape and label. The family eventually sold the company to Martini and Rossi, which was in turn bought by Bacardi. 

The recipe is a closely guarded trade secret, purportedly known to only three people at any given time. So many people have tried to reproduce it that the company maintains on its grounds in Fécamp a “Hall of Counterfeits” (Salle des Contrefaçons). The bottle and label have been imitated, as has the name Bénédictine. The company prosecutes those it feels are infringing on its intellectual property.

Every bottle of Bénédictine has the initials D.O.M. on the label, which stands for “Deo Optimo Maximo” (“To God, most good, most great”). This abbreviation is commonly used at the beginning of documents of the Benedictine Order as a short dedication of the work.

Founder: Alexandre Le Grand

Year Founded: 1863
Distillery Location: Fécamp, France

BÉNÉDICTINE ESSENTIAL FACTS

  • In 1510, the Benedictine monk Don Bernardo Vincelli created the recipe for this French liqueur, which calls for 27 plants and spices. The three main ingredients are Angelica, Hyssop and Lemon Balm.
  • There are only three people on earth who know the complete recipe for making the spirit.
  • Benedictine is aged for up to 17 months before bottling.
  • The brand was first imported to the United States in 1888.

HOW YOU SHOULD DRINK BÉNÉDICTINE

  • Neat

    benedictine-liquor.jpg

Resources: 

Bénédictine

Wikipedia 

Posted in business, Edward III, Guest Blog | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“And the Best Supporting Role” Blog Hop Continues!

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Please follow a fab blog hop that celebrates the favorite supporting characters of some authors you love already and some of have yet to meet. Personally, I am on Friday, December 9, but I encourage you to visit the authors’ posts listed below to learn more of the best of the best. Each post will appear on Helen Hollick’s “Of History and Kings” Blog. 

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We all know the protagonist is the hero (or anti-hero!) of a novel. He or she usually has a companion main character, often the ‘love interest’ or maybe the stalwart side-kick, but what about that next rank down: the supporting role guy or gal? You know, the one who doesn’t get Best Actor, but Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. I thought it time that some of these supporting cast characters had a chance to step from the shadows of novels and have a turn in the limelight.

PLUS! something for the intrepid author to answer. Each author can invite six fictional characters (not their own!) to Christmas Dinner – who will they invite? 

Here are our participating authors – but who will be their Supporting Role Characters? Join us each day!

Here is the schedule: 

December 6 ~  Inge H Borg and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 7 ~ Matthew Harffy and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 8 ~ Alison Morton and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 9 ~ Regina Jeffers and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 10 ~ Anna Belfrage and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 11 ~ Christoph Fischer and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 12 ~ Pauline Barclay and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 13 ~ Antoine Vanner and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 14 ~ Annie Whitehead and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 15 ~ Derek Birks and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 16 ~ Carolyn Hughes and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE
December 17 ~ Helen Hollick and the Supporting Character Post is found HERE

 

I will be featuring one of my favorite characters, Adam Lawrence, Viscount Stafford, who has made an appearance in nearly a dozen of my books: The Phantom of Pemberley, His American Heartsong, A Touch of Velvet, A Touch of Grace, A Touch of Mercy, A Touch of Love, A Touch of Honor, and Mr. Darcy’s Bargain. Adam received his own book in His Irish Eve. He is something of a scoundrel, but I am certain you will learn to love him as much as I do. 

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Posted in blog hop, book release, books, British Navy, mystery, Napoleonic Wars, paranormal, Peterloo Massacre, reading, real life tales, Realm series, Regency era, Regency romance, romance, Tudors, Victorian era, War of 1812 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Queen Victoria’s Grief at Losing Her Beloved Albert

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Prince_Albert_1848.jpgOn December 14, 1861, Prince Albert succumbed to what was believed to be typhoid fever, although a recent book Magnificent Obsession by historian Helen Rappenport suggest the prince suffered from Crohn’s disease. (The Daily Mail). Queen Victoria’s grief over the loss of her husband, Prince Albert, came to define her entire reign. The extent of Queen Victoria’s despair was laid bare in a previously unseen letter, in which she expressed the hope that she would go to an early grave. The remarkably candid letter, which has been acquired by London auctioneers Argyll Etkin, is thought to be the first in the public domain in which the Queen yearns for her own death, so she can be reunited with her husband. Victoria wrote the ‘astonishing’ letter in March 1863, some 15 months after Albert’s death, to 82-year-old Viscount Gough. In writing to her daughter Vicky, the queen lamented “Why may not the earth not swallow me up?”

Albert’s loss was the removal of her other half for they shared an identity. They were Victoria and Albert. Complicating the queen’s grieving period was the extraordinary circumstances of her life. After all, she was the most powerful monarch in the world at the time. European royalty depended on the stability of the British crown. Victoria has so come to depend upon Albert, more so than even her prime ministers, that after his death, she was rightly “at a loss.” Albert had served as more than her prince consort and father of her children. 

Within a year of her mother’s death, Victoria now grieved her husband’s death. She would never recover from Albert’s passing. Victoria again turned to Princess Alice for support. Alice had nursed her father through his illness and became Victoria’s life line following Albert’s passing. Victoria’s dependence upon her daughter had Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, Alice’s betrothed, questioning whether the princess would make him a suitable grand duchess. 

It took more than a few weeks for Victoria to manage her emotions and to lay out a plan for the remainder of her reign. She made the decision to treat all of Albert’s opinions as if they were an unwritten constitution. Victoria made slight alterations in Albert’s dictates, but she never abandoned the essence of her husband’s wisdom. The problem was that Victoria did not possess Albert’s intellectual capacity to learn from his mistakes and to change his mind. Victoria became downright unmovable from 1861 to her own death in 1901. 

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Queen Victoria with Princesses Alice and Louise and a portrait of her late husband, Albert, in 1863. (Credit: Getty Images via History Extra)

She turned the many family residents into mausoleums dedicated to Albert’s memory. All of his private rooms were treated as shrines to her husband. Nothing was removed. His clothes were set out each day. Valets prepared for his morning ablutions with fresh towels and water. The last offices of Prince Albert grew more exacting in Victoria’s life. She observed his passing in unrelenting details. She expected every mention or reference to Albert to be pious in nature. Her children were never to mention their father unless they did so with great deference. 

Jerrold M. Packard (Victoria’s Daughters, St. Martin’s, New York, ©1998, pp. 94-95) explains, “Though Victoria’s position in a constitutional monarchy largely circumscribed her actions and authority to figurehead status – the physical embodiment of a state in which parliamentarians governed – the monarch’s desire to monitor and advise her government’s actions was to an amazing extent acceded to by her ministers, men who permitted her to review and comment on their deliberations and decisions to any degree she chose. Her participation was, in the main, always treated with near-religious respect, and her views granted as much deference as possible. 

“Victoria regarded her role as a trust requiring her own unequivocal seriousness, immutable labor, and faithworthy probity; and she strove to fulfill that trust over any interest in personal gain or what would make life more comfortable for herself. Her entire existence reflected that outlook, whether it took the form of seemingly bizarre relations with her children or the demands she unflinchingly placed on her ministers. As for her official capacities, her closest adviser…was her husband, an adviser whose term was furthermore not fettered by any electorate. In the last years of their marriage, the prince consort spoke openly for the monarch whose grasp of national affairs came nowhere near matching his own, and who to her credit recognized her shortcomings and her husband’s concomitant strengths. Lord Granville would write of the sovereign after her loss: ‘Having given up [for] 20 years, every year more, the habit of ever deciding anything, either great or small, on her own judgment…who has she upon whom she can [now] lean?’ Gone was what one biographer called ‘an ever open encyclopedia on the desk beside her.’ When Albert died, not only did the normal physical and emotional love that passes between spouses vanish with him, but so did the one person over whom this queen did not want to reign.” 

From History Extra tells us, “When Prince Albert breathed his last at 10.50pm on the night of Saturday 14 December 1861 at Windsor, a telegraph message was sent within the hour to the lord mayor that the great bell of St Paul’s Cathedral should toll out the news across London. Everyone knew that this sound signified one of two things: the death of a monarch or a moment of extreme national crisis such as war.

“People living in the vicinity of the cathedral who had already gone to their beds that night were woken by the doleful sound; many of them dressed and began gathering outside St Paul’s to share the news with shock and incredulity. Only the previous morning the latest bulletin from Windsor had informed them that the prince, who had been unwell for the last two weeks, had rallied during the night of the 13th. The whole nation had settled down for the evening reassured, hopeful that the worst was now over.

“Most of the Sunday morning papers for the 15th had already gone to press and did not carry the news, although in London one or two special broadsheets were rushed out and sold at a premium. For most ordinary British people the news of Prince Albert’s death came with the mournful sound of bells, as the message was relayed from village to village and city to city across the country’s churches.

“Many still did not realise the significance until, when it came to the prayers for the royal family during morning service, the prince’s name was omitted. But it was still hard to believe. The official bulletins from Windsor had suggested only a ‘low fever’ – which in Victorian parlance could be anything from a chill to something more sinister like typhoid fever. The royal doctors had been extremely circumspect in saying what exactly was wrong, not just to the public but also Albert’s highly strung wife, and very few had any inkling of how ill he was. How could this have happened, people asked themselves; how could a vigorous man of only 42 have died without warning?

“The impact of Prince Albert’s death, coming as unexpectedly as it did, was dramatic and unprecedented. The last time the nation had mourned the loss of a member of the royal family in similar circumstances had been back in 1817 when Princess Charlotte, daughter of the Prince Regent – and heir to the throne failing the birth of any legitimate male heirs – had died shortly after giving birth to a still-born baby boy. Public grief at this tragedy had been enormous, and it was no less with the death of Albert.”

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, history, kings and queens, Living in the UK, marriage, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy December Birthday to Some of Our Favorite “Austen” Actors

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Regina Jeffers
Happy Birthday Wishes, Quotes, Messages, Greetings, Cards, SMS, Images www.happybirthdaywishes-quotes.com

Happy Birthday Wishes, Quotes, Messages, Greetings, Cards, SMS, Images
http://www.happybirthdaywishes-quotes.com

We wish to say a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to these actors who brought some of our favorite Austen characters to life. 

 

 

 

 

 

jeremy-northam-5December 1 – Jeremy Northam, who portrayed Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film version of Emmajones_3

December 4 – Gemma Jones, who portrayed Mrs. Dashwood in 1995’s Sense and Sensibility, as well as playing Bridget’s Mum in the “Bridget Jones” franchise.

 

Jack-Huston.jpgDecember 7 – Jack Huston, who portrayed Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 

 

Judi-Dencjs-fantastic-cropDecember 9 – Judi Dench, who portrayed Lady Catherine De Bourgh in 2005’s Pride and Prejudice

 

 

 

 

MV5BMjY2MzE1NzYxNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDYyMjc0ODE@._V1_UY317_CR19,0,214,317_AL_.jpgDecember 10 – Xavier Samuel, who portrayed Reginald DeCourcy in Love and Friendship

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December 12 – Tom Wilkinson, who portrayed Mr. Dashwood in 1995’s Sense and Sensibility

 

 

PP3.76Perdita Weeks Scarlet Marlowe5December 14 – Barbara Leigh Hunt, who portrayed Lady Catherine De Bourgh in 1995’s Pride and Prejudice 

 

December 25 – Perdita Weeks, who portrayed Lydia Bennet in Lost in Austen

 

sands1971_marianne1wDecember 27 – Ciaran Madden, who portrayed Marianne Dashwood in 1971’s Sense and Sensmaggie-smith-becoming-janeibility 

 

December 28 – Maggie Smith, who portrayed Lady Gresham in Becoming Jane

 

 

JenniferDecember 29 – Jennifer Ehle, who portrayed Elizabeth Bennet in 1995’s Pride and Prejudice 

Posted in Jane Austen, real life tales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Jane Austen’s Publishing Options, or Being a Female Writer in the Regency Era

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

Publishing Options for Women During Jane Austen’s Lifetime

I thought it time to revisit this post for several people of late have asked me of Austen and self-publishing.

“Novels” during the early Regency were geared toward the female reader; therefore, the door opened, if only a crack for the female writer to step through. The female writers of the time assisted Jane Austen in several ways, among them the influence on her writing and building an audience for Austen’s early works.

The early female authors faced something that Austen did not. They faced public criticism, as women of the time, especially those of genteel birth, did not seek employment of any kind. Women were not to pursue fame and a career. They were discouraged by their husbands and families from publishing their works. Austen was fortunate to have a family who encouraged her writing, but even she published anonymously. Austen’s father, the Reverend Austen, approached a publisher for Jane when she was but two and twenty. Later, Jane’s brother acted as her representative with the publisher under which she served.

18th Century Literature Analysis from Dr. Octavia Cox ~

JANE AUSTEN & MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT | Sense and Sensibility & A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Women of the period had limited means at their disposal under which they might see their works come to fruition:

(1) Publishing by subscription – Subscribers signed up to purchase a novel. When enough subscriptions were guaranteed, then the publisher released the book.

(2) Publishing by profit sharing – The publisher released the book at his expense. Copies were sold until a profit was made. Only then did the author received a fee for his work. If no profit was made, the author received nothing, but the pleasure of seeing her name in print.

(3) Publishing by selling the copyright – The author took a chance in selling her copyright to the publisher. She would receive a fee for the sale, but nothing beyond that. If the book  made a profit, only the publisher benefited.

(4) Publishing on commission – For this venture, the author paid all the costs for the book’s publication. The publisher acted as the author’s distributor. In the sales, the publisher would earn a 10% fee from the profits. If the book saw no profits, the loss rested on the author’s shoulders alone. This was the method Jane Austen used for her releases. Jane Austen published her first book at the age of four and thirty.

First Edition title page of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” published in 1811

First Edition title page of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” published in 1811

Austen’s Publishing History:

I thought we might take a quick look at the process of having Austen’s works published. Most of her story lines went through several revisions before the lady knew fruition. She reportedly made extensive changes in both “Sense and Sensibility” and “Pride and Prejudice.”

Sense and Sensibility was completed in 1795, but it did not know publication until 1811. (That is a sixteen year span. For authors who think they will write the next best seller and have it immediately caught up by an agent and publisher, this is a very sobering fact.)

Mansfield Park was finished in 1812 and was published two years later in 1814. (With this novel, Austen attempted sentimentality. Unfortunately, “Mansfield Park” does not enjoy the same level of popularity as Austen’s other novels.)

Pride and Prejudice knew a similar fate. Austen wrote the original manuscript in 1796. It was published in 1813. (Seventeen years of rejection. It makes me admire Austen more.)

Austen  began Northanger Abbey in 1798; however, the book was published posthumously in 1817.  (Nearly two decades passed between the novel’s inception and the final publication.)

Emma was finished in 1814 and published in 1815. Obviously, the success of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice aided Austen in this process.

Finally, Persuasion was completed in 1815 and published posthumously in 1817. We know as Austen readers that this particular novel had a major revision along the way.

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Posted in British history, food, George IV, Georgian England, Great Britain, historical fiction, Industry News/Publishing, Jane Austen, literature, Living in the Regency, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency personalities, romance | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Recent Winners of Giveaways from the Bluestocking Belles and Regina Jeffers

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

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51M4ZXalWlL.jpg The Bluestocking Belles are happy to announce the winner of their holiday collection, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. Congratulations to Vesper!!! The Belles will be in touch to determine which format you prefer for the book delivery. Thanks again to the Bluestocking Belles for their generosity. 

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51S9Dyhz5ML._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg Below are Recent Winners of Mr. Darcy’s Bargain from Regina Jeffers. The giveaway announcements have been made, and the eBooks delivered to each of those listed. 

from JustJane1813 ~ November 15

Ria     and      Darcyluvr

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from Austen Authors ~ November 16

Jj Rine     and       Anita P

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from My Jane Austen Book Club ~ November 17

anadarcy     and    Pam Hunter

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from Babblings of a Bookworm ~ November 17

Sophia Rose 

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from Every Woman Dreams ~ November 18

Vesper    and       Ginna

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from Darcyholic Diversions ~ November 19

Laurie May Allen

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from Every Woman Dreams ~ November 22

Becky C.    and     Anji

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from Every Woman Dreams – November 29

Vikki Vaught 

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from Every Woman Dreams – December 5

Glynis and Danielle

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

From Where Does the Name “Cutty Sark Scotch Whisky” Come?

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

CS-advert-for-wool-2.jpgWith the news of the anniversary of the Cutty Sark ship this past week, I thought to renew this post. First a bit on the clipper ship: On 22 November, Cutty Sark celebrates the 146th anniversary of her launch. Originally designed to last just 30 years, Cutty Sark has survived nearly five times her life expectancy thanks to her world-wide success, fame and beauty. Commissioned by Scottish shipowner John Willis, Cutty Sark was built in Dumbarton in 1869 by Scott & Linton. She is a clipper ship – a ship designed for speed – and Willis had high aspirations that his new vessel would earn him handsome profits as the fastest of the clippers serving the China tea trade.  Unfortunately for Cutty Sark, the Suez Canal opened the same week she was launched and steamers soon entered and dominated the trade.  After just eight voyages to China, Cutty Sark was forced to seek alternative cargoes. [Read more at http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/behind-the-scenes/blog/146th-anniversary-cutty-sark%E2%80%99s-launch#6hLLS4KLDSsAzubX.99]

Now to the Whisky:

cutty-sark-logo“Cutty Sark is a range of blended Scotch whisky produced by Edrington plc of Glasgow, whose main office is less than 10 miles from the birthplace of the famous clipper ship of the same name. The whisky was created as a product of Berry Brothers & Rudd, with the home of the blend considered to be at The Glenrothes distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland. The name comes from the River Clyde–built clipper ship Cutty Sark, whose name came from the Scots language term “cutty-sark”, the short shirt [skirt] prominently mentioned in the famous poem by Robert Burns, “Tam o’ Shanter”. The drawing of the clipper ship Cutty Sark on the label of the whisky bottles is a work of the Swedish artist Carl Georg August Wallin. He was a mariner painter, and this is probably his most famous ship painting. This drawing has been on the whisky bottles since 1955. The Tall Ships’ Races for large sailing ships were originally known as The Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ Races, under the terms of sponsorship by the whisky brand.” (Wikipedia)

Before & After: Cutty Sark — The Dieline - Package Design Resource www.thedieline.com

Before & After: Cutty Sark — The Dieline – Package Design Resource
http://www.thedieline.com

Other stories say that Berry Bros. & Rudd, Ltd. opened Berry’s Coffee Mill at No. 3 James Street in London, England. Patrons such as Beau Brummel, Napoleon III, and Lord Byron drank the fine Scotch whisky served there. At the times, it was simply called Berry Bros. Scotch Whisky.

However, in the 1870s, an unknown participant at a luncheon in the Old Establishment make the suggestion for a more distinctive name. One of the guests at the luncheon won a heavy purse on a race among clipper ships set to deliver tea to London. This was not a one time race, but one which occurred regularly among the ships bringing the season’s first cargo of tea to London’s docks. The Cutty Sark won that particular match, and thus the name. An artist in attendance took a sheet of yellow paper from his waistcoat and drew the image still used today. 

Gavin D. Smith on Whisky-Pages says, “The Cutty Sark blend of Scotch whisky with its distinctive green glass bottle and yellow label is familiar to most drinkers, but not everyone is aware of the fascinating heritage behind the brand. Cutty Sark was created on 20th March 1923 when the partners of Britain’s oldest surviving wine and spirits merchants, Berry Bros & Rudd, met to discuss developing their own blended Scotch whisky. Remarkably, Berry Bros & Rudd can trace its origins back to 1698, when the ‘Widow Bourne’ established a shop opposite St James’ Palace in London, where the business is still based today, remaining in the hands of members of the Berry and Rudd families.”

Meanwhile, The Whisky Exchange says, “The partners had invited James McBey, a well known Scottish artist, to a luncheon that day to discuss the launch. It was he who suggested the name and designed the label for the new whisky. The whisky is named after the 19th century tea clipper, which was the fastest sailing ship of her day.
At the time, the tea clipper of that name was being brought back from Portugal to be docked in London. It was the big story of the day. She was named after a young witch who was dressed in a ‘Cutty Sark’ or ‘short shirt’ and who ran as fast as the wind in a Robert Burns’ poem (Tam O’Shanter).”

There are similarities in the stories and some distinct differences. The name is the stuff of which great tales are made. 

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era, Scotland, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

William “520 Percent” Miller, Inspiration for “Mr. Darcy’s Bargain”

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

In my latest release, Mr. Darcy’s Bargain, Elizabeth pleads with Darcy to save the citizens of Meryton from a scam being perpetrated upon them by Mr. Wickham. But how did I come up with the idea of this scam as the basis for this book?

william_millerMost of you know I am a bit of a history geek, and in one of my “off shoots” of research for another book, I came across William “520 Per Cent” Miller, an American scammer who likely served as the model for Charles Ponzi, who lends his name to what we now call “Ponzi schemes.”

51ms3ut7-lWilliam Miller was a Brooklyn bookkeeper who was eventually incarcerated for swindling investors out of their savings. In 1899, Miller operated a scheme called the “Franklyn Syndicate,” in which he promised 10% interest on contributions each week. Miller was given the nickname of “520 Percent.” He promised a ten percent interest weekly to his investors, therefore the nickname of 520 Percent. He managed to defraud his investors of some $1 million. He spent 10 years in jail for grand larceny, serving only 5 years. He was released early for good behavior. Upon his release he opened a grocery store on Long Island and lived out his days as a law biding citizen.

Book Blurb:

When Elizabeth Bennet appears on his doorstep some ten months after her refusal of his hand in marriage, Darcy uses the opportunity to “bargain” for her acceptance of a renewal of his proposal in exchange for his assistance in bringing Mr. Wickham to justice. In Darcy’s absence from Hertfordshire, Wickham has practiced a scheme to defraud the citizens of Meryton of their hard-earned funds. All have invested in a Ten Percent Annuity scheme, including Mr. Bennet, and her family and friends are in dire circumstances. Elizabeth will risk everything to bring her father to health again and to save her friends from destitution, but is she willing to risk her heart? She places her trust in Darcy’s thwarting Wickham’s manipulations, but she is not aware that Darcy wishes more than her acquiescence. He desires her love. And what will happen if Darcy does not succeed in bringing Mr. Wickham to justice? Will that end their “bargain,” or will true love prevail?

mdb-front-cover-1

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon      Kindle      Kobo      CreateSpace 

EXCERPT:

“The young lady says she will not leave without speaking to you, sir.”

Darcy scowled at his butler. His servant had interrupted Darcy’s meeting with his solicitor to say a Mr. Gardiner pleaded for a bit of Darcy’s time. “What young lady?” Darcy demanded.

Even as he asked the question, he was aware of the hitch in his voice. How often had he fantasized about the woman who haunted his dreams marching into his home and demanding he love her? He fought the urge to close his eyes and bring forth an image of Elizabeth Bennet. More than ten months had passed since he left her in the parlor of Mr. Collins’ cottage at Hunsford–left her to her misinterpretations. He had thought to present her with a letter of explanation regarding his part in separating her elder sister from Mr. Bingley and a defense of his interactions with Mr. Wickham, but after walking the length of the plantation at Rosings Park three times, Darcy abandoned the task. The letter remained unopened in the drawer of the night table beside his bed.

“A Miss Bennet, sir.”

Darcy did not know whether satisfaction was a proper response, but he knew the emotion nonetheless.

He spoke to the solicitor, “If you will pardon me, Hess, I suspect I should discover what brings these strangers to my threshold.”

Mr. Hess stood to gather his papers. “I understand, Mr. Darcy. I will have someone deliver the new documents later today. If you require my services after you have had time to examine the contract, send me word.”

“Thacker, see Mr. Hess out and then provide me ten minutes before you escort Mr. Gardiner and the lady up.”

“As you wish, Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy felt a bit foolish requesting a few minutes to settle his composure before he looked upon Elizabeth Bennet again. Needless to say, the “Miss Bennet” waiting below could be another of Mr. Bennet’s daughters or even another young lady with the same surname, but Darcy doubted any other female would act so boldly as to call upon him and to demand to speak to him. Only Miss Elizabeth would dare to invade his privacy.

Although it was early in the day, Darcy poured himself a stiff drink and swallowed it quickly. He thought he had placed the memory of Elizabeth Bennet behind him, but, in truth, doing so was impossible. A book lying open on a table with an embroidered bookmark keeping the place brought him anguish. The scent of fresh cut lavender had him searching his house for a lost dream. Little things brought the lady’s image rushing to his memory. The passion she prompted in him was not an emotion Darcy knew previously or since.

“Yet, the lady shunned your offer of marriage,” he reminded his foolish hope. “If she were coming to Darcy House for you, Miss Elizabeth would not require another’s escort.”

To rid himself of misplaced aspirations, over the previous months, Darcy had relived each of Elizabeth’s accusations until they had shredded his heart completely. “The feelings which you tell me have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation.” and “Can you deny that you have done it? and “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been can help feeling an interest in him?” and “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me any other way than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner.”

“Perhaps I should have taken the lady into my arms and kissed her into submission,” he murmured.

A knock upon his study door sent Darcy’s musings darting off into the deepest recesses of his mind. He turned as the door opened, and Thacker ushered “her” into his private retreat. He noted a man of some girth and dark hair stood behind her, but Darcy’s gaze remained locked upon Elizabeth’s countenance.

God! But he missed her! She was more beautiful than he recalled.

Although he told himself repeatedly it was best to forget her, in reality, his heart sang with the possibility of renewing their acquaintance. Perhaps he could claim an opportunity to make amends. When Elizabeth refused him, for the first time in his life, Darcy held no means of solving the problem before him–that of his obsession with the woman.

A clearing of the gentleman’s throat brought Darcy from his considerations. He belatedly recalled his manners and offered the pair a bow of greeting. Schooling his expression, he said, “Miss Elizabeth, what a pleasant surprise.”

Surprise was the correct word, but how pleasant the experience would be was yet to be seen.

“Mr. Darcy,” she said so softly he found the experience disconcerting. Did she fear he would turn her away?

“Please come in and have a seat. Would you care for refreshments?” He gestured her to the chairs arranged before his desk.

“No, sir,” Elizabeth said in politeness. “We shall attempt to keep our business short.” She folded her hands upon her lap. “If you will permit it, sir,” she continued in stiff tones, “I would give you the acquaintance of my uncle.”

The man remained standing. Darcy knew the look of her Uncle Phillips for he took Phillips’s companionship on several occasions when Darcy resided at Netherfield. The man before him must be the uncle from Cheapside.

“Certainly.”

Elizabeth repeated the required niceties. “Mr. Darcy, may I present my uncle, Mr. Gardiner. Uncle, this is Mr. Darcy, the gentleman from Derbyshire of whom I spoke.”

Darcy liked the idea of Elizabeth speaking of him without absolute disdain.

“Thank you, Mr. Darcy, for receiving us without notice,” the gentleman repeated as he assumed the seat beside his niece.

Darcy sat carefully so as not to crease his breeches. Somehow, he wished to appear at his best before Elizabeth. He thought it odd. Up until this very moment gray clouds filled the London skies outside his Town house’s windows, but as he turned to rest his gaze upon the woman who owned his heart, a single ray of sunshine claimed its target: the back of Elizabeth Bennet’s head. The effect was a flicker of fire dancing through the red strands of her auburn locks.

He could never know enough of her. Darcy permitted his eyes to drift over her features. Dark circles rested upon her cheeks. Needless to say, she had experienced more than one sleepless night, and Darcy wondered what brought her to distress.

“It has been nearly a year, Miss Elizabeth,” he stated the obvious as a beginning to their conversation. “I pray your family is in health.”

Tears misted Elizabeth’s eyes. “All but my father, sir,” she pronounced in strained tones. “Mr. Bennet experienced an episode recently.”

Mr. Gardiner reached for Elizabeth’s hand, and Darcy wished to slap the man’s hand away so Darcy might comfort her instead.

“Something serious?” he asked in empathetic tones.

Darcy knew first hand the devastation of losing a parent. He had felt at a loss since his revered father’s passing. That is until he encountered Elizabeth Bennet in Hertfordshire. He had latched his hopes to the woman, praying she would assist him in making sense of his obligations, but he found himself still adrift.

“Perhaps I should answer for our Lizzy,” Mr. Gardiner suggested. “The doctor believes my Brother Bennet knew a spell with his heart. We pray for a speedy recovery.”

“I am sorry to hear it, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy said in sincere sympathy. “I long recognized your devotion to Mr. Bennet. Yours is a relationship many would admire.”

Her voice held her emotions, but Elizabeth pronounced, “Such is my purpose in calling upon your household, sir. I would never think to disturb your peace unless the situation was not dire. I require your assistance.”

“My assistance?” Darcy questioned. “Are you in need of a more knowledgeable physician? I assure you Doctor Nott is excellent. I will gladly speak to the man upon your behalf.”

Elizabeth shot a pleading glance to her uncle, but Gardiner only nodded his encouragement. It shook Darcy to his core to view Elizabeth so distraught. In his memories of her, she was the most independent woman of his acquaintance.

“Although I am certain Mr. Bennet would thrive under Doctor Nott’s care, I was hoping you might intervene in a business affair, which brought on my father’s condition.”

Darcy struggled not to flinch. “You wish me oversee one of Mr. Bennet’s business negotiations?” Darcy would find doing so beyond the pale. He could not fathom Mr. Bennet asking him to act in the man’s place.

Before Elizabeth could respond, Gardiner smoothly claimed the lead.

“Mayhap I should explain the situation.”

Despite remaining uncomfortably tense, Darcy nodded his agreement. He suspected Gardiner’s tale would set Darcy’s sedate world into a whirlwind.

“Mr. Bennet, my Brother Phillips, Sir William Lucas, and many others among Meryton’s elite foolishly invested large sums in what they assumed was an offer that would provide them a quick tidy profit. Unfortunately, if what Elizabeth and I believe proves true, Mr. Bennet’s neighbors will lose more than their initial investments. As the situation appeared dire, when she realized the farce, our Elizabeth spoke to her father of her fears.”

“Which precipitated Mr. Bennet’s attack,” Elizabeth said with a catch in her throat. “My father’s current situation is my fault. I should have kept my counsel. If my foolish tongue causes Papa to…” She looked away quickly, but Darcy noticed how her bottom lip trembled.

“Like my Sister Bennet and Lizzy’s sisters,” Mr. Gardiner stated the obvious, “Elizabeth does not only fear the loss of a beloved husband and father, but also the eventual ascension of Mr. Collins as master of Longbourn.”

“Is Mr. Bennet’s condition so severe?” Darcy inquired in earnest.

“My Brother Bennet is not upon his death bed,” Gardiner assured, “but the physician believes him more fragile because of the questionable nature of this situation. Doctor Doughty knows of the financial maneuverings for the good physician also placed funds in the scheme. He remains silent on the subject only at Elizabeth’s encouragement. Our Lizzy convinced Doughty to hold his tongue until she could recruit my assistance and…”

“And mine,” Darcy finished the man’s sentence. “If you would, Mr. Gardiner, please explain the nature of this investment.”

Gardiner appeared relieved by Darcy’s response. “When Elizabeth summoned me to Longbourn, I took the liberty to study the papers presented to Mr. Bennet. Only a man who held knowledge of the law would recognize the circular nature of the contracts. The terms appear quite simple, but there is no means for this venture to prove anything but a disaster. How my Brother Phillips overlooked the obvious is beyond my understanding!”

Darcy said evenly, “Most country men of law rarely encounter complicated contracts.”

“I suppose so,” Gardiner continued, “but I make it fair practice never to sign any legal papers I do not fully understand. Yet, Bennet and the others trusted the man with whom they did business. Moreover, the lure of a quick profit was more than any of Mr. Bennet’s neighbors could withstand.”

“What were the terms of the proposition?” Darcy asked, intrigued by the tale.

Gardiner shook his head in what appeared to be disbelief. “Pure profit,” the man announced. “Ten percent interest paid bi-weekly. If a person invested a hundred pounds, he would earn more than twenty pounds per month.”

Darcy’s eyebrow shot upward in recognition of the ludicrous scheme. “Invest one hundred and earn an additional twenty,” he said in honest disapproval. “How could anyone think earning a fortune so easy?”

“The legal language provides the contract the appearance of complicated negotiations. Needless to say, not all the investors provided one hundred pounds. If I understand the situation correctly, some of Mr. Bennet’s servants combined their savings with others from Sir William’s staff. They agreed to split the profit, while others placed more than a hundred in the scheme.”

“And has anyone known the stated profit?” Darcy inquired. It interested him that someone devised such an ingenious plan.

Elizabeth resumed the tale. “All were presented with the required first interest payment.” She glanced in worry to Darcy. “Then the master of this plan encouraged the investors to add the interest to the initial fund. Next time they would receive eleven pounds for each one hundred ten pounds. That would be one and twenty pounds for a one month’s profit.”

“The investors readily agreed,” Darcy summarized.

“Naturally,” Elizabeth acknowledged. “The easiest coins anyone ever made.” Sarcasm marked her tone.

“And who managed to convince the good citizens of Meryton to part with their hard-earned funds?” he asked.

Elizabeth glanced away as if she hoped to earn reassurance. At length, her gaze returned to Darcy’s. “Mr. Wickham,” she said without emotion.

At length, Darcy understood the lady’s turning to him for assistance. Elizabeth had placed her trust in Wickham only to have the man betray her. The idea of her coming willingly to his household had taken root, and a flicker of expectation had claimed Darcy’s heart, only to be drenched by the woman’s tears for a scoundrel.

“Elizabeth tells me you hold knowledge of Mr. Wickham’s previous manipulations,” Gardiner spoke in businesslike tones, but Darcy’s interest in the investigation had waned.

“I do, but…” he began.

Elizabeth interrupted. “Please, Mr. Darcy. I know we last parted with ill-chosen words, but there is no other who could devise a means to recover the initial funds from a man such as Mr. Wickham. I fear he has spent the hard-earned pennies of so many. I blame myself for I did not listen to the doubts I held long before returning to Longbourn from Kent. I egregiously disabused your chronicle of Mr. Wickham’s reputation, as well as the warnings of my Aunt Gardiner and Mrs. Collins. I fully accept my faults, but I beg you not to punish others who require your benevolence because you wish no contact with me.”

Mr. Gardiner opened his mouth to chastise his niece for her familiarity, but Darcy motioned the man to silence. The “business” between him and Elizabeth required settlement before they could address Mr. Wickham’s schemes.

Without polite humor, Darcy asked, “Do you regret your choices?”

“Some,” she said softly. Elizabeth turned to her uncle to ask, “Might Mr. Darcy and I have a private moment? There are unfinished discussions to address.”

“I will not have your reputation spoiled by leaving you alone with Mr. Darcy,” Gardiner protested.

Darcy gestured to two chairs seated close together before the hearth.

“Miss Elizabeth and I will remove to the chairs my sister and I regularly use after supper. You may view us at all times.”

Gardiner scowled, but he nodded his agreement. Elizabeth stood immediately, and Darcy followed her to the seating. As perverse as it may seem to others, he enjoyed the display of the gentle sway of her hips; yet, he missed the spirited stride through which she moved through life.

Once seated, Elizabeth continued in hushed tones. “What you wish to know is if I regret denying your plight?”

“Do you?” Darcy asked in humorless tones.

Elizabeth paused in consideration. “I am known within my family as the one who speaks her opinions openly, but such is a false assumption. I do speak with some fervor when I feel a wrong was perpetrated. Even so, I never speak without careful examination, and I always reevaluate my interactions. Unfortunately, sometimes only experience proves the true tutor.”

“You avoid the question, Miss Elizabeth.”

She smiled knowingly. “I suppose I do for I possess no answer that satisfies me.”

Darcy slowly sucked in a deep breath. “Before I can assist you, I must know when you recognized Mr. Wickham’s talents for persuasion.”

“Must we revisit that night in Kent, Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth’s gaze sharpened. “Must we dissect each accusation before you will agree to assist me?”

“It is not the only means to secure my agreement,” Darcy proclaimed.

Elizabeth countered, “Did I err in arriving on your threshold today?”

“Your uncle has identified Mr. Wickham’s deceit. Surely a man of Mr. Gardiner’s aplomb can devise a plan to secure Mr. Wickham’s return of the Meryton funds.”

“If we do not act quickly, there may be nothing remaining to claim for the recovery. From what I have learned from Mrs. Forster, the Meryton militia will soon depart for Brighton, and eventually on to the northern shires. For the moment, Mr. Wickham regularly chronicles the steady climb of the profits for any who ask. Such is what the good people of Meryton spend in the village shops. They purchase items on credit, living on the dream fed to them by Mr. Wickham. Why does it matter when I recognized Mr. Wickham’s manipulations? What matters are the lives of innocents!” Her voice rose quickly, but Darcy shushed Elizabeth’s growing ire. “Do you wish me to beg, Mr. Darcy? If so, you may hold the pleasure of seeing me thoroughly chastised and upon my knees. Simply tell me what you desire, sir, and it is yours.” She inhaled sharply and waited Darcy’s reply.

“I want you, Elizabeth. I want you at my side as my wife–as the mistress of my households, and…” Darcy paused for dramatic effect. He meant to shock her. “And I want you in my bed at night.”

Now for the giveaway, leave a comment below to be entered into a giveaway for one of two eBooks of Mr. Darcy’s Bargain. The giveaway ends at midnight EST on November 21, 2016.

Resources: 

Time Content ~ March 7, 2012

Posted in American History, Anglo-Normans, Austen Authors, Barbara Kyle, book excerpts, book release, books, British currency, British history, British Navy, business, Chaucer, commerce, contemporary romance, eBooks, George Wickham, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency romance, romance, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Are You Familiar With These Words and Phrases?

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

maxresdefault.jpgSpillikin ~ The Oxford Living Dictionaries gives us: [treated as singular] A game played with a heap of small rods of wood, bone, or plastic, in which players try to remove one at a time without disturbing the others, while Wikitionary tells us that Spillikin is “One of the straws used in the game of Jackstraws (which ironically is also called spillikins. The word came into the language in the mid 18th Century. I always called the game “pick up sticks.” Wikipedia gives us this explanation: “Pick-up sticks or pick-a-stick is a game of physical and mental skill. A bundle of ‘sticks’, between 8 and 20 centimeters long, are held in a loose bunch and released on a table top, falling in random disarray. Each player, in turn, must remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the remaining ones. One root of the name “pick-up sticks” may be the line of a children’s nursery rhyme, “…five, six, pick-up sticks!” The game has spawned several variations such as Jackstraws (or Jack Straws), Spellicans, and Spillikins.

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“We are not amused.” ~ Surely you have heard this line attributed to Queen Victoria. However, Phrase Finder tell us… 

This supposed quotation was attributed to Queen Victoria by courtier Caroline Holland in Notebooks of a Spinster Lady, 1919. Holland attests that Victoria made the remark at Windsor Castle:

‘There is a tale of the unfortunate equerry who ventured during dinner at Windsor to tell a story with a spice of scandal or impropriety in it. “We are not amused,” said the Queen when he had finished.’

Holland doesn’t claim to have been present at the dinner and is good enough to describe the account as a “tale’, that is, her account has the same standing as “a man in the pub told me”.

Despite the fact that in almost all of the photographs and paintings of her, Victoria provides a particularly po-faced demeanour, she had the reputation of being in private a very fun loving and amusing companion, especially in her youth and before the crown began to weigh heavily on her. In public it was another matter, as Victoria preferred to maintain what she saw as the dignity of her position by remaining sternly impassive. She did, of course, become considerably less fun-loving after the death of her husband and her persona in later life is well-documented as being dour and straight-laced. 

As to whether she ever uttered the expression ‘we are not amused’, there’s little convincing evidence that she did so with the intention of conveying the serious intent that we now ascribe to the phrase, although in the 1976 biography Victoria Was Amused, Alan Hardy makes the claim (again without offering explicit evidence) that Victoria did sometimes utter the expression ironically.

The evidence to support the idea that Queen Victoria originated this expression ‘we are not amused’ lies somewhere between thin and nonexistent.

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Warts and all ~ From Phrase Finder we have this explanation: The whole thing; not concealing the less attractive parts.

Oliver Cromwell- warts and allThis phrase is said to derive from Oliver Cromwell’s instructions to the painter Sir Peter Lely, when commissioning a portrait.

At the time of the alleged instruction, Cromwell was Lord Protector of England. Lely had been portrait artist to Charles I and, following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, he was appointed as Charles II’s Principal Painter in Ordinary.

Charles IILely’s painting style was, as was usual at the time, intended to flatter the sitter. Royalty in particular expected portraits to show them in the best possible light, if not to be outright fanciful. Lely’s painting of Charles II shows what was expected of a painting of a head of state in the 17th century. It emphasizes the shapely royal calves – a prized fashion feature at that time.

Cromwell did have a preference for being portrayed as a gentleman of military bearing, but was well-known as being opposed to all forms of personal vanity. This ‘puritan Roundhead’ versus ‘dashing Cavalier’ shorthand is often used to denote the differences in style of the two opposing camps in the English Commonwealth and subsequent Restoration. It is entirely plausible that he would have issued a ‘warts and all’ instruction when being painted and it is unlikely that Lely would have modified his style and produced the ‘warts and all’ portrait of Cromwell unless someone told him to.

We have Cromwell’s death mask as a reference. From that it is clear that Lely’s portrait is an accurate record of Cromwell’s actual appearance.

Despite the plausibility of the account, there doesn’t appear to be any convincing evidence that Cromwell ever used the phrase ‘warts and all’. The first record of a version of that phrase being attributed to him comes from Horace Walpole’sAnecdotes of Painting in England, with some account of the principal artists, 1764. Walpole’s authority for the

Oliver Cromwell - death mask - warts and all attribution came from a reported conversation between John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, the first occupant of Buckingham House, now Buckingham Palace, and the house’s architect, Captain William Winde. Winde claimed that:

Oliver certainly sat to him, and while sitting, said to him – “Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.”

That was published in 1764 – over a hundred years after Lely painted Cromwell. Walpole included no evidence to support the attribution, nor any explanation of why no one else had mentioned the phrase in the preceding hundred years – this despite Cromwell’s life being the subject of minutely detailed historical research and over 160 full-length biographies. We can only assume he was indulging in a piece of literary speculation rather than historical documentation. The first known citation in print of the actual phrase ‘warts and all’ is from a ‘Chinese whisper’ retelling of Walpole’s story – an address given by an Alpheus Cary, in Massachusetts, in 1824:

When Cromwell sat for his portrait he said, “Paint me as I am, warts and all!”

It may well be the case that Oliver Cromwell preferred portraits of him to be accurate, but it is most unlikely that he ever uttered the words ‘warts and all’.

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MARCELLA-WHITE-FINE-SHIRTING-FABRIC-600x450.jpg Marcella ~ While some of us know “Marcella” as a British crime noir detective series, for this post, I am speaking of an English cotton fabric made with a quilted or honeycomb face and used especially for clothing, trimming, or bedspreads. Dictionary.com says, “a cotton or linen fabric constructed in pique weave, used in the manufacture of vests, mats, etc.” It is probably an alteration of marseilles. It entered the language around 1805-1815. 

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In many Regency books, a wealthy man will present his mistress her congé, but what does that mean? Merriam-Webster tells us the word congé means “a formal permission to depart; a dismissal.” The origin is likely an alteration of earlier congee, congie,from Middle English conge, from Anglo-French cungé, from Latin commeatus going back and forth, leave, from commeare to go back and forth, from com- + meare to go — First Known Use: 14th century.

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Tomfoolery ~ World Wide Words gives us this origin for “tomfoolery.” The word often turns up in print in the way you have written it, or as Tom foolery or tom-foolery or Tom-foolery. Such forms show that their writers still link the word with some fool called Tom, even though they may not know who he was.

Tom Skelton
A portrait of Tom Skelton.

It is sometimes claimed that the original Tom Fool was Thomas Skelton. He was a jester, a fool, for the Pennington family at Muncaster Castle in Cumbria. This was probably about 1600 — he is said to be the model for the jester in Shakespeare’s King Lear of 1606. In legend, he was an unpleasant person. One story tells how he liked to sit under a tree by the road; whenever travellers he didn’t like asked the way to the ford over the River Esk, he would instead direct them to their deaths in the marshes. Another tale links him with the murder of a carpenter who was the lover of Sir William Pennington’s daughter.

So much for stories. In truth, Tom Fool is centuries older. He starts appearing in the historical record early in the 1300s in the Latinate form Thomas fatuus. The first part served even then as a generic term for any ordinary person, as it still does in phrases like Tom, Dick or Harry. The second word means stupid or foolish in Latin and has bequeathed us fatuousand infatuate, among other words. By 1356 Thomas fatuus had become Tom Fool.

Around the seventeenth century, the character of Tom Fool shifted somewhat from the epitome of a stupid or half-witted person to that of a fool or buffoon. He became a character who accompanied morris-dancers or formed part of the cast of various British mummers’ plays performed at Christmas, Easter or All Souls’ Day.

A tom-fool was more emphatically foolish than an unadorned fool. Tomfoolery was similarly worse than foolery, the state of acting foolishly, which had been in English since the sixteenth century. Perhaps oddly, it took until about 1800 for tomfoolery to appear. It had been preceded by the verb to tom-fool, to play the fool.

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By hook or by crook ~ For this one, I again turned to World Wide Words. 

“This curious phrase has bothered many people down the years, the result being a succession of well-meant stories, often fervently argued, that don’t stand up for a moment on careful examination.

“As good a place to start as any is the lighthouse at the tip of the Hook peninsula in south-eastern Ireland, said to be the world’s oldest working lighthouse. It is at the east side of the entrance to Waterford harbour, on the other side of which is a village and parish called Crook. One tale claims that Oliver Cromwell proposed to invade Ireland during the English Civil War by way of Waterford and that he asserted he would land there “by Hook or by Crook”. In another version the invasion of Ireland was the one of 1172 by Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, also known as Strongbow.

“Two other stories associate the phrase with gentlemen called Hook and Crook. Both appeared in early issues of the scholarly research publication Notes and Queries. One linked it with the difficulties of establishing the exact locations of plots of land after the great fire of London in 1666. The anonymous writer explained:

“The surveyors appointed to determine the rights of the various claimants were Mr. Hook and Mr. Crook, who by the justice of their decisions gave general satisfaction to the interested parties, and by their speedy determination of the different claims, permitted the rebuilding of the city to proceed without the least delay. Hence arose the saying above quoted, usually applied to the extrication of persons or things from a difficulty. The above anecdote was told the other evening by an old citizen upwards of eighty, by no means of an imaginative temperament.

Notes and Queries, 15 Feb. 1851.

“The other supposed derivation was equally poorly substantiated:

“I have met with it somewhere, but have lost my note, that Hooke and Crooke were two judges, who in their day decided most unconscientiously whenever the interests of the crown were affected, and it used to be said that the king could get anything by Hooke or by Crooke.

Notes and Queries, 26 Jan. 1850.

“Most of these stories can be readily dismissed by looking at the linguistic evidence, which tells us that the expression is on record from the end of the fourteenth century, by which time it was already a set phrase with the current meaning.

“During this period, local people sometimes had rights by charter or custom known as fire-bote to gather firewood from local woodlands. It was acceptable to take dead wood from the ground or to pull down dead branches. The latter action was carried out either with a hook or a crook, the latter implement being a tool like a shepherd’s crook or perhaps just a crooked branch.

“Little contemporary evidence exists for this practice. Written claims for it dating from the seventeenth century are said to exist for the New Forest in southern England, one of which argued for an immemorial right to go into the king’s wood to take the dead branches off the trees “with a cart, a horse, a hook and a crook, and a sail cloth” (it’s not stated why the sail cloth was needed). Another version was once claimed to be in the records of Bodmin in Cornwall, whereby locals were permitted by a local prior “to bear and carry away on their backs, and in no other way, the lop, crop, hook, crook, and bagwood in the prior’s wood of Dunmeer.” Richard Polwhele’s Civil and Military History of Cornwall of 1806 argued in support of this claim that images of the hook and the crook were carved on the medieval Prior’s Cross in nearby Washaway, though modern writings describe them as fleurs-de-lys.

“The examples suggest that this origin for the expression is the correct one, though some doubt must remain.

Medieval peasant trimming vines
This medieval illustration shows a billhook, but the worker is pruning a tree, not cutting firewood.

“The hook of the idiom may have been just a bit of wood or metal but might equally have been a tool with a sharpened edge, allied to the billhook or reap hook of more modern agricultural practice. We now connect crook principally with shepherds and bishops, but in medieval times it was any hooked device or implement. This meant that hook and crook were synonyms as well as rhymes, which made it almost inevitable that they were put together to make a reduplicated rhyming phrase.”

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250px-the_life_of_william_cobbett_-_written_by_himself-_no_2_william_cobbett_by_james_gillray

Cartoon of a “hobbledehoy” William Cobbett enlisting in the army. From the Political Register of 1809. Artist James Gillray. Wikipedia

Did you know that a hobbledehoy is an awkward, gawky youth? According to Merriam Webster, hobbledehoy was first used in 1540. World Wide Words tells us, “You will not find a better description of the type than in Anthony Trollope’s The Small House at Allington: ‘Such young men are often awkward, ungainly, and not yet formed in their gait; they straggle with their limbs, and are shy; words do not come to them with ease, when words are required, among any but their accustomed associates. Social meetings are periods of penance to them, and any appearance in public will unnerve them. They go much about alone, and blush when women speak to them. In truth, they are not as yet men, whatever the number may be of their years; and, as they are no longer boys, the world has found for them the ungraceful name of hobbledehoy.’

“But where the world found it is far from clear. The word seems to have been around at least since the sixteenth century, but was long distinguished by seeming never to be written the same way twice. It may well be related to Hoberdidance or Hobbididance, which was the name of a malevolent sprite associated with the Morris dance (and whose name is from Hob, an old name for the Devil; nothing to do with hobbits). It may also be linked to hobidy-booby, an old English dialect word for a scarecrow. The modern spelling seems to be the result of popular etymology, which has changed a puzzling word into something that looks as though it might make more sense.”

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Billet-doux is a love letter. It is literally a “sweet letter” from the French. (French billet doux, from billet (“note”) + doux  ‎(“sweet”). Its first known use is 1673. 

He mutters something about fate and free-will, and walks off with the billet-doux. – The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, Vol. 2 (of 4) by Thomas Babington Macaulay

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One of the literary devices my AP students were expected to recognize within the literature was metonymy. “It is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. We can come across examples of metonymy both from literature and in everyday life. Metonymy is often confused with another figure of speech called synecdoche. They resemble each other but are not the same. Synecdoche refers to a thing by the name of one of its parts. For example, calling a car ‘a wheel’ is a synecdoche. A part of a car i.e. “a wheel” stands for the whole car. In a metonymy, on the other hand, the word we use to describe another thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, ‘Crown’ which means power or authority is a metonymy.”

Literary Devices provides this example: 

The given lines are from Shakespeare’s  “Julius Caesar” Act I.

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Mark Anthony uses “ears” to say that he wants the people present there to listen to him attentively. It is a metonymy because the word “ears” replaces the concept of attention.

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Pourboire ~ Dictionary.com gives us “a gratuity; tip (especially in appreciation).”Origin of pourboire: literally, for drinking [pour + boire (“for drinking,” cf. Ger. Trinkgeld)]. One can find the word in this examples: 

  • Then to Jefferson she added: “Give him a franc for a pourboire —that makes five francs altogether.” – The Lion and The Mouse by Charles Klein. 

  • Tartarin went up to give him a pourboire, as he had seen all the other tourists do. – Tartarin on the Alps by Alphonse Daudet

  • “Nay, thou shalt have pourboire,” and he gave him a small coin. – The Cloister and the Hearth by Charles Reade

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Carry Coals to Newcastle ~ Phrase Finder gives us this explanation. 

Newcastle Upon Tyne in England was the UK’s first coal exporting port and has been well-known as a coal mining centre since the Middle Ages, although much diminished in that regard in recent years. ‘Carrying coal to Newcastle’ was an archetypally pointless activity – there being plenty there already. Other countries have similar phrases; in German it’s ‘taking owls to Athens’ (the inhabitants of Athens already being thought to have sufficient wisdom). ‘Selling snow to Eskimos’ or ‘selling sand to Arabs’, which in many people’s understanding also have the same meaning, are a little different. Those expressions refer to things that are difficult to achieve, that is, requiring of superb sales skills, rather than being things that are pointless..

Carry coals to NewcastleDespite the name of the city, Newcastle’s castle keep is almost a thousand years old – having replaced an earlier castle in 1178. The association of the city with coal and the phrase itself are also old. In 1606, Thomas Heywood in ‘If you know not me, you know no bodie: or, the troubles of Queene Elizabeth‘ wrote:

“As common as coales from Newcastle.”

The explicit link with pointlessness came soon afterwards, in Thomas Fuller’s The history of the worthies of England, 1661:

“To carry Coals to Newcastle, that is to do what was done before; or to busy one’s self in a needless imployment.”

Posted in etymology, language choices, Pop Culture, tall tales, vocabulary, word origins | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Holly and Hopeful Hearts’ and Charity at Christmas Time from the Bluestocking Belles + a Giveaway

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Regina Jeffers

AmyRose Bennett.jpg Today, I welcome Amy Rose Bennett back to the blog, representing several of my favorite Regency authors, a group known as the Bluestocking Belles. They have a lovely boxed holiday set they are sharing with us. I preordered mine, and it has been delivered. Reading frantically… Check out a bit of each story. You will love this!! 

Thank so much, Regina, for having the Bluestocking Belles on your blog again so we might share our latest release, a Regency holiday box set, Holly and Hopeful Hearts. We’re very proud of our latest joint story-telling endeavor as it features eight interconnected novellas that are centered around a Yuletide house party and New Year’s Eve charity subscription ball at Hollystone Hall, the country estate of the Duchess of Haverford.

Note: The Belles will be giving away an ePub or mobi copy of our anthology to one random commenter. The giveaway will end on November 20th, 2016 at midnight EST.

My contribution to the Belles’ box set is Dashing Through the Snow. I had such fun writing a story about a headstrong bluestocking with a strong philanthropic streak and a very proud nobleman who, despite opposing interests, find themselves falling in love.

Miss Kate Woodville, teacher and bluestocking, enjoys her independence, thank you very much. But when a very determined viscount insists she accompany him on a mad dash through the snow to Gretna Green to stop his younger sister, Violet, eloping with Kate’s own brother, she has little choice but to go. She’ll risk the ruin of her own pristine reputation if it means she can save Freddie from Lord Stanton’s wrath.

As they race along the road north and then back to Hollystone Hall in Buckinghamshire for a New Year’s Eve charity ball, hearts and wills are certain to collide. But will anyone—Freddie and Violet, or Kate and Lord Stanton—find the path to everlasting love?

All of our Regency heroines in this anthology take part in charitable endeavors to raise funds for furthering the education of the less fortunate and in particular, girls and women. Indeed, the major overarching theme linking all the stories is about charity and giving during the Christmas season. Fictional charities reflecting those that existed during the Regency era, plus one very real charity, are featured:

  • The Duchess of Haverford, a character created by Jude Knight who features in all the novellas and Jude’s own two stories, A Suitable Husband and The Bluestocking and the Barbarian, is the hostess of the Yuletide house party and New Year’s Eve charity subscription ball. As befitting her elevated station, she is very much a philanthropist and is a patroness of many charitable causes both in the rural community surrounding her country estate of Hollystone Hall and beyond. During the course of the house party she arranges a gift giving visit to the local orphanage and on Boxing Day, she distributes charity to the tenants of her estate and the local poor.

A Regency Ball, 1819.png a-basket-of-good-things

  • The Benevolent Society for the Women of Whitechapel is a charity close to the heart of my heroine from Dashing Through the Snow. Even though Kate Woodville is a music teacher at an exclusive young ladies’ finishing school, in her free time she conducts lessons for the children residing at White Church House, The Benevolent Society’s charity lodging house for destitute mothers in the Whitechapel area. The fictitious charity is also supported by the nearby St Mary Matfelon Church (sadly, this church no longer stands as it was badly damaged during World War II and later demolished). Kate intends to attend the Hollystone house party to seek more funding for her chosen charity.

st-mary-matfelon-church-whitechapel

  • Lord Nicholas Lacey from Sherry Ewing’s A Kiss for Charity offers to donate rather a large sum to the Duchess of Haverford’s charitable fund for the New Year’s Eve charity ball.
  • A school and orphanage for the poor at Southwark, London appears in Jessica Cales’ Artemis.
  • The heroine of Nicole Zoltack’s Christmas Kisses, Lady Anna Wycliffe enjoys writing and reading stories to the orphans who reside within the fictional Home for Motherless Children. She also raises money to provide them with clothes.
  • The heroine of Caroline Warfield’s An Open Heart, Esther Baumann, wishes to advocate for funds for a Jewish school for girls.
  • The very real Foundling Hospital features in Susana Ellis’s Valuing Vanessa. It was a children’s home established in 1739 in London for the ‘education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children’. Despite its name, the institution was indeed a children’s home rather than a hospital; the word ‘hospital’ was used to indicate the notion of ‘hospitality’ to those less fortunate.

Foundling_Hospital.jpg

The Bluestocking Belles hope readers enjoy all our stories within the anthology. As a group we support the Malala Fund and 25% of the proceeds from the sales of Holly and Hopeful Hearts will be donated to this most worthy cause that supports the education of girls and women around the world.

Holly and Hopeful Hearts.jpgAbout HOLLY AND HOPEFUL HEARTS releasing on November 8, 2016.

When the Duchess of Haverford sends out invitations to a Yuletide house party and a New Year’s Eve ball at her country estate, Hollystone Hall, those who respond know that Her Grace intends to raise money for her favorite cause and promote whatever marriages she can. Eight assorted heroes and heroines set out with their pocketbooks firmly clutched and hearts in protective custody. Or are they?

Genre: Regency romance, historical romance, holiday romance

Heat rating: G-PG13

Buy links for HOLLY AND HOPEFUL HEARTS:

Amazon US       Amazon UK     Amazon Australia     Amazon Canada

Smashwords     Kobo     Barnes & Noble     iBooks

ABOUT THE BELLES:

The Bluestocking Belles, the “BellesInBlue”, are seven very different writers united by a love of history and a history of writing about love. From sweet to steamy, from light-hearted fun to dark tortured tales full of angst, from London ballrooms to country cottages to the sultan’s seraglio, one or more of us will have a tale to suit your tastes and mood. Come visit us at http://bluestockingbelles.net and kick up your bluestockinged heels!

BLUESTOCKING BELLES ON THE WEB: Look for us online…

Website and home of the Teatime Tattler: http://bluestockingbelles.net

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BellesInBlue

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/BellesInBlue

Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/BellesInBlue

Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/author/BellesInBlue

Posted in book excerpts, book release, Guest Blog, Guest Post, holidays, Living in the Regency, publishing | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments