A Regency Lexicon – And Then There Was “D”

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

A Regency Lexicon

The Daily Courant – England’s first daily newspaper; founded in 1702

Damask – a fancy silk or linen fabric used for table linen; usually had a flower design raised

“Dark Lady” – sometimes used to refer to the character of Marianne Dashwoood in “Sense and Sensibility”; it is a term Leslie Fiedler uses in “Love and Death in the American Novel”; a woman of deep feelings and sensibilities

Debrett – an guide to the peerage; published annually

Debt of Honor – a gambling debt; not enforceable by law

Decree Nisi – a provisional divorce decree; the couple had to wait 6 months to see if the circumstances changed, only then was the decree final

Demesne – land upon which the manor house is built (as opposed to tenants’ cottages)

Derby – the greatest of the horse racing venues; pronounced “Darby”; held at Epsom Downs, which is some 15 miles outside of London

Divan – a public smoking room

Divorce – the ending of a marriage; granted only by an Act of Parliament; was very expensive, very public, and quite shameful

Doctors’ Commons – where the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts met; south of St. Paul’s Cathedral; marriage licenses were issued and wills written there

Don – head of a college at Oxford or Cambridge; another name for a “tutor”

Double First – the title given to the person who received first prize in both the classics and in mathematics honor exams at Oxford

Dowager – a title given to a widow of rank

Dowry – the monetary settlement the woman brings to the marriage

Drag – a private stagecoach; usually pulled by four horses

Dragoon – cavalrymen who rode into battle on horseback and then dismounted to fight; shot a pistol that send out a “flame” like a dragon

Drawers – long underpants; originally were two separate leggings tied together at the waist; generally knee length

Drawing Room – room used for after-dinner gatherings; usually large enough for informal dancing, a pianoforte, etc.

Dresssing for Dinner – dinner was a formal meal; ladies and gentlemen don their best clothing for dinner

Dropsy – having fluid build up in the joints in such diseases as diabetes or emphysema

Ducks and Drakes – skipping stones across the surface of a river, lake, etc.

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Nook and Kindle Seek New Markets

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

The Nook News comes to us from Publisher’s Weekly. To read the complete article, please visit http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/devices/article/53634-b-n-expands-nook-to-u-k-.html

Barnes & Noble has revealed its long-awaited international plans: beginning in October, the company will offer the Nook in the U.K. through a new storefront: www.nook.co.uk. The move will be the first time B&N has expanded its business internationally. Partnerships with retailers will be announced shortly, which will include both digital and physical sales channels.

B&N will begin the U.K. rollout with its Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight devices. The new U.K. Nook store will have more than 2.5 million titles, including U.K books, newspapers and magazines as well as apps.

A second PW story, brings up news of Kindle being available in India. To read the complete article, please visit http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/53658-amazon-launches-india-kindle-store.html

Amazon has launched the India Kindle Store with over one million e-books, including 70 of 100 Nielsen bestsellers. Additionally, Kindle hardware can now be purchased at Croma retail stores across India.

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A Regency Era Lexicon – “A” and “B” Are Followed By “C”

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

 

 

Regency Era Lexicon

Cadet – the youngest son or branch of a family

Called to the bar – authorized to practice law as a barrister

Camisole – a woman’s undershirt worn between the dress and the corset

Candlemas – a church festival celebrated on February 2; celebrates the purification of the Virgina Mary and Jesus’s presentation in the Temple

Capping – to follow up with something better in a conversation (Think Darcy and Elizabeth to understand this concept.)

Carking – to worry someone

Carter – the driver of a cart or wagon

Catarrh – mucus fills up the head, nose, and throat

Chair – a light and agile, as well as inexpensive, one-horse carriage (not be confused with the sedan chair, which was a rickshaw-like vehicle) 

Chancellor of the Exchequer – the highest post after the Prime Minister; controlled the treasury

Chancery – the court of equity law; generally sat at Westminster Hall

Chandler – a man who dealt in candles

‘Change – an abbreviation of the Royal Exchange often used in speech

Charabanc – a large carriage with two seats facing forward; lightweight and speedy

Chariot – a four-horse vehicle; the two seats both faced front; lighter than a chaise

Chase and Four – a closed carriage used for traveling; pulled by four horses

Cheapside – a street in eastern London close to the river Thames; a non-fashionable side of London

Chemise – a woman’s long undergarment; much in the form of a nightgown

Chemisette – a partial shirt worn tucked into a very low-cut gown

Chimneypiece – a mantelpiece or decorative moulding about the chimney

Circulating libraries – required a subscription to borrow the best-sellers; most famous was Mudie’s

Climbing boy – the child who would climb up into the chimney to clean it

Clogs – shoes with wooden or metal rims on the bottom; used to walk in bad weather

Coach – a vehicle used for public transportation, as well as private; could hold six or more passengers; two seats facing each other; closed vehicle; front and back axles connected to a “crank neck”

Cob – a sturdily built horse, often ridden by an overweight person

College – one of the residential units around which the universities of Oxford and Cambridge were organized

Come Out – the process by which a young woman (usually 17 or 18) was presented to Society and was considered available for marriage

Commoner – an Oxford undergraduate not on scholarship

Condescension – being polite and generous to those from a lower rank

Conservatory – a room for growing plants

Consumption – an advanced stage of tuberculosis

Cottagers – lived in cottages upon a landowner’s property; worked on the estate

Cotillion – a French dance in which 4 couples form a square

Countenance – another word for the “face” or a person’s appearance

Country dance – very much like a square dance; a vigorous dance

County member – a member of Parliament; represented the county rather than a borough

Courtesy books – publications that advised on the education and conduct of a courtier ( a man of the royal court) or a prince

Covent Garden – a large market near Charing Cross; sold fruit and vegetables; near the theatre district

Crape – a black silk used for mourning clothes

Cravat – a long fine cloth tied about a gentleman’s neck in a variety of “bows”

Cross writing – fill a page of writing normally and then turn it at a 90 degree angle and write between the open spaces; postage was very expensive

Curricle – a two-wheeled carriage; pulled y two horses; could seat two people, who of whom was the driver

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Book Industry Study Group: eBook Buyers Consuming More Print Books

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

This article comes from Publishers Weekly. To read the complete article, please visit http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/53384-bisg-report-finds-more-e-book-buyers-buying-print-books.html

In another sign that the industry is moving toward a hybrid market, fewer e-book buyers reported buying only digital titles this spring than a year ago. According to Book Industry Study Group’s newest edition of “Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading” report, the percentage of e-book consumers who exclusively or mostly purchase e-books fell from nearly 70% in August 2011 to 60% in May 2012. Over the same period, the percentage of survey respondents who have no preference for either e-book or print formats, or who buy some genres in e-book format and others in print, rose from 25% percent to 34%.

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Faux Books and Reviews??? What Do You Think?

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

This is a fabulous article on a phenomenon I have witnessed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the form of “fake” reviews for books. I have a writer friend, for example, who asked a group of her “buddies” to write reviews for her latest Indie piece. That didn’t bother me too much. Most had read the book, and they were loyal friends, although their praise was not completely deserved. What did bother me was that, as a group, they targeted another author with a similar book. They each gave their friend’s competitor “1’s” in their reviews; thereby, lowering the competitor’s overall ranking. It was a stark lesson in how people have learned to manipulate the system.

Please read Laura Miller’s article on Social Media Scammers at Salon. If you want more, the complete article can be found at http://www.salon.com/2012/08/09/social_media_scamsters/

“I can’t use Amazon to find new e-books anymore,” a friend said recently over dinner. “I used to be able to search on the subject headings, but now all that comes up is a bunch of junk.” The rest of the people around the table looked surprised. “Why would you ever search by subject?” one asked in bafflement. “But it’s true that unless I know exactly the title and author I’m looking for, Amazon is pretty useless these days.”

As someone who’s never browsed Amazon looking for new titles, I was intrigued by their remarks. I’ve written in the past about the proliferation of “spam” or plagiarized books and repurposed public-domain content in the Kindle store — the “junk” that my friend objects to. (The retailer has since vowed to crack down on such abuses.) But I never would have encountered these faux books if I hadn’t gone looking for them in search of a story. My friends’ observations reminded me that readers discover books in a wide variety of ways.

“You always have to read the reader reviews first, before you buy anything,” someone else declared. On that point, everyone agreed. They didn’t know about the companies you can hire to write positive customer reviews of your book if the volunteered ones are not forthcoming. In a recent article for the Guardian newspaper in Britain, Ewan Morrison listed these and other services in a long article arguing that the online forums once heralded as a way to circumvent old-school publishing and media coverage in getting the word out about a book are not very effective. That may be why more and more people are trying to game them, and thereby making them even less useful.

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Regency Era Lexicon – And Then There Was “B”

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

Regency Era Lexicon 

Backboards – stiff, straight boards, strapped to a young lady’s back, to improve her posture

Bailey – the outside wall of a fortress or castle; the Old Bailey was the main criminal court in London

Ballast lighter – a boat the carried ballast to colliers in the Thames, who unloaded the coal

Bandbox – a box used to carry and store hats and bonnets

Banns – permission to marry; “reading of the banns” required the parish rector/vicar to read aloud the intention of the couple to marry; he must do so for three consecutive Sundays; the couple must marry within 3 months of the banns being read

Bark – a three-masted ship

Baronet – a hereditary title; the bearer of which is referred to as “Sir”

Barouche-landau – a small carriage with two rows of seats and a collapsible top; the seats faced one another

Barton – farmyard

Bathing machine – a large covered wagon attached to a horse who towed the wagon out into the water; women did not go swimming in the ocean; they would undress inside the machine and then swam or hung onto the machine’s rope within the constraints of the machine; men were separated from women because they often swam nude

Battue – large parties organized for shooting

Bedlam – the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem; an insane asylum

Being Out – being of age to be “out” in Society; ready to become a wife

Belgrave Square – a posh area of London, south of Hyde Park; less fashionable than Mayfair, however

Bender – a sixpence

Bergamot – a citrus tree; a fancy pear

Berlin – a four-wheeled carriage with a hood

Billingsgate – a large fish market in London

Bishop – the highest of three orders in the Church of England

Blackfriars – the area between Ludgate Hill and the Thame

Black pudding – a sausage made with blood spread on the outside

Blue pill – a pill to counteract the build up of bile; it was made from glycerin, honey and mercury

Bluestocking – an 18th Century woman devoted to intellectual conversation and charitable causes

Boatswain – a warrant officer between ordinary seamen and commissioned officers; he oversaw the sails and rigging upon a ship

Bond Street – a fashionable shopping area in London’s West End

Boot – where luggage was placed in coach

Bootjack – a device used to remove boots

Bow Street Runners – created by the novelist Henry Fielding and his brother John in 1750, the Runners served as detectives; they received fees and rewards for their work

Bridewell – St. Bridget’s Well in London; a house of correction

Brighton – a seaside resort in East Sussex

Bulldog – assistants to the proctors at Oxford and Cambridge; they helped to discipline rule-breaking undergraduates.

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What is in a 17th Century Witch Bottle?

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

In writing my next novel, “The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy,” I have been exploring many of the superstitions and beliefs of 18th Century England. In doing so, I have looked at fairies, the Cerne Giant, and witchcraft. One of the plot devices I have incorporated into the story line is that of a “Witch Bottle.”

What is a Witch Bottle, you may ask? How could it be a weapon in a mystery book?  The purpose of a witch bottle is to trap the evil spirits operating in a household. A traditional witch bottle was made of blue or green glass and was about 3-4 inches high.

Bellarmine jugs, named after Robert Bellarmine, an ardent Catholic Inquisitor, who earned his reputation in the prosecution of Protestants and the burning of Giordano Bruno at the stake. Bruno was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. For claiming that the Sun was one of many stars and there was likely other inhabitable worlds containing intelligent beings, Bruno was burned alive for the crime of heresy in 1600.

Bellarmine jugs, some 9 inches in height, were made of brown or gray stoneware. They were embossed with faces of bearded men to scare off the evil spirits.

The victim’s urine, hair, nail clippings or red thread (sprite traps) were included in the bottle. Sometimes iron nails or pins were included. The bottle was traditionally buried beneath the house’s hearth or at the farthest corner of the property. Some say that the witch bottle wards off the spirit, keeping the witch from entering the house. Others believe the bottle capture evil and impale the dark spirit on the pins and nails and drowned by the liquid (urine, holy water, wine, sea water, etc.).

The Dorset Echo carried a story of an unusual bottle buried under a wall near Langton Matravers. Dated October 27, 2005, the article says, “Experts believe that the rare find is a ‘witch bottle’ used to fend off evil spirits, which were thought to cause horned cattle distemper. The bottle’s contents was dark brown syrup and is one of only four bottles discovered in the UK with liquid still inside. Since then, a series of tests has revealed the liquid contained 30 different components including a salt solution – known as holy water at the time – covered with a layer of decayed animal fat.”

Once the objects were in the jar, the vessel was placed near a fire to boil. Sometimes the witch’s bottle was thrown in the fire. When it exploded, the spell upon the person or upon the household was broken. The witch would be killed.

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Regency Era Lexicon – We Begin with “A”

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

Regency Era Lexicon

Abbey School – Founded in 1887, the Abbey School is currently to an independent selective day school for girls in Reading, Berkshire. The novelist Jane Austen attended Reading Ladies Boarding School within Abbey Gateway, circa 1785, which is commemorated by, and incorporated into the Abbey School’s crest.

acceptance – putting one’s name on a bill of exchange; writing “accepted” across the bill meant one was liable to pay the bill

Admiral of the Fleet – the highest rank of a military naval officer – The Admiral of the Fleet is often reserved for wartime and ceremonial appointments. Frank Austen held the rank. As was customary, the admiral who was the oldest and held the most seniority was given that rank.

advowson – having the right to appoint someone to a benefice (a church office that provides a living for its holder through an endowment attached to it)

Age of Sensibility – During the Age of Sensibility, literature reflected a rational and scientific approach to religion, politics, and economics. The period is marked by a secular view of the world and a general sense of progress.

ague – a disease (originally malaria) marked by fever and chills

alderman – a member of the government from a municipal borough; elected by a council; were to support the mayor of the borough

almshouse – lodgings for the poor, which were supported by private funds rather than public charity

amiable – To be amiable was to be friendly and easy going.

Almack’s – a social club in London from 1765 to 1871; one of the first to admit both men and women; Almack’s came to be governed by a select committee of the most influential and exclusive of London’s haut ton: Ameila Stewart (Viscountess Castlereagh); Sarah Villiers (Countess of Jersey); Emily Lamb (Lady Cowper); Maria Molyneux (Countess of Sefton); The Hon. Mrs. Drummond Burrell; Dorothea Lieven (Countess de Lieven); Countess Esterházy

annuity – A set sum paid out to the terms of a will or settlement; after the death of a husband, the annuity was the woman’s only source of income

antimacassar – Victorian gentlemen applied macassar oil to their hair; to prevent it from coming off on the furniture, ladies pinned antimacassar (small white doilies) to the backs of chairs and sofas; the gentlemen could lean his head back on the furniture without staining it

apoplexy – a stroke

apothecary – the lowest ranking medical men in the social sphere – They dealt with selling their items; therefore, apothecaries were considered tradesmen.

apron – part of a bishop’s formal garb

aristocracy – used to designate the peerage

articles of marriage – The family lawyer for a wife with a dowry would consult with the future husband’s man of business to draft the “marriage articles.” This marriage settlement stipulated how money was to be settled upon the man’s wife and children. The marriage settlements determined upon what the woman would live if her husband passed before her.

assembly room – In the 18th and 19th Century, assembly rooms were gathering places for member of the upper social class. For a ten-guinea subscription, a person could purchase twelve weeks of a weekly ball and supper.

assizes – Outside of London, justice was dispensed by justices of the peace at petty or quarter sessions. Capital cases and other criminal cases were adjudicated by circuit-riding judges from the superior common law courts in London of Common Pleas, King’s Bench, and the Exchequer after they finished their regular terms. The semi-annual sessions were known as the assizes.

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Pirated Sites Lose Google Ranking

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

This article comes from The Telegraph. Of late, several of my writer friends were attacked for taking a stand against pirated sites. It may not seem a big deal to those who love to lend their eBooks to their friends, but it is a big deal for the authors who are trying to eek out a living in what is already a constantly shifting business. For a look at the publishing business’s stance on pirated sites, please read the complete article at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/9473521/Google-pushes-pirate-sites-down-the-search-rankings.html

Google pushes pirate sites down the search rankings

The creative industries have scored a major victory after Google agreed to alter its search results so that websites offering pirated content appear lower in the rankings.

Google will not give sites which link to pirate content as much prominence as before

By Katherine Rushton, Media, telecoms and technology editor

The music, film and book publishing industries were lobbying for Google to change the complex algorithms – code that analyses data – which power its search engine, so that websites that link to illegal downloads of content like the best-selling book 50 Shades of Grey or Adele’s latest album do not get as much prominence as the legal versions.

The web search giant had fiercely resisted making any sort of alterations to demote illegal content amid fears that it would undermine the value of its results, but finally agreed to the change.

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Penquin Acquires Self Publisher, Author Solutions, Inc.

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Regina Jeffers

This article comes from Paid Content. To read the complete article, please visit http://paidcontent.org/2012/07/19/penguin-buys-self-publishing-service-author-solutions-for-116m/

Book publisher Penguin is embracing self-publishing with its acquisition of Author Solutions, Inc. (ASI). This morning, Penguin parent company Pearson announced that it has purchased the company from Bertram Capital for $116 million. The acquisition lets Penguin “gain skills in customer acquisition and data analytics that will be vital to our future,” said Penguin CEO John Makinson in a statement.

Author Solutions, based in Bloomington, Ind., had revenues of $100 million in 2011 and has published 190,000 books by 150,000 authors since its founding in 2007. It “will be integrated into Penguin’s back office and technology infrastructure but will continue to be run as a separate business.”

Penguin already offers some self-publishing services through Book Country, its community writing platform, but the acquisition of Author Solutions reflects a new focus on the area. “This acquisition will allow Penguin to participate fully in perhaps the fastest growing area of the publishing economy and gain skills in customer acquisition and data analytics that will be vital to our future,” said Penguin CEO John Makinson in a statement.

Author Solutions CEO Kevin Weiss said, “We are thrilled to be a part of its vibrant culture, and look forward to accelerating the pace  of change the industry is experiencing. As part of Penguin, we will be on the front-end of that change and have the broadest set of offerings of any publisher today. That means more opportunity for authors and more choice for readers.”

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