Georgian Era Lexicon – Crossing Our “T’s”

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

In the singular form the lexicon of a particular subject is all the terms associated with it. The lexicon of a person or group is all the words they commonly use. As a plural noun, a lexicon is an alphabetical list of the words in a language or the words associated with a particular subject. To distinguish lexicon from a dictionary, it is an alphabetical list of the words in a language or the words associated with a particular subject.

These examples are a mix of what one might hear upon the lips of the aristocracy, as well as examples of Cant used upon London’s streets and those terms used by farmers and like in the country.

tailcoat – everyday wear for a fashionable gentleman; worn over shirts and waistcoat; it was square cut around the waist for formal attire and sloped for more less formal situation, as well as for riding

take orders – becoming a clergyman in the Church of England

A 1903 caricature of Robert McCall KC (formerly QC) wearing his court robes at the Bar of England and Wales. For court, he wears a short wig, and bands instead of lace at the collar, but he retains the silk gown and court tailcoat worn on ceremonial occasions. Public Domain. Leslie Ward - Published in Vanity Fair, 19 November 1903. http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Queen's_Counsel #/media/File:QC_Court_ robes_crop.jpg
A 1903 caricature of Robert McCall KC (formerly QC) wearing his court robes at the Bar of England and Wales. For court, he wears a short wig, and bands instead of lace at the collar, but he retains the silk gown and court tailcoat worn on ceremonial occasions. Public Domain. Leslie Ward – Published in Vanity Fair, 19 November 1903. http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Queen’s_Counsel
#/media/File:QC_Court_
robes_crop.jpg

take silks – a barrister would wear a silk gown once he became the King’s Counsel (or the Queen’s Counsel)

taking the waters – spa towns such as Bath or Tunbridge Wells were thought to be places of healing; to “take the waters” meant to drink the mineral waters available there or to bathe in them

tallow – fat from oxen or sheep, which was used to make soap and candles

tambour – a hoop filled with material; used for embroidery work

tandem – a team of two horses harnessed one behind the other, rather than side by side

tanner – slang for a sixpence

taproom – an inn’s room where ordinary laborers were served (as opposed to a private parlor for the genteel sect)

Tattersall’s – near Hyde Park Corner; established specifically for the sale by auction of horses, carriages, harnesses, etc., though one could purchase a hunting dog there, as well; held accommodation for 120 horses, a large number of carriages, and a spacious kennel for hounds; held a sporting lounge for gentlemen when horse auctions (around 100 horses were for sale each week) were not happening; home of the Jockey Club; subscribers paid one guinea per year and all sporting bets were settled there, regardless of where the sporting event took place

tea caddy – a box that held tea

teapoy – a 3-legged stand used for serving tea

Tea Room – located in the Bath assembly rooms; one could take tea in the room, but it was also used for concerts

tea service – in contrast to the suppers served at private balls, at assemblies or public balls, teas was served halfway through the evening; gentlemen sat with the ladies with whom they had danced prior to the tea service

Temple – the site for two of the four Inns of Court (the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple); was once occupied by the Knights Templar

Temple Bar – a gate that marked the formal entrance to the City of London; the sovereign had to request permission of the Lord Mayor to enter the city; north of the Temple at the eastern end of the Strand

tenants – prosperous farmers who rent land; not necessarily the poor

tenner – slang for a ten-pound note

Test Act – legislation that forbid Catholics from holding public office, including Parliament; was repealed in 1828

Thirty-nine Articles – the basis of the Church of England; a clergyman “read himself in” to a new parish congregation by reading the articles aloud to the congregation from the pulpit

New Grub Street (Victorian novel) raunerlibrary.blogspot. com/2011/11/triple-headed-monster.html
New Grub Street (Victorian novel) raunerlibrary.blogspot.
com/2011/11/triple-headed-monster.html

three-decker novel – a common occurrence in novels of the 18th and 19th Centuries; the novel is divided into three volumes within one book; the volumes were published as separates (only Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are two volumes; all other Austen works were 3 volumes)

tick – was the Regency version of buy now and pay later; also referred to as “run upon a tick”

ticket-of-leave – an early release from jail (similar to parole)

ticket porter – a member of the official group licensed to carry goods, parcels, etc.; a ticket porter carried a badge which identified him as a member of this occupation; like a guild member

ticket to a public ball – anyone who could afford a ticket to a public ball or assembly was admitted; a season of tickets would cost between one pound and ten guineas (depending on the country or in London)

tidewaiter – a customs official for incoming boats/ships

tiffany – a transparent silk gauze 

tiger – usually a young boy who served as a groom; the term comes from the orange and black-striped waistcoat he worn; he was responsible for holding the horses reins when the master disembarked from his carriage; he would also exercise the horse while his master was making business or social calls; he road on a seat at the back of the carriage, so situated as not to throw off the balance of the carriage while in motion; a very fashionable thing to employ a tiger; not a popular term until about 1817

tights – thin, skintight pants worn by gentlemen in the early part of the century; were so tight that men resorted to carrying a purse for their money

Tilbury Magazine on Ancestry.com http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ ~cmtilbury/ttm/ttm_ tilbury_gig.html
Tilbury Magazine on Ancestry.com http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
~cmtilbury/ttm/ttm_
tilbury_gig.html

tilbury – the cloth covering part of a wagon; A tilbury is a light, open, two-wheeled carriage, with or without a top, developed in the early 19th century by the London firm of Tilbury, coachbuilders in Mount Street. A tilbury rig is little more than a single “tilbury seat”—the firm’s characteristic spindle-backed seat with a curved padded backrest— mounted over a raked luggage boot, and fitted with a dashboard and mounting peg, all on an elaborate suspension system of curved leaf springs above the single axle. The tilbury has large wheels for moving fast over rough roads. A tilbury is fast, light, sporty and dangerous.

Times – the most important newspaper of the day; one could find the entire text of parliamentary debates in the Times

tinderbox – used to start a fire before matches became common; one struck the flint from the box against a piece of metal in hopes that a spark would light the rags inside the box; candles, etc., were lit from the tinderbox

tippet – a fur scarf that hung about the neck and down either side of the chest; many times the tippet was a dead animal (think Fox furs, a boa, a stole, etc.) In the latter part of the 1700s, they were long and thin, more like a boa might be nowadays. However, by the Regency, they took on the look of a caplet. 

The print shows a detail from “Morning & Walking Dress,” Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, November 1810. It is described as a “French tippet of leopard silk shag.” – via https://candicehern.com/regency-world/glossary/

tithes – the amount paid in kind to the local parish clergyman; equal to 1/10 of the farmer’s or tradesman’s annual produce

toad eater – a flatterer; one giving false praise

ton – the word is always in Italics for it comes from the French word bon ton, which can be translated to mean “good form,” i.e., good breeding, good manners, well spoken, etc.; fashionable society; those of the peerage or the gentry class

too high in the instep – snobbish; someone who is very proud, or haughty

top – the place in a ballroom or assembly from which the orchestra played; the “top” couple in a line of dance was the one closest to the orchestra; to be at the top of the line was a place of honor, usually afforded to the highest ranking aristocrat in the room

top boots – high boots used for riding

topsy turvy – utter confusion; Derived from the obsolete 1528 English word terve to turn upside

toque – became popular towards the end of the Regency period; close-fitting hat with no brim; turban-like; could be worn both for daytime and evening wear

Ackermann’s Repository of Arts, June 1818: “Head-dress, a pea-green satin toque, ornamented with flowers.” ~ https://candicehern.com/regency-world/glossary/

Tory – the conservative party in English politics

Town – meaning London; therefore, it would be capitalized; people went “up to Town”

Town bronze or Town polish – fashionable manners expected of those in Town (London)

training college – a college that trained teachers for the national schools

Transatlantic Trade Triangle – goods were shipped from British ports to the west coast of Africa, where they were exchanged for slaves; the slaves were taken by The Middle Passage to the Americas; slaves were traded for agricultural goods (cotton and sugar) and returned to England

transportation – sending English criminals overseas as punishment; until 1776, the American colonies were the destination; afterwards, the criminal was sent to Australia

traveling post – a hired driver, chaise, and horses for a journey

pear-n-ginger-upsidedown-pudding20080430black-treacle

treacle – a sweet medicine (similar to molasses); Treacle is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar. The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and a darker variety known as black treacle. Black treacle has a distinctively strong, slightly bitter flavour, and a richer colour than golden syrup, yet not as dark as molasses. Treacle is a common sweetener and condiment in British cookery, found in such dishes as treacle tart and treacle sponge pudding.

trousers – a looser-fitting pants than were breeches or pantaloons; worn to the ankles; customarily had a foot strap that fit around the arch of the foot to hold them in place

truck system – paying one’s employees in goods, food, etc., rather than money

tucker – a piece of lace to cover a woman’s chest in lady’s garments

tulip – a very fashionable man (think Beau Brummell)

turbans – a popular ladies’ fashion in the early part of the century; an imitation of a Middle Eastern headdress

turnkey – a jailer

turnpike – a toll road; the average toll was 2-3 pence per mile

twelfth cakes – cakes made for Twelfth Night; those who found the coin or bean inside became the “king” or “queen” of the celebration

Twelfth Night – January 5; the night before the 12th day after Christmas; when Christmastide officially ended; January 6 is the Epiphany

two-dance rule – a couple was expected not to dance more than twice; dancing more often with a partner was a symbol of serious matrimonial interest

two-penny post – London’s local mail delivery system, which was run as a separate entity from the national mail system; similar local mail delivery systems rose up within other large metropolitan areas

tucker – often worn for modesty purposes on both daytime apparel and low-cut gowns for evening wear; it was an edging of white lace, muslin, or lawn, that was usually frilled and added to disguise a low neckline; if it hung down over the front of the bodice, it was called a “falling tucker”

“Round dress of white net over white satin, with full short sleeves of the same materials. This dress is most superbly finished at the borders by rich embossment of satin and chenille. The bust is chastely displayed with a beautiful falling tucker of fine broad lace…” Ackermann’s Repository – Nov 1819

turnpike – The 1663 Turnpike Act set up tolls/fees to be paid to travel certain roads; a gate across the road prevented people from crossing until they paid the necessary fee; in 1706 the government created the Turnpike Trusts, which were private companies who collected the tolls and were also responsible for maintaining the roads

twelvemonth – the term covers a typical 12-calendar month

Other Resources:

Candice Hern

Donna Hatch

Fashion in the Age of the Georgians

Jane Austen Organization

Kathleen Baldwin

Messy Nessy Chic

Regency Researcher

Sara Ramsey

Sharon Lathan

Posted in British history, etymology, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, language choices, Living in the Regency, Regency era, vocabulary, word choices, word origins, word play | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Proxy Marriages: Valid or Invalid?

Posted on July 10, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Upon occasion I have come across a plot line in a Regency historical novel where the couple is married by proxy. Unfortunately, such a marriage was not valid. Today’s interpretation of a marriage by proxy tells us that it is a wedding in which one (or both) of the people seeking to be married are not physically present and are being represented instead by another person. If both partners are absent a double proxy wedding occurs. 

Nowadays, a proxy marriage might occur if one or both partners cannot attend for reasons such as military service, travel restrictions, imprisonment or when a couple lives in a jurisdiction in which they cannot legally marry. 

Here is the U. S., four states deem proxy marriages as legal; those states are Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and Montana. Only Montana permits double-proxy marriages. A Federal Court in the U.S in 1924 upheld a proxy marriage of a Portuguese woman and a man living in Pennsylvania, where common-law marriages were legal at the time. Afterwards, the woman immigrated to the U.S., the marriage making her legal, whereas, before the marriage she would have been inadmissible due to being illiterate. In the early 1900s, Japanese “picture brides” arrived at Angel Island, California creating a significant increase in proxy marriages at the time. In the United States, if a proxy marriage has been performed in a state that legally allows it, many states will recognize it fully or will recognize it as a common law marriage. The exception to this is the state of Iowa where it is completely unrecognized.

Under English Common Law, if a proxy marriage is valid by the law of the place where the marriage took place (lex loci celebrations), then it is recognized in England and Wales. However, generally speaking, proxy weddings are not recognized as legally binding in most jurisdictions. There was no provision for marriages of English subjects in England by proxy marriage. Even before the Hardwick Marriage Act, a couple could be “half married,” meaning the betrothal, but they still required the ceremony in the Church of England to make their joining a fully valid marriage. The couple had to be present before the clergyman and swear to being there voluntarily before a marriage would be conducted. 

 

A famous 17th-century painting by Peter Paul Rubens depicts the proxy marriage of Marie de’ Medici in 1600. By the end of the 19th century the practice had largely died out. Wikipedia

From the Middle Ages onward, European monarchs and nobility were sometimes known to by married by proxy. Some of those were 

Mary, Queen of Hungary to Louis I, Duke of Orléans, 1385

Henry IV to Joanna of Navarre, the daughter of Charles d’Évreux, King of Navarre, 1402

Catherine of Aragon to Prince Arthur, 1499

Charles I of England to Henrietta Maria of Francy, 1625 

Marie Antoinette to Louis-Auguste, 1770

Napoleon I of France to Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise, 1810

 

Other Recent Pieces on Proxy Marriage in the UK and the Laws in Place: 

Immigration Inspector Warns of Rise of Proxy Marriage Misuse

Immigrants Using ‘Proxy’ Marriages to Dodge Britains Visa Laws

Migrants Win Right to Stay in UK with a Wedding They Don’t Even Turn Up For 

Proxy Marriages and EU Law 

 

 

Posted in American History, British history, Church of England, Georgian England, Georgian Era, history, Living in the UK, marriage, marriage customs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Proxy Marriages: Valid or Invalid?

Eloping During the Regency and What the Code Napoleon Said About It

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Almost every Regency era romance writer has written at least one scene where the hero and heroine elope, racing to Scotland and a place such as Gretna Green.

Yet, when one sets the elopement could change the pair’s destination. What do you know of the Code Napoleon? Also, did you know for a period of time France would have been easier to reach and in a faster time than a race to the Scottish border?

Permit me to make the waters a bit murky for some of you.

As a general rule, the English accepted all marriages as valid that were valid in the country where it was celebrated. However, there were few marriages of English persons in France during the war, except those of soldiers who had a chaplain officiating. A marriage that took place after the war was declared invalid because it was not done in accordance with local law.

There were channel islands, where some people went to be married, but usually these were people who lived in the southwest corner of the country and were accustomed to the sea.

Napoleonic Code
Early version of the Code Civil des Français (“Civil Code of the French”; known as the Napoleonic Code), dated 1803 (year XI of the French republican calendar). The code was promulgated in its entirety in 1804 (year XII) by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte.
Public Domain Photo ~ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Napoleonic-Code

On 20 September 1789, the age of legal majority was reduced to 21 for both men and women, confirmed in 1804, and parental permission was no longer required. But here is the catch: the Code Napoleon came into effect in the early 1800s, and it automatically repealed all previous laws, including the 1789 one mentioned above.

Back in that 1789 law, women reached their majority for the purposes of marriage at 21 and men at 26. Note, however, that under the Code Napoleon, there were different majority ages for different aspects of the law.

But given that Britain was at war during a good part of the Regency, one would either need to set one’s story AFTER the war had ended, or NOT have one’s couple elope to France. Having them elope to France during the war simply because it is supposedly easier than going north would have me instantly tossing the book aside. An author would need to convey very strong reasons for them to go to France other than it being easier than going to Scotland to have any hope of my continuing to read the book. Even having them elope to France after the war would be a big task of the reader.

BUT – there are other factors one needs to consider before pursuing this course.

In the early 19th century (and throughout the period we call the Regency) family consent was required for most marriages in France. Women who had not attained their 21st birthday, and men who had not attained their 26th birthday, required permission from a parent or guardian, though only the father’s permission was required if the parents were in disagreement.

If the parents refused consent for women aged between 22 and 25, or for men aged between 26 and 30, the couple had to make three written requests, at one-month intervals, seeking permission. If all three requests were denied, then one month after the third denial, a marriage license would be issued. For women over the age of 26 and men over the age of 30, only a single written request and denial was required. These requirements were, I guess, the state’s way of providing the couple an enforced cooling off period.

Both parties had to present birth certificates (or notarised acts in the case of lost or destroyed birth certificates), AND the parents’ death certificates if other relatives were acting as guardians, AND notarised acts of consent if the parents are unable to come to the town hall to give consent in person.

Foreigners in France were subject to the same laws, but with additional restrictions, depending on marriage law within their country of origin.

The French marriage would be legitimate in France, but France did not have reciprocity agreements with its European neighbors, meaning the foreign couple could not return to their own country and expect their marriage would be considered valid. I don’t know if there were reciprocity agreements in place with England, but I very much doubt it given the Code Napoleon was introduced before the Regency era properly began. 

In any event, to avoid issues of foreigners being stuck on French welfare rolls, the French government ordered its officials to ensure that foreigners adhere to all regulations of their country of origin before any marriage service was performed in France.

“Napoleonic Code, French Code Napoléon, French civil code enacted on March 21, 1804, and still extant, with revisions. It was the main influence on the 19th-century civil codes of most countries of continental Europe and Latin America.

“After the French Revolution, codification became not only possible but almost necessary. Powerful groups such as the manors and the guilds had been destroyed; the secular power of the church had been suppressed; and the provinces had been transformed into subdivisions of the new national state. Political unification was paired with a growing national consciousness, which, in turn, demanded a new body of law that would be uniform for the entire state. The Napoleonic Code, therefore, was founded on the premise that, for the first time in history, a purely rational law should be created, free from all past prejudices and deriving its content from “sublimated common sense”; its moral justification was to be found not in ancient custom or monarchical paternalism but in its conformity to the dictates of reason.” [Napoleonic Code]

This article on the Napoleonic Code tells us, “The law was composed of scattered laws that sometimes overlapped creating contradictions and problems. It therefore became necessary to create compilations of laws to give it coherence and avoid such contradictions. Sometimes the compilations ended up mixing all kinds of rights such as civil with criminal and administrative. Thus, were born the following compilations of laws:

  • Hammurabi code decreed by King Hammurabi.
  • The law of the twelve tables: It was the law established to eliminate the privileges of the patricians (descendants of the founders of Rome) in ancient Rome and is one of the first to group the regulations by theme. However, they did not include all the legal rules because some were over-understood.
  • Justinian’s Corpus Iuris Civilis: This approached code consideration. However, it was constituted in a compilation because it included legal norms without validity. In addition, it included philosophical elements on the source of law and quotations from classical judges. A scholarly compilation of Roman law and its sources.”

Women had more or less control of their own lives depending on the specific area covered by the Code. For example, a woman could not be forced to marry against her will or marry at all before age 21 – but then not without the permission of her parents or grandparents.

So, having one’s couple eloping to France likely was a bad idea (especially after 1804) because they would not have parental permission. All the rules of the local law had to be followed for the English courts to declare the marriage valid.

Georgette Heyer used that device in Cotillion, but I can’t remember if she brought a time frame into that book. Of course, that’s fiction! I love the impeccable use of various story elements executed in her stories, but Heyer also allowed a man to scratch out the name of the bride on a special license and substitute another, which is absolutely not valid. Trusting Heyer for all historical facts is not always the best choice.

As for the Channel Islands, they were properties of the English Crown, but they had their own legislature and laws. They were not part of France, though their proximity to the French coast made travel there dangerous during the war.  According to my notes, they allowed marriage to anyone 21 or older without any residency requirements.  My notes don’t mention what the rules were for younger people as I wasn’t researching that situation when I made them…

France was (and still is) mainly a Catholic country–not a Church of England one. Also, the Revolution threw out the church, but then Napoleon made up with the Pope, who was all for Napoleon being crowned Emperor, so it was back to Catholic. All this means is it was unlikely for an English couple to think about running away to get married in France. (Scotland is mainly Protestant.) Plus, how did one go about finding a church in which to marry? Most parishes wanted a person to be a resident in the area for a set time before you were permitted to marry (remember Mr. Wickham and Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and that was a Church of England wedding), and most priests would want to make certain the person was a good Catholic and they could not do that if they did not know the person.

What was an option for a time was the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight – Check out Rachel Knowles’s article HERE: http://www.regencyhistory.net/2015/11/why-did-regency-lovers-elope-to-gretna.html

Unless the lovers had relatives in France, it is highly unlikely they could marry there. War conditions really make it impossible for any Englishman to be in France from 1793 until 1814 . . . one would have only the brief peace in 1803.

Religion is also a bar with elopements to Spain, Italy, or any other country that is primarily Catholic, unless one of the couple is also Catholic with relatives in that country, and then the residency issue still comes into play. Remember there were restrictions on Protestant/Catholic marriages. The couple had to first be married in the Protestant church for their marriage to be legal (an issue I played with in my Realm series, book 7, A Touch of Honor).

Of course, Mary Godwin and Percy Bysshe Shelley eloped to France in 1814, but they were in no way respectable, and he was still married to Harriet at the time, so I doubt that is best replicated.

DerHexer/Wikimedia Commons/(CC BY-SA 4.0)

Other Resources:

An Alternate Elopement

The History of the Napoleonic Code

Marriage Under the Code Napoleon

Napoleonic Code: Why Was One of the Most Influential Civil Codes Flawed?

Women and Code Napoleon

Posted in British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, marriage, marriage licenses, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Eloping During the Regency and What the Code Napoleon Said About It

Georgian Era Lexicon – Continuing on to the Letter “S”

Posted on July 5, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

In the singular form the lexicon of a particular subject is all the terms associated with it. The lexicon of a person or group is all the words they commonly use. As a plural noun, a lexicon is an alphabetical list of the words in a language or the words associated with a particular subject. To distinguish lexicon from a dictionary, it is an alphabetical list of the words in a language or the words associated with a particular subject.

These examples are a mix of what one might hear upon the lips of the aristocracy, as well as examples of Cant used upon London’s streets and those terms used by farmers and like in the country.

s. – the abbreviation for shilling (a shilling is a English silver coin worth twelvepence; 20 shillings = one pound)

Sabbatarians – VERY strict observers of the Sabbath

sack – a dry white wine from Spain

St. Giles – a notorious London slum with a large Irish and Jewish population; a center for prostitution

http://www.royal.gov.uk/ theroyalresidences/ stjamesspalace/ stjamesspalace.aspx
http://www.royal.gov.uk/
theroyalresidences/
stjamesspalace/
stjamesspalace.aspx

St. James Palace – the official residence (until 1837 when Queen Victoria moved the royal residence to Buckingham Palace); St. James’s Palace is the senior Palace of the Sovereign, with a long history as a Royal residence. As the home of several members of the Royal Family and their household offices, it is often in use for official functions and is not open to the public.

“Saint Jane” myth (not necessarily a Regency term, but important to the era) – When Henry Austen wrote his biography of his sister Jane, he presented a “saint” to the world, which is in sharp contrast to the Jane Austen we meet in her letters.

saloon or salon – a large room, such as a drawing room, used for receiving and entertaining guests; this room often doubled as a picture gallery in a fine house

Victorian Silver Salver http://www.davidshure.com/silver-salvers
Victorian Silver Salver http://www.davidshure.com/silver-salvers

salver – a silver tray which held calling cards; either placed on a table in the hallway or delivered by the head servant to his master/mistress; also used by servants to passing around biscuits during social gatherings

sal volatile – smelling salt (made with ammonium carbonate)

sandals – used by ladies in the early part of the century; slipperlike shoes that fastened over the instep with a strap

sash – worn by little girls as a complement to the muslin frock

sawbones – originally referred to army surgeon who were often called upon to saw off bones; as more and more soldiers returned home the term came to be applied to all doctors and surgeons

schoolroom – where children received their lessons in a wealthier home; large enough for dancing lessons and to accommodate games indoors; “in the schoolroom” meant a young lady had not made her “Come Out”

scout – a man servant at Oxford

Scottish reel – a folk dance with gliding steps and jumps; a quick-stepping dance

scullery – place where dishes were washed and stored

scullery maid – the lowest ranking household servant (also referred to as “scullion”); one assigned to wash the dishes, as well as other unpleasant duties in the kitchen

http://empirepost.com/ XEP/A-US/SFL/Pages/ 1765-1820/USC-1765.htm
http://empirepost.com/
XEP/A-US/SFL/Pages/
1765-1820/USC-1765.htm

sealing wax or sealing wafer – a drop of wax (dropped wet over the fold of a letter and allowed to dry) or a sealing wafer (a thin disk of dried paste used to seal a document) was used to seal a letter (There were NO envelopes.); a signet ring or seal pressed into the wax secured the paper seal; usually made of beeswax; red wax was used only for business; other colors for social correspondence; black wax indicated mourning

seals – small ornament on a watch chain, including a seal to set the wax on a letter; it contained an emblem or the initials cut into the metal surface, which was called “itaglio’; the image was pressed into the metal wax so a raised imprint remained; the image was specific to a particular family name, business, or official title; the seal might also be inset in a signet ring or it could be available it a “stamp” format for a house’s butler to frank letters or the housekeeper to carry one on a chatelaine or fob to mark orders being requesting for the household

sealing wax – a mixture of shellac and turpentine or even beeswax that was melted and used to seal envelopes and/or stamp official documents; the standard was to use red for business, black for mourning, and another color of one’s choice for social letters

sedan Chair – a rickshaw-like enclosed chair with two poles, carried by two men, one at the front of the poles, another at the back of the chair holding the rear poles; the men were called “bearers”; a sedan chair might also be called a “Palanquin”

Season – meaning the social “Season” which began in early spring after Easter, and lasted until the end of June (basically when Parliament was in session). The original idea was to provide amusements and gathering for the families of the members of those in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, but soon it was required for young ladies to be presented to society and to socialize regularly, which was not easily done when in the country’s shires 

seedcake – a sweet cake usually made with caraway seeds

sell up – selling all of a person’s worldly goods to settle his debts

seminary – the most fashionable, educational, and expensive institution for young ladies; girls learned sewing (“work”), reading, writing, mathematics, French, and history, along with dancing, music (instrument and singing), and art (although these fine arts often cost extra)

senior wrangler – in Cambridge’s math honors exams, the top students were called “wranglers”; the highest ranked student was the “senior wrangler”

sennight – a contraction of “seven nights” = one week

sent down – expelled from a university

servants’ hall – a special room where the servants of a household ate and socialized

servants’ quarters – servants (both male and female) had their bedrooms in the manor house’s attic, basement, or a separate wing of the house (The lady’s maid often had a room near her mistress.)

set – the name given to a group of dancers in a dance, as well as the series of dances they perform

settee – an indoor chair on which two people could sit

http://www.stickleymuseum.org/blog/archives/1533/ Columbus Avenue Hall Settle c.1902 Collection of Crab Tree Farm
http://www.stickleymuseum.org/blog/archives/1533/
Columbus Avenue Hall Settle c.1902 Collection of Crab Tree Farm

settle – a wooden bench with a high back on which several people could sit; usually found in taverns and rustic homes; often faced the fireplace

settlement – the legal arrangement of property; marriage settlements involved ensuring that a woman would receive pin money, a jointure and portions for her future children; strict settlements ensured that a landed estate remained entailed against the possibility of a male heir selling or mortgaging it; settlement under the Poor Law meant a person could not receive financial relief in a parish without being born in the parish, been apprenticed in the parish, or being married to a parish resident

Seven Deadly Sins – pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth

Seven Dials– an infamous criminal district in London; it was the seven streets that converged upon St. Giles (see above)

sexton – the man who rang the bells and dug the graves at a churchyard

shaking hands – was a sign of real friendship, not generally part of an introduction as it is in current times; occurred less frequently between members of the opposite sex; was considered improper

shawl – worn by women throughout the century

sheriff – in previous centuries the High Sheriff was the king’s representative in the shire (i.e., the Sheriff of Nottingham); by the 1800s, the “sheriff” was a country gentleman who entertained the assize justices when they made their judicial circuit; in some areas, the sheriff also carried out official county business

shift– a long kind of nightgown type of material which women wore as underwear, along with the corset (“drawers” did not become popular until the 1860s); “shift” replaced the word “smock”; eventually, “shift” was replaced by the word “chemise”

shilling number – a monthly installment of a serialized novel (very popular in the mid and later part of the 19th century-more of a Victorian term, rather than a Regency one)

shilly-shallying – taking too long to complete a task; wasting time

ship-of-the-line – a warship usually of 60+ guns; one that could take its place in the “line” of battle

shire – unit of regional government run by the earl and the sheriff (shire reeve) in the monarch’s name; the Normans substituted the word “county” for “shire”; “The shires” in foxhunting groups referred to the Midland shires, including Rutland, Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire

shivaree – a noisy mock serenade (made by banging pans and kettles) to a newly married couple (also referred to as belling, charivari, chivaree, callathump, and callithump in regional areas of the US and UK)

shorts – knee breeches

shuttlecocks and battledores – the forerunner of badminton; popular outdoor game for both sexes; it was played with small racquets (battledores) and netted shuttlecocks

shove-halfpenny– a children’s game similar to shuffleboard, but played on a table and with coins

sideboard – dining room furniture that held extra dishes; later, it became a storage place for plate, silverware, etc.

silhouettes – tracing a person’s profile with the help of a shadow; a popular art form during the reign of George III; it was named after a French artist who perfected the form, Etienne de Silhouette

Cassandra Leigh Austen

Sir – the title by which baronets and knights are addressed

sitting room – used for morning activities (reading, letter writing, cards, painting, sewing, etc.); in smaller manor houses the husband would have his study at one end while the wife had her sitting room

sizar – scholarship students at Cambridge

skittles – similar to bowling (nine pens or skittles)

small clothes – knee breeches; A gentleman wearing shirt and breeches (only) is considered to be undressed. Though modestly covered by modern standards, by 18th Century standards he is considered to be in his ‘small clothes’ – his underwear.

smock frock – an outer garment worn by the agricultural working poor

snob – meant someone of no social standing, the opposite of a “nob”

snuff – an often scented powdered tobacco sniffed into the nose; carried in a decorated snuffbox

snuff rasp – used to grind tight bundles of tobacco leaves into fresh snuff; small to fit into a pocket, made of a variety of materials and often ornate; could be stored with the leaves in a separate snuff box

snuffers – scissor-like instruments used to trim the wicks of tallow candles

Social Season – London’s fashionable high life; ran from February to June and September to pre-Christmas

solicitor – a lawyer or attorney (not usually a gentleman by birth)  who dealt in wills, contracts, deeds, settlements, and estate issues; they could not appear in court; therefore, solicitors would hire a barrister to represent his client in court matters; they took a portion of the gratuity for their fee; considered part of the working class, though they could become quite wealthy depending on who they represented; they might only be accepted by the gentry if they were “part of the family,” as was Mr. Philips to the Bennet family in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Somerset House– housed various government offices, most notably the tax office (Board of Inland Revenue); located on the Strand in London

Southwark – the “Borough”; located across the Thames south of London

sovereign – a gold coin worth a pound (first came into circulation in 1817)

Spanish coin – false flattery

spatterdashes – long gaithers to protect the legs from water and mud

special license – call only be obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury; presents a man and woman to marry at any time or place (home, church, etc.); issued for a three months’ time limit; it could not be left blank, names of the man and woman must appear on the document; only those of the aristocracy and those with great “influence” could obtain a special license

http://www.edelweiss patterns.com/blog/?p=1175
http://www.edelweiss
patterns.com/blog/?p=1175

spencer – a short jacket worn by ladies of the day; for men, a spencer was an overcoat without tails

sponging house – a house run by a sheriff’s officer where debtors were housed while they repaid their debts

Sprezzatura – Though dating from the Renaissance, Castiglione’s sprezzatura remained in place during the Regency. Taught from childhood, “gracefulness” became a way of life. A member of the gentry should speak and act with modest confidence; maintain emotional control; use proper language; and be well educated in literature, the arts, history, and dancing.

squire – a term of courtesy for a member of the gentry whose family lved for generations in an area and who had tenants on his property; often served as the justice of the peace in the area

stagecoach – public transportation, generally for the lower classes; the Royal Mail coaches were quicker and more expensive than the regular stagecoaches (Note: Jane Austen’s house in Chawton was located beside a main stagecoach route; therefore, the noise of the carriages was commonplace for Austen in those days.)

stair rod – metal rods clamped along the base of a riser to hold the carpet in place

stall – metonymy at work; a position a prebendary held (i.e., Dr. Grant in Austen’s “Mansfield Park” succeeds to a stall in Westminster.)

stand up – to dance with someone

Fitzroy Stanhope was a designer of carriages in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Several vehicles are associated with his name. http://www.caaonline. com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key= 15&MCat=9
Fitzroy Stanhope was a designer of carriages in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Several vehicles are associated with his name. http://www.caaonline.
com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key=
15&MCat=9

stanhope – a light carriage with no top; could have 2 or 4 wheels; named for the Honourable and Reverend Fitzroy Stanhope (1784-1864)

Statute of Wills – passed by Henry VIII in 1540, the statute allowed a person to leave his property to anyone he wanted, provided he had stated his desires in a will; unfortunately, Parliament had not abolished the “Statute of Uses” from 1536, which supported the concept of primogeniture, so primogeniture remained the preferred inheritance method

stay – one of the two halves of a corset; used to hold in the waist and lift the bosom; made of a sturdy canvas cloth, which was faced with silk; they could be tightened by laces in the back; reinforced with whalebone (which had a bit of give in it and not be so stiff)

staylace – one of the laces used to tighten a corset

steeplechase – a horseback ride or race across country; originally the gentlemen raced toward a distant steeple; therefore, it was a straight course, but that did not mean the race lacked obstacles

steward – managed the estate for the owner so that the owner did not have to deal directly with tenant farmers; the steward would oversee the estate’s accounts, settle tenant squabbles, purchase seed and animals, etc.

stile – a set of three or four wooden steps built to help people over a wall or fence constructed in a field to keep animals enclosed

stillroom – where preserves and wine were kept in a house; also where coffee and tea was made

stock – a tight, stiff collar worn by men, especially soldiers; it was also the black shirtfront over which the white bit of collar was fastened for clerical dress

stone – a measurement of weight = 14 pounds

strand – shore of a river or ocean

stuck his spoon in the wall – died

stud – horses raised for breeding or racing

stuff – name for different kinds of fabrics, but generally applied to those commonly made of wool

sugarloaf- the hard, crusty form in which sugar was available; usually shaped like a cone

sugarplum – a round piece of flavored candy made chiefly of sugar

surgeon – a man who tended to external injuries (broken bones, wounds, etc.) “Physicians” never bloodied their hands. Physicians were addressed as “doctor,” whereas surgeons were referred to as “mister.”

surtout – a man’s overcoat, very much like a frock coat

swallowtail coat – a man’s coat, which had long tails that tapered down the gentleman’s back

sweetbread – the thymus gland or pancreas of a young animal, especially a calf or lamb, used for food

sweetmeat – a candy, such as a candied fruit

swing glass – a mirror similar to a cheval glass

If Interested, Check Out These Other Resources:

Other Sources: 

Candice Hern

Donna Hatch

18th Century Vocabulary 

Georgette-Heyer: Regency Cant and Expressions 

Jane Austen Organization

Kathleen Baldwin

Messy Nessy Chic

Regency Reader

Sara Ramsey

Sharon Lathan

Posted in British history, etymology, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, lexicon, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, reading, Regency era, vocabulary, word origins, word play, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Catholic and Protestants Marrying + “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings” Anthology

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Book Blurb:

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT 

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience. 

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

Purchase Links:

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting lov


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer weddind?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

Purchase Link:

Amazon Kindle

Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited

Now, more about my tale…

In Ireland, the question of a legal marriage between a Protestant and a Catholic could often be prompted by whether the couple had married in both churches or simple one, as well as which ceremony came first.

On 25 March 1754, the Hardwicke Act went into effect in England. It was designed to prevent Clandestine Weddings (Read More on Clandestine Weddings HERE) and to force couples marrying in England to follow certain guidelines or have their marriage declared illegal. Under an earlier Statute of King George II (19 Geo. 2. c. 13), any marriage between a Catholic (Popish) and a Protestant or a marriage between two Protestants celebrated by a Catholic priest was null and void, meaning any children conceived would be considered illegitimate.

Prior to the Hardwicke Act, couples simply required a clergyman ordained by the Church of England to administer their vows. We often hear of a Fleet Marriage, which is the best-known example of an irregular or a clandestine marriage taking place in England. These joinings were popular at the end of the late 17th and early 18th Century. The Marriage Duty Act 1695 put an end to irregular marriages at parochial churches by penalizing clergymen who married couples without banns or license. By a legal quirk, however, clergymen operating in the Fleet could not effectively be prosecuted for disobeying the Act, and the clandestine marriage business there carried on. In the 1740s, over half of all London weddings were taking place in the environs of the Fleet Prison.

The Hardwicke Act made marriages more public. A calling of the banns became a requirement, which could only be put aside if the couple obtained an “ordinary”  or “standard” license from the local bishop or a special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The standard license came with a bond of £100. This bond was forfeited if the couple lied to the local bishop regarding their fitness to marry. The license named the specific parish church where the exchange of vows would be held. It required a 7-days’ waiting period.

A calling of the banns had to take place over three successive Sundays before the couple could marry before an ordained Church of England clergyman. Two witnesses were required for the ceremony to be legal.

Only Quakers or Jews were exempt from the Hardwicke Act. All others, including Roman Catholics, had to follow the law’s guidelines. NO exceptions! Catholics in England who married only under their own rites were not considered legally married under English law. They had to be married by a Protestant minister legally to be considered married. The Catholics disagreed with this requirement, and many married in the local Catholic church first and then almost immediately in the Protestant church. If they had not married in the Protestant church, their children were illegitimate under the Hardwicke Act. During this time, a Catholic priest faced fines and possible imprisonment for marrying a Protestant to a Catholic unless the couple had already been married by a Protestant clergyman.

In Ireland, where my story takes place, the Catholics did not need to be married by a Protestant at all, but the clergy was still forbidden to celebrate a mixed marriage unless there had already been a Protestant one. All through the 19th Century, the restrictions against other religious groups were eased, and there even was a provision for a civil marriage, but a Catholic and a Protestant still could not marry in the Catholic Church unless they had already married by civil or Protestant ceremony. Any marriage of a Protestant to a Catholic by Catholic ritual alone was considered invalid.

Book Excerpt:

As the music died away, a voice called out before a round of applause had circled among those looking on. “How quaint! Very quaint indeed!”

Ainmire set Claire behind him. “Good day, Uncle,” he responded as the crowd parted to permit Lord Ross Fitzlaud to come to stand before him. 

“I understand you have married, Fearghal—without even the care of a notice of your doing so,” his uncle said. 

“Your son journeyed with me to England,” Ainmire responded. “I suspect you knew my marital state before I even arrived back in Ireland.” 

“Yet, my son did not attend the actual wedding. Is that not correct, Simon?” his uncle demanded. “No one from your family actually stood witness to your joining.” 

Ainmire stated, “I asked Simon to stand witness to my marrying a British . . . well, I shan’t dignify the word Simon called my future wife by repeating such foulness.” 

The crowd buzzed with indignation directed to his uncle for discrediting their new mistress. 

“If no one from the family stood witness to the marriage, how do we know your marriage be legal? If not, then my family still remains as your heirs. An illegitimate child cannot inherit, as you well know.” 

Mr. Connelly stepped between them. “I assure you, sir, Lord and Lady Fearghal’s marriage has been properly recorded in the parish records.”

“How so?” his uncle demanded. “You did not perform the ceremony nor stood as witness to my nephew’s wedding.” 

“I have received a certificate and an official letter from the Archbishop’s office in London so I might include a record of his lordship’s joining in my parish records,” Connelly declared with a great deal of haughtiness. The cleric never appreciated anyone speaking out against his authority. 

“And how often have you received such a document previously? Would you recognize the Archbishop’s signature?” his uncle said with a smile of satisfaction, indicating he had heard of the document previously. 

“Never, but the seal indicated it was from His Grace’s offices at Doctors’ Commons in London,” Connelly argued. 

“Yet, it is possible my nephew is not legally married to Lady Claire Waterstone,” his uncle said in triumph. 

“Lady Claire and I married at St George Hanover Church in Mayfair,” Ainmire growled in displeasure, “and I take great umbrage that you dare to smear my wife’s good name simply because she outmanoeuvred your attempts to prevent the payment of the mortgage you held on Mehlman.” 

“Pardon, my lord,” a voice said from a place off Ainmire’s shoulder. 

He turned his head briefly to note Father Hannigan looking on. “Yes, Father?”

“I thought if you and your wife wished to ‘remarry,’ so to speak, I would be pleased to conduct the ceremony. Mr. Connelly could stand as your witness. In that manner, your marriage to Lady Claire would be sanctioned by both the Protestants in the community, as well as the Catholics. You have tenants of both persuasions and many in the community are present to stand as witnesses to your marriage.”

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

Posted in book excerpts, book release, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, Dreamstone Publishing, eBooks, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, heroines, historical fiction, Ireland, laws of the land, marriage customs, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, religion, research, romance, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Lost Food, “Irish Moss” Recipe + “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings Anthology”

Posted on July 1, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Book Blurb:

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT 

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience. 

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting love?


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer wedding?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

Purchase Link:

Amazon Kindle

Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited

Now a bit more about my story:

My heroine, Lady Claire Waterstone, has never truly lived in England, so when, first, her mother dies, and, then, her father, she is brought back to England and rushed into the “marriage mart” to find a husband. She is as ill at ease in London society is Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an Irish earl who requires a rich wife, while Claire requires a home.

Once she is in Ireland, Claire is determined to leave her mark on her husband’s estate and the surrounding community, by starting a school and providing his lordship’s tenants with what we might nowadays call “cottage industry.” Enjoy this short scene about some of her goals and about something called Irish moss, and it has nothing to do with that green stuff growing on rocks.

Book Excerpt:

“Would you object, my lady, if I make these used linens and drapes and so forth available to his lordship’s tenants?” Mrs. Galax asked. “The previous Lady Fearghal kept that as a standing order, but she passed some seventeen years prior, and neither Lord Ainmire nor his father thought the gesture necessary.” 

“Would they want them?” Claire asked and then quickly remembered the “untouchables” in India and how they wished for the smallest bit of cloth to cover themselves. 

“Most be handy with a needle and their children require clothes, especially during the winter,” the housekeeper shared. 

“Assuredly, I hold no objections. If they have a use for the worn sheets and drapes, I am not opposed to you presenting them what is left.” She asked, “Do the children attend school?”

“No, my lady. Most work the farms along with their fathers. The land be all they know.” 

“Yet, how do they recognize someone who means to cheat them if they cannot read the signs nor the bills presented to them?” Claire asked in shock. “Has not Lord Fearghal addressed this matter? How is a future to be achieved if one’s feet are planted in the mud of the past?”

“In truth, I not be confident that his lordship has thought much on it. His father invested in one bad scheme after another. Yer husband, ma’am, inherited an empty dream. He has fought for years to revive the estate. From dawn and into the night.” 

“I would like to see a school for the children, even if they learn nothing more than their basic sums and common everyday words. I shall speak to his lordship when he returns. I was also thinking of other means for the cottagers to earn money. There are sections of England where many of the households specialise in producing a particular food, like blueberry jam or lemon curd or even lace making. You said many of the women were good with a needle. Do any make lace?”

“I doubt if they would ever see the thread required, but I imagine many of them could be taught,” Mrs. Galax said with a look of contemplation on her features. “Can people earn money in such a manner? There are machines that can turn out yards and yards of lace a day.” 

“But not all of it is of good quality. There are women of society who turn their noses on machine made clothing and lace and buttons. They want what they have always had: A piece of lace on their dresses that is one of a kind.” 

“Well, is that not something?” Mrs. Galax said in appreciation. 

“Some areas of England are known for their confectionaries, such as the Dorset House shop on Fleet Street in London or those of the Cadbury brothers. I understand there is a food in Ireland that those in England have forgotten. Lord Fearghal called it ‘carrageen pudding.’”

“Yes, it is also called ‘Irish moss,’” Mrs. Galax said. “Now would that not be something to be able to best the English in such a manner.” 

Carrageen Pudding (This information comes from the website British Food: A History. I am quoting much of it.) In truth, the only thing I knew of carrageen was it can be found in low fat yogurt to help thicken it. I was warned against it years ago. Therefore, I am depending on someone more knowledgeable than I.

“Carrageen pudding is a set dessert akin to jellies, blancmanges and flummeries, but it is made from the gelatinous seaweed carrageen, also known as Irish moss. It used to be gathered in Yorkshire and South-West England, going by the name ‘Dorset Moss’. … flavoured it the traditional way with sugar, lemon and brandy. … there was something of a Lemsip about it. … it wasn’t the flavour that put people off; it is more gummy than a gelatine set dessert, and doesn’t dissolve cleanly in the mouth. As John Wright puts it: it doesn’t have an acquired taste – it barely has any  – ‘more of an acquired texture.’ … I refined the recipe, adding some whipped cream to give it a mousse-like texture and flavoured it with elderflowers. 

“Carrageen is a common seaweed found throughout the coasts British Isles, except for parts of Lincolnshire and East Anglia.2 It is found in rockpools, is branched and a dark red colour. The wonderful food writer Theodora Fitzgibbon describes it as ‘a branching mucilaginous seaweed found on all rocks in Ireland’, which does not sound appetising, I realise. She goes on the comfort the reader, telling us that ‘it does not taste at all marine when properly prepared.’3 It is picked and dried in the sun, typically in April and May, and during the process it lightens from a dark red-brown to a creamy brownish beige, tinged with a pink-red hue.

“To prepare carrageen, it is reconstituted in cold water, drained and then simmered in fresh water. It quickly turns viscous, bubbling away like the contents of a witch’s cauldron. The gloopiness is caused by the release of a trio of closely-related carbohydrates together called carrageenan.2 To extract it properly, the whole lot has to be squeezed through some muslin (cheesecloth). These carbohydrates are not digested by the body, and are therefore an excellent source of soluble fibre. Indeed, carrageen has been used as a treatment for a range of stomach and digestive complains and it ‘is considered extremely salutary for persons of delicate constitutions’.4“

These are also the references included in this article if anyone is interested:

References

  1. Hartley, D. Food in England. (Little, Brown & Company, 1954).
  2. Wright, J. River Cottage Handbook No.5: Edible Seashore. (Bloomsbury, 2009).
  3. FitzGibbon, T. Irish Traditional Food. (St. Martin’s Press, 1983).
  4. Leslie, E. Miss Leslie’s Complete Cookery: Directions for Cookery, in Its Various Branches. (Summersdale Publishers Limited, 1851).

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

Posted in anthology, book excerpts, book release, British history, Dreamstone Publishing, eBooks, food, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, research, romance, tradtions, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Lost Food, “Irish Moss” Recipe + “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings Anthology”

Traveling Through Ireland (He Said …) + “Lord Fearghal English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings”

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT 

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience. 

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting love?


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer wedding?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

Purchase Link:

Amazon Kindle

Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited

Now a bit more about my story …

In Wednesday’s post, I spoke of Lady Claire’s travels to reach her husband’s estate of Melhman near Kanturk, Ireland. Today, we are following Lord Ainmire Fearghal’s journey, which was a more arduous one and a more dangerous one. Ainmire and his cousin, Mr. Simon Fitzlaud, took the coast road (which generally backs up against the Wicklow Mountains) from Dublin to Waterford.

Day 1, LEG #1 – Ainmire travels from Dublin to Bray, which is about 23 miles. Bray was turned into a resort town in the 1800s. The River Dargle, which enters the sea at the north end of Bray rises from a source near Djouce in the Wicklow Mountains. Bray Head is situated at the southern end of the Victorian Promenade with paths leading to the summit and along the sea cliffs. The rocks of Bray Head are a mixture of greywackes and quartzite. There is a large cross on the summit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bray,_County_Wicklow#/media/File:Brayview.JPG ~ aerial view of modern day Bray

Day 1, LEG #2 – From Bray, Ainmire and Simon traveled to Greystones, which is about 5.5 miles from Bray. It is the second largest town in County Wicklow. Its newer name is “Delgany.” The town was named after a half-mile stretch if grey stones between two beaches on the seafront. The North Beach is a stony beach and is overlooked by the southern cliffs of Bray Head. The South Beach is a broad sandy beach about one kilometer long.

Greystones’s harbour ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greystones#/media/File:Greystones_harbour.jpg ~ CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 1, LEG #3 – From Greystones, the pair traveled to Wicklow, which would be a little over 14 miles. Wicklow’s weather is very much like the rest of northwestern Europe, with cool summers and milk winters, with little temperature fluctuation. May is the sunniest month and October is the wettest. Wicklow is sheltered from the rain by Ballyguile hill and more distantly by the Wicklow Mountains. It enjoys a higher average temperature than much of Ireland proper. Though it is protected from the westerly and southwesterly winds one finds in much of Ireland, Wicklow is particularly exposed to easterly winds, meaning one might experience sharp temperature drops in winter for short periods of time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicklow#/media/File:County_Wicklow_-_Black_Castle,_Wicklow_-_20180806185252.jpg ~ Black Castle, County Wicklow ~ CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 2, LEG #1 – Ainmire’s cousin takes ill, and so Lord Fearghal must travel alone. He leaves Wicklow and travels to Arklow. Ballymoyle Hill overlooks and some say dominates the town. Arklow is situated in the southeastern section of the Wicklow Mountains, with the actual coastline being a little over a mile away. From Wicklow, it would be a little over 14 miles to Arlow.

Arklow sets at the mouth of the River Avoca, which divides the town, with the northern side called Ferrybank. The Nineteen Arches Bridges is the longest handmade stone bridge in Ireland. It was built between 1754 and 1756 by Andrew Noble. Before the bridge, all the crossings were made by small boats, which were pulled across the five on a rope, with landing platforms on both banks. The south terminal was the “town bank” while the north was known as the “ferry bank.” Wicklow as a major seafaring town, with both fishing and shipping firms using the port, with shipbuilding also a major industry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arklow#/media/File:IMG_Arklow19Arches1551.jpg ~ Public Domain ~ River Avoca estuary and the Nineteen Arches bridge.

Day 2, LEG 2 – From Arklow, Ainmire traveled 15.5 miles to the market town of Gorey in County Wexford. Among the earliest recordings of the parish and town of Gorey, also sometimes historically known as Kilmichaelogue (Irish: Cill Mhocheallóg, meaning ‘church of Mocheallóg’), are Norman records from 1296 which record an existing town on the site. Several centuries later, in 1619, the town was granted a charter as a borough, under the name Newborough. However, as noted by cartographer Samuel Lewis and publisher George Henry Bassett, this name “never [grew] into general use” as the “inhabitants did not take kindly to the name chosen for the town”. Together with other developments in the area, and as the principal local landlords, the Ram family built a large estate to the north of the town. The manor house of this estate, Ramsfort, was burned following the Irish Rebellion of 1641, and again during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Ramsfort house was rebuilt in the 19th century to designs attributed to architect Daniel Robertson.

Shops on Gorey Main Street, c.1920s ~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorey#/media/File:Street,_Gorey,_Co._Wexford_(26760823523).jpg

Day 2, LEG 3 – Ainmire leaves Gorey, meaning to reach, first, Einniscorty (18 miles), then Wexford (another 15 miles), Waterford (36 miles), then turn inward to cross through the mountains (123 miles) to Mallow (the same town Claire traveled through), and another 13 miles on to Kanturk. However, he was attacked upon the road.

Book Excerpt:

Late March, 1814

Lord Ainmire Fearghal watched his cousin watching him and Ainmire’s new wife. Simon Fitzlaud had been Ainmire’s best friend since they were children, but now Ainmire had wondered if his cousin held his own ambitions. Fitzlaud had gone to London with him, for Ainmire required a rich wife to save his impoverished estate in Ireland. Having had the “luxury” of an English education, Ainmire knew something of what was and was not acceptable in an English ballroom; therefore, his cousin had agreed to play the role of his valet and stay in the let rooms Ainmire had secured in one of the small towns surrounding London proper. To reach London, it was an hour on horseback. Naturally, they had also had to let a carriage, which took a bit longer, but was considered more acceptable. A man could not woo a prospective bride smelling of horseflesh. 

His cousin believed Ainmire should not have married Lady Claire Waterstone, for Claire was, most assuredly, like no woman he had encountered on English soil. “She be too assured of herself,” Simon had said more often than Ainmire cared to remember. “Ye be needin’ someone more docile.” 

However, from the beginning, Ainmire had enjoyed Claire’s willingness to hold an actual conversation with him about the things she had seen as the daughter of a British soldier stationed all over the empire and how she listened to his hopes for a better life for his cottagers. He had held nothing back in those private moments, for he found he admired the woman more than he should. It was one thing to claim her fortune, but, unlike his cousin, Ainmire could not betray her trust in him to protect her for the remainder of their days. 

He had no idea why she had chosen him, but he was more than a bit excited to be spending his life with Lady Claire by his side. Surely, she knew he had pockets to let, or she found out quite quickly. He had required a rich wife, and with the woman’s “encouragement,” he had thrown his hat into the ring, along with a half dozen other young lords wishing to claim both the woman’s beauty and her substantial dowry. 

Ainmire admittedly was not immune to his wife’s beauty, for she was without a doubt fair of face. Any man alive would be happy to have her by his side. But things were not quite as they seemed to be. So, they two placed their heads together and decided to learn the truth. There were things upon his estate that had gone missing or were torn down by mistake or even had caught fire when there was no lightning to set the blaze.

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

Posted in anthology, book excerpts, book release, British history, Dreamstone Publishing, estates, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Ireland, marriage, publishing, reading, Regency era, research, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Traveling Through Ireland (He Said …) + “Lord Fearghal English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings”

Traveling Through Ireland (She Said…) + “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” + a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings Anthology”

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT 

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience. 

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting love?


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer wedding?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

Purchase Link:

Amazon Kindle

Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited

Now a bit more about my story …

For reasons yet to be disclosed, when Lord Ainmire Fearghal and his wife Lady Claire reach Ireland, they decide to travel separately to his estate. Such would not be uncommon, especially if a large sum of money was involved. Therefore, Lady Claire choses to travel the simpler of the two routes. I must tell you, I have written two books of late where my characters are traveling in Ireland. Those dang mountains are a real challenge. I am from West Virginia originally, and many of my ancestors are either Scottish or Irish. I now understand completely how the Appalachian Mountains would have felt like home to them.

Day 1 of the Journey: I have Lady Claire first traveling by ship from Dublin to Youghal in County Cork. Youghal is located on the estuary of the River Blackwater and sits on a steep riverbank. It has a long and narrow layout. As a historic walled seaport town on an East Cork coastline, it has a number of beaches and has been a tourist destination since the mid 1800s.

Older buildings in the town include Sir Walter Raleigh’s home “Myrtle Grove” and the St Mary’s Collegiate Church, thought to have been founded by St. Declan around 450. It is one of the few remaining medieval churches in Ireland to have remained in continuous use as a place of worship. The Vikings used Youghal as a base for their raids on monastic sites along the south coast of Ireland, and a stone in St Mary’s Collegiate Church bears the ancient etched outline of a longboat.

The Clock Gate, Youghal, Co. Cork ~ Wikipedia

Day 2 of the Journey: Leg #1: Lady Claire next travels from Youghal inland to Fermoy, (about 27 miles) which is also in County Cork, Ireland. The name “Fermoy” means “monastery of the men of the plain.” The town’s name comes from a Cistercian abbey founded by Domnall Mór Ya Briain, King of Thomond in the 13th century. In 1791, the lands around Fermoy were bought by a Scotsman, John Anderson. He was an entrepreneur who developed the roads and started the mail coach system in Ireland. He designed the town and the streets remain much the same as they were originally built. In 1984, some of his descendants, living in Australia, named a winery, Fermoy Estate, after the town he established. [Zekulich, Michael (2000). Wine Western Australia (all new ed.). Perth: St George Books. p. 159.]

Day 2: LEG #2: From Fermoy, Lady Claire travels to Mallow, also in County Cork. The distance would be approximately 18 miles. The town of Mallow also sets in the barony of Fermoy. The earliest form of the name is Magh nAla, meaning “plain of the stone.” On 16 September 1690, shortly after the failed Siege of Limerick but before the Siege of Cork, Colonel Moritz Melchior von Donop, commanding of the second regiment of Danish cavalry, reconnoitred Mallow and destroyed the bridge. He reported encountering a group of Jacobite raparees in Mallow, perhaps 3000 strong. Following his return Major General Ernst von Tettau and Major General Scravenmore devised a ruse whereby a small force of 100 cavalry and 50 dragoons was detached from the overall force of 1200 Horse, 300 Dragoons, and 2 Companies of Danish Foot. These acted as bait and successfully lured out the Jacobites commanded by Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan and routing them, with 300 raparees dead. Some accounts claim that only Sarsfield and five companions escaped the battle. [“A True and faithful account of the present state and condition of the kingdom of Ireland together with the intire defeat of a body of Irish under the command of Colonel Sarsfield by a detached party of 1200 horse and 300 dragoons by Lieut. Gen. Scravenmore within 14 miles of the city of Cork”. Bodleian library. April 2011.]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallow,_County_Cork#/media/File:Rth_Mallow_Town_02.10.12R_edited-2.jpg

Day 3 of the Journey, LEG #1 – From Mallow, Lady Claire was required to travel a more southerly route to Lombarstown, but the distance was only around six miles. Lombardstown (Irish: Baile Lombaird) is a village west of the town of Mallow. It takes its name from the Lombard family who came to Ireland from Lombardy in Northern Italy in the Middle Ages and became rich and prominent, with branches of the family in Waterford and Cork. Lombardstown is within the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West.

Day 3 of the Journey, LEG #2: Kanturk is only 7 miles or so from Lombardstown. Both serve as the area where Lord Fearghal’s family reside. It is a town in the north west of County Cork, Ireland. It is situated at the confluence of the Allua (Allow) and Dallow (Dalua) rivers, which stream further on as tributaries to the River Blackwater. It is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Cork and Limerick. To the south of the town, in Paal East townland, is Kanturk Castle. Known locally as the Old Court, this fortified house was built c. 1601 for MacDonogh McCarthy as a defence against English settlers during the Plantation of Ireland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanturk#/media/File:Kanturk,_County_Cork_-_Kanturk_Castle.jpg

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

Posted in anthology, book excerpts, book release, British history, Dreamstone Publishing, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Ireland, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, research, travel, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dung Cakes, Not Something to Eat + “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride”+ a Giveaway of “Regency Summer Weddings Anthology”

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience.

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting love?


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer wedding?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

Purchase Link:

Amazon Kindle

Available to Read on Kindle Unlimited

Now, a bit more about my tale . . .

In writing this tale, my heroine, Lady Claire Waterstone, has been the majority of her life in India, as the daughter of a diplomat. When she first arrives in Ireland as Lord Ainmire Fearghal’s bride, her guide to the estate explains the use of peat bricks, and she mentions “dung cakes.” But what are dung cakes? First, a short excerpt.

“The confluence of the River Allow and the River Dalia,” McFarlane said as he dropped back to ride beside her. “Kanturk Castle be in that direction,” he pointed to an adjoining road leading south. “Yer husband’s place is a mile or so along this road.” 

Claire sat taller in the saddle, knowing she would soon be on display and first impressions were more important than many believed. 

Soon McFarlane was again pointing out markers to her. “A stone cairn marking the southeastern corner of Fearghal land.” They continued their ride for another quarter hour, along a road which was assuredly the property line. Miraculously, the property itself was marked by a brick wall spanning the length of the road and leading off in the other direction from a bricked entrance and a gatehouse, that was empty at the moment, which she thought odd, but Claire made no remark. So, they entered through the gate and followed a well-worn lane. 

She studied it all. Up ahead was a small lake and a stand of trees. If they had been in England, herds of deer would be seen crisscrossing the road, but here, there was not even a rabbit, which confirmed her husband’s tales of want and famine. 

Off to the right, she viewed a group of men labouring in a muddy field. 

“Cutting peat bricks to burn in their hearths,” McFarlane responded before she could ask the question. “They do something similar in India,” she observed, “only rain and water is scarce. Dung cakes were used in a domestic hearth they called a ‘chulha.’ Dung cakes were also called gosse or uple. The cakes are moulded by hand with a curvature to help them to stick to the walls so they can dry. I would be interested in learning something about the process used here.”

The site ClimateLinks tells us, “The use of cow-patties/ cow-dung cakes are a rural tradition in India. They are a sustainable fuel material that form part & parcel of the traditional way of village life in India. Dung cakes, made from the by-products of animal husbandry, are traditionally used as fuel in India for making food in a domestic hearth called a Chulha. They are made by hand by village women & are traditionally made from cow or buffalo dung. One dung cake, on average, gives 2100 KJ worth of energy.”

Dung is undigested waste of plant-feeding animals, meaning what is left from the plant-matter after it has been chewed up and passed through the animal´s guts. The dung of cattle, goats, sheep, yaks, elephants, llamas etc. are all popular cooking fuels. Fresh dung needs to be dried before it can be used as a fuel, It is either left in in its natural shape or it is formed into round dung balls, flat dung cakes, or moulded around a stick. In some regions, dung is mixed with other kinds of fuel such as coal dust, or agricultural residues in order to enhance the burning performance by increasing the energy-density. – from Cooking with Dung

https://energypedia.info/wiki/File:Cow_dung_cake_drying_in_Bangladesh.jpg

Additional Information:

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

Posted in anthology, book excerpts, book release, Dreamstone Publishing, eBooks, England, estates, etymology, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, Ireland, Living in the Regency, publishing, Regency era, Regency romance, research, romance, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On PreOrder & Available July 5! ~ “Regency Summer Weddings Anthology” ~ Enjoy my “Lord Fearghal’s English Bride” + a Giveaway

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

Five delightful Regency stories, from USA Today bestselling and Award winning authors, all focused around summer weddings. Lose yourself in the Regency world, and be swept away by love!
***** READ NOW ON KINDLE UNLIMITED *****
This anthology contains:

This anthology contains:
Her Wily Duke by Arietta Richmond ~ A Marquess desperate to protect the Dukedom from his increasingly unstable older brother, a highwayman apparently bent on the destruction of the ducal estates, a young music teacher caught in the middle of it all, a desperate plan which, in the end, leads to love.


Lord Fearghal’s English Bride by Regina Jeffers ~When an Irish Lord, who needs to marry an heiress to save his estates, meets an aristocratic Englishwoman who seeks an interesting life, there is an instant attraction, and a very rapid marriage. But there are those who do not wish them well, and desperate action is called for if they are both to reach their Irish home alive, and save his estate from foreclosure. Will they survive long enough for that attraction to grow into lasting love?


Contradance by Janis Susan May ~ Life looks bleak for Miss Rosemary Coyningham as plans proceed apace for her cousin’s wedding to the Earl she was betrothed to as a child. Once Matilda is married, what will happen to Rosemary? Surely her uncle will no longer wish to have her living in his house? When Matilda’s intended returns from the continent, with a Princely friend, it all gets more complicated… for Rosemary is drawn to Matilda’s betrothed, when she meets him for the first time… and Matilda seems struck with admiration for the Prince… Will there still be a summer weddind?


The Baron Banishes His Rival by Olivia Marwood ~ Lady Anne Calthorpe is delighted when her closest friend and neighbour returns from his studies at Oxford, and even more so when he steps in to protect her from the man who had bullied her as a child – a man who now seems most intent on paying attentions to her. George Marlestone, Lord Houghton, finds his breath stolen when he sees Lady Anne again, and desire for more than friendship fills him. But before he can act on that desire, he will have to overcome the machinations of those who would drive him away from Lady Anne… Will they succeed, between them, in driving off her pursuer, or will their love be torn apart?

Mother of the Bride by Victoria Hinshaw ~ Widowed Amy, Countess of Blakemore is utterly focused on the arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. She needs no distractions, or surely it won’t all get done on time! Then, for the first time, she meets her son-in-law-to-be’s much older half-brother, who proves to be more distracting then she could ever have imagined. William Easton, Baron Hartley, had shown no interest in marrying again, since the mother of his two daughters died. Now, as his half-brother is about to marry, the idea suddenly seems much more appealing. Of course, that might just be because he can’t take his eyes off the beautiful mother of the bride-to-be. But will she accept his suit?

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Book Blurb:

HERS WAS A CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT

Lady Claire Waterstone has spent more years out of England than she has enjoying English society. In fact, she feels very odd in making her Come Out with girls four to five years her junior. Claire has never known a “home” of her own. And while several gentlemen are eager to claim her hand, she knows their ardor has more to do with the size of her dowry than true affection. Then she encounters Lord Ainmire Fearghal, an impoverished Irish earl, whose tales of how he sees his land creates in her a desire to share it with him. Claire, therefore, abandons decorum and proposes to Lord Fearghal. However, his roguish charm soon has her wishing for more than a marriage of convenience.

HE BARGAINED FOR HER FORTUNE, NOT HER HEART

Fearghal has only one purpose in marrying Lady Claire: Save his estate. Melhman Manor reeks from inherited debt, and Fearghal requires a wealthy wife immediately. Originally, he thought to leave Claire in London, but his wife soon puts an end to those thoughts, but when she suggests Ainmire’s cousin could be working against Ainmire’s efforts to save his land, Fearghal and Lady Claire strike a different type of bargain – one based in trust and loyalty and the beginnings of love.

As the anthology contains stories of Regency summer weddings, I, naturally, followed suit. In fact, I have two weddings in my tale, but I shan’t share more than that, for it is a major plot point. We readers do not stand witness to Ainmire and Claire’s first wedding, but we do learn that it took place at St George’s of Hanover. St George’s, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne Churches) and is part of the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields. The church was designed by John James; its site was donated by General William Steuart, who laid the first stone in 1721. The building is one small block south of Hanover Square, near Oxford Circus. Because of its location, it has frequently been the venue for society weddings. Robert Hodgson would have served as rector at St George’s from 1803 to 1844.

St George’s Hanover Square in 1787 ~ Public Domain

Enjoy this short teaser and do not forget to leave a comment. I have 5 eBook copies of Regency Summer Weddings for those who comment on this post and the series of posts leading up to the anthology’s release on 5 July 2024.

“My lord,” Lady Ellison had said when she approached him at the Sherbathan ball, “May I give you the acquaintance of my niece, Lady Claire Waterstone?”

“My lady,” he had said, totally taken by surprise for the woman to approach him first. It just was not executed by a lady of quality. Moreover, she was dressed in a deep purple gown. Young women entering the marriage mart customarily wore white or pale shades of yellow and blue: This woman wore the colour of royalty. Perhaps she was a war widow. There were plenty of them in society these days. He did not care as long as the woman had a fortune which could save his beloved estate. 

“I am humbled, my lady,” he said with a proper bow, or at least English ballroom proper. Such “formalities” were less strict among those in Ireland. “I understand you are newly arrived in England.” 

“As are you,” she said in reply. What he had liked about her was she looked at him when she spoke to him. Her eyes were not on the floor. 

“Theoretically, Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom,” he countered. 

“As is India,” she said with a sly smile, which had caught him off guard, for he had been in London for nearly six weeks and had yet to earn the appreciation of any English lady he had thought could be a possible mate. He had been considering a return to his home, be it empty-handed. 

There had been a few women he had found attractive, but none wishing to hold more than a five minutes’ conversation with him. Ironically, Ainmire would not have initially chosen this particular woman to woo, but he had quickly changed his mind, for there was something unique about her that he found extremely attractive.

“I suppose it is, my lady,” he said with an answering smile. The musicians were tuning their instruments for the next set, and so, he said, “If you are not previously engaged to another for this set, I would be pleased to claim your hand.” 

“I fear the set is promised, my lord, but perhaps the one after supper.”

He had not planned to stay for the remainder of the ball and “do the pretty,” but, nevertheless, he had stayed “for her.” Though Ainmire had barely admitted his fascination to himself, he had assuredly not done so to his few acquaintances in England. Her initial refusal had not prevented him from securing her hand for a country waltz. 

Three weeks later, he had made her his wife.

Giveaway: Comment on any or all of the six posts featuring Regency Summer Weddings Anthology for a chance to win an eBook copy of the book. The giveaway ends on Friday, July 5. Winners will receive their copies of the book then. Good luck to all!

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