Interview with Jennifer Ross

Here's the next part of our monthly interviews with our authors. This month we're talking to Jennifer Ross, whose short story appears in No Law Against Love, Highland Press.

Why do you write historical?

I think it’s important to understand how we came to be where we are. I also think it’s fascinating! Even little things like expressions we still use today take on a whole new quality when we discover WHY we say them.

Take the way women were viewed, for example. The slow incremental steps that had us going from a piece of property indistinguishable from, say, a chair, to the really-close-to-complete-parity we have today. Every single one of those steps required a fight by the women of the time. I hate to think we take their sacrifices for granted.

What part of the Victorian era/setting do you write in?

At the moment, I’m in the very beginning of Victoria’s reign (and I say I’m in it because I spend so much of my time there it’s sometimes hard to return to the present).

What is it about the era that most intrigues you?

I didn’t pick the era, it just happens to be when the historical facts I’m writing about took place. But now that I’m here, I’m most intrigued by how quickly things are changing. Much like the 1990s and this decade (do you say the 2000s?) they were having an explosion of new technologies. Combine that with a new Sovereign, new countries, new morality, new wealth--it seems quite dizzying.

I also find it intriguing that the head of state of an ‘Empire where the sun never sets’ is one of those, you know, chair-like beings, and NOBODY seems to find that at all odd.

Where do you get your information?

Anywhere I can. I’ve read textbooks and diaries, visited archives and museums, and spend an incredible amount of time surfing the internet. I’ve joined Ancestry.ca and used to belong to the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions until they changed their policy to make individual memberships prohibitively expensive. I really miss access to the full collection a lot.

What are you working on now?

I’m finishing the edits on A Test of Loyalty, and just beginning to do research for the next story in the series.

How many books have you written?

I have published a short story with Highland Press and have a few other short stories drafted, but A Test of Loyalty will be my first full-length novel.

Do you write outside of the Victorian era, genre?

My published short story, A Frightful Misconception (in the No Law Against Love anthology) was contemporary. I’m also thinking about a third story in the Test series that will take place in the early 1900s.

What challenges have you faced in your career?

Name every challenge for an aspiring writer. My biggest challenge, I guess, is the terror I have at public speaking. I’ve done a few readings and things that resulted in disaster. They certainly did nothing to improve my confidence! Maybe that’s not fair. The last thing I did--a romance author panel at my library--went very well.

What is you writing schedule like?

Schedule? We’re supposed to have schedules? I work on some form of my story every day, but that doesn’t mean writing, necessarily. It might be as little as thinking through a plot point, or reading a census entry or website. Often it means critiquing others’ work so they’ll return the favour. The editing process is a lot different than the writing process, but I don’t think I’m any more organized with it. I have tried to ‘write every day’ as so many established authors suggest, but that only erodes what confidence I have in what I’m doing and results in more writer’s block, several pages of absolute garbage, and depression. I finally decided to do it the way that comes naturally to me, and I do think I’ve been more productive. Happier, anyway.

Goals - redux

It's September (do I hear a big wail?) So as summer theoretically wanes, I thought I'd revisit my 2007 goals. Not that I really remember what they were, but here goes.

I finished 2 stories this year, have revamped, revised, and rethought 2 more. I've blogged at least every week here and at Unusual Historicals, though not my personal blog. For the rest of the year, I plan on finishing at least another book and submitting, submitting, submitting.

And taking 2 more 'writing' vacations. Honest, writing is being done!

Victorian Music & Modern times

I love music, and wonder why it's taken me so long to do a post (or whatever) on it. I was watching Disney's Mickey and the Beanstalk a couple days ago, and in it Donald and Goofy are singing about how they're going to eat and eat until they die (they're starving peasants). Disney was a good one for this, using classical music set to their own words, but Warner Brothers did it, too, both with great success.

In this particular one, it's Funiculì, Funiculà, written by Peppino Turco with set to music by Luigi Denza in 1880. I know the tune (to the wrong words) , but the 'real' words make a lot more sense. I hope they'll get the sound of Goofy singing out of my head.

Though I still don't know what funiculi', funicula' means.

http://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/funiculifunicula.htm
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/funiculi.htm

Women & Music

Thought I'd continue with my theme on music. It's an important part of daily life, then and now. How often do you turn on the radio, pop in a CD, or hum your favorite theme song? OK, maybe not that last, but sometimes those things get trapped in your head and then you're stuck for the day.

In Women Musicians in Victorian Fiction, 1860-1900 by Phyllis Weliver (ISBN: 0754601269), she begins with For nineteenth-century society, music was a means by which women could display their gentility, education, their physical grace and express their 'selves'. Novelists were quick to employ this recognized way for women to project their personalities, and fictional scenes featuring women musicians served to reinforce or explore and challenge traditional views of the place of both women and music in society.

This was very true. Many women took piano lessons for years, and were the 'entertainment' so to speak at social gatherings. They played all the latest music, from Gilbert and Sullivan to pop-culture songs, to Beethoven and Mozart.

And they sang. Whether in dance halls or their own conservatory, many trained their voices. Mostly. I'm sure there will always be those "American Idol" wannabes who think they can sing but really can't.

Still, no matter how I search the internet, it's incredibly hard to find books, sites, or lists of music from this era. There are operas and plays listed, but not much on the every day level. Typing in a general time, I got something from Wikipedia, but as always with that site, take its info with a grain of salt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1882_in_music

Anyone else have site or books on this topic?

Music

The 'Victorian Era' is so long and encompasses so much, that it's nearly impossible to pick a trend or place or tune or much of anything. So I found a few sites on it, one really great one from the British Library. Or this one. This one is great (you need ActiveX to listen) Victorian Station.

Here are some children's songs, Nursery-songs.com. Again you can't listen to them only read the lyrics and see the illustrations. Worth it, but I'm not tune-ality inclined.

The Victorian Music Library allows you to borrow sheet music (at a cost). Here's their catalogue.

It was during this era that the gramophone came into use. Emile Berliner patented it, and records, in 1887. He was the first to use flat discs instead of cylinders. And was also the first to be able to mass produce them, making them cost effective and widely available. The first ones were made of glass, then zinc, and eventually plastic. [http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gramophone.htm]

There are a lot of other musical inventions and I'm sure a lot of other websites out there with songs and recordings you can listen to. Anyone have a favorite?

BELLEVUE HOUSE

Periodically, we scandalous Victorians discuss architecture. Here is a link to an excellent website that covers the subject (complete with pictures!)

On a recent trip to Kingston, Ontario, I visited Bellevue House. This home was built in 1841 by a leading merchant in the area. Fortunately for us, the home was rented in 1848 by the man who would become our first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. This happy fact meant that the house was preserved to that time and is now a National Historic Site--open to the public.

Bellevue House is an early version of the Italianate style of architecture, and I was surprised to discover that then, as now, these new forms of home design were met with ridicule and derision. This beautiful new home was known to its neighbours as the “Tea Caddy Castle,” “Molasses Hall,” or “Pekoe Pagoda.” Can you tell the merchant was a grocer? Sir John A., on the other hand, thought it a wonderful house, and called it “the most fantastic concern imaginable.” Of course, Macdonald was a visionary--he is the father of our country, after all.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/on/bellevue/natcul/index_E.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue_House

I made reservations for myself for the “tea and theatre” on Friday afternoon. Oh yes, I could get used to afternoon tea very happily, thank you. I even got to experience scones and clotted cream!

Jenn

author interview

Since we've been at this a while now--a year and a half give or take a few months--we've decided it's past time to give the Scandalous Victorians proper introductions. For the next 12 months, we'll be posting an interview the first Friday of every month featuring one of us.

The first to be drafted is one of our most prolific bloggers, Susan Macatee:


Why do you write historical?

That's easy. I love history, although back in high school, history was my least liked subject. I think my love of history started with reading historical fiction, then grew when I started to visit historic sites with my husband and three sons. I think my boys spent more time traipsing through museums and battlefields than at the beach or amusement parks. I love the atmosphere when visiting an actual site and imagining what happened there so long ago.

Next, my husband got into Civil War reenacting and pulled me right in. There's no better way to experience history than to live it, if only vicariously. But reenactors have to know so much more about the period they're representing and how people actually lived--how they dressed, what they ate, what they did for fun. That's what I'm most interested in. And it makes it much easier to write about a fictional character's life in the past.

What part of the Victorian era/setting do you write in?

So far, I've stuck to Civil War, because I know so much about it. It cuts down immensely on research. But some day I may venture into another historical period.

What is it about the era that most intrigues you?


The conflict. Brother against brother. A nation torn apart and all that. I always have my hero and heroine on opposing sides, so I have instant conflict. It's built in.

I also think the period was so romantic. The men in uniform marching off to battle. The love letters sent back and forth between soldiers and their women at home. Some of the preserved love letters were so beautiful.

Where do you get your information?


Books are my main source. I love reading first hand accounts of people who lived in the period. I also have books on clothing, and other necessary things, like the etiquette of the period. I even have a Civil War cookbook that my sister-in-law bought for me.

I also subscribe to a magazine for Civil War civilian reenactors, 'The Citizen's Companion', that supplies me with all sorts of interesting period information.

I use the Internet to research little things that I don't know or don't feel like pouring through all my history books to find, like the exact date of a particular battle. What regiments fought at which battle. For my fictional characters, I use fictional regiments. I look up the actual regiments and make up one that never existed. That way no one can point out that, for instance, the 2nd Virginia wasn't at the battle of Gettysburg.


What are you working on presently?


I'm writing a romance novel set during the Civil War that I've titled Katie Rose. The heroine's an Irish immigrant, who's disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Confederate Army, originally to fight beside her husband after Yankees invaded his family's small Virginia farm and killed his father. When the story opens, Katie is a widow after her husband was killed six months before at the battle at Antietam. She remains in the army and is making the rounds on horseback as a mail carrier.

The hero is a Virginia gentleman who's had a falling out with his father, a wealthy plantation owner. He'd been studying at a northern university before the war began and refused to join the Confederate army. After his father disowns him and his fiancee jilts him, he goes back to Pennsylvania and joins the Union Army. Because of his Southern background, he's recruited as a spy. He's on a scouting mission in civilian dress, when he comes across Katie on one of her mail runs.

How many books have you written?


I have one published young adult book, Under the Guns, also set during the Civil War. Before that book, I wrote a middle-grade ghost story that was never published. My first adult romance, Erin's Rebel, is a Civil War time travel. It's presently under consideration at Medallion Press.


Do you write outside of the Victorian era, genre?

I'm a big science fiction fan and am planning a futuristic romance trilogy set hundreds of years in the future on a faraway planet. The first book is still in the outline stage.
What challenges have you faced in your career?

The biggest is finding the time to do everything I want. When you work from home, everyone seems to think you're always available. It's forced me to adopt a strict schedule, otherwise I'd never get any writing done. But I also want to keep myself flexible enough to be able to switch gears among projects if I have to or to take time off for important family things.

What is your writing schedule like?

I try to keep weekday afternoons for writing. Since Katie Rose is currently my major project, I try to work on that first. I try to write at least three new pages on that book each day. So, my goal is at least 15 new pages per week. I'm also sending earlier chapters of that book to my critique group, so if a chapter is due, I have to go over it and revise it for critiquing. I also always have revising to be done after a chapter's been critiqued. If there's any time left, I might switch to another project. Moving between projects keeps me fresh. I very rarely get stuck. Right now, I'm revising a short story that I wrote about four years ago and had stuck in a drawer. It's about a vampire in a Civil War camp. I work until it's time to start dinner. The time after dinner I reserve for any critiquing I have to do.

It was a what...?

I've been trying to think of a new blog topic, but couldn't think of anything fun. That's actually a problem this week, thinking, but I've a week before my vacation and tons to do, a new story that need attention right now, and that ever-present work.

But then I thought of one. Trivia. It's fun, interactive, and you find the best tidbits out. I'll start, see if you can one-up me with the craziest, wackiest, most obscure piece of information you can find. The dates are 1837-1901, the first place is England, in honor of the woman who gave her name to the age.

One of London's most famous "male" doctors, Dr. James Barry, was discovered to be a woman upon her death in 1865.

http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/barry.html

Victorian Occult Beliefs, Part One

Victorians believed in legends of beings of mystical lore including that of the historic Wild Men. In them, European and Asian legends met Western pioneers and explorers for some interesting tales and compilations of sightings.

Although in modern times a number of academicians and politicians have propelled these legendary beasts into the arena of indigenous wildlife, during the Victorian era, sightings of unusual giant hairy men were part of lore, often evoking hysterics or awe.

Victorians loved a good scary tale and displays of the unusual. Polite parlour talk encompassed elements of the paranormal, in fact. Scintillating in its nature, such talk cross-pollinated cultural myths and ideas allowing many occult and mythical legends to combine. Nevertheless, such beings and beasts influenced the lives of Victorian folk.

Explorers across the globe encountered the legends of what Ancient European tribes dubbed the Wild Men, even giving them place in historic heraldry. Famed zoologist, Willy Ley wrote a vintage article that includes quotes from a book by Major L.A. Waddel about encountering signs of Yeti -- the Himilayan Wild Man or Abominable Snowman– on an expedition. A member of the India Medical Corps, Waddel’s book, Among the Himilayas, recounts the Sherpa guides descriptions of the Abominable Snowman or Yeti. In 1889, the Sherpa led the group down a glacier by following the footprints of Yeti, later compared to those of bear and other wildlife during the trek. They apparently were known to dwell at the tops of snowy peaks and were taken into account around much of Asia and on down to Indonesia by explorers.

In the Americas, Native American legends round up a garden variety of Sasquatch or Bigfoot accounts that reflect the European Wild Men stories. The names vary by tribe, from the Algonkian Windigo dubbed a ‘big brother’, to the Plains Cree Wetiko, to the Ojibway Rugaru who extrapolated the French term for werewolf, loup-garou as credited to the influence of French trappers and French-speaking missionaries. As one travels from tribe to tribe, the legends of the big hairy Wild Men change tone, ranging from abductions of Native American maidens to harbingers of danger to come. As the White Man interacted with the Native Americans while pioneering West and settling once indigenous territories, the settlers would’ve heard of the Wild Man. Some totem poles have been noted to display the Wild Man alongside other deified members of the Animal Kingdom.

In the Colonialized Eastern Seaboard and amongst the Pennsylvania Dutch, Germanic legends were imported and combined with other ancient European pagan stories of the Wild Men revered and even feared as deity. During the Victorian era, the Wild Man evolved into a jolly ole elf form more familiarly called Santa Claus. The Wild Man combined with Saint Nicholas legends and evolved from Robin Goodfellow and the Italian Harlequin and the Nordic Wode as well as other myths. An interesting treatment of the evolution of the legends is found in “Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Man” ISBN# 0786402466 by Phyllis Siefker.

Victorians had to wonder if those large tracks or warning howls were man or beast or something in between. Sometimes, they turned to occult methods to make a determination, or relegated any events or encounters unexplainable to the occult. For a more modern take on the long-standing legends, visit YouTube for an opinion by Dr. Jane Goodall, a legend in her own right.

To be continued.

The Art of Embalming

While working on my new Civil War romance, Katie Rose, I wrote a scene where the heroine, whose brother-in-law has just been killed at Gettysburg, is making arrangements with an embalmer to have his body shipped home to Virginia.

Prior to the American Civil War, funerals were handled by close family members and friends. But the large number of battle casualties and deaths from illness occurring such great distances from home, changed how the removal, preparation and burial of the dead was handled. http://www.stamfordhistory.org/cw_funeral.htm

Embalming the bodies of the dead became necessary to ensure that the body of a soldier could be returned to his family and laid to rest in the family plot.

"Dr. Thomas Holmes, the father of American embalming, was engaged by the medical department of the Union Army to set up battlefield embalming stations to enable the bodies of Union dead to be returned home. Numerous embalmers were trained in these new techniques, which included preparation of embalming fluids."
http://waterindustry.org/arsenic-3.htm

At this period in time, arsenic was used to keep the body sanitary and preserve it until burial.

Embalmers charged families about $7.00 for an enlisted man and $13.00 for an officer. They moved from one battlefield to the next, taking the comforts of home with them. http://www.nmfh.org/exhibits/holmes/index.html

At the end of the war, embalmers who worked with the military returned to their homes taking their new skills with them.

Wyoming Firsts

I was watching the History Channel the other day, no surprise there. But their new series The States was on, and they were talking about Wyoming. It became a U.S. territory on July 25, 1868.

Reports of its vastness, beauty, and natural formations were thought to be greatly exaggerated. Accounts by Jim Bridger and John Colter (of the Lewis & Clarke Expedition) were dismissed as tall tales. How little did they know.

Once government sponsored expeditions to the Yellowstone country were
undertaken, the previous reports by men like Colter and Bridger were found to be
true. This led to the creation of Yellowstone National Park, which became the
world's first National Park in 1872.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming#History

But that’s not the point. The point is Votes for Women. (See previous blog.) As in Wyoming was the first to grant such. Yeah, sure, they wanted to ensure enough votes to be admitted as a state, but that’s almost secondary to the fact that they did it! Just check out their motto: The Equality State.

In fact, according to the History Channel thing, Wyoming refused to repeal women’s suffrage just because the U.S. didn’t want women in other states to get fanciful ideas in their pretty little heads. They were content to wait until the rest of the Union caught up with them, rather than take away suffrage.

Gotta admire that.

More Wyoming women firsts:
1869 Suffrage to women
1870 Women served on a jury in Laramie
1870 First female court bailiff (Mary Atkinson)
1870 First femal justice of the peace (Esther Hobart Morris)
1924 First elected female governor (Nellie Tayloe Ross)

If they could do it, why’d it take the rest of the country so long to catch up?

Electric Chair--What I didn't need to know

There is no reason I need to know this. But I was researching the history of the telephone on the Internet (which I do need to know for my WIP) and mentioned to my husband that the telephone was invented in Boston. He very smugly said "I knew that" and then went on to say that Edison was the one who invented the electric chair as proof that it was dangerous. "Noooo," said I, and then went on to surf the net to prove--yeah, he's right.

From About.com http://inventors.about.com/od/hstartinventions/a/Electric_Chair.htm, in 1887 Edison (who was one of my personal heroes before learning this) put a bunch of poor animals on an electric plate and shot current through it to show how dangerous AC current was. Apparently it was part of a smear campaign against Westinghouse, Edison's competitor. Edison was a DC kind of guy. Me, I don't know the difference between the two. I don't really care. I don't think the animals did either.

Shortly after that, in 1888, New York established electrocution as the official form of capital punishment for the state.

And so many people think about the Victorian era nostalgically as a better, gentler time! Hah!

I really did not need to know this, and I have no intention to use it ever in any of my books. That being said, I do have a morbid fascination with crime and punishment. . . . .

What Would Queen Victoria Think, Today? An Exercise in Writing

My quill pen is in my hand. It's dipped in blood red ink. Here's what's going on.

Characterizations for my Victorian novel are underway. They're being beefed up, today. That said, I’m turning off the charm, and looking at the character depth. My newest critique group is named, Brutal Honesty. It epitomizes my new approach to revisions – brutally honest.

I'm writing-in Queen Victoria as a ‘magic helper’ role in my novel. She was simply a whisper in the background and will now become a lion’s roar. She’ll create a moment of change in the storyline where one is missing. The hero-myth, as used in storytelling, presents the magic helper as the character who injects wisdom at a critical moment. The hero or heroine is able, then, to proceed.

So. How to write her in when she's half a world away?

Easily with letters. Victoria was a prolific letter writer and wrote to anyone who was anyone. My heroine has a moral dilemma – quite the quandary. The hero is not destined to be my heroine’s husband. Will they have an affaire? Victoria will write to my heroine, spouting her morality which has been succeeding in expanding her world, literally. What advice would Victoria be spewing in her letter? For she was known to take the proverbial bull by the horns in respect to moral issues and not just in the Peerage or the Aristocracy.

Victoria put in place morality laws and elevated social structure to clean up the image of the royalty. She wanted shining examples at the top. It went along with her expansionism that has never been surpassed. Insisting on impeccable backgrounds and behavior for her own spouse and those of her children, she’d advise my heroine not to have an affaire. In the letter, she believes her high morals are the reason for her success in love and matters of state.

She’d roll over in her grave, today, observing what remains of her value system within her progeny in England. Never would she have allowed a scandlized mistress to marry an heir to the throne, nor allowed wild young royals to live together out of wedlock. She won’t condone my heroine entertaining an affaire even though its with the heartthrob of a hero. Because my heroine is a courtier in another court that is more interested in emulating the decadence of the French court, my heroine's strong Christian upbringing is challenged.

Victoria's economizing traits, however, trickled down amongst some of her descendents, though not all. She’d approve of the tendency to turn off as many lights as possible and of using tea bags twice. Over spending on ball gowns was not her style, though, as she used her coffers to create the most formidable navy ever seen, for example. Twice the size of any other country’s forces. Today's group of royals are tending to forget they're essentially civil servants and their allowances are too high for them to be above reproach when compared to other heads of state for frivolity in the face of the public. Disposable wardrobes may be a problem, today, but in Victoria's time, she even re-used the laces and buttons from prior generations, and so did her aristocratic peers. My heroine, therefore, receives a number of reminders from her distant friend.

Economizing in other areas, though, allowed Victoria to focus on what she valued, such as information gathering in a quickly changing world. Emulating the German’s, Victoria focused heavily on creating spy networks, not wanting to be left behind. Real spies, for example, never participated in brothel offerings and attended church regularly. They were nicknamed, ‘ghosts.’ My noble hero happens to be spying, and so needs to remain above reproach, himself. Spies who broke the rules in the Victorian era were considered despicable fellows ever after. My hero has to make moral choices in his income potentials in the spy world, and in maintaining morals high enough to be eventually considered worthy of my heroine.

Victoria would roll over in her grave, today, at intelligence faux pas such as the mistakes in the War on Terrorism and chasing after weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. Her spies weren’t put out to pasture in the manner of disrespect that occurs, today. Former members of Military Intelligence retire and then live in fear of black helicopters circling their homes as they stroll to the corner market and post such fears on web sites. Spies in the Victorian era were held in truly high esteem, and retired into elevated endeavors. The gifted Sir Robert Baden Powell came to the forefront on such matters, founding the Boy Scout moment which taught young males the same high value system instilled in the spies in Victoria's national espionage teams.

I’ve decided, then, on Queen Victoria’s role in my novel. She'll be a story complication and her successful morality movement a wrench in the cogs of the romance for my hero and heroine. Both my hero and heroine have much at stake if they break the Victorian social taboos being propelled forward by the most powerful queen in history.

It'll give them more to think about.

Scrapbooking

It's all the rage. EVERYONE does it (OK, I don't. It requires patience and creativity I don't have.) It's new, it's exciting, it's...Victorian?

Another favorite pastime of both adults and children alike is the keeping of a scrapbook which is a collection of pictures on a subject of interest.

These scraps or "cutouts" can be printed in either black and white or in color, and either embossed or diecut. The collector fills his album with pictures grouped in themes, interspersed with personal notes, lines of poetry or dedications from family and friends.

Delighting in romanticism and sentimentality, popular scrapbook subjects include angels, children, birds, butterflies, pets, and fans. Also popular are military and naval themes as well as scraps depicting circus and seaside outings.

Victorians At LeisureThe Victorian Scrapbook

They scrapbooked cards, pictures from catalogs, Valentines, poems from admirers, sayings, anything they wanted to keep and remember. Sound familiar? OK, so they didn't invent them, but they did popularize them. Early scrap albums were looked upon as an extension of the diary and likewise used for the recording of personal mementoes and thoughts.

Princess Beatrice Contributed to Literature, Part 1


As the youngest of Queen Victoria's children, Beatrice's lot in life was to remain close to her mother. Even after Victoria's death on January 22, 1901, Beatrice spent much of the remainder of her years devoted.

Appointed literary executor of her mother's estate, Beatrice's daunting task was to edit Victoria's considerable volumes of diaries. The upside was that the diaries had been meticulously maintained.

In an era when letter-writing was begrudgingly prized, and journalizing was practically required, Queen Victoria had written more than most. Compelled to tear out incriminating or hurtful pages, Beatrice burned what was best buried with her mother, in her estimation. She dutifully copied by hand what remained into 111 volumes of notebooks provided by the court stationers, Parkins & Grotto.

What was omitted from the final versions of Queen Victoria's diaries is irreplaceable. On the other hand, the edited versions may have warranted some semblance of privacy in the very public world of Queen Victoria.

Another game

But this is a sports-related (online) board game. OK, so it's from a UK primary school, but it's fun! And it's short - there are only a couple questions but some interesting facts. The links open in a 2nd window.

Sports in Victorian Times

Happy Independence Day, America!

The 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia was attended by millions. It's not every year you can celebrate your country's 100th anniversary, and those Victorians weren't letting this party pass them by. Plus, this was the first ever world's fair. An event not to be missed.

They were emerging from Reconstruction, and there was the successes of science, industry, and cultural exchange on an unprecedented level. There was everything from a giant Corliss steam engine and Turkish scarf dancers, to hundreds of replicas of fishes. [link]

The idea of the Centennial Exposition is credited to John L. Campbell. In December 1866, Campbell first suggested to Philadelphia’s mayor, William Strumberg Stokley, that the Centennial be celebrated with an exposition in there. It was, after all, the place the Declaration was signed.

Celebrations started as early as May 10, 1876 - there was a lot to see and do, had to start early.

Philadelphia was astir with the excitement of anticipation as a whole nation,
well prepared by months of publicity, waited. The day was May 10, 1876, and in a
few hours the President of the United States and the Emperor of Brazil would
open in Fairmount Park the great International Exhibition to celebrate the
centennial year of American independence.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Games & Hobbies

It's summer so of course my mind turns to games - usually of the outdoor type but there are rainy days when you need to entertain yourself, too. I'll blog about that another day. Unless someone else wants to take that one?

There are sports (croquet, cricket, football, and boxing) and then there were the children's games. Now, one site I read has Games and Sewing under the same heading. As in girls sewed for fun. I'm not seeing this, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who do sew for fun. And I will gladly pay you to do any sewing I may need.

It was also an era when the rules were introduced. Marquess of Queensbury Rules for Boxing was just one. (I learned of these rules through The Quiet Man, that cool ending between John Wayne and Victor McLaglen. Great fight there!)

Rule # 11? No shoes or boots with springs allowed.

Well obviously.

President Garfield is shot 1881

Who? you're probably wondering. Yes, he was a US president - the 19th. Yes, he was shot. But who was he? The second president to be assassinated. He was in office for 4 whole months, and was killed by a disgruntled non-employee. You really do have to be careful of all the lunatics out there.

"...an attorney and political office-seeker named Charles Guiteau. He was a
relative stranger to the president and his administration in an era when federal
positions were doled out on a “who you know” basis. When his requests for an
appointment were ignored, a furious Guiteau stalked the president, vowing
revenge." History.com

Where were the Secret Service? As we know it, they didn't exist. Garfield was walking to the train that was to take him on a short vacation when Guiteau walked up behind him and fired 2 rounds. The first grazed Garfield’s arm, and the second lodged below his pancreas.

History of the Secret Service:

• Created on July 5, 1865 in Washington, D.C., to suppress counterfeit currency.
• In 1867 their responsibilities were broadened to include "detecting persons perpetrating frauds against the government." This appropriation resulted in investigations into the Ku Klux Klan, non-conforming distillers, smugglers, mail robbers, land frauds, and a number of other infractions against the federal laws.
• 1894 they began informal part-time protection of President Cleveland.
• 1901 Congress informally requested Secret Service Presidential protection following the assassination of President William McKinley. (The 3rd President assassinated.)

Historical accounts vary as to the exact cause of Garfield’s death. Some believe
that the physicians’ treatments—which included the administration of quinine,
morphine, brandy and calomel and feeding him through the rectum--may have
hastened his demise. Others insist Garfield died from an already advanced case
of heart disease. History.com

I'm going with A...I'm sure the B cause of death was circulated by the idiot doctors who fed him through the rectum. Ewwww.

Do you play...croquet?

It's my favorite line from Alice in Wonderland. No, I don't know if it's from the books (though I suspect it is) or even which book it'd be from. It's from the Disney version. The Queen of Hearts is fantastic in it (as always), and asks Alice that line when Alice inadvertently stumbles onto her royal highness' kingdom. The king doesn't count here.

I've played croquet all my life, it was a favorite past time at my grandparents where my brother and cousin would play together in their large back yard. There were obstacles, fences, houses, window wells, flowers, and trees. It was great. Recently we invented our own 'house rules' version. The rules were difficult and changed with the person in the lead, but it made for some pretty interesting games.

It was also a favorite past time of the Victorians. The game as we know it was apparently invented in Ireland in the 1830s. It spread, though somewhat slower here in the states and Canada, but remains popular. And there are even professional games. I expect the competition is fierce.

What other 'modern' games have you played that can trace their origins to our era?

http://www.playcroquet.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet

http://www.croquet.com/croquet/croquetrulesarticle.cfm

Erich Maria Remarque born 1898

You know, the author of the World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front.

What does his birth have to do with the Victorian Era?

Very little, actually. But it was a great book, and I highly recommend it.

The celebrated American journalist H. L. Mencken called All Quiet on the
Western Front "unquestionably the best story of the World War." Both the book
and the 1930 film version were banned by the Nazis after their rise to power in
Germany in 1933 as “prejudicial to German national prestige.” Remarque went on
to write nine more novels, all dealing with the horror and futility of war and
the struggle to understand its purpose; his last novel, The Night in Lisbon, was
unsparing in its condemnation of World War II as Adolf Hitler’s attempt to
perpetrate the extermination of Jews and other “nonpeople” on behalf of the
“master race.”
http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=699

And I had no idea he was married to Paulette Goddard! Cool.

Anyway...

The era as a whole had significant impact on the 20th century - we can still see the ramifications today. You can study WWII all you want, but without understanding WWI, you have very little hope of getting anything. And without studying the convoluted alliances of the late 1800s, you have very little hope of understanding WWI.

It's a vicious cycle.

But it does prove that all history is connected, and confirms that old adage "Those who don't understand history are destined to repeat it."

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Victorian Names

This is something that I often have a difficult time with as a writer--choosing names for my characters. It's hard enough writing contemporary novels. A name can say a lot about a character. To write in a previous era, however, you not only have to choose a name that tells the reader about the character, but you need to find one that works in the period. A period that, as most of us know, if often misunderstood as prudish or ultra-conservative. Thus, often the names that were used back then deliver the same feeling.

Anyway, that was this morning's dilemma. I found a site:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~poindexterfamily/OldNames.html

with names from the era, taken from genealogy records. It was gratifying to me to note that most of the names I've chosen over the years are on this list.

Researching What I Don't Know

A discussion on the Hearts Through History Romance Writers loop inspired this blog.

In my time travel romance, Erin's Rebel, the hero, a Confederate officer, is in one of the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, when Yankee shelling causes the trench to collapse, burying him.

He's pulled out but suffers a few broken ribs and a broken leg. My dilemma was--what did they do for broken bones during the Civil War? Were they limited to splints or had Plaster of Paris come into use by then?

Off to the web I went to do research. I checked a few Civil War medicine sites, but could find nothing pertaining to broken bones. Most sites listed very specific info about amputations, but nothing about how they set bones.

Yikes! I didn't want to cut off my hero's leg, just lay him up for a few weeks, while the heroine frantically searched for him.

So, I tried another approach. I searched for the origins of the use of Plaster of Paris for the setting of bones.

What I found was that Plaster of Paris came into use as early as 1852, nine years before the American Civil War began. In fact, even before that time ... "The orthopedic cast had been used since the 1800s. During the Crimean War, other materials that would harden into a cast were used to set broken bones." http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-orthopedic-cast.htm

This version was heavier than the Plaster of Paris cast that came into use later and required the patient to be confined to bed. http://www.castliner.com/history.html

"Plaster of Paris bandages were introduced in different forms by 2 army surgeons .... A brief note describing his" ... (Antonius Mathijsen 1805-1878) ... "method was published on January 30, 1852; it was followed shortly by more complete accounts. In these accounts Mathijsen emphasized that only simple materials were required and the bandage could be quickly applied without assistance. The bandages hardened rapidly, provided an exact fit and could be windowed and bivalved easily. Mathijsen used coarsely woven materials, usually linen, into which dry Plaster of Paris had been rubbed thoroughly. The bandages were then moistened with a wet sponge or brush as they were applied and rubbed by hand until they hardened." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_(orthopedic)

So, while they had shortages of all kinds of supplies during the Civil War and likely used splints and amputations as remedies in the field hospital, if a patient made it as far as a civilian or military hospital, plaster casts could have been used, since they existed well before the 1860s.

Since my hero is being cared for by his friend, a Confederate physician who's set up a hospital in the home of a Petersburg civilian, I decided that his friend could have squirreled away some supplies. And since the materials to make Plaster of Paris casts are simple and the cast could be applied by the physician without assistance, he'd be able to make a Plaster of Paris cast.

And my hero could keep his leg.

Sources: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-orthopedic-cast.htm
http://www.castliner.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast_(orthopedic)

Wallace D. Wattles, Genius or Victorian Flim-Flam?

Wallace Delois Wattles (1860-1910) began his most famous book, THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH, with these words:
"Whatever may be said in the praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a complete or successful life unless one is rich. You cannot rise to your greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless you have plenty of money. For to unfold your soul and to develop talent you must have many things to use, and you cannot have these things unless you have money with which to buy them."
I'd call Wattles a genius - with a humorous streak! He said his writing was intended for "the men and women whose most pressing need is for money; who wish to get rich first and philosophise afterward."
His work is in the public domain. I've downloaded three of his books at no cost.
My most pressing need at the moment is losing weight, quickly, easily, and painlessly. So, my first priority has been to study his book, THE SCIENCE OF BEING WELL.
Somehow, this 19th century man, who lived in poverty most of his life - until he died a wealthy man in Elmwood, Indiana - came to know many things now supported by cutting-edge science.
He writes: "The Power that Heals is in the patient himself, and whether it shall become active or not does not depend upon the physical or mental means used, but upon the way the patient thinks about these means." In other words, he knew about the placebo effect.
Wattles also gives relaxation techniques, breathing exercises and biofeedback techniques - all in flowing Victorian language.
Here are some of his Chapter Headings:
8. Summary of the Mental Actions, 9. When To Eat, 10. What To Eat, 11. How To Eat, 12. Hunger and Appetites, 13. In A Nutshell (This goes into the rule of not eating until you have an earned hunger.) 14. Breathing, 15. Sleeping, etc.

The third readily available Wattles book is THE SCIENCE OF BEING GREAT. After I'm both thin and rich, I plan to tackle it!

Picture Pages

With the help of Mary Ann, I've added another picture page, this one of the American West.

http://home.comcast.net/~dleagan61/index_files/Page298.htm

We've got an old courthouse up there, which is now a museum, and the Driskell Hotel of Austin, opened 1886. It has some very cool old architecture including cow gargoyles, like the one pictured here. The hotel is still thriving today:

http://www.driskillhotel.com/

And there's a wonderful picture of a woman on a sidesaddle on the western page also! Because as rough and rugged as the old West was, when women could, they did their best to conform to Victorian societal rules, including using a sidesaddle.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be uploading more images on this pages, and creating other pages with more Victorian pictures, including Civil War photos and pictures from Newport RI, which I recently visited (and will be returning to).

Victorian Games

OK, we all know Victorians were into games - cards, croquet, tennis, you name it, they did it, invented it, or expanded upon it. Modern poker comes from the American West, as does the precursor of Pinochle, Bezique.

But the games they really excelled in was one of status. The upper class may have been involved in reforms, but they wanted to maintain their own status more than they wanted to change the world. Fashion, punctuality, manners, etiquette, you name it, they knew it. And anyone who didn't, was shunned and considered of the lower class.

So let's play a little game: How much do you know about Victorian etiquette? The Keys to History site has a great game where you can test your knowledge of the time and fashion. Victoriana

What's your high score?

Making a household name for yourself

Well, Lord Stanley certainly went about it the right way. The Stanley Cup finals are on, featuring my Ottawa Senators against the Anaheim Ducks. (Oh, sorry, I’m talking about ice hockey.) So I figured this was a perfect time to discuss our Governor-General, The Earl of Derby (Lord Stanley of Preston).

Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Preston, was the second son of the 14th Earl of Derby, British Prime Minister (3 times) in the 1850's and 1860's. I can’t say I like the dad much, he fought with my Earl Grey (mine because he’s in my story) and was responsible for, and then refused to repeal, the Canadian Corn Laws. But that was the dad, not Lord Stanley.

Baron Stanley of Preston was appointed Canadian Governor-General in May of 1888. While Governor-General, he travelled extensively throughout Canada and the one thing he noticed all regions had in common was our love of playing ice hockey. Rules were somewhat different in each area, but he thought that if he encouraged a fair game with rules that were generally accepted, it might bring some cohesiveness to what is, let’s face it, a very disparate country. In 1892 he announced a challenge cup for the champion hockey team in the Dominion.

The cup has changed a bit over the years, but as the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in North America, I guess that must be expected.

Stanley Cup today

Stanley Cup 1893

Lord Stanley held the Governor-General’s post until his older brother, the 15th Earl of Derby, died in 1893. He became the 16th Earl of Derby and had to go home.

I can’t think of any historical figure we Canadians talk about more. Certainly not our first Prime Minister–many of us don’t even know his name. But I THINK its general knowledge that Lord Stanley was a Governor-General of Canada, and that’s where we got the Stanley Cup.

So let that be a lesson to all you political types out there. You want us to remember you–give us a prize!

Our Pictures, and Andersonville Prison

Last year after RWA’s national conference in Atlanta, I took a tour of Andersonville National Historic site, named for the infamous Civil War prison. I meant to blog about it earlier, along with creating a web page of pictures, but the way life gets in the way—well I didn’t figure out how to do it until now.

Anyway for those who don’t know, Andersonville (in Georgia) was a prison built at the end of the Civil War when the South was in its last throes. It was basically a stockade fence surrounding twenty-seven acres of land. There was no shelter and very little in the way of firewood. In this prison were incarcerated over a period of 6 months, 45,000 men. In June of ’64 it was so crowded that each prisoner had only 32.3 square feet of space to himself—and this included the swamp in the middle of the prison. The conditions there were so horrible that of the 45,000 men, roughly 1/3—13,000—died there. This doesn’t include the amount of men who died later due to health problems suffered at the prison.

What did they die of? Dysentery was probably the number one killer. The men’s only water source was a stream that ran through the camp and came to a swamp at the bottom of a hill. It was probably polluted even before it entered the prison by confederate soldiers using it on the outside, and was never sufficient in the first place. Worse, the men inside the prison used the swamp as an outdoor latrine. Drinking the water, therefore, was deadly and the men took to collecting water during rainstorms.

Food was a problem also. Let’s remember for a moment that it was difficult for the Confederacy to feed and clothe its own soldiers at this point. It would be small wonder that they could do nothing for the prisoners, either. The food they did get was often of poor quality—poorly ground corn that could make dysentery far worse—and few if any vegetables. Many died of scurvy. Even when they were fed, the food was raw and there was no firewood to cook it.

And this was bad enough if you were incarcerated in good condition. Consider the men who came in injured or already malnourished. It’s a wonder that any of them survived at all, which is probably what I find so fascinating about it. Not man’s inhumanity to man really, but the ability of men to survive the worst conditions, and the kindness, compassion, and consideration shown under those conditions. I am not a Civil War historian, and certainly not nearly as knowledgeable as some of my fellow bloggers (waving specifically to Susan!) so I will probably never write a story surrounding Andersonville. Still, I find it interesting enough that more than one of my heroes was incarcerated there and bear the emotional scars from it.

Anyway, I could write a complete book about this subject but why bother when there are so many good books out there? I will refer you to the best (in my humble opinion) John Ransom’s Andersonville Diary. And, for those less inclined to reading there’s the movie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115097/ which is where I first heard about it. Of course, I now own the movie :).

You can check out the pictures I took here:

http://home.comcast.net/~dleagan61/index.htm

And of course there are other sites all over the web with pictures. For those interested, here’s the web link for the park itself.

http://www.nps.gov/ande/

But I didn’t find it all that informative.

And yes, the North had some fairly horrible prisons too, I just haven't visited them yet. Bear with me, I'm sure I will soon enough!

Cutty Sark

The world’s sole surviving extreme clipper, Cutty Sark was built in 1869, and launched November 22. In 1951, Prince Philip took possession of it on behalf of The Cutty Sark Society. The Society was formed by Frank Carr, Director of the National Maritime Museum, and patronised by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip).

Today, a devistating fire swept through it.

A spectacular fire caused heavy damage to the clipper ship Cutty Sark on Monday,
adding millions to the cost of restoring one of London's proudest maritime
relics. [AP GREENWICH, England (May 21)]

Here's the link to the rest of the article.

The Internet

I probably blogged about this before, and will no doubt do so again, but I once more feel the need to say how convenient the internet is to research. Most non-students don't like Wikipedia, but I adore it. OK, I admit to double checking those facts once I find what I'm looking for, but I do use it as a starting point. Why? It's fast, easy, and generally knows what I'm looking for even if I type in generalities.

Wikipedia aside, Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com are right up there for me. How much easier is it to type in 'mourning rituals Victorian' or 'railroads Leeds' and find a great link (usually with supporting references) than plowing through book after book, and hoping you've got the right one to begin with?

I love books, and don't think they're at all passé as people seem to believe these days. The book will never go out of style. But come on! In 10 minutes, you can go online, search, read, and get back to your story. Minus the requisite reading email, getting lost in the history, and taking a tangent to traveling customs when really, all I wanted was to see when the Leeds train went to London!

Goals Redux

Two weeks ago (ok, ok, FINE! Closer to 3) I posted a blog on how I hadn't done on bit of my 2007 goals. I can now safely revise that.

The first of our (now) 4 part Victorian Erotica is finished. Done. Complete. *Sigh*
We'll be sending it out this week. *Nerves*
We'll also be taking another look at Book 2's plot and the 15 or so pages we have of it. *Groan*

But hey, Book 1 is finished! I can't thank my fellow Scandalous Victorians enough for their wonderful comments, facts, and encouragement.

The Lost Art of Letter Writing

With e-mail, instant messaging, cellular phones, as well as land-line telephones, we of the 21st century don't need to write letters to communicate and keep in touch with friends and family. But during the Victorian era, writing long letters was an important form of communication.

During the Civil War, with families being separated for long lengths of time, letters became vital for both the soldiers and their families back home.

According to Bell Irwin Wiley, author of: The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union, "... letter writing was one of the most pervasive of camp diversions." Civil War regiments sent out an average of 600 letters per day.

Letter writing soldiers often had to improvise. They wrote by candlelight, sitting on the ground, using another soldier's back or a knapsack as a writing surface. They also used such things as "... knees, tin plates, books, cracker boxes or drumheads." The Life of Billy Yank ... p. 184.

Writing paper varied in quality from fancy stationery to ruled pages torn from record books. While men preferred to write with pen and ink, they often had to rely on lead pencils. Soldiers Blue and Gray ... p. 105

They wrote about such things as battles, health, weather and new places and people they'd seen and met.

Soldiers also looked forward to receiving letters from home. One New Jersey soldier wrote in a letter to his family: "You can have no idea what a blessing letters from home are to the men in camp. They make us better men, better soldiers." Soldiers Blue and Gray ... p. 114

Men who felt they hadn't received letters from their loved ones frequently enough would write angry letters home, demanding their loved ones write back to them.

Some of the most beautiful love letters were written by lonely soldiers to their wives and sweethearts.

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Union soldier, Sullivan Ballou to his wife, dated July 14, 1861, while contemplating the possibility of his death in battle:

"But O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night--amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours -- always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by." http://www.civil-war.net/pages/sullivan_ballou.asp
Click the above link for the complete letter, plus samples of others.

Another site where you can find samples of actual Civil War letters is:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/letters.htm

People of the Victorian period were sentimental and their letters show it.

Sources: The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union by Bell Irwin Wiley
Soldiers Blue and Gray by James I. Robertson, Jr.

http://www.civil-war.net/pages/sullivan_ballou.asp
http://www.civilwarhome.com/letters.htm

Synopsis

As I bang my head against my computer desk I realize it's probably not helping. Funny thing is, no matter how hard I bang, the words I need aren't appearing on the screen. I think that's highly unfair. Erato, the muse of erotic poetry and the closest I can get to what I'm doing now, is laughing. I'm certain I can hear her.

I can tell the story, that's not the problem. I can plot it and play with it and plan it out until it's all nice and neat. Everything's ordered. Everything works. I've got a story! A wonderful, pretty, finished, story.

I just can't tell you what it's about. My order's gone. I forget key points, but are they really key? I mean should I put them in because they're secondary characters. But what if the story only makes half sense because they're not there? Or will it muck it all up if I do put them in, and throw off whatever flow I manage to organize?

AHHHHHHHHHH!

OK, that didn't actually make me feel better, but this blog did. I think I'll put the 1 1/4 pages it's taken me a week to write away for now. I'm sure there's something else I can write in the meantime.

Being Held Accountable

In the past few weeks, I have struggled with finding time to write. No, that’s not true. I have struggled with making time to write. But I’ve had that old lifus interruptus creeping up on me again. I tell myself “Okay, as soon as I finish doing (you fill in the blank), I’ll have time to write.” Yeah, snort. Tell that to my kids. Or my husband. Or the job. Or any of the other people, places or things that conspire to get in the way of some good solid writing time.

But the release date for my Wild Rose Press release "The Model Man" has been set for November 1; first round edits went back to my editor on May 1 and she has promised to get second round edits back to me no later than July 1. The pressure is on – and doggone it, I’m going to finish Wild Texas Wind before I dive back into The Model Man again. It has been set aside one too many times.

So I’ve set up a plan to get back to writing every day. I didn’t give myself a set number of pages for each day, that never works for me. I get too caught up in “but I did more yesterday” or the “I failed” mentality on the days I don’t meet my goal. Worse, I find myself writing longer sentences in order to make the goal. (Ex: he stalked across the room becomes he strode across the room slowly and with great purpose. For those of you who know how much I hate “ly” words, you know I’m only making work for myself down the road. I’ll be editing that out.).

But the twist this time is being held accountable for the number of pages I write. I’ve asked my two closest CP’s to nag me. Non-stop. And it’s working. Knowing that at the end of the day I have to report to someone how many pages I actually wrote really helps to motivate me. And finding messages in my inbox first thing in the morning that say things like “why are you checking e-mail when you’re supposed to be writing?” remind me to stay focused on my goal.

And I’m amazed at how well it’s gone. Yesterday I had one of “those” days. I’ll spare you the details, but it was definitely one of “those” days --by eight a.m. Not the big smack in the teeth life sends our way every so often, but a series of little slaps and pinches that added up to one big, stressful “Ouch!” Normally a day like that would find me diving headfirst into a bowl of ice cream the size of a swimming pool – to heck with writing, I need comfort food!

At one point, I told myself “ahh, when Paty hears what kind of day I had today she’ll understand why I couldn’t write.” Directly on the heels of that thought came the realization – no she won’t! She’ll say I should have written through it. So I did. And instead of that bowl of ice cream I settled for a second cup of coffee, figuring the caffeine would either worsen my mood or perk me up. (For the record, it did both). At the end of the day, when the dust had settled, I only ended up with about four pages. But it’s four more than I had, so I won’t beat myself up over that. And when I told Paty about my horrible morning, and how I’d still managed to crank out a few pages, I got a wonderful cheerleader-perky note back telling me to keep going.

So I learned an important lesson yesterday. Being accountable to someone for the number of pages I write in a day works for me.

How do you motivate yourself to write?

History - defined and debated

A co-worker of mine recently returned from a library conference and brought me back a few stacks of paper on reader's advisory (how to advise people who've read it all and want something new that's just like their favorite authors). In one, the speaker talked about "Historical Fiction -- Imaging History" and uses this quote to define it:

"A fictional work (mainly novels) set before the middle of the last century, and
ones in which the author is writing from research rather than personal
experience. This usually means that the novels will take place before the
author's life and times.'" [Sarah L. Johnson Historical Fiction: A Guide to
the Genre].

It then goes on to describe Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose and the controversy: "Because Stegner based this work on the real life of Mary Hallock Foote issues of artistic license have been raised."

Mary Hallock Foote's letters were later published as A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West.

Paranoia - that one sentence makes me think (unreasonably) that I should never use a real person in a fictional work. And let me tell you, it's way too late now! I have no intention of taking out Queen Victoria from Birthrite, nor do I plan on rearranging the 3rd book in that series to take out the Khedives of Egypt and Sudan, specifically Tewfik. Just because they're not integral to the story doesn't mean I don't want them there for historic reasons.

But back to Stegner's story. It's obviously fiction. He even won the Pulitzer in 1972 for fiction. If even the Pulitzer people recognize it as fiction, then why are these artistic license questions raised?

Because he changed Mary Hallock Foote, to Susan Burling Ward. He never acknowledged that change until Mary's letters were published.

Granted, Stegner should've said this was a fictionalized version of Mary’s story, especially since he used whole passages from her letters. Is that the same as using a speech given by Victoria? It's hard to say, but my answer is no. Now, you can check Victoria's speeches on the internet. In 1971, you couldn't, and had those letters not been published, would anyone have known?

Then again, this is a fictionalized version of the story. Whole letters aside, how much could he really know about the circumstances surrounding Mary’s life and loves from her correspondence alone?

What are your thoughts?

Genre-Jumping

I've been writing toward publication for about twelve years, but had only considered writing romance for the past five. Although I'd read a few romances here and there, the genre really didn't turn me on.

As a teenager, I was preoccupied with science fiction and read that genre voraciously.

Yeah, I was geek!

Although I'd dabbled in writing for years, it wasn't until my youngest son started first grade that I stared writing toward publication focusing on stories for children and young adults. But I found it hard to break into that market. Meanwhile, I'd been reading about the enormous market for romance novels.

Hmm, I thought, maybe I should investigate that.

I started searching out and reading romances that looked interesting. There were historicals, time travels, paranormals and even futuristic romances. I was like a kid in a candy store. So many genres to chose from.

I joined Romance Writers of America four years ago, and haven't looked back. Right now, I've got one time-travel romance submitted to a publisher, one historical in the first draft stage, and a series of futuristic romances under development.

I even re-vamped my website to reflect my genre-jumping urges.

I don't want to be limited in what I write. While I love the Civil War era and plan to write more stories set in that period, I also want to travel to distant planets and meet aliens.

While writing is a lot of work, it should also be a lot of fun. I'm making every effort to keep it that way.

2007 Goals

Susan (who's always on top of these things) gave me the jolt I needed to examine my writing goals. I wish I hadn't. And we were doing so well, too, on vacation. In the sun, with the view, and no disctractions.

Does it work if they're accomplished anytime in 2007? Or should I be adding new ones as I complete the old ones?

Needless to say, I'm hanging my head in shame...

Serviettes, Important as Fans for Flirting and Function

Ruminating with friends about Arbor Day and the Green Movement, I was reminded that the Victorian Societies relied upon the precursor to the napkin -- the serviette.

The larger the better, in the case of the indispensable table setting pieces of cloth that matched the other table linens for the more formal occasions. The most formal occasions, even today, demand extra-large napkins, just as they did in the structured formalities often more familiar to Victorians.

Have a 'green' Victorian moment and learn a new napkin fold and please your guests, fictionally or otherwise. Match the napkins to a theme, and be even more Victorian.

Some sites:
http://www.napkinfolding.net/
http://www.customlinenservice.com/napkins.htm
http://www.wholesale-table-linens.com/napkin-folding.html?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=napkin+folding&utm_term=napkin+folding+techniques&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CLHR2_r34IsCFQS7YAodMW02YQ

Kristin-Marie

Randomness

He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it. ~ Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

For some reason this quote made me think of the late 1800s when the Occult was so popular. It hasn't really grown less so, it's hugely popular now and just as controversial as it was then. Why the interest in the afterlife? Was it because they feared growing older? They needed to know what was on the other side?

Marie Corelli was a hugely popular novelist in the 1890s who numbered among her acquaintances ghost storytelling brothers A. C. Benson and R. H. ("Hugh") Benson. PM Gladstone visited her unannounced. Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra all collected her books.

Yet her stories were more anti-religion than anything else. In Barabbas, her biggest international success, and its sequel, The Sorrows of Satan, "there is an underlying mystical strength to her glorification of Satan as a misunderstood adventurer in the modern world." http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/corelli/salmonson1.html

Her books are available on Amazon now, and maybe once my life settles down (haha, I just wrote a long ramble on how I have no time anymore) I'll read some of them. Just to see what they're like.

The Arranged Victorian Marraige, a Conundrum

My Victorian era manuscript underway utilizes an obstacle of an arranged marriage. In today’s world, marriages are dissolved easily enough that the idea of one standing in the way of true love is less onerous than in past eras, such as during the 19th Century.

Arranged marriages were still a norm of the Victorian era. Politics and inheritances were quite still the reasons just as in the Dark Ages. Although in bygone eras the political marriage affected all class levels of a society, serfs included. The pressure was still fervent in European aristocratic circles, or what remained of them, even those living on the American continents, as my story’s characters do for a time.

My Spanish characters are dealing with an arranged marriage. Their reality – as products of their times – was to accept marriage when it came, not necessarily to each other. In reality, people raised in the ways of my characters were not taught to hope for love or expect romance in an arranged marriage. They would hope for kindness, understanding, propriety, and even dignity. Still, the benefits of marriage within the same social class often outweighed the thrill of romance which was still thought of as a chance and fleeting moment to be grasped. Romance didn’t carry with it the expectation of longevity unlike what appeals to today’s romance audience and readership. (Rest assured that this author is part of that very same audience.)

Tolerating extramarital lovers was going out of vogue. Open arrangements were falling out of favor. Morality movements and laws being passed in other countries found imitations in decorum in Spain and its holdings. Spain was no longer the largest kingdom nor the most powerful country any longer, but its Borbon royalty and their aristocratic nobility were expected to set the heights of decorum, even in marriages; the same expectations, as it happens, are held up to the Bourbon House of today. The reason I point this out is that Queen Victoria's circle, including her Belgian cousin, Princess Charlotte (later Empress of Mexico) openly touted the Bourbon House in Spain as the height of expected decorum. The royal courts were still dictating behaviors of the rest of society, in something of a trickle-down effect.

Oddly difficult to explain is that extramarital lovers of arranged marriage partners were often enough allowed if scandal were avoided. Secretive affairs with lovers more powerful than a marriage partner were not quite favored but were less than frowned upon. As long as they were kept secret.

Catholicism was a dominating influence in Spanish society and so were its moral codes. Spaniards conducted a revolution when they counted among their grievances the openly adulterating Queen Regnent, Isabella II. Her marital bed had never pretended to belong to her king consort husband, Francisco, beyond the wedding night. Only a generation before, though, Isabella’s mother’s affairs weren’t considered to have interfered in her duties on the throne. The fact that Francisco claimed all dozen of Isabella’s offspring, and even named his collection of poodles after her lovers, tells of an understanding of duty quite opposite to proverbial fairy tale romances that often toss everything to the wind for the sake of instantaneous love.

Of course, my manuscript entails a fairy tale coming true. Conveying the seriousness of the obstacle of an arranged marriage is part of the challenge of being a modern writer portraying the past to modern sensibilities that expect love and marriage to automatically go hand in hand.

Kristin-Marie

Batter Up!

We've just started a new season of baseball. I knew baseball was played in camps during the Civil War and decided to do some research into how it was played and how widespread it was during the war years.

I had recently watched the movie, Glory, and noticed a scene near the beginning where a soldier hits a ball with a baseball bat.

Before this, I'd always thought of baseball as a turn-of-the-century sport. So, when did baseball become our national pastime?

I searched a few sites and found these facts.
"Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s." http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors.blbaseball.htm

About mid-century, sixteen clubs sent out delegates to a convention to standardize the rules. "The National Association of Base Ball Players was organized in 1857." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

The teams had names like: New York Mutuals, Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Stockings.

Prior to the Civil War, baseball competed for public interest with cricket and regional variants of baseball.

"Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845." http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbaseball.htm

And I always thought it was Abner Doubleday!

The game was based on the English game of rounders.

It seems the Civil War was what introduced the game that started in the Northeastern states, to the rest of the country. "During and after the Civil War, the movements of soldiers and exchanges of prisoners helped spread the game." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

The game they played, in that time period, was a bit different from baseball league play today. "High scores were the general rule; for even though the ball was soft, the base runner had to be hit by a thrown or batted ball before he was out. In one game between teams from the 13th Massachusetts and 104th New York, the Bay Staters won by a 66-20 score." Soldiers Blue and Gray ... p. 88

So, it seems the Civil War was, at least, partially responsible for the American pastime of organized baseball.

Sources: Soldiers Blue and Gray by James I. Robertson, Jr.
The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union by Bell Irvin Wiley
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blbaseball.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

New Year's Goals Revisited

It's April and we're now more than one quarter into the new year. I thought I'd revisit the writing goals I made in January on this blog to see how I've done so far.

1) Finish rewrite of Erin's Rebel.
Not only did I finish, but the full manuscript is now on the desk of the acquisitions editor at Medallion Press.

2) Revise outline of Katie Rose and write first draft.
The outline revision is finished and I'm one hundred pages into the first draft.

3) Enter 1 contest per month for Erin's Rebel.
I've entered 3 contests and gotten results for the first two. I didn't win or final, but I got fairly high scores. The third contest I won't get the results of until later this month.

4) Post 2 new blogs here and 2 per week on my personal blog.
So far this year I've posted 12 blogs on this site. On my personal blog www.susanmacatee.blogspot.com I've posted 6 blogs each for January and February, so I fell a little short, but I posted 9 blogs in March.

5) Start preliminary work on my futuristic romance.
I've started world-building and creating characters for my first futuristic romance.

So, aside from falling a little short on the blogging, I've done pretty well on my 2007 goals, so far.

Behind the Looking Glass of the Victorian London Scene: a Glimpse of London Society

Unarguably, the height of the Victorian era Society gathered around London during the reign of Queen Victoria. Ladder-climbers – socially or politically – were represented in London or were in attendance at court-and-function, themselves.

Why, is obvious. The fact that the British Empire was expanding to the largest domination in recorded history missed the attention of very few. Pomp and circumstance were at a peak, but with a different venue than during earlier times, including the Regency, due to Victoria’s permeating social influences. Beyond the morality laws and other movements attributed to her personal touch, she also changed London Society, in great part by not participating as fully or as openly as prior monarchs. There was rhyme and reason to her social behaviors.

For novel writers of the time period focusing on Victorian London and its influences, the tendency to include societal parties and shindigs may be the norm. I have yet to read a novel of the time period set in that area of the world and that societal ilk that doesn’t at least attempt to show a party, or two.

All well and good.

Small details tend to authenticate the novelistic guest lists. Queen Victoria was not a recluse, despite some popular misconceptions. She did adhere to a lifetime of mourning rituals and garb, but out of deference to her late, faithful Prince Consort rather than to shun Society. On the other hand, during and after her husband’s lifetime, Victoria attended the soirees and functions that would be considered “important.”

If a novelistic party were to be shown to be of high import, then it could be emphasized by an appearance from the Queen. Although many authors may be more fascinated by the playboy prince, Bertie, which I mention because most Society level settings in Victorian novels I’ve read seem to include him swankering through the party sets. Still, his attendance didn’t declare a host or hostess’ party as ‘important.’

A better gauge of societal-level ranking on the party scene would be to include an ambassador’s brief stopover at a party to declare it worthy of the highest ranks. Recall that ambassadors traditionally usurp the Queen or other female titled counterpart to a male reigning sovereign when being seated for the more formal of functions, even if it causes a reigning queen to sit at a lower-ranked table, as a result. Some courts, such as in London, boasted ambassadors from nearly any country which meant the most important tables at even an informal banquet might overflow with ambassadors before the royalty were seated. Therefore, even an ambassador from the lowest and poorest of countries in attendance at a Society hosts’ or hostess’ party elevate the party to a higher level of social prestige than one simply attended by a fun-loving Bertie or his kind.

Kristin-Marie