Old maps provide a hunting ground to find home ground for Lady Fan
Flitteris Manor is the home of the Fanshawes, but until I wrote the latest book (due out in the Spring) I had not needed to locate it...
The fascination and process of using the amnesia trope
A quick search on Amazon for “amnesia historical romance” produces over 300 results. If you cut out the historical and go for “amnesia...
Whatsisname? An author's game of choices
I’ve spoken before of my obsession with names. Agonising over what title to use and what surnames to bestow upon my characters is another...
YouTube mayhem, or an author’s guide to tecchie horrors
For a while now I’ve been trying to figure out how to do excerpt readings of my books on YouTube. Prior to the figuring, I was thinking...
The Butler – A Personification of Englishness
In the nether regions of any aristocratic household, be it Carson of Downton Abbey or Hudson of Upstairs Downstairs, the Butler reigned...
Past Times and Pubs with Fanciful Names
One of my joys with research is Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, of which I have two copies. One is pretty old, though not a...
You can’t go there or do that if you’re a lady
Contrary to our ideas of what is acceptable, restrictions on Regency ladies were, on the whole, for their protection. We consider crowds...
Who is going to empty the chamber pot?
Life below stairs was no picnic in the Georgian and Regency era. Up with the lark, your average servant toiled throughout the day with...
How does the female detective cope in the Georgian and Regency world?
The short answer is, she can’t, not on her own. Ottilia’s status as a lady of the genteel classes precludes her presence in a great many...
