One of the joys for me as a writer of historical romance is visiting museums. No matter what the era, a museum can be a source of so much material a writer can become spoiled for choice. It is said that the devil is in the details and sometimes an extra detail is one too many, but starting out with a menu of items gives an author so much choice.
I was spoiled for choice when I visited the Costume Museum in Bath, England, last fall. I had not been to Bath for a very long time, over thirty years, but I found it had hardly changed. The sights I
remembered were not the sights I had come for on this visit. This time my destination was the Costume Museum, housed in the basement of the Bath Assembly Rooms. Yes, dear reader, the very Assembly Rooms where so many of Georgette Heyer's heroines fanned themselves after having tripped the light fantastic with their heroes.
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| Assembly Rooms ceiling |
My daughter accompanied me on this visit and I hoped she would get something out of traipsing around a museum with her mum. If anything, she was more fascinated than I was. Each display was a cornucopia of surprises, from the embroidered fabrics to the intricacies of how each costume was constructed. I have, in my time, been known to sew clothes for my family, all pieced together in next to no time on a trusty Singer sewing machine.
I knew how long a simple dress took me to put together but looking at some of the costumes, I could not imagine how many hours went into stitching them by hand. We spent several hours viewing the costumes, even trying some garments on in the 'dress-up' room. My daughter is small, but even she had to breathe in to do up the corset she tried on and that was after undoing the laces.
There were bonnets and gloves, including embroidered leather gloves worn by Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II at their coronations. There were embroidered satin shoes that were so small they looked as if they might have been made for a child, but no, they were ladies' shoes. My favourite bonnet was this embroidered satin confection. I don't think I have a big head but this was so tiny I could only perch it on the top of my head. Again, this was a lady's bonnet
The fans were exquisite, from embroidered muslin, like these, to painted silks. In all examples, the ribs and guards were beautifully carved ivory. Parasols were stored in boxes and the ones on display were changed regularly. The young ladies on duty at the museum answered all our many questions. We both could have stayed longer.
After having worked up something of an appetite we made our way to the Jane Austen Centre, and there partook of a Mr. Darcy Special Tea. The crusts were cut off the sandwiches, the mini-cakes were a delight and the warm scones with cream and jam were, pardon me, the icing on the cake.
Victoria Chatham
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