Party like the Eighteenth Century! In January, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

Rose aspires to be a doctor, impossible in the 18th century, but uncovers evil village secrets in Cornwall-- and love in the most inappropriate place.

Check out all my historical novels: BWLDSL

But let's explore the lighter side of the eighteenth century, especially the celebrations of Twelfth Night, as Christmas cheer continued into January. 

Twelfth Night, usually January 5th or 6th, was celebrated as the end of the Christmas Season since the Middle Ages. It marked the Feast of Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It also evolved from Pagan fertility rights, celebrating the end of winter and the soon to arrive spring.

In the 18th c., it was the perfect excuse to throw lavish parties. Great spreads of food, especially enticing desserts, were the centerpiece. Over-indulging in food and drink, people partied hard, before returning to the drab winter of their lives.

 

The Twelfth Night cake was the highlight served to guests. Martha Washington's (wife of the famous George) recipe included 40 eggs, four pounds of sugar, and five pounds of dried fruit. A bean or coin, sometimes a metal Baby Jesus, was baked into the cake, (people were warned to chew carefully) and whomever received that piece became the King. This king caused mischief as he presided over the festivities.

The ale-based drink with spices and honey, called Wassail, was put in huge bowls and passed around the revelers. The name is derived from the Old English term "Waes hael", meaning "be well."

People donned costumes and danced and performed plays in the village streets. Some dragged plows house to house, seeking treats and alcohol. While the Upper Crust held elaborate balls.

Mervyn Clitheroe's Twelfth Night party,
by "Phiz"

Live birds were hidden in empty pie casings, so when opened, scared the recipient. Traditional foods were anything spicy or hot, such as ginger snaps. Or anything with apples; apple tarts, apple-walnut cakes. And lots of Port and Sherry to drink.

The common folk partied, drank to excess, releasing the frustration of their hard-working lives. One Pennsylvania upper-class man of the time said of the commoner, "were a set of the lowest blackguards, who, disguised in filthy clothes and ofttimes with masked faces, went from house to house in large companies, ...obtruding themselves everywhere, particularly into the rooms occupied by parties of ladies and gentlemen, (and) would demean themselves with great insolence."

This holiday as a time to party is largely ignored today.

To find out more about me and my books, please visit my website: DianeScottLewis

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

A woman doctor, unheard of, by Diane Scott Lewis

Even as a small child I thought all doctors were men. When I had my first female doctor I was surprised, looked at my mother in dismay, and wondered if this was a mistake.

In researching my novel, Rose's Precarious Quest, set in 1796, I discovered how difficult it was for a woman to become a licensed and respected physician. Women weren't even allowed to attend college.

However, there were instances of females performing as doctors throughout history. In medieval Germany, an abbess, Hildegard of Bingen, wrote extensively on medical treatments, c. 1151-58. Women of this era worked as midwives, surgeons, and barber-surgeons, especially in rural areas.
When universities developed medical training in the 13th century, women no longer had access to advanced medical education.

Hildegard of Bingen

In the 17th c. physicians were the college educated, top-tiered men. They examined, diagnosed, but never got their hands dirty. Women often worked as barber-surgeons, taking over from their fathers or other male relatives where they'd studied as apprentices. Limits were put on their practice, where men had full rein. Female surgeons worked unlicensed for the most part.

printers' medical symbol

One of the first females to earn an MD was Dorothea Erxleben of Germany in 1754. She was taught and encouraged by her father. The majority of women MDs wouldn't be licensed until the 19th c.

There were exceptions. Lucretia Lester of Long Island practiced midwifery for years, but she was respected as a nurse and doctoress to the women she treated in the latter half of the 18th c..
A Mrs. Grant attended lectures by professors of Anatomy and Practice of Physick in Edinburgh, also in the 18th c.. She had a certificate and practiced as a doctoress in Scotland.

 

In my novel, Rose studies illegally as a physician in 1796. Assisting the local doctor, she uncovers a dreadful secret that threatens his livelihood. Catern returns to the village to face the man who raped her and worse. When Rose’s sister is betrothed to this brutal earl, Catern struggles to warn Rose of the truth. And who is the mysterious Charlie who wanders the woods?

Purchase Rose's Precarious Quest (scroll down) and my other novels at BWL

For more info on me and my books, check out my website: Dianescottlewis

Sources:

Medical History, 1998, 42: 194-216

Women in Medicine, Wikipedia

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.