More Tidbits on Cornwall by A.M.Westerling

A fugitive young mother, a desperate Viscount and a rough and tumble gold rush town. What could possibly go wrong? Find Barkerville Beginnings at your favourite online store HERE.

As a writer of historical romance, it’s my job to provide enough details of the setting to make my readers feel as if they are living in that particular time period. The romance is the main plot but events of the era I’m writing in give me secondary story lines. For example, I discovered smuggling was rampant in Cornwall during the 18^th and 19^th centuries so that became the background of the soon to be released Sophie's Choice, the story of Lady Sophie Harrington and Lord Bryce Langdon, set in Cornwall in 1805.

Research plays a part in anything I write which I absolutely love because I always discover interesting facts. Here are a few things I didn’t incorporate into the book:

- Not only tin and copper were mined. In the mid 1700s, China clay was discovered and the scars of long ago mines can be seen from space. The clay is used in the manufacture of paper and porcelain and unlike copper and tin, this industry is still a going concern today.

- I only mentioned fishing in passing but fishing was also a mainstay of the Cornish economy particularly pilchards which are a variety of small oily fish related to herrings. ‘Huers’ standing on cliff tops would direct fishing boats to giant shoals of pilchards. Many boats would hold onto a large net, creating a circle which closed to capture the fish. They were sold abroad to countries such as Italy and Spain and these exports were such an important part of the local economy, a ditty was sung about them: “Here’s to the health of the Pope and may he repent and lengthen six months the term of his Lent. It’s always declared betwixt the two poles, there’s nothing like pilchards for saving of souls.”

- The Cornish climate is warmer than much of the rest of the British Isles so agriculture also played an important part with crops such as corn, wheat, barley and oats. Also the raising of livestock such as cattle, milk cows, pigs, chickens and geese.

So concludes my study of Cornwall. For now. 😊

Stay tuned for Leah’s Surrender, the story of the middle Harrington daughter.

For more information on Cornwall's history, check out: www.cornwalls.co.uk/history/industrial

  

******

And here you have it, the final excerpt before my April release date. A gentle reminder, I’ve been posted excerpts of Sophie’s Choice here on the 25^th of every month. Happy reading!

Sunbeams streamed into the morning room when Sophie entered. The pleasant, cheery space always brought a smile to her face, what with the starched white eyelet curtains, yellow and white checked table-cloth and painted blue ladderback chairs.

She helped herself to scrambled eggs, bread and ham before sitting down. Mama poured her tea and Sophie added cream and sugar, stirring until the liquid frothed.

Leah was already seated and flashed a sour look at Sophie. She returned the look with an innocent look of her own. Had Leah noticed Bryce’s glances towards Sophie last night while dining? Was that the reason for her sister’s foul mood?

Sophie raised her brows. “I swear you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” she whispered.

Leah scowled but remained silent. She stabbed a piece of ham with her fork with such force her curls jostled.

“Leah,” warned Mama. “After our conversation this morning, I expect better conduct from you.”

“Yes Mama.”

Pointedly Leah ignored her sister which brought a small grin to Sophie’s lips. Leah needed a comeuppance every now and again and it appeared as if Mama had delivered. Her sister’s expression was, if not exactly chastened, peeved. It had nothing to do with Bryce’s glances at supper last evening. No one had noticed and Sophie hugged that thought to herself. That and the remembrance of dark eyes warm and admiring on her. Now she and Lord Langdon had two secrets to share – their stolen glances last night and their accidental meeting earlier in the day. Her hands trembled as she lifted the cup to her lips. When could she see him again?

Lady Harrington spoke then. “I am visiting Lord Langdon this afternoon. I had thought to bring Sophie.”

“Me?” Sophie swung about to look at her mother. She couldn’t believe her ears. No sooner had she wished for another encounter with Langdon and the fates delivered. She kept her expression neutral. No point in raising suspicion in her mother who already had her hands full with one daughter being altogether too familiar with the man. Her mother would surely swoon if she learned of the meeting at the beach yesterday.

“Yes, Sophie, you. The head mistress was most complimentary about your assistance in the school’s library so I suspect you have a very good idea of what needs to be done to organize Lord Langdon’s library.”

“Mama, please may I come? I’ve naught to do today,” said Leah.

Sophie raised her brows again and looked at her sister with a grudging admiration. She had to admit Leah had impudence. Or no sense whatsoever, to tread in forbidden territory so soon after her mother’s admonition. But then again, Leah desperately wanted to find a husband and apparently Lord Bryce Langdon was her target.

Evelyn’s lips tightened. “No, you may not. I’ll have no repeat of your embarrassing actions of last night. Your task for the day is to oversee the maids in the bedrooms. The mattresses are to be turned and the carpets taken outside to be pounded.”

“Yes, Mama,” Leah said, her voice small. Her shoulders slumped and she looked, for the moment anyway, defeated.

The act didn’t fool Sophie one bit. Leah, desperate for a suitor, would not give up that easily. Eligible bachelors did not come along all that often here in Cornwall, far from the London scene. Which suited Sophie eminently and brought her back to her mother’s conversation yesterday about the upcoming London season. Bryce’s words last evening of him being a prize had put her to thinking. Had he mentioned that as an indication of his interest in her? The thought brought a lightness to her chest, that a man and a handsome one at that, found her attractive. Perhaps she should set her sights on him thereby solving two problems with one solution – pleasing her mother by marrying without the drudgery of London’s social scene. Surely a barrister would be a suitable match and would satisfy her parents.

But would it put her at direct odds with her sister? Despite the odd argument and despite Leah’s unfortunate behaviour last night, the sisters got along well and Sophie was loathe to disturb that harmony. No, she decided. Leah was only eighteen and Papa had made it clear none of the girls were to marry young. So yes, perchance it was not totally outlandish for Sophie to consider Lord Bryce Langdon as a potential husband.

A shiver whisked down her spine at the thought of seeing him this afternoon. Would he be pleased to see her again?

Canadian Authors Past and Present by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey--Yukon

 http://www.bookswelove.com/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

Canadian Authors Past and Present

Canada celebrated its 150^th anniversary in 2017. To commemorate the occasion my publisher, Books We Love, Ltd (BWL) brought out the Canadian Historical Brides Series during 2017 and 2018. There are twelve books, one about each province, one about the Yukon, and one combining the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Each book was written by a BWL Canadian author or co-authored by a Canadian and an international BWL author.

Each province and territory of Canada has spawned many well-known authors and my series of posts this year will be about them-one or two from the past and one or two from the present, the present-day ones being the authors of the Brides book for the corresponding province or territory. The posts are in the order that the books were published.

 

Yukon

Pierre Berton was born on July 20 in Whitehorse, Yukon. His family moved to Dawson in 1921 and then to Victoria, British Columbia, in 1932. He attended the University of B.C. and during the summers returned to work in the Klondike mining camps to earn money. He became a journalist in Vancouver and at the age of twenty-one he was the youngest city editor on any Canadian daily newspaper.

     Berton moved to Toronto in 1947 and went on to write for, and was an editor at, Maclean’s magazine. He appeared on many television shows including the long-running Front Page Challenge (1957-1995) for thirty-nine years. His first book The Royal Family was published in 1953 and his second, a young reader novel, The Golden Trail: The Story of the Klondike Rush, came out in 1954. Between then and 1993 he wrote more than fifty fiction and non-fiction books about Canadian history and popular culture, including coffee table books, children’s books, and historical novels for young adults. He received over thirty literary awards one of which was the Governor-General’s Award for Creative Non-fiction. In 1994, Canada’s National History Society established the Pierre Berton award to be given to an author who has written about Canadian history in an absorbing and charming way. Berton was the first recipient.

     Pierre Berton’s childhood home in Dawson has been restored and is now called the Berton House. It opened as a writers’ retreat in August of 1996. Four writers a year are chosen to reside in the house for three months each. During that time they can work on their newest manuscript while giving writing workshops and readings in Yukon communities.
     Pierre Berton passed away in Toronto on November 30, 2004.

Edith Josie was born on December 8, 1921 in Eagle, Alaska, and moved to the small village of Old Crow, Yukon, when she was sixteen. Old Crow is 193 kilometres (120 miles) south of the Arctic Ocean and 129 kilometres (80 miles) north of the Arctic Circle and is occupied mainly by the Loucheaux Indians of the Vuntut Gwich’in peoples. The sun doesn’t set for two months in the summer and the temperature can reach as high as +35C. In winter it is total darkness for three weeks and the temperature can drop to -50C.

     Miss Josie was appointed Justice of the Peace for Old Crow in 1957 and served for seven years. She began her writing career as the Old Crow Correspondent for the Whitehorse Star late in 1962. Her column for the Star was called Here Are The News (sic) and Edith reported the events of the village in an unpretentious and informal way, much like she spoke English. Correct grammar and punctuation were not part of her writing, it was the story that was important. Her stories were published exactly the way she composed them.

     Edith wrote for the Star for thirty-eight years and during that time her column was syndicated to papers in Edmonton Alberta, Toronto Ontario, Fairbanks Alaska, and in California. In 1965 Life magazine did a feature on her, titled Everyone Sure Glad. The article brought her world-wide recognition and her stories were translated into German, Italian, Spanish, and Finnish. She received letters from fans in Texas, Florida, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

     Edith Josie received the Canadian Centennial Award in 1967, the Yukon Historical Museums Award in 1994, was awarded the Order of Canada in 1995, and was honored by the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (now the Indspire Awards) in 2000. She died on January 31, 2010.

Here are some examples of her work as she wrote them: Even now the spring has come cause it is daylight around 11 o'clock p.m. Pretty soon we won't use light for night time. Everyone glad to see plane every day. Even the same plane come in one day, they all have to go down to see what is going on and what come in on plane.

John Joe Kay and his family and Dick Hukon and family came into town from their ratting camp. They reported no rats around there but they say too many mosquito. Too bad no prize on mosquito.

Since last week all the leaves are getting yellow. That mean autumn is coming. When the leaves grow green sure nice but at fall time it’s turn to yellow-more beautiful.

I go to McPherson on Friday and went back to Inuvik Sunday afternoon. When I was there I went to visit my Auntie Sarah Simon she was happy to see me and also myself too.

I write my big news. That’s how all of the people know where is Old Crow. Before the news go out nobody know where is Old Crow. Just when I send my news people know where is Old Crow.

Book 3 of the Canadian Historical Brides Series:  Romancing the Klondike (Yukon) - Joan Donaldson-Yarmey - May 2017

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey began her writing career with a short article, progressed to travel and historical articles, and then on to travel books. She called these travel books her Backroads series and the research for them had her camping throughout Alberta, B.C., the Yukon, and Alaska. While researching her Backroads of the Yukon and Alaska book, Joan and her husband hiked the Chilkoot Trail from Skagway, Alaska, to Lake Bennett, the Yukon. The year was 1997, one hundred years after the Klondike Gold Rush. They did it in the summer time with one 35lb backpack each as opposed to the Klondikers who are pictured hauling their 1200lbs of supplies in the winter. On the hike she passed many artifacts that were left by the men and women on their way to the gold fields.

     Joan switched to fiction and has written ten books: four mystery novels, Illegally Dead, The Only Shadow In The House, and Whistler's Murder in a series called the Travelling Detective Series and Gold Fever her stand-alone novel which combines mystery with a little romance; three Canadian historical, Romancing the Klondike, West to the Bay, and West to Grande Portage; two science fiction The Criminal Streak and Betrayed in her Cry of the Guilty-Silence of the Innocent series; and a holiday romance/comedy titled Twelve Dates of Christmas.

     Joan’s story, A Capital Offence, was published in Ascent Aspirations Magazine and won first place in their flash fiction contest.

     Joan was born in New Westminster, B.C. Canada, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. She married soon after graduation and moved to a farm where she had two children. Over the years she worked as a bartender, hotel maid, cashier, bank teller, bookkeeper, printing press operator, meat wrapper, gold prospector, warehouse shipper, house renovator, and nursing attendant. During that time she raised her two children and helped raise her three step-children.

     Since she loves change, Joan has moved over thirty times in her life, living on acreages and farms and in small towns and cities throughout Alberta and B.C. She now lives on an acreage on Vancouver Island with her husband and two cats. When she is not writing she is picking fruit, walking on the boardwalk through the tall trees on her property, dragon boating, entering 5K and 10K walks and runs or playing with her two cats.

http://www.bookswelove.com/canadian-historical-brides-collection/

http://www.bookswelove.com/mystery-thriller-authors/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

http://thetravellingdetectiveseries.blogspot.com/

https://www.amazon.com/author/joandonaldsonyarmey

Lipstick, Powder, and Paint by Victoria Chatham

 AVAILABLE HERE

Jesse Stone wrote and released this song title back in 1956, but the lipstick, powder, and paint used by our historical heroines were often injurious to their health, if not downright deadly. Far from being a modern invention, cosmetics have been around for centuries. So just what did our heroines of yesteryear put on their faces?

To ancient Egyptians, circa 4,000 BC, cosmetics was big business for men and women. The green eye

makeup depicted on many a tomb wall was produced from the copper ore, malachite, and was applied over the eyelid up to the brows. It not only made the eyes look bigger but also was considered to protect those who wore it. Even today malachite is reputed to protect the wearer.

The eyes were then outlined with kohl, a thick black paint produced from galena, the natural mineral form of lead sulphide. Kohl shielded the eyes from the sun, helped keep away flies and with chlorine added to the lead sulphide, may have acted as a disinfectant. Both the powder and paint were applied with sticks made from wood, metal or ivory, depending on where you were on the social ladder. Cheeks and lips were stained with red ochre and henna were used to stain and colour the fingertips and toes.

To protect their skins from the climate, our savvy Egyptians made moisturizing creams so, to your bullock bile, add whipped ostrich eggs, olive oil, plant resins, fresh milk, and a dash of sea salt. To make it smell nice, add a few drops of scented oil like frankincense, myrrh, thyme, or marjoram. Fruit essences added a sweeter aroma, especially that from almonds. Anti-wrinkle cream? No problem. To a measure of wax add olive oil, incense, milk, juniper leaves and the secret ingredient – crocodile dung which, when dried, did double duty as a contraceptive but that’s another story.

In addition to malachite ancient Roman women also used azurite for blue eye powder. Their kohl came from soot, ashes, or antimony. Pink cheeks were considered a sign of good health and to enhance the skin colour a variety of flower petals, mulberry juice and red wine dregs, cinnabar and red lead were also used. Unfortunately for our Roman gals, the latter was highly toxic with red lead compounds probably causing abdominal pains, constipation, and memory loss. 

Chinese ladies used face powder made from rice flour, Japanese ladies embraced red lip colour, white faces and black brows with teeth blackening or ohaguro being considered especially beautifying. Queen Elizabeth I suffered from smallpox and to cover her scarred face resorted to using a paste called Venetian Ceruse made from vinegar and lead. White skin was especially favoured as this indicated youthfulness and was a clear sign the woman had no need to work out of doors.

White also indicated pureness and anyone who has ever read a Regency romance will undoubtedly know that our heroines should have soft, white skin and present a ‘fine complexion.’ Applications of Pimpernel Water, Eau de Veau (first boil a calf’s foot in four quarts of river water), or Virgin Milk which will ‘call the purple stream of the blood to the external fibres of the epidermis’ and, if left on the face to dry, ‘will render it clear and brilliant.’ Over this perfect complexion a young lady might be permitted to use a light dusting of pearl powder, a tinge of carmine powder on the cheeks and touch of rouge, lead-free of course, on the lips should  ‘only be resorted to in cases of absolute necessity.’

In late Victorian times, Bloom of Youth’s lead content could induce radial nerve palsy, or wrist drop, while Swan Down powder, supposedly safe, was found to contain not only zinc but a large quotient of lead. While the use of cosmetics was mostly the prerogative of the upper classes through history, Queen Victoria’s opinion was that the use of makeup was vulgar and impolite. Even today we are not entirely safe from the cosmetics we use. Lead, surprisingly, can still be found in some lipsticks while Botox is derived from one of the most lethal known toxins.  

Today more and more women of note are choosing to appear 'bare-faced', think Demi Lovato, Drew Barrymore, Cara Delavingne, and Cameron Diaz. However, if we can't all be that gorgeous sans makeup, we can always explore the safer option of mineral-based makeup. Whatever, beauty is still in the eye of the beholder, with or without that layer of lippy or slick of mascara.

Victoria Chatham

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Images: courtesy of various internet sources

Quotes: The Mirror of the Graces by A Lady of Distinction

  

A Little of This and A Little of That

Ah Spring. My favorite time of year. New buds blossom, Trees begin to get their leaves and everything comes alive. The air smells fresher, little plants peek through the ground.
Crocuses often bloom through the snow and Snow Drops soon follow and of

course the lovely Daffodils appear as soon as the ground has thawed.
The crocus is a symbol of youthfulness and cheerfulness. The snowdrop symbolizes hope - hope that winter will soon end and new warmth will enter our lives.  Daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings.
Something about seeing the new spring flowers creates a happiness. The long winter is finally passing and warmer weather is on the way.
Of course, we can't forget St. Patrick's Day - a day celebrated by many with corned beef and cabbage. parades and of course drinking - sometimes green beer.
St. Patrick's Day first started to honor St. Patrick on the anniversary of his death. Christian people had a great feast for which Lenten food and alcohol restrictions were temporarily removed, which is why drinking became synonymous with the holiday. As year passed, St Patrick's Day became less about the man and more about general Irish traditions, culture, and history. *

Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, this year's celebrations/parades were canceled.
When will things return to normal. Every day it seems like something else is closed down. Will everything shut down eventually?
If that's what's going to happen, I wish they'd do it sooner, rather than later. How many more have to get sick or die before that happens? I say get it over with, but who am I? Already restaurants, sports, schools, and churches are closed. Even some department stores. We're told to stay in. Not an easy thing for me. Not that I went too many places anyway, church, bible study, and of course, the store. Even that's been taken away. I'm blessed to have children willing to shop for me. But I do miss it. I enjoyed shopping. Got me out of the house for a while.  Enough about that. More about spring.

Easter is celebrated in the Spring. Sometimes in March, but often in April. A special Holiday (Holy Day) for Christians around the world. The day

 we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I look forward to spending the day with family, making our Traditional Easter Food. I pray things will be back to normal by then.

May brings Mother's Day, celebrated the second Sunday in May and founded by Anna Jarvis, it's  a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as

motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.  Designated as the second Sunday in May by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. **

And finally, Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May finishes off our Spring Holidays and kicks off the Summer Season. I remember when it was called Decoration Day. It's a  day to remember  and honor the men and women
who died while serving the U.S. military. This year it falls on May 25th, which just happens to be my birthday.  ***

* St. Patrick's Day
** Mother's Day
*** Memorial Day

Review of Trouble Comes in Twos
5 stars - Whodunit and Another Twin
Roseanne Dowell does it again, this time adding mystery to the romance--from the kidnapping of a bride on the eve of her wedding to stumbling across a body under a bush in the local cemetery, Kate Wesley has more than just two love interests distracting her. Not to mention, the victim's identical twin. Ms. Dowell kept me guessing throughout the book both whodunit and who was gonna "do it" with Kate.
5 stars - Romantic Suspense At It's FINEST!

You can find Trouble Comes in Twos as well as my other books at BWL Publishing

Women's Rights before Suffragettes by Diane Scott Lewis

Celebrate Women's History Month

I once had a critique group where the only male member protested my female character's feminist-like qualities. She was eighteenth-century and women didn't demand their rights until the twentieth-century, so he insisted.

Suffragettes 1914

I had to explain how wrong he was.

Most people don't realize that women have been asking for rights for centuries.
I see it in book reviews all the time: the spunky heroine behaves in too modern a manner.

However, history if full of such women, if you look for them.

Aphra Behn was a writer, playwright and translator who lived in England in the 1600s. She championed the rights for women to speak their minds. She was also one of the first Englishwomen to earn a living by her own writing. She became the inspiration for future female authors. Charles II appreciated her intelligence and used her as a spy in Antwerp.
Her first play, The Forc'd Marriage, in 1670, criticized women being forced into often unhappy or cruel arranged marriages.


Behn

Mary Astell, another Englishwoman, advocated equal education for women. She's been called the first English feminist and insisted that women were just as rational as men. And deserving of a similar education. In 1694, her book Serious Proposal to the Ladies for the Advancement of their True and Greatest Interest put forth plans for an all female college where women could expand their minds. This at a time when most women weren't allowed to attend any college. She also wrote about the dangers of women being pushed into bad marriage choices.



Astell

Mary Wollstonecroft lived in the later eighteenth century, and was the mother of Mary Shelly (who wrote "Frankenstein").
Wollstonecroft advocated for equal education for women, writing two books on the subject. Her 1792 "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" put forth that women weren't naturally inferior to men, they just suffered from inadequate education. Today she's revered as a founding feminist philosopher.

Wollstonecroft

Women could also be as brave as men. Many participated in the American Revolution dressed as males. Deborah Sampson Gannet fought with Washington’s army dressed as a soldier. Sampson enlisted in 1782 with the 4th Massachusetts, as Robert Shurtleff. She achieved the rank of corporal in the battle of White Plains, and sustained injuries twice. Upon discovery of her sex, she was honorably discharged. And received a pension!

My heroine, Rowena, in "Her Vanquished Land" fights as a man during the American Revolution--but on the British side. She decodes messages for a mysterious Welshman. Soon, their relationship evolves even as the war might destroy them.

So my strong women are not anachronistic. History has kept most of them out of the history books.

Purchase Her Vanquished Land and my other novels at BWL
For more info on me and my books, check out my website: Dianescottlewis

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