Highlighting Historical Romance with Pamela Gibson who shares thoughts about laudanum.
Laudanum has been called the aspirin of the Regency period. It was available without a prescription from apothecaries, pubs, and other places of business. Made of opium alkaloids including morphine and codeine, it came in various strengths and forms, usually as a tincture mixed with alcohol containing about ten per cent opiates.
According to an article posted on the website, Historic UK, “laudanum was a popular painkiller and relaxant, recommended for all sorts of ailments including coughs, rheumatism, ‘women’s troubles’ and also, perhaps most disturbingly, as a soporific for babies and young children. And as twenty or twenty-five drops of laudanum could be bought for just a penny, it was also affordable.”
In “Confessions of an Opium Eater,” a pamphlet written in 1821, the author describes the euphoric qualities of the drug and his need for ever-increasing dosages to get the same pain relief. While a law attempted to limit its distribution in the 1860s, it was still widely in use in Britain until the Opium trade ended around 1910.
About the Book
Haunted by questions and her own insecurities, Lady Emily Sinclair longs to discover why her betrothed abandoned her and married another. Seven years have passed, but the pain of his betrayal still lingers, buried beneath layers of humiliation and mistrust. When he returns after the Napoleonic Wars, she vows to avoid him. If only her foolish heart felt the same.
Broken and addicted to his medication, widower Andrew Quimby, Lord Cardmore, rattles around his ancient manor, oblivious to his deteriorating health and state of mind. When he learns the woman he was forced to abandon remains unmarried, he vows to try to win her back, even if it means returning to a society he despises.
But Andrew soon discovers he has a secret enemy. Threatening notes appear and sinister accidents put those in his inner circle in danger. Can he overcome his demons in time to keep them safe or will everyone and everything he loves disappear forever.
Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F2LVR5B/
About the Author
Author of eight books on California history and fifteen romance novels, Pamela Gibson is a former City Manager who lives in the Nevada desert. Having spent the last three years messing about in boats, a hobby that included a five-thousand-mile trip in a 32-foot Nordic Tug, she now spends most of her time indoors happily reading, writing, cooking and keeping up with the antics of Ralph, the Rescue Cat. If you want to learn more about her activities go to https://www.pamelagibsonwrites.com and sign up for her quarterly newsletter and occasional blog. Or follow her in these places:
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