Elizabeth Donne, fellow Bluestocking Belle, joins us this week to share facts about women’s lives she discovered while writing about the Ladies of Munro.
Because Ladies of Munro is a series, my research for those five books turned up a TON (pardon the pun) of information, all of which would be impossible to share in one post. But I have two gems I discovered that are relevant to all my books and, for that matter, to Regency books as a whole.
The first has to do with clothing. Did you ever wonder why women wore such simple, light dresses during the Regency era? Why did they switch styles when the Georgian era that preceded and the Victorian era that followed were both known for wide dresses and layers of petticoats? It is especially strange that they should have chosen such designs because these flimsy dresses often led to the ladies feeling the cold much more in the winter.
The reason for the shift in fashion, quite bluntly, was money. The more material a dress required, the more expensive it was. Twenty years of war with France resulted in tighter Regency budgets and a supply shortage, so that dresses necessarily became narrower and less layered. After decades of peace, the Victorian era could once again experiment with more layers and wider skirts.
The second bit of trivia has to do with refreshment. Did you know that the pouring of milk in your tea gave away your social status? Soft-paste porcelain was cheaper than fine china but it cracked with sudden temperature changes. By pouring milk into the cup first, one lessened the chance of the hot tea breaking the cup. As a result, it became a status symbol to pour the boiling tea first, showing one could afford the better-quality china that didn’t crack.
About the Series, Ladies of Munro
Book 1, Sophia’s Letter: An unexpected declaration by a passionate reader unlocks the heart of a lonely poet. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKG71KFK
Book 2, Ellena’s Secret: An arranged marriage, sight unseen. Or have they met before? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSQHVQSL
Book 3, Verity’s Choice: A man with a past could change her future. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F3JYY2LX
Book 4, Jillian’s Wild Heart: When worlds collide, can love survive? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FNBVJ31Z
Book 5, Irene’s Fall: Pride comes before her fall. Love helps her stand again. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1VMJKS9
About the Author
Elizabeth Donne’s writing is a natural outpouring of a lifelong love affair with English literature. Although she has spent most of her life in Cape Town, South Africa, she now lives in the American Midwest, where she enthusiastically introduces her visitors to the joys of drinking rooibos tea. With a biscuit, of course.
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Other books:
Merry Belles: https://books2read.com/u/mvRGPj
Dukes in Spring: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GNNZJW78
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