… the smell of the crowd…and other things
Today is the birthday of Philip Astley (1770-1814), founder of the famed Astley’s Amphitheatre, one of the hot spots of Regency London. He’s now seen as the father of the modern circus, and in fact established the standard circus ring size of 42 ft. diameter.
He began his career in the army where he fought in the Seven Years War and distinguished himself with his horsemanship and then left to become a riding instructor and performer. He rejoined the army again in 1793 when England and France were at war, taking emergency leave when his Amphitheatre caught fire.
Tracy Chevalier has a terrific page on her site about Astley, who appears in Burning Bright, her novel about William Blake. And now it seems I’m going to talk about Burning Bright, which I enjoyed–sort of–I actually liked the circus stuff best, and admired the way she wrote about artisans. There’s a family who makes chairs and another character who makes Dorset buttons, something of which I was woefully ignorant; buttons were made of thread, woven together in intricate patterns, so all my characters whose buttons made a “pinging” sound as they hit the floor are about twenty years ahead of their time.
This illustration, of a Dorset basket weave, is one borrowed from the site of the British Button Society (yes, there is actually such a thing). What I didn’t get from the book is a clear sense of Blake and that was disappointing, but her depiction of Blake’s London was vivid and exciting.
There are any number of directions I could go from here, but I also wanted to add that I had a blast in NJ last weekend, signing as two people and giving readers the choice of the dirty book or the funny one; I finally got to meet Santa and a lot of other cool people; and Smartbitches are talking about Jane today.
So: have you been to the circus or read a good book recently?
Sign up for the Riskies newsletter at riskies@yahoo.com with NEWSLETTER in the subject line and learn to make buttons while standing one-footed on a horse!
Or at least smile a lot and try not to tread on our partners while trying to remember What Comes Next?
I’ve danced English country dances just twice in the past, during the Beau Monde’s evening events at RWA conferences. It’s been fun but not as easy as it looks in some of the Jane Austen films. The figures may seem fairly simple when you’re just watching but when you’re in the thick of the action it’s easy to get confused. Add a dose of jet lag and a glass or two of wine and you have the makings of a proper train wreck. I’ve been in (and probably caused) a few. 🙂
Anyway, I’ve always envied people who have the opportunity to take proper English country dance lessons and participate in events like the Jane Austen ball Cara blogged about. So did I feel stupid when I finally learned about Binghamton Community Dance’s English Country Dance classes via the UU church bulletin board!
Despite our insane schedule my husband and I have started the current set of classes. I’m still not the swiftest person there but at least the jet lag and wine aren’t factors! Most of the other people have been at it for a while, but they’ve been remarkably welcoming to us newcomers. The callers are patient and–here’s an amazing treat!–they have live music. A group called Fine Companions provide the music which includes cello, violin, piano and flute for what feels like a truly authentic and delightful experience.
So far, I’ve made a few mistakes but with so many more experienced dancers around, I haven’t managed to cause a train wreck. Yet. :)And it’s been a blast. A psychic at a conference once told me that historical romance authors are reliving past lives. If so, I probably truly enjoyed dancing during the Regency even if, like now, I was more vigorous than graceful.
I do wonder what some of those balls were really like. People probably did dance the same dances for years so perhaps they danced as smoothly as those pictured in the film adaptation of Emma (at the top). On the other hand, I’ll bet they did imbibe quite a bit of wine or punch during those balls. Maybe some of the performances were a bit more ragged, like the Meriton assembly in the recent P&P.
What do you think? What has been your experience of English Country dance?
Elena
www.elenagreene.com
I know we have a lot of fans of the great Georgette Heyer here…
And we have, in the past, discussed what our favorite Georgette Heyer novels are…
As well as our favorite types of Heyer novels.
And our favorite Heyer covers.
(It is a subject I love to talk about! Heyer, that is. And covers. And Heyer covers.)
But a loop I’m on recently started discussing a slightly different question…
What was the first Heyer you ever read?
Do you remember?
What did you think of it?
Did it make you a lifelong Heyer fan?
Do you also remember the next couple of Heyers you read?
My first was THESE OLD SHADES.
My freshman roommate/friend/etc Heather, who was trying to convert me both to Regency Romances and to the romance genre in general (or to at least open my mind to them, snob that I was), started me with THESE OLD SHADES because (if I recall correctly) she liked it a lot, and also thought there was enough non-romance stuff going on that a non-romance reader (as I was then) would be lured in, until the romance bug bit.
Did it work? Yup.
My next two Heyers, in some order, were VENETIA and THE UNKNOWN AJAX. (Yes, the inimitable Heather has very good taste.)
Those three Heyers are still among my favorites.
So, how about you?
What was your first Heyer? Did it win you over? Do you wish you’d started with a different one?
All answers welcome!
Cara
Cara King, author of MY LADY GAMESTER, and fan of the band Genesis (both the Peter and Phil eras), who’s going to see them in concert on Saturday!
This weekend I attended the New Jersey Romance Writers conference. Also attending were Janet and Megan. Janet, my bff Julie, and I drove up 95 and the Jersey Turnpike in my Prius, which was a pleasure, not only because I have an EZPass and can zip through the tollgates, but also because Janet is a very entertaining companion and Julie is a prime navigator, my own personal JPS (instead of a GPS–get it?).
It is a bit difficult to relate New Jersey to the Regency. I do love New Jersey, though. I love the atmosphere and the people there. Unlike many southerners who say what is polite, Jersey folks are very direct and I like that! I lived there for two years in my younger days, so it always feels a little like going home.
There were Regency authors there. Lots of them! Julia Quinn was the special presenter, giving a talk on “Dialogue: It’s More Than What You Say.” Julia’s was the best and clearest presentation about dialogue that I’ve ever heard. Eloisa James also gave a good workshop about beta heroes. But, as always, it is the informal meetings with fellow authors that I enjoy the most. I managed to spend time with Regency authors Sally MacKenzie (one of our former guests and pictured with me at the booksigning), my pal Sophia Nash, Kristina Cook, and Caroline Linden. And, of course, Janet and Megan, although I did not get to see Megan for nearly as long as I would have liked. Janet and Megan should have more photos for you.
The bookseller’s luncheon was on Sunday, and there I met an impressive young, new Regency author, Maya Rodale, whose first book, a Regency set historical, The Heir and the Spare, just came out this past August. At the luncheon, of course, Janet and I schmoozed with lovely booksellers whose enthusiasm for historical romance is heartening. So never believe it if you hear people say, “Historical is Dead.” It isn’t, and the booksellers are the ones who know!
I’m home now and back to real life. On my agenda this week are revisions of the still unnamed “Pomroy’s Story.”
What’s on your agenda this week?
Were you at the NJ conference (I saw Santa there!) and, if so, did I see you?
Were you with writer friends, at least?
Don’t forget to visit the Wet Noodle Posse blog this month if you are planning on entering the Golden Heart contest. The 2003GH finalists are sharing their tips all month–and giving away critiques!
And Happy Columbus Day
