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Monthly Archives: October 2011

A Scandal That Lasted into the Regency

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My book by Brooks’s about Brooks’s sidetracked me right away. This story is about a Georgian-era sociopath. The woman, the Countess of Strathmore, is villified throughout even though it’s painfully clear she was a victim.

A: The Countess of Strathmore – Lady Strathmore married secondly Lieut. Robinson Stoney, who assumed the surname of Bowes, “than whom a more consummate villain never went through this world unhorsewhipped, and left it unhung.” Her history as the wife of this ruffian forms one of the most extraordinary romances of modern times.
See Lives of A. R. Bowes and the Countess of Strathmore by Jesse Foot, 1812 (Here’s a link to the book in Google Books) also Fordyce, History of Durham/
This marriage is believed to have suggested to Thackery the character of “Barry Lyndon.”

empahsis added. Because it’s true.

A Romance? No. Just, no. (Edited to add: Yes, I know Romance is not being used here in today’s sense. But to imply it’s a great story eviscerates the horror of what this man did and was.)

According to this account, as quite a young man Bowes married an heiress and once, in a fit of violent rage, pushed her down some stairs. She died shortly thereafter, but it’s not clear this was soon after (because of injuries) or some time after. Basically, we are to understand he was a violent man:

Anyway the Countess of Strathmore had been widowed for nine months…

Besides his Lordship having died so unexpectedly and in the prime of life the affairs of income were left perplexing and some of his own estates in Scotland were obliged to be sold and it was from serious reflection that the late Lord’s friends saw that a second marriage even with any body was against their and the children’s interest

Therefore when the Countess was addressed by Mr Gray they kept aloof and when she was abused and vilified attacked and defended in the Morning Print during the months of November and December previous to her marriage with BOWES in January they thinking that the abuse was useful to prevent the uiiion of Gray with the Countess suffered it to go on without the least opposition rather pleased at the treatment she met and for thus saying I have the authority to tell that the friend in Palace Yard and myself saw one of these attacks in manuscript before it was ever sent to the printer It was a letter condemning the Counters on her conduct towards her late Lord and comparing her with the QUEEN in HAMLET for being about to marry a second so soon after the death of her first husband and this letter was written and published under the signature of HAMLET

Bowes is plotting it seems…

The family now in the Square consisted of the Countess, Mrs Parish, the governess of the children, Miss Eliza Planta, sister to the governess and confidante of the Countess secretly in the interest of Bowes, the Rev Mr Stephens just now about to be married to Miss Eliza Planta, also in the interest of Bowes, the chief visitors of the family were Mr Magra a botanist and friend of Dr Solander and Mr Matra a consul at Barbary. These besides accidental visitors were the DRATMATIS PERSONAE at the Temple of Folly in Grosvenor Square.

Still plotting…..

Another stratagem he brought to his aid. Knowing that the Countess entertained romantic and visionary notions of things, he had a conjuror tutored to his wishes and got Miss P to make a party with the Countess and some others to have their fortunes told.

Not safe from his Clutches

The countess goes to visit her mother in Paul’s Walden, and Bowes sends her a letter that reads in part:

I am all impatience to see your Ladyship. I really cannot wait till Saturday. I must have five minutes chat with you before that time. You will think me whimsical but upon Thursday next at one o clock I shall be in the garden at PAUL’S WALDEN.  There is a leaden statue or there was formerly and near that spot (for it lives in my remembrance) I shall wait; and can I presume that you will condescend to know the place? Eliza shall be our excuse for this innocent frolic and the civilities shall never be erased from the remembrance of your faithful &c

 Then, it seems, Bowes contrives to undermine his competition, the Mr. Grey her family originally objected to, by have a letter sent to her by another woman, that reads in part:

One moment’s pause in the prosecution of your present cruel resolution may save me from destruction and make your character immortal. Cultivate Mr Gray’s affections because your late Lord’s friends and relations will accept of him as your husband but not of Captain S——. It is impossible that Mr Gray should keep these secrets from you. Mr Gray has had the address (which my simple and easy fool never could obtain) of first establishing his pretensions to you upon the confidence and zeal of your late Lord’s relations and friends Mr L—- Mr and Mrs O—– and Lady A S—–. It is with their warm approbation that he has wisely made his way to your heart. Plunge not therefore an artless hopeless desponding and forsaken maiden as I am into destruction and utter but restore some ray of comfort to the unfortunate.
     S

Which is pretty dang devious . . .  But then the narrative blathers on a bit and then this:

Of the person of the Countess when 1 first saw her I shall as far as I recollect give a description. It was the morning after the duel that she entered Bowes’s apartment at the St James’s Coffee House. [More blathering, basically the author goes on to say the Countess was hot and and a great rack.]

A duel

WTF? What duel??  Anyway, there’s this duel with swords AND pistols. They were effing serious, these guys. They fought at the Adelphi Tavern and someone shot a mirror. One Rev. Mr. B—— was not badly injured but Bowes was not so well off, according to the doctor (the author, Jesse Foot):

[U]pon examination I saw the wound on his right breast from whence the blood was then trickling upon a closer inspection I saw two wounds on the substance of the right breast about four inches distance from each other in an oblique line with each other. As I was given to understand that swords had been used as well as pistols and as I saw the swords one of which had been bent I never have had any other opinion but that these two wounds on the breast were made by the point of the sword passing in at the one and coming out at the other. There was another wound but not so important. His opponent was also wounded and by the wound being externally on the right thigh it excited considerable pain from the anatomical nature of the part and though not dangerous required rest and care to prevent inflammation.

However, both the duelists recovered and denied both the duel AND the wounds.

It’s all about the money . . .

The duel, however, took place before the marriage with the rival Gray unaware Bowes intended to marry the Countess. For her money. they were married 4 days after the duel after which he took possession of her Grosvenor Square house and its contents.

The purpose of the trial when the witness I allude to was called to prove that Bowes was not wounded was to recover estates mdde over to Bowes by the Countess in May 1777, a few months after their marriage in order that he might raise money upon them and when the Countess escaped from Bowes in the year 1785 and swore the peace against him these estates were claimed from Bowes founded upon the proof that they were obtained from her not with her fair consent but by ill usage and compulsion.

 
Lady Strathmore’s mother dies of the shock of the marriage. Then Bowes basically takes what he can get from and for the Grosvenor Square house, gives Mr. Gray 12,000 pounds (to get lost??) and spends the rest and the house is soon deserted. They move a couple times and four months later (!!) the countess delivers a baby. So yeah. Either there’s a missing 5 months or . . . .

Spending the Money . . .

Anyway, stuff happens. Bowes is busy decimating his wife’s fortune and, it kind of seems, the fortune of anyone else dumb enough to lend him money. If something can be sold, Bowes is selling it. He’s like this Georgian Nigerian scammer, writing letters about how he’ll unload property X for a bargain rate and YOU CAN KEEP THE PROFIT!  (I put in the caps for effect.)

Also, he’s taking out a lot of insurance on Lady S’s life. That can’t be good:

I shall take it as a favour if you will the persons you employ in this business to write me occasionally to mention what progress make as well as to send me a list of the they may have procured for though Lady more is in PERFECT HEALTH yet as she is child. I am determined to insure her life if I can do it for three guineas and I trust you will use your utmost to have this matter properly accomplished for me with all possible expedition.

There are several more letters asking if the insurance had been obtained yet. 18,000 pounds worth. Then it gets a bit dull, what with all his letters asking for money really what’s the deal, you won’t lose a penny….  Then Bowes wants control of  his wife’s daughters by Lord Strathmore. They already have guardians, but he’s scheming to get his hands on their money. Any money, really:

Escape?

The countess manages to make an escape and, it seems, gets legal protection from the duke of Norfolk and a court appointed bailiff. Bowes has also knocked up a maid. Actually, several maids. Then he plots the kidnap of his wife.  She’s in a carriage, on Highgate Hill, and he basically takes over the carriage.  The next day, they’re 195 miles from London. He has her for 11 days, and beats her and threatens to kill her if she won’t sign papers to stop the legal (separation) proceeding against him and agree to live with him as his wife. Several times. It’s horrifying, actually.

People are getting a bit upset about this, so he makes two servanst pretend to be him and his wife so that everyone thinks things are fine. What he does next is can only be described as torture.

She manages to escape and get back to London and the legal proceedings against her husband. He gets find 300 pounds, sentenced to 3 years in prison, and afterward post bonds of 15,000 pounds to stay away from the Countess for 14 years. She obtained a separation and a divorce.

While in prison, Bowes managed to seduce a young lady and lived with her afterward as well. He had five children with her while he kept her more or less a prisoner:

Upon the sickness of her children I happened to see her a few times but it was impossible to say one word more to her than what belonged to the case as Bowes was always present hurried the visit as much as possible locked the door and took the key in his pocket.

The countess died in 1800, and Bowes attempted to gain control of her remaining property, chiefly rents from properties he extorted from her.

It is my duty here to observe that Mr Scott who formerly had been Bowes’s counsel and to whose name Bowes had so often referred in his letters to his friend from Paris was the now Lord Eldon the Lord Chancellor before whom the revived litigation was to be heard he having succeeded the Lord Rosslyn and that Lord Eldon from motives of the nicest delicacy upon the hearings of the Lord Ross lyn’s LATENT ORDER called the master of the Rolls Sir William Grant to be present with him during the hearing of this cause. (emphasis added).

He spent a lot of time scheming and suing and behaving like the sociopath he seems to have been. He died on January 16, 1810 and was buried on the 23rd.

My final thoughts

1. I am damn glad I live in a time when the laws concerning women are more equitable.

2. I think we should all spend a moment or two remembering Mr. Bowes as the monster he was. He deserves to be held in contempt.

Posted in Former Riskies | Tagged | 10 Replies

Some Answers Plus Carolyn Tries out an 1815 Coffee Recipe

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A while back I listed some things about my February 2012 historical, Not Wicked Enough. One of them wasn’t true.

Here’s the list again for your reference. I have highlighted the item that is NOT true:

1. There is treasure in the book, shamelessly based on the recent finding of The Staffordshire Hoard. Lots of glittery gold!
2. There is a flaming pencil.
3. My heroine was a brunette until my publisher sent the cover. Now she’s blond.
4. The heroine offers to give the hero a recipe for coffee made from acorns.
5. There are TWO ladders at windows.
6. Hot sex in a turret.
7. There are puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.
8. The hero is a terrible dresser.
9. The heroine is a Regency Fashionista
10. At one point the exasperated heroine asks the hero if he expects every day to be savaged by wolves. (The hero does not think this is very funny)

That’s right. There are no puppies in the book. Everything else is true.

Coffee Recipe

Here’s the recipe I tried, from the 1815 New Family Receipt Book:

Let one ounce of fresh ground coffee be put into a clean coffee-pot, or other proper vessel well tinned; pour a pint and a quarter of boiling water upon it ; set it on the fire, let it boil thoroughly, and afterwards put by to settle; this should be done on the preceding night, and on the following morning pour off the clear liquor; add to it one pint of new milk ; set it again over the fire but do not let it boil. Sweetened to every person’s taste, coffee thus made is a most wholesome and agreeable breakfast, summer or winter, with toast, bread and butter, rusks, biscuits, &c. This process takes off that raw, acidous, and astringent quality of the coffee, which makes it often disagree with weak stomachs. It should not be drunk too warm.

A gentleman of the first fortune in the kingdom, after a variety of medical applications in vain, was restored to health by applying to the above beverage morning and afternoon.

Notes

  • I used an aluminum saucepan.
  • I used Peets Espresso Forte, ground slightly less fine than espresso. Because that’s that I had on hand.
  • I weighed the coffee grounds. An ounce is a lot more than I expected.
  • I used our stove rather than build a fire. Sorry.
  • By “clear liquor” is meant, strain the stuff so it’s not full of coffee grounds.
  • We did not have any new milk so I substituted 2%. I bet you could buy some “pretty new” milk from a local dairy. Here in Nor Cal where I live, there are several quite famous dairies.
  • I drank my coffee with butter cookies

IMHO, I think the rich guy was so hyped on caffeine he couldn’t tell he was still sick.

My Assessment

I tested the coffee before I added the milk and I have to confess, my first reaction was GAH!!! This tastes like swill!. But I bravely carried on in the name of science. Once I added the milk and got it heated up, it was pretty good. I did add some brown sugar.

Take away

You could totally do this. Or you could go to Starbucks and get a Venti cafe au lait with a couple extra shots. Your call.

Posted in Former Riskies, Jane Austen | Tagged , | 9 Replies

Books and Stuff about Books

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The making of Regency Books from the awesome Regency Redingcote.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading about the making of books. Back in 2001, when I was still in grad school, I was researching a Regency era author. Here’s a link to an article I wrote for Rakehell.com about the price of Romance.

And boy, it probably won’t come as any surprise to authors that publishers in those days took advantage of authors. There wasn’t any need to track royalties because publishers acquired the copyright outright. No license. No advance. No foreign rights. No translation rights. If your book ended up selling lots but you sold the copyright for 5 pounds, you were limited to counting what was left of your 5 pounds because you were never going to see a penny of that sales money. That circumstance might put you in a position to sell your next book for more money. Maybe.

It wasn’t uncommon to pay for publication yourself, if you had the money, or seek a patron. That’s why you can find so many 18th and 19th century books with a lovely dedication to Lord SoandSo, who defrayed or may even have entirely covered the publication costs. I’ve also seen books that were published by subscription, that is, get enough people to buy the book in advance, and voila, you could publish it. Yes, Kickstarter isn’t all that new an idea.

Digital publishing is the first truly significant change to the business of book publishing in centuries, really. For the first time, any author with internet access can put their book into the stream of commerce. Speaking quite literally, it can be done for no money out of pocket, but for time, electricity and possible internet charges. Yes, I know it would be unwise to put out a book with no cover, no editing or proofreading, but it can and has been done.

Authors have always risked anonymity, of course. If you publish a book in the forest of Books and nobody reads it, do the words between the pages actually exist?

For the first time since humans moved away from oral traditions as the primary vehicle for story-telling, ANYONE meeting those minimum requirements (access to a computer and internet) can write and publish a book.

Amazon’s change in percentage paid to the author created a set of conditions where Do-It-Yourself publishing can actually be profitable to the author as well as cheaper for the reader. I am, of course, setting aside all those pesky issues of quality, discoverability and talent, because that’s not quite the point I’m making.

My point is that for centuries publishing has been a business that didn’t change all that much.

And now it has.

So, what would Jane Austen think of publishing today? Would she have self-pubbed Pride and Prejudice?

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Feeding the Research Beast

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It turned out recently that I needed to know about the Italian Opera (you can read about that in this blog post at my website.) I ended up with two amazing books. But there’s a third I’ll tell you about, too.

Don’t Hate Me Because I have Awesome Research Books

First, because it’s easiest, is Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Very Very handy. But let me tell you, this book is CRYING for digitization. Oxford University Press are you listening? Get this thing searchable and indexable. It also has shorter lists of Non-Western names. It’s a handy reference and a good supplement to the best name website on the internet, Behind The Name.

Next, because it’s awesome but I am saving something massively geeky for last, is The Pursuit of Pleasure, gender, space and architecture in Regency London by Jane Rendell. This book is blowing my mind with meticulously researched details and a whole new-to-Carolyn way of thinking about space and gender. This is not your average research book, in that it is offering far more than facts (though there are plenty of them!) but a framework for looking at how architecture serves and feeds our notions of gender. This is the book that contains so much great information on the Italian Opera. Money well spent!

A Book Made of Awesome Sauce And Handmade Paper, Too

Third is Memorials of Brooks’s MDCCLXIV to MCM. You can get this in PDF if you look hard enough. However, I located an original print copy for a fairly decent amount of money and it has winged its way across the Pond and over the Rockies to California.

What is this book? Nothing more or less than a list of every single member of Brooks’s from inception in 1764 to 1900. [Combine this book with Rendell’s which talks about the men’s clubs, Brooks, White’s and Boodles, among others and you might end up dancing for joy.)

This book is MORE than just the names. It lists who sponsored the member and has a bit of biographical information for most entries. There are some articles, but I didn’t buy the book for the articles. OK, actually, I will read the articles. But here:

Fergusson, Genl. was proposed and sponsored by Lord R. Spencer. He was elected on 23 Feb 1807. [!773-1841.] ? Sir Ronald; broth. of Robt F. of Raith; served in Cape of Good Hope, 1805; M.P. Kirkcadly. 1806-30 ; Nottingham, 1830-31 ; distinguished in Peninsular War; K.C.B., 1815 ; General, 1830 ; G.C.B., 1831 ; frequently mentioned in the “Creevey Papers.” [See App. K]

Appendix K: Abortive Duel between Broughham and “Dandy Raikes.” — An amusing account of this dispute, every actor in which was a member of Brooks’s, is given in the “Creevey Papers,.” Vol II. p. 106.

There’s more about the duel, but it’s late so I’ll have to save that and some more tidbits for next Wednesday.

So. Is that awesome or what?

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Jane Austen Made Her Do It

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Today’s guest is someone I’ve known online for sometime but met in person just this last weekend at the JASNA-AGM in Fort Worth, TX: Laurel Ann Nattress, the editor of a fabulous anthology of Austen-inspired stories, Jane Austen Made Me Do It (and I’m one of the authors!). We had a terrific book launch party for JAMMDI, my Jane Austen: Blood Persuasion, and the newest release from another anthology contributor, Carrie Bebris’ The Affair at Lime.

A life-long acolyte of Jane Austen, Laurel Ann Nattress is the author/editor of Austenprose a blog devoted to the oeuvre of her favorite author and the many books and movies that she has inspired. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, a regular contributor to the PBS blog Remotely Connected and the Jane Austen Centre online magazine. An expatriate of southern California, Laurel Ann lives in a country cottage near Snohomish, Washington. Visit Laurel Ann at her blogs Austenprose and JaneAustenMadeMeDoIt, on Twitter as @Austenprose, and on Facebook as Laurel Ann Nattress.

Tell us the story behind the story–how did this anthology come about?

As a long-time Jane Austen fan, I had read all of her novels numerous times, moved on to the movies and sequels, and started my blog, Austenprose, in 2007. While working with Austenesque authors on publicity for their books, I began to see a thread that connected them all together. What if I edited an anthology of short stories inspired by Austen? At that time, there were many sequels and Austen-inspired novels in print, but no short story collections. My biggest challenge was how to get it published. I had no idea, but asked authors Diana Birchall, Margaret Sullivan and Laurie Viera Rigler for advice. Before I could reach out to anyone with my book proposal, I received an email from an agent of an author who I was working with on my blog thanking me for the great job I had done his client publicize the book. I saw an opportunity and immediately wrote back and pitched my anthology. He was an Austen fan too and immediately loved the idea. Within a week, I had my deal with Ballantine. It was just too surreal.

You’ve anticipated my usual question of whether your book was a hard sell, but that’s an awesome story. Congratulations!

My “road to publication” story is one in a million. When I started my blog years ago, I never dreamed that it would culminate into a book, but it did. One hears horror stories of how authors pitching their novels for years and enduring painful rejections and multiple rewrites before they capture the deal. Many times it never happens. The industry can be brutal. After my deal with Ballantine closed, I felt terribly guilty for about five minutes. I had to remember that I had been working diligently for years and give myself credit for developing relationships with so many of the Austenesque authors. I also had to credit the Fates. My number was up and all my stars and planets were in perfect alignment.

The thought of doing what you did (and dealing with people like me) terrifies me: was it really like herding cats?

Oh Janet. You are such a card. Authors difficult? Naw! You are not the first person to liken authors to herding cats. I am a cat lover, so it was not a challenge. 😉

I was all prepared for diva dramatics, but they did not materialize. Sorry to disappoint, but you were a charm to work with, and so were all other twenty-three authors! Luckily, we had many months to develop stories and edit them. I credit my editor at Ballantine for giving a newbie editor the extra time. It made all the difference in getting stories that the authors had a chance to contemplate and refine before they submitted them. We also allowed a bit of time for rewrites. It was the perfect storm.

Lizzy and Darcy … why do they continue to fascinate us endlessly, as opposed to, for instance, Anne and Wentworth? Do you think another Austen couple could be the next big thing?

Lizzy and Darcy are a hard act to follow. I think that they are legendary because their romance is hard wrought and so satisfying. Lizzy goes from disliking Darcy intensely and rejecting his proposal, to being transformed after seeing his great estate at Pemberley! It may sound mercenary, but in Regency times, a man’s estate was a reflection of his integrity and style. Darcy saving her family’s social reputation by finding the naughty elopees, Lydia and Wickham, and then buying off the groom did not hurt either. It’s hard to pinpoint which of Austen’s couples could ever match them. I don’t think it is possible, but I do root for Catherine and Henry Tilney. Northanger Abbey is terribly underrated and I hope that readers will come to love it and the young hero and heroine more in the future.

Who is your favorite Austen couple?

I tend to like the antagonists in Austen oeuvre more that the feature romantic couple. They can be so much more interesting. Brother and sister Mary and Henry Crawford from Mansfield Park are just twisted enough to be intriguing, and Lady Susan Vernon and Reginald De Courcy in Lady Susan are about as far from innocent star crossed lovers as you can get. I guess you can say I like to be shocked by breaches in propriety – all within the realm of proper Austen decorum mind you! If I had to choose a nice couple to root for, it would be Harriet Smith and Robert Martin from Emma. They end up together after a few detours and their personalities leave the door wide open for some bumps in their married life.

Which is your favorite Austen? Why?

I will be presumptuous and assume that you mean my favorite Jane Austen book, right? Oh this is so hard to choose. I could give the politically correct answer and say that my favorite Jane Austen novel is the one I am currently reading, but I won’t, and will go out on a limb and say it wavers between Mansfield Park and Lady Susan. Are you shocked? Oh, I do dearly love to laugh with Pride and Prejudice and get pierced through my soul with Persuasion, but I am one to root for the underdog, so I will stick with my first choices. Both stories have very strong antagonists that are actually the protagonists. I love that dichotomy.

Which biography of Austen would you recommend?

Definitely Claire Tomalin’s Jane Austen: A Life. Great research and scholarly detail, but told in an interesting fiction-like manner.

Tell us about the pemberley.com contest and the judging process for it.

The Jane Austen Made Me Do It Short Story contest was an incredible challenge for me all around, but it was also great fun too! Jane Austen was devoted to her craft and has been inspiring writers for centuries. A short story contest for unpublished authors was in spirit with her ideals, so I pitched the idea to my editor and she liked it also. We never expected to receive eighty-eight stories! With the help of Myretta Robens at The Republic of Pemberley , we proofed, formatted and posted on the contest board about three quarters of those stories within the last three days! Talk about writers procrastination! The voters narrowed down the list to the Top Ten and my editor and I chose the Grand Prize winner. It was a tough call. I trusted my initial gut reaction to the winning story. The Love Letter by Brenna Aubrey made me cry. It was an incredible debut story that I hope many will have the chance to read.

What’s next for you?

Hmm? That’s a tricky question Janet. If I answered you honestly, I would let the cat out of the bag. Since I like to herd cats, I will leave that to your imagination.

Thanks for hosting me today on Riskies during my Grand Tour of the blogosphere in celebration of the release of Jane Austen Made Me Do It. It was a pleasure.

Enter a chance to win one copy of Jane Austen Made Me Do It by leaving a comment by Sunday, October 23, stating what intrigues you about reading an Austen-inspired short story anthology. Winners to be drawn at random and announced on October 25. Shipment to US and Canadian addresses only. Good luck to all!

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