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Happy St. Nicholas Day

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According to Hone’s Every Day Book (1827), today is St. Nicholas Day. This is, apparently, the anniversary of his death in 343.

Hone reports that

St. Nicholas

He is in the almanacs, and church of England calendar. He is a patron or titular saint of virgins, boys, sailors, and the worshipful company of parish clerks of the city of London (an interesting collection). Mr. Audley (of Audley’s Companion to the Almanac) briefly observes of him, that he was remarkable in his infancy for piety, an dthe knowledge of the scriptures; that he was made bishop of Myra, in Lycia, by Constantine the Great, and the ‘he was present in the council of Nice, where it is aid that he gave Arius a box on the ear.’

St. Nicholas & the pickled children

St. Nicholas & the pickled children

One of the stories of St. Nicholas’s virtue concerns him resurrecting two boys who had been killed and cut into pieces with the intention of selling them for pickled pork. (Ick) Nicholas, then the bishop of Myra, had a vision of these proceedings and went to the innkeeper who had salted the boys. Once the innkeeper confessed, asked for forgiveness and “supplicated restoration of life to the children, “the pickled pieces reunited, and the reanimated youths stepped from the brine-tub and threw themselves at the feet of St. Nicholas.

This, and other tales of virtue, caused his festival day to involve choosing a choir boy to “maintain the state and authority of a bishop.” This show of the “Boy Bishop” was abrogated by Henry VIII by proclamation but revived in the reign of Mary “with other Romish ceremonials.”

Hone leaves December 6 with a poem entitled Winter.

Hoary, and dim, and bare, and shivering.
Like a poor almsman comes the aged Year,
With kind “God save you all, good gentlefolks!”
Heap on fresh fuel, make a blazing fire,
Bring out the cup of kindness, spread the board,
And gladden Winter with our cheerfulness!
Wassail! — to you, and yours, and all! — All health!

And so say we all.

Lady Dearing’s Masquerade audiobook on sale!

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Lady Dearing's Masquerade Audiobook CoverHello. It’s been a busy week and I’m sorry to say I don’t have a real post, only some news.

If you are into audiobooks–or would like to try one–the audiobook of Lady Dearing’s Masquerade is currently on sale at Audible for $6.95, over 60% off the regular price.

Lady Dearing’s Masquerade was awarded Best Regency Romance in 2005 from RT Book Reviews. Here’s a short summary:

Lady Dearing became society’s most notorious widow after kissing a stranger at a masquerade but two years later, his memory still haunts her dreams. Sir Jeremy Fairhill has given up hope of finding her, but when he investigates the infamous widow who’s taking in children from London’s Foundling Hospital, his sense of duty clashes with a dangerous passion for the elusive, alluring Lady Dearing.

And here’s a sample.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Elena
www.elenagreene.com

Books Old and New For You. Also, Contest.

Old Books

Here is another great link I came across, about how medieval book collections were cataloged and indexed so they could be found on the shelves. It’s fascinating with loads of great pictures, too. I love the picture of the books chained in the shelves. Get your geek on and click on over.

New Books

I have decided to have a Risky contest in which the winner will receive 1 book from each Risky  — supplied by me. I can try to accommodate international but the expense might end up being prohibitive. I may need to send an alternate prize to a winner outside the US because shipping is crazy expensive even with Book Depository.

To enter, read the rules carefully then leave a comment to this post by Midnight Eastern on December 7, 2014.

Rules

Void where prohibited. Must be 18 to enter. No purchase necessary. International OK, but see the above. Family or employees of the Riskies can’t enter. (Sorry minions, but you’ll get your coal shortly so what’s your problem?) Your comment must be submitted by 11:59:59 PM Eastern on December 7, 2014. Winner selected at random from among the qualified entrants. One entry per person, please. Winner will be notified by email. An alternate winner will be selected if the winner does not reply within 5 calendar days. For digital books, the winner must be able to accept a digital gift from a vendor that allows gifting of books.

To enter, leave a comment where you complete one of the following questions:

1. At a Regency Ball, Lord Hawkington is  ……..

2. You are Lord Hawkington and you have noticed Miss Smythe has …..

Go.

 

(Some)Favorites of 2014!

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Happy week after Thanksgiving, everyone!  I hope you had a lovely holiday.  I turned in a WIP last Friday (yay!), and am taking a breath before diving into the next story tomorrow (which is a Christmas book, the next in my Elizabethan Mystery series–I think this is the first Christmast story I have ever written near the actual holiday.  Usually they seem to be due in July, and I have no snowy holiday feelings when it’s 94 degrees outside…).  In the meantime, I am taking a look back at my reading this year…

As usual, I seem to have spent most of my time reading research books, but I also came across some wonderful fiction, and also some new non-fiction!  What did you enjoy reading this year??

I always get so excited when there is a new Jude Morgan book on the shelf!  (I know Risky Janet is also a fan…)  This year it was The Secret Life of William Shakespeare, which did not disappoint.  (There wasn’t actually much “secret” about it, but the alternating POV between Will and his wife was very well done, and the atmosphere of Elizabethan England was wonderful)

SecretlifewmShakespeare

IMO, the world definitely needs more ballet novels, and last summer I devoured Maggie Shipstead’s Astonish Me (which was over way too soon…)

AstonishMeCover

Also, the world needs more novels about bookshops.  And secret manuscripts.  And lost love.  Like Charlie Lovett’s The Bookman’s Tale…

BookMansTaleCover

There were two non-fiction histories, both of which pointed out in stark terms that the real life of princesses is often far from storybook, but rather isolating, lonely, helpless, and sometimes even terrifying, even though these two sets of royal sisters were 100 years and several countries apart–A Royal Experiment by Janice Hadlow, about the family of George III (6 daughters, kept isolated at home, growing increasingly desperate and bitter) and The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport (4 sisters, kept isolated at home, dying untimely and horrifyingly violent deaths)

RomanovSisters

I love a good historical mystery, and I also love the history of the Gilded Age in America, so of course I devoured Alyssa Maxwell’s Murder at the Breakers (and can’t wait for the rest of the series…)

MurderBreakersCover

Historical romances are always saved as treats for vacation and/or time between deadlines (when I dangle them as “finish the book” carrots in front of myself!), so this weekend I am looking forward to diving into Risky Megan’s Duke’s Guide to Correct Behavior!  (I also read two great new romances a few weeks ago, Meredith Duran’s Fool Me Twice, and Mary Balogh’s Only Enchanting, both of which had wonderful, realistic, heartbreaking characters…)

DukesGuideCover

I’ve also been zooming my way through the DVDs of season two of the “Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries” (one of the few instances where I much prefer the movies to the books!).  The 1920s fashions, cars, cocktails, and Phryne Fisher’s shining bob and naughty jokes are so much fun!

MissFisher

And now i am off to start my reading list for 2015!!!

Fox Hunting in Regency England

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“One knows so well the popular idea of health. The English country gentleman galloping after a fox — the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable.”
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), A Woman of No Importance, act 1.

Fox_Hunting_-_Henry_AlkenPursuing the “uneatable” was a popular sport among Regency gentlemen and the fox hunting season would have been this time of year, from after the leaves have all fallen to right before spring planting. Fox hunting has a long history in Britain, dating back to the 16th century. It became especially popular after the decrease in the deer population made hunting deer more difficult.

Hunting foxes was once considered a form of vermin control. Foxes were notorious for attacking small livestock, but by Regency times, the main purpose of the hunt was the sheer sport of it. Hounds were bred specifically for fox hunting. Gentlemen kept up to 12 hunters, horses bred for the hunt, so they could hunt six days in a row, using two horses per hunt. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Duke of Wellington kept eight horses and hunted frequently while on the Peninsula.

Hunting was the sport of wealthy gentlemen partly because those gentlemen had the wide expanse of land that the hunting required. Others could only hope to be invited to the hunt. Unauthorized hunting anywhere was considered poaching and could incur severe penalties.
220px-Daniel_Gardner_Sir_William
Regency times were times of house parties during which gentlemen rode to the hounds and only a very few ladies did. Ladies were encouraged to ride out with the hunters or to watch the hunt from carriages.

Fox hunting was outlawed in Great Britain in 2005 but still exists in other countries including Australia and the USA.

I love the idea of galloping over the countryside on horseback, but to chase a fox and have it torn to bits, not so much. I understand the appeal hunting game animals, although I couldn’t do it. Could you? Do you hunt? Have you ever been fox hunting?