As you all know, this is the weekend before RWA. Therefore, it’s the weekend that I spend running around my house screaming “Conference is coming! I’m not ready!” before falling over on the floor, having a glass of Chardonnay, and watching Pride and Prejudice for the 2,143rd time. (Which version? Doesn’t matter. Any. All!). I could be devising a way to fit all my shoes and evening handbags into my suitcase, working on the WIP (of which I have approximately 50 more pages to write), or researching the next book (wherein I will move from this WIP’s Regency Bath to that book’s Elizabethan Christmas at Whitehall. Plus a frost fair!).

Or I could have some more Chardonnay and find some fun Anglophile things on the Internet to share with all of you. I think I will go with that option.

First up, we have Kooky Royal Fashion. Since I have an absurd love for royalty, I really enjoy this!

We all re-wear our clothes, yes? Especially fancy things that cost a lot, and which we love but seldom get to take out of our closet. Princess Anne is no different. She took the dress AND hat she wore in 1981 to Princess Diana’s wedding and wore it a few weeks ago to another wedding, that of the Duke of Gloucester’s daughter Lady Rose Windsor. Because surely no one will remember a dress/hat combo that looks like a fried egg and was worn at possibly the highest profile event EVER! I actually think it looks better now, without that big choker, but she could have at least changed out the hat…

And speaking of hats! Then there was Princess Beatrice and her butterfly hat, also sported at a wedding. I love me a crazy hat, but this one might be a bit much even for me…

I also like to waste time looking for interesting real estate in the UK. I found this one, Shakespeare House in northern Buckinghamshire, near a village called Grendon Underwood. It was built as a coaching inn in the 1570s, since it was at a convenient spot halfway between Stratford and London. Called The Ship back then, it’s said that Shakespeare would stay there on his journeys back and forth (though I don’t see how this could possibly be proven, it’s still fun to think about living someplace Shakespeare slept!). Back then, it had 20 bedrooms as well as several public rooms with large fireplaces. Even though it’s been altered since then, it would still make a good place for Risky retreats!

According to tradition, Shakespeare stayed at The Ship several times over the years, though one night the inn was full and he slept on the local church porch before being chased off by the local constable, an incident that inspired the characters of Dogberry and Verges in Much Ado About Nothing. The inn has gone through fire, neglect, and rebuilding in the intervening years, but the little room is still there, up a narrow oak staircase past a priest’s hole and blackened beams. It’s also said his image appears in the window of this room on St. George’s Day, the anniversary of his birth and death, though I think if that happened every place he ever stayed his ghost would be tremendously busy…

This is the room Shakespeare was said to stay in, with the oval window (but I prefer the lighter chamber in the other pic!)

It has a lovely garden, too, where the current owners host Midsummer Night’s Dream themed parties, and is for sale for only 2.325 million pounds. A bargain!

Speaking of Shakespeare, I’m busy planning the 3 and a half days I’ll have in London after my trip to Paris this fall. One night I have tickets to see Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe! One day I’m going out to visit Hever Castle, family home of Anne Boleyn, and one day going to the Harlequin Mills & Boon offices in Richmond. That leaves–one and a half days for other things. I read a travel review where a family said they had 2 days in London and visited the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, the Imperial War Museum, the Tower, Kensington Palace, and the V & A. By my calculations, they must have spent about 2 hours in each place, which doesn’t sound helpful or enjoyable to me! But I do want to make the most of my time. Any suggestions?

But one trip at a time. I will see many of you in San Francisco next week, and will keep the rest of you up-to-date on conference doings!

(We’re very excited to welcome Regency author Dorothy McFalls! Comment for a chance to win of four prizes–two copies of Lady Iona’s Rebellion and two magnets featuring Dorothy’s beautiful covers)

Riskies: Hello, Dorothy! Welcome to Risky Regencies. Tell us about Lady Iona’s Rebellion. (I’m very intrigued by the artistic heroine…)

Dorothy: Thank you, Amanda and Riskies, for inviting me to talk about my books! (As you already know, I’m a big fan of yours. I’m halfway through your latest, A Sinful Alliance, and am enjoying it. It has intrigue, spies, and a gorgeous, mysterious hero! So naturally I was thrilled when you emailed me about spending some time here!) (Note from Amanda: Blush. And I didn’t even have to pay her, lol!)

My current release, Lady Iona’s Rebellion, is a Regency-set romance published by Cerridwen Press. And yes, it does feature a sculptress heroine! Ever since my husband discovered his artistic side and returned to college to study sculpture, the characters in my books have been a bit more artistic. His work has been rubbing off on me, I think! Luckily, thanks to his art history classes, he’s also a great resource for my research.

When I started to write about Lady Iona, she insisted right away she was no shrinking violet. Though everyone believed her to be a paragon of virtue and, well, terribly dull, she secretly ached to step out of the mold her family and society put her in. And for her, art (which was an acceptable endeavor for ladies of the Regency) was her way of expressing herself without shocking anyone.

But when her father arranges a marriage for her, fully expecting her to happily bow to his wishes, she decides it is high time to put her foot down and assert her independence. Only, she doesn’t know how. She seeks out Lord Nathan Wynter, a handsome rake with a shocking reputation for thumbing his nose at society’s rules, and asks him to teach her to be a bit more like him.

While Iona is seeking adventure, Nathan is doing his best to reform his ways and repair his disastrous relationship with his family. Winning the very proper Lady Iona for a wife would go a long way to achieving that end. So he agrees to her wild scheme of giving her lessons in debauchery.

The more he tries to protect her from running head-long into disgrace, the more he admires her daring spirit and unpredictable antics! Instead of returning her to the obedient world she was raised in, he encourages her blossoming passions. Such a move is surely going to lead them both to ruin. But for love he is willing to risky anything…

Riskies: What was the research like for this story? Did you come across any great new sourcs?

Dorothy: Lady Iona’s Rebellion takes place in Bath, and what a fun place to research! I was able to find some great sources for the period and the area. Perhaps the most useful was the Georgian Bath Ordnance Survey Historical Map and Guide published by the Ordnance Survey, RCHME, and the Bath Archaeological Trust. The map includes the historical property lines within and around the city as well as outlines of the building footprints that are color-coded by whether the structure was built by 1727, 1776, and 1830. While writing the book I had the map, which isn’t small, spread out on the floor of my office, so I could visually trace the activities of the characters. There are similar maps available for other areas of England. It’s a source I highly recommend!

I also searched UK online bookstores for historical books on Bath and found some great resources that way. I found the Bath Historical Society wonderfully generous in answering my emailed questions about the workings of the baths in the Regency. And of course the Beau Monde and Hearts Through History chapters of Romance Writers of America came through whenever I hit a research roadblock or couldn’t find some bit of information in my files.

Riskies: Tell us about your other releases!

Dorothy: Just try and stop me, LOL! My debut novel, The Marriage List, was published by Signet in 2005. Viscount Redford Evers makes a list of his requirements for a wife. Humble tenant May Sheffers meets none of these, so why does his heart beat madly at the sight of her?

Because Regency society was really a small world, some of the characters from The Marriage List show up in Lady Iona’s Rebellion. TML is no longer in print, but you can pick up a used copy at Amazon for less than a dollar–what a bargain!!

I’ve also dipped my toe into the erotic romance ebook market, and have two very different books currently available. Lady Sophie’s Midnight Seduction, from Whispers Publishing, is a sort but very steamy Regency tale. Sophie, a self-avowed spinster, has been happy with with her independence for many years–until Lord Benton-Black enters her world. Now she finds her nights haunted by this man who is determined to seduce her and make her his wife!

Neptune’s Lair, also from Whispers, is a contemporary paranormal romantic suspense. If you like these “strange but true” pocket books that you used to be able to pick up in the grocery store checkout line in the ’60s that told about ordinary people learning extraordinary powers, I think you’ll enjoy this book. It’s worse than a bad hair day! Dallas St. John’s new lover is taking control in the bedroom, an unworldly force if threatening her soul, and she has just learned she isn’t quite human.

I also have several free short stories available on my website, dorothymcfalls.com. They’re a mix of mysteries and paranormal. No Regencies have landed there yet! Those usually bloom into full-blown novels.

Riskies: What has your experience been like with epublishing versus traditional publishing?

Dorothy: Both experiences have been pretty great! With the right editor, I have found lots of creative freedom in the e-publishing route, and through this format I’ve been able to reach some fabulous readers all over the world. However, there are still lots of readers who aren’t familiar or comfortable with ebooks. So I’ve been a little frustrated that some of my print-only readers haven’t been able to read Lady Iona!

Personally, I’m an ebook convert. I’m such a heavy reader, and the small print is difficult on my eyes. I use a Cybook e-reader (bookeen.com), which is about the size of a hardback book, and I keep it loaded with ebooks. In fact, I just returned from vacation and was able to bring about 100 books with me on the ebook reader. My favorite feature is the ability to turn any book into a large print book!

It also seems like most of the major publishers now offer their books in ebook format (which is how I bought A Sinful Alliance!). I love the convenience of that!

So, while the readership of ebooks is currently a bit limited, I believe it’s a fast-growing sector of publishing that is filled with possibilties, and I’m very excited to be a part of it.

Riskies: What is it that draws you to the Regency period as a setting? What are some of your favorite Regency-set novels or period movies?

Dorothy: I love the pageantry and the beautiful language of the Regency! I grew up in beautiful, historic Charleston, SC (a city whose heyday was during the Georgian period), and I think being immersed in that history from a young age is the reason writing Regency romances feels comfortable to me.

And I ask you, what woman can resist a rogue in leather pants?? Not this one! Sigh…

Some of my favorite authors include Catherine Coulter, Tracy Anne Warren, Sophia Nash, Jo Beverley (her latest novel has a Papillon dog in it!), and the list simply goes on and on, depending on who is in my TBR pile at the moment.

Movies? I don’t know. It was great fun to watch the Jane Austen collection on PBS a while ago, and compare each movie to the book!

Riskies: What’s next for you?

Dorothy: I have a new release, The Nude, on the horizon from Five Star/Gale/Cengage. It’ll be coming out in May 2009. This is the book of my heart. It’s a love story I wrote for my husband several years ago. It won the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Unpublished Historical Romantic Mystery/Suspense back in 2003. After a few false starts, it finally found its publisher. I’m really, really thrilled to know this book will soon be in print! And yes, there’s an artist involved.

After Elsbeth,m Countess Mercer’s husband died fighting in the Peninsula, the young widow hoped to quietly spend the rest of her days with her uncle and his 2 spirited daughters. She never expected to find herself at the center of a public scandal.

An exhibition of a painting titled “The Nude” that looks shockingly like Elsbeth has set all the tongues of Regency London wagging. This isn’t the first time the painter, Dionysus, has caused havoc in her life. Though she’s never met him, she fell hopelessly in love with him through his haunting landscapes a decade earlier. Like Cyrano using his poetry to lure a woman to love another, Dionysus used his paintings to trick Elsbeth into marrying the wrong man. She refuses to let him hurt her again, and she vows to find him and force him to prove her innocence.

Nigel, Marquess of Edgeware, a reclusive but powerful figure in the ton, has connections with Dionysus and reasons to protect the artist’s true identity. When Elsbeth sets out to find Dionysus, Nigel abducts the widow and insists she accept his help. When she stubbornly refuses, he decides that seducing the lady might be the swiftest and most effective means of diverting her attentions. Elsbeth soon discovers she is torn between the artist who owns her heart, and the man who can set it free…

Author Sophia Nash gave a quote for this book: “McFalls deftly balances romance and mystery in this masterful story!”

This was fun, Riskies! I love all things Regency, and historical for that matter, so I never turn down an opportunity to talk about it. If anyone has questions about the resources I’ve used for my research, I can be contacted through my website at dorothymcfalls.com

Warning! Rambling and semi-incoherent post ahead. I still have Thanksgiving Carb Brain…

(* I recently read Sarah Vowell’s new book The Wordy Shipmates. While not quite as hilarious as Take the Cannoli and Assassination Vacation, probably because I don’t share her obsession with 17th century New England Puritans, it was still very funny and entertaining. And she did remind me of something. Many years ago there was a wacky TV sitcom about 17th century Pilgrims. Yes, you read that right–sitcom about Pilgrims. On network TV. It was called Thanks, and even featured standard-issue schluby, befuddled sitcom dad and rebellious, sullen sitcom teenaged daughter. It only lasted about 3 episodes, and I have no idea how it was greenlighted in the first place, but it was terrifically weird. With the seeming demise of Pushing Daisies, there is a sad dearth of whimsy on TV now. I wish someone would do a Regency-set sitcom…)

Anyway, I hope you all had a great holiday with your families! I ate too much on Thursday (hence the dreaded Carb Brain–and while trying to finish a book, too!). Friday was “movie day” (Australia–gorgeous scenery, epic romance, Grand Gestures, Hugh Jackman. What more does a movie need? Tonight I am going to see Rachel Getting Married, which is probably about as different a film as there can be from Australia, but it sounds great!). Today is “get out the Christmas decorations” day, if I can get off the couch. Despite the fact that decorating involves 2 of my least favorite things, dusting and vacuming, I like it. My grandmother was a Christmas junkie, and I inherited a lot of her beautiful decorations, so I love remembering childhood holidays at her house.

There’s a lot to be thankful for this year, despite all the bad news. I’m thankful for books to read and books to write (am planning on buying almost all books for Christmas gifts this year! Buy A Book, Save An Author, LOL). I’m thankful for our new President-Elect, for Hello Kitty bric-a-brac, pretty party dresses, the Eiffel Tower (and the chance to see it sparkle at night–most beautiful thing ever), jars of Nutella, how cute my dogs look in their Christmas sweaters. And especially for Risky Regencies, and all of you! I’ve so much loved being a part of this community. I love visiting here every day.

And don’t forget to join us Monday, when Linda Fildew and the Harlequin Historicals editorial team will be here at RR! They will talk about upcoming books, what they look for in submissions, and a lot more, plus taking your questions. Diane and I will each give away a signed copy of our books (Diane will give one of the winner’s choice from her wonderful backlist, and I will give a hot-off-the-press copy of my January release, High Seas Stowaway!)

At this time of year, when we’re supposed to think about all we’re “thankful” for (like LOLRegencies and chocolate-cranberry truffles? Sequined party dresses and champagne? I’m definitely thankful for those…) I’m thankful for old favorite books to read, and the people who wrote them. And today is the 189th birthday of George Eliot, great writer and rebellious spirit!

Mary Anne Evans was born the youngest of 5 children in 1819. Her father was the manager of the Arbury Hall estate belonging to the Newdigate family in Warwickshire, and she was born on that estate at a house called South Farm. Early on she showed signs of obvious intelligence, and was allowed access to the library at Arbury, where she was especially interested in the volumes on classical Greece. Eventually she was sent to boarding schools at Attleborough, Nuneaton, and Coventry, where she met the evangelical Maria Lewis, who became her great friend and correspondent (until Mary Anne decided to quit going to church…)

In 1836 her mother died and she returned home to keep house for her father, until her elder brother married and took over the house and she and her father moved to Coventry. The move brought her closer to new influences, including the wealthy Charles and Cara Bray, whose home at Rosehill was a haven for people of radical views and liberal theologies. It was there she made the decision to stop attending church, which caused a deep rift between herself and her family (her father threatened to kick her out, but didn’t follow through). When her father died in 1849, she traveled to Switzerland with the Brays and then stayed on in Geneva alone. On her return to England the next year, she moved to London alone with the intent of becoming a writer. (Oh no! A woman on her own, running loose in Victorian England!!!)

In 1851 she met philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes, and by 1854 they were openly living together. Lewes was married, but he and his wife, Agnes Jervis, had agreed on an “open marriage”–in addition to the 3 children the Lewes’ had together, she also had several with other men. (Oh no! Shockers!!!) In 1854, Evans and Lewes went together to Berlin as a sort of “honeymoon”, where she called him her husband and started working on a series of essays that would eventually become Scenes of Clerical Life. She also came up with a new nom-de-plume–George Eliot.

In 1859, her first published novel, Adam Bede, made a big splash, and speculation as to the author’s identity ran rampant (there was even a “pretender” to the name, Joseph Liggins). In the end, she had to step forward and admit she was the author. The revelations of her private life shocked many of her readers, but it didn’t seem to affect sales. In 1867, the couple was even introduced to Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria and a big fan.

Eliot continued to write well-received and popular novels for 15 years. After Adam Bede came The Mill on the Floss, dedicated “To my beloved husband, George Henry Lewes, I give this MS of my third books, written in the third year of our lives together.”

Her last novel was Daniel Deronda, published in 1876, after which she and Lewes moved to Witley, Surrey, in hopes that the fresh air would help improve his failing health. He died in November 1878, and Eliot spent the next two years editing his final work, Life and Mind. But the scandal didn’t end with Lewes death. In May 1880, Eliot married an American banker named John Walter Cross, 20 years her junior.

Cross was not the most stable of characters. On their honeymoon in Venice, he either jumped or fell from their hotel window into the Grand Canal (yuck!), and there were quarrels. That didn’t last long, as Eliot died soon after their return to their new house in Chelsea, on December 22, 1880, at the age of 61. The possibility of burial at Westminster Abbey was vetoed due to her naughty life (refusing to go to church, shacking up with Lewes, etc), and she was buried next to Lewes in Highgate Cemetery. In 1980, 100 years after her death, a memorial plaque was erected at Westminster’s Poet’s Corner.

Some of her other works include Silas Marner and Romola, set in 15th century Florence, but my personal favorite of her books (and one of my favorites of all time) is Middlemarch, her 7th and next-to-last work, published first in serial form between 1871-72. It’s a big book, with multiple plots, a huge cast of characters, and many underlying themes such as the status of women in society, the nature of marriage, religion/hypocrisy, political and educational reform, and idealism vs self-interest (themes that never lose their immediacy, especially if one looks at this year’s election!). It’s also a great story. Virginia Woolf called it “the magnificent book, with all its imperfections, is one of the few English novels written for grown-up people.”

Middlemarch was a Masterpiece Theater series in 1994, starring Juliet Aubrey and Rufus Sewell, and I have seen rumors of an upcoming feature film, written by Andrew Davies and directed by Sam Mendes, though I haven’t seen any casting news. Maybe Mendes’ wife, Kate Winslet? It’s hard to picture her falling for Casaubon’s BS, though.

A few sources I like (and used for this post) are: Jenny Uglow, George Eliot. Kathryn Hughes, George Eliot: The Last Victorian. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the 19th Century Literary Imagination. Jerome Beaty, Middlemarch from Notebook to Novel: A Study of George Eliot’s Creative Method.

Do you enjoy George Eliot? What are your favorites of her books/the film adaptations of them? (There was good one not too long ago of Daniel Deronda). What books are you especially grateful for this holiday season??? (I think I’m going to curl up with Middlemarch this evening…)

I’ve been totally obsessed with 18th century France since I visited Versailles last month! And I’ve been feeding that obsession by reading the new book Versailles: The Biography of a Palace by Tony Spawforth. (I also wanted to buy another new book, Marie Antoinette and the Last Garden of Versailles, but I have been strictly warned by my family that I am not to buy any object on my Christmas gift wishlist!) And I’ve been shopping for fabric and trim for next summer’s Beau Monde Soiree costume. It’s just a total Marie Antoinette moment around here. And then I heard about this fabulous exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. They are displaying one the few extant gowns that belonged to Marie Antoinette!!! It’s very delicate and can only be displayed for a short time, but they’ve extended the exhibit to November 16. If you live near there at all, go go go, and send me info! (In the meantime, the website’s podcast about the gown is very interesting, but not nearly long enough)

It seems the gown was given to a lady-in-waiting and eventually taken to England (probably when that lady or her family fled the Revolution). It was re-cut during the 19th century, and the (fabulous, I’m sure) stomacher was lost. But it’s easy to picture how it must have looked when the Queen ordered it from Rose Bertin. It’s amazing.

I also found this picture of an exhibit in France (the shoes and garters are Marie Antoinette’s; the baby bonnet belonged to her daughter Marie Therese, Madame Royale).

And this is a fragment of one of the Queen’s petticoats in the Museum of London (given as mourning mementos to emigres in London after her death)

And this little goat carriage belonging to the royal children, displayed at the Petit Trianon

More Petit Trianon pictures!

So, I need some help putting together this costume for next summer. My living room is littered with swatches and bits of trim, not to mention “inspiration images” like the ones above! What color (pink, blue, silver, lavender? All of the above?) Trim (lace, tassles, fringe, flowers)? Shoes? Jewels?

And who are some of your historical inspirations? If you were going to a costume ball, what would your costume be (if you had to be either a historical figure or a character in a book?)