So, this Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day! The day when everyone gets to be just a little bit Irish. As you all know, I’ve been deeply immersed in late 18th century Irish history for my WIP (which is finally closing in on The End, slowly but surely!), and I thought about pulling out some of my mountains of research for a post today.

But, let’s be honest–St. Patty’s Day isn’t really about oppression and uprisings (though there are plenty of great, sad ballads about such to be heard in every bar on the day!). It’s about dyeing your dog green (disclaimer–I would not do this myself, because my dogs probably wouldn’t stand still for it, but a guy I knew in college did…), putting on a silly hat, and going to parades to wave at other green dogs, bands, and step dancers. It’s about going to a pub to listen to jigs, eat some fish and chips, and have a pint.

So, in honor of the day, here’s a brief history of everyone’s favorite St. Patty’s day drink, that wondrous Irish institution–Guinness!

Arthur Guinness was born in Celbridge, County Kildare, in 1725, where he first learned the art of brewing from his father Richard, whose job as land steward to the Archbishop of Cashel included overseeing the brewing of beer for the workers. In 1759, Arthur signed a 9000-year lease on a disused brewery in St. James’s Gate in Dublin for the price of 45 pounds per year.

He started by brewing ale, and in the 1770s started brewing porter, a newish type of English dark beer that was growing in popularity (the distinctive feature in the flavor is the roasted barley, which remains unfermented. It gives Guinness its dark color and taste). This porter proved so successful that by 1799 Arthur had ceased brewing ale, and by the time of his death in 1803 he left a highly prosperous business behind (he also left a widow, the former Olivia Whitmore, and 21 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood). His son, Arthur Jr., then took over the brewery.

Arthur Jr. grew the business even further, expanding the export trade (the first Guinness exports was in May 1769, with six and a half barrels of ale sent to England), and brewing a new beer “Extra Superior Porter.” By the 1830s, the St. James’s Brewery was the largest brewery in Ireland.

A couple of good sources are: Guinness’s Brewery in the Irish Economy: 1759-1876 by Patrick Lynch and John Vaizey, and Iowerth Griffith’s Beer and Cider in Ireland: The Complete Guide. You can check out the Guinness website here, and Little Shamrocks for some fun Irish trivia. And this is a great recipe for chocolate Guinness cake (chocolate and Guinness! How can you go wrong? And it’s from Nigella, too)

I’m off to a parade this afternoon, and then to listen to some Irish bands at a local “pub” (not a totally genuine pub, natch, but the bar did come from a pub in Ireland that was being torn down! So at least it looks authentic…) What are your plans for the day? Do they involve Guinness???

March is a strange month. It’s not quite the “armpit of the year” (that would be February, the Darkest Month), but it’s not quite spring, either. Sometimes it’s cold (last week), sometimes summer-warm (this week), and it’s always allergenic. But I can see spring just over the horizon as the tips of my lilac bushes turn green, and Daylight Savings Time (not to mention St. Patrick’s Day) is only a couple weeks away!

One thing I’ve been doing this week is planning my garden. I have a tiny house with a wee back yard, but I do like to put in flowers along the front walkway and in pots on the porch, and I have a vegetable patch in the back yard. I’ve been looking over seed catalogs, and think I’m going to try some new heirloom tomatoes this year, as well as cucumbers, green beans, and peppers. Any other suggestions?

So, it seemed appropriate to find that today marks the anniversary of the founding of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1804! (It was just called Horticultural Society then, and gained the “Royal” in 1861, by charter from Prince Albert). According to the Society’s website, “The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity dedicated to advancing horticulture and promoting good gardening. Our goal is to help share a passion for plants, to encourage excellence in horticulture and inspire all those with an interest in gardening.”

The Society was first suggested by John Wedgwood (son of Josiah) in 1800. “He wanted to hold regular meetings, allowing the society’s members the opportunity to present papers on their horticultural activities and discoveries, to encourage discussion of them, and to publish the results. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements.” It was 4 years before the first meeting, with 7 members, on March 7, 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. The other members included William Townsend Aiton, Superintendent of Kew Gardens; Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society; and William Forsyth, Superintendent of the gardens of St. James’s Palace and Kensington Palace.

The RHS now has 4 flagship gardens in England, all of which look gorgeous. Wisley Garden, near the village of Wisley in Surrey (pictured at left); Rosemoor in Devon; Hyde Hall in Essex; and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Their first garden was in Kensington from 1818 to 1822, and in 1821 they leased part of the estate of Chiswick to set up an experimental garden. They held fetes there, and shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables.

They’re also famous for their annual flower shows, the most well-known being the Chelsea Flower Show. There are also 8 London Flower Shows at the Royal Horticultural Halls, the yearly Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, and Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire, and they also administer the Britain in Bloom competition. (I’ve never attended one of these shows, but I love looking at the photos every year and trying to find out if the plants featured would also flourish here).

A good source to learn more about the RHS is Brent Elliott’s The Royal Horticultural Society, A History: 1802-2004.

Reading about all of this just makes me want spring to get here sooner, so I can go out and dig in the dirt! Do you garden? What are some of your favorite “crops”? And if you’ve ever attended one of these flower shows, or seen the RHS gardens, tell us about it! Happy almost-spring, everyone…

It will be no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that I subscribe to way more fashion magazines than are good for me. This year, I have resolved to save money and cut back to just 2 or 3. But which ones? I really ought to cut Vogue. They often have, er, questionable cover model choices (Blake Lively? Really? Don’t they know those Gossip Girl clothes are chosen by a wardrobe team???), condescending articles about The Wonders of Shopping at Target (who knew?), and too many socialites no one has ever heard of, yet who Vogue seems to think we should really, really care about. And yet, Vogue, I just can’t quit you. Because once in a while you come with a fabulous issue like the new March ’09.

I squealed when I opened my mailbox and saw this gorgeous Michelle Obama cover. It makes up for Blake Lively last month. Plus articles about Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Queen Rania of Jordan, and one about English country estates incorporating contemporary art into their gardens (like Sudeley, Lismore, and Houghton Hall. I’m not sure what I think about this, really, after seeing that ridiculous Koons exhibit at Versailles last fall, but the houses look gorgeous…)

The Obama article actually deals very little with fashion, aside from a couple paragraphs and some speculation as to what influence she will have on American style. Obama says, “I love clothes. First and foremost, I wear what I love. That’s what women have to focus on: what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.”

Fashion ‘leaders’ are nothing new, of course. There was Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, etc. And Marie Antoinette became Queen of France at a very young age, after a long line of dowdy, dusty queens (it was seen as a mistress’s job to be fashionable, not a queen’s). Caroline Weber, in her great book Marie Antoinette: Queen of Fashion says, “From her earliest days at Versailles, Marie Antoinette staged a revolt against entrenched court etiquette by turning her clothes into defiant expressions of autonomy and prestige.” And others followed her lead, even as she shocked with her rebellious innovations. Felix de Montjoie, in his 1797 biography of the queen, said, “By one of those contradictions that are more common in France than anywhere else, even as the people were criticizing the Queen for her outfits, they continued frenetically to imitate her.”

She introduced the “pouf” hairstyle, the idea of a ‘trendy’ color (such as the vividly named ‘caca dauphin’ when her first son was born), and the frilly muslin ‘gaulle’ dress and straw hat (“the unofficial uniform of the Petit Trianon,” says Weber). She also liked polonaise-style gown, the masculine-tailored redingote and tricorn hat for riding, and shorter trains and smaller panniers even for court life.

In England, queens were also not traditionally looked to for fashion trends. (Not since Elizabeth I, maybe, with her ruffs and white makeup. No one asked Queen Charlotte for style advice, I’m sure!). That was up to ton ladies, especially dashing, charismatic ones like Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. Her every outfit, every accessory, was observed and avidly copied (towering plumes, picture hats, colors like “Devonshire brown”). The gaulle caught on in England when Marie Antoinette made a present of one to Georgiana (which she then wore to a ball given by the Prince of Wales, setting off a furor). The Lady’s Magazine wrote, “all the Fair Sex now, from 15 to 50 and upwards…appear in their white muslin frocks with broad sashes.”

In 1785, a purveyor of perfumes and toiletries advertised he had ‘just imported a quantity of curious, beautiful, and sweet Powder a la Duchesse, or Devonshire Powder.’ In 1786, a scandal ensued when one of her dressmakers sold drawings to several ladies, supposedly of Georgiana’s latest gowns. Imagine the horror when they all showed up at a ball in the same gown–and Georgiana in something else entirely!

She was, like Marie Antoinette, not shy about using fashion in the service of politics. She often wore the Foxite “blue and buff”, especially when on the campaign trail. During the first Regency crisis, she and her friends donned a ‘Regency cap’ designed after the Prince of Wales crest with three feathers.

There could, of course, be a post days long on the crazy fashions of Marie Antoinette and Georgiana! I’m only grateful now that Michelle Obama tends toward sleeveless dresses as a trend and not poufs. But what do you think? Who are some of your favorite Fashion Icons? (I like Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel).

And be sure and check out my Oscar picks here, and don’t forget to become a ‘fan’ of Risky Regencies on Facebook! Happy weekend, everyone…

Welcome to the wrap-up of our “Diamonds” celebration! Remember, there are 3, count ’em, 3 chances to win a copy! We’ll pick a winner from each day’s comments…

What was it like to write these connected stories with friends?

Much easier than I thought it would be, LOL! I’m pretty much a ‘pantser’ writer–my stories sometimes tend to change directions when the characters want to go down another pathway (though deadlines have forced me into plotting more than I used to!). In fact, the plot of Charlotte and the Wicked Lord did change once, but early on, before I even really got started. I wasn’t sure how that would work in collaboration. My previous novellas were both in themed anthologies (‘Christmas’ being the theme), with no connection between the stories at all. I didn’t even know who the other authors were until I saw a book cover! This was a much different experience.

But it all did go much smoother than I feared! Maybe because we already knew each other, were familiar with each other’s work, and shared a deep interest in the time period and in family dynamics. We were able to coordinate very easily. And the Fitzmannings felt so “real” to us! That made it lots of fun, too.

Tell us about Charlotte and the Wicked Lord!

Charlotte and the Wicked Lord is the last of the 3 stories, which I think made my job a bit easier than Diane’s or Deb’s! Everyone else was happily married by the time this story rolls around.

Charlotte is the youngest, and sort of the ‘wild child’ of the family (no easy task, that!). She’s a writer, and loves to be free, out in nature with her dogs (Oliver and Octavia, inspired by my own Pug dog, Victoria) and her imagination. But now she’s 18 years old, a bit at loose ends with her sisters married, and realizes she has always been in love with the handsome, charming Drew Bassington, a friend of her brothers. (Drew, as a reader pointed out to me, was not really ‘wicked’–more of a reformed rake!). He’s taken on a new responsibility in his life after the death of his older brother, and is looking for a proper, respectable bride.

‘Proper and respectable’ are two things Charlotte has never been, but she is sure she can show Drew how right they are for each other. If only her family can refrain from their disastrous ‘helping’!

I’ve actually been buried in writing some darker stories lately, so Charlotte and Drew and their antics were a welcome, more humorous change!!!

What was ‘risky’ about this story?

I think the whole anthology was a bit ‘risky’! First, could we pull off such interconnected stories and characters in a seamless way? Could we make it work, make the Fitzmannings seem real? And the wild, scandalous family themselves are a risk! Who could believe their antics? And yet history (especially English history!) is full of families even more eccentric than then Fitzmannings!

What’s next for you?

Oh, gosh, where to start?! In November 2009, watch for The Winter Queen, an Elizabethan tale of dangerous plots and even more dangerous romance in the Christmas of 1564 (which was so cold, the Thames froze through enough for a frost fair!). Also in November, I will have an as-yet-unnamed novella in an as-yet-unnamed Christmas anthology, which has a connection to the Fitzmannings. Drew Bassington’s sister-in-law, Mary, and her old flame Dominic, Viscount Amesby, have to join forces to save her younger sister from making the same mistakes Mary once did! It should be a fun, Sense and Sensibility style holiday story. (I also have a book in the pipeline about the Duke, Nicholas, and Lady Emily, who is not quite the icicle everyone thinks…)

In September, Signet is reissuing two of my old Regencies in a two-for-one volume called Spirited Brides (One Touch of Magic and a Loving Spirit, just in time for Halloween!)

And 2010 is going to be super-busy. My “Muses of Mayfair” Regency trilogy from Harlequin will be making its US debut in April, May, and June! (I am so excited about this). And in February, watch for the debut of my alter-ego Laurel McKee, with Countess of Scandal from Grand Central Publishing.

So, now it’s your turn! Do you like to follow interconnected stories/series? Do you think your own family could star in an anthology?? Any friends you’d like to work with?

Join us here at the Riskies for a 3-day Diamonds of Welbourne Manor launch extravaganza! Starting Sunday, May 3, Deb Marlowe will be here to kick off the festivities, with Diane and Amanda wrapping things up on Monday and Tuesday. Each day means a new chance to win an autographed copy….