The winner of a copy of Julia Justiss’s new release is–Dee! Congrats, and please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com
The winner of a copy of Julia Justiss’s new release is–Dee! Congrats, and please send us your snail mail info at Riskies AT yahoo.com
How is everyone’s Tuesday going?? Around here it is cold and very, very white. A big snow/ice storm moved in last night, and this morning I had to put on my coat and snow boots to dig my poodle out of a snow bank (she loves to run and roll in the snow, and get so covered she looks like a little icicle!). Now that I’m back inside and cozy with a cup of tea, I remembered that it is Tuesday and my Risky day. Here is a bit about what’s going on this Tuesday:
1) A new cover! This is for my Harlequin Historical “Undone” story, out in April. Set in 1922, it’s a brand-new time period for me, full of beaded gowns, champagne, and fabulous cars, where the heroine uses a Gatsby-esque masked ball to convince the man she’s always loved they’re perfect for each other…
2) I tried to find something relevant to the Regency anniversary, and discovered that on this day in 1814 Byron’s poem “The Corsair” sold out its entire print run of 10,000 in one day in London! The third of 6 “Turkish Tales,” it has a typically Romantic exotic setting in Turkish harems and shipwrecks.
It also served as inspiration to a ballet still performed today, Le Corsaire, which had its premier in Paris on January 23, 1856 with music by Adolphe Adam…
3) February 1 is also the anniversary of a non-Regency event, Elizabeth I signing the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots in 1587, after a captivity of over 20 years. I’m knee-deep in Mary history at the moment with my WIP (though my story takes place much earlier, soon after Mary’s return to Scotland from France. But I can see the beginning of the slippery slope for her…)
4) The opera La Boheme also had its premier on this day, in Turin in 1896, a performance conducted by a young Toscanini. This is one of my favorite operas, and I just popped in the CD of the new Anna Netrebko version to listen to while I write…
5) And, just for fun, some of the costumes of Downton Abbey! I would kill for some of those hats. What did you think of Sunday’s finale???
So, in summary, covers, 1920s, Byron, ballet, Mary Queen of Scots, La Boheme, Downton Abbey, snow (lots and lots of snow). What do you think of any/all of these??
The Riskies are happy to welcome back guest blogger, Harlequin Historical author Julia Justiss! She’ll be giving away a copy of her new release, Society’s Most Disreputable Gentleman, to one lucky commenter. For more info, visit her website, where she is also giving away Godiva chocolates…
The Romance of Lace
Many thanks to the Riskies for inviting me to talk about my February release and share a bit about that loveliest of fabrics, English lace!
First, a bit about that new release, Society’s Most Disreputable Gentleman. Fired from his job as estate manager and then abducted and pressed into the Royal Navy. hero Greville Anders (brother of heroine Joanna of From Waif to Gentleman’s Wife) returns after 8 month’s service at sea a radically different man. Eager to obtain his release and pursue an honest career, he has little interest in the idle Society he used to frequent. But despite his vow to reform his rake’s ways, how could he help but flirt with his host’s beautiful daughter Amanda? For her part, Amanda Neville has dreamed since childhood of becoming a brilliant Society hostess. She’s not about to risk that by dallying with a younger son of little fortune, no matter how scandalously attractive he might be!
When Greville finds himself marooned in the Devon countryside while he recovers from wounds suffered during a battle with privateers, he’s happy to further his flirtation with Amanda by having her give him a tour of her father’s vast estate.
Along with fields planted in corn, mining on the Dartmoor, and flocks of sheep and cattle, Amanda’s father acts as a factor for his tenants who produce handicrafts. One of the most famous Devonshire handicrafts was Honiton lace, which was produced by craftspeople in their home cottages and then sent to the town of Honiton, where merchants marketed it to London and other large towns in England.
It’s thought that lacemaking originated in Italy in the 16th century and then spread throughout Europe. Some credit the lace-making tradition in Honiton to Flemish weavers who came over to pursue the cloth trade, for the town had been a center for the weaving of wool and flax since medieval times. Whether Flemish weavers brought the techniques or not, by the time that Charles II was making lace collars and cuffs fashionable, the lace makers of the Honiton area were developing their unique style of embroidery, drawn-thread, and cutwork.
Honiton lace is best known for its floral and leaf motifs, which were the result of several craftsmen’s group efforts. The flower or leaf design would be made by one designer; then the pieces, called “sprigs,” would be stitched together in larger pieces. The lace patterns were made using pairs of slender pointed bobbins. The lacemaker would prick out a design on parchment, which was pinned atop a small, firm pillow stuffed with straw or sawdust. Pins would be inserted into the design, around which the threads would be woven and plaited to create the design. These flower pieces were then stitched to a net background.
During the mid-18th–19th centuries, it was estimated that nearly half the population in the area were engaged in the lace business. However, like many handcrafts lacemaking suffered after the introduction of power looms.
Queen Victoria did her part to revive the craft. When she married Prince Albert in 1840, her dress was to be trimmed with Flemish lace, but the Queen insisted the lace on her gown be English instead. An order was placed with Tuckers in the nearby town of Branscombe, who was then the largest employer of lace makers in the area. When the couple’s first child was born, the christening gown was also trimmed with Honiton lace; the gown was used for royal christenings for many years, until the cloth became too fragile. The royal family continues to order Honiton lace for special occasion; in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer’s gown was trimmed with Honiton lace.
Allhallow’s Museum, a 13th century former chapel that is the oldest building in Honiton, contains an extensive collection of historic lace. There are also many shops in town specializing in lace and the local pottery for which Honiton is also famed.
After Amanda gives Greville a tour of her father’s estate, he’s almost as impressed by his host’s vast and varied enterprises as he is by his beautiful hostess! I hope you will find Greville and Amanda’s story equally engaging.
So, how do you feel about lace? Is is a sweet luxury that whispers romance–or when trimming lingerie, something naughtier? Or an old-fashioned fabric that should give way to modern textiles? I wish I might offer one responder a piece of Honiton lace, but will have to limit myself to a copy of Disreputable!
I’ve been drifting around online since I got up this morning, trying to find a good blog topic for this cold Tuesday! Having found nothing (or rather, so many things I couldn’t decide) I thought I would borrow ideas from Megan and Janet and just tell you some of the stuff I’ve been thinking about lately….
1) Writing! Like always. Just finished up an Undone short story set at the court of Mary Queen of Scots and diving back into the full-length Scottish story, plus organizing my “ideas folder.” I’m often distracted by bright, shiny new ideas that try to tempt me away from the WIP, so I jot them down in a special notebook to come back to later (not that they always stop pestering me). I’ve also been sorting some new research books I picked up at a booksale last week! Fun fun. Inspired by Diane, I may also do a little genealogical research…
2) The Oscars! I do love Oscar nomination day, which happens to be–today. (See a full list of the noms here). Out of the ridiculously bloated 10 movie Best Picture field, I’ve seen 5, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, and the vastly overrated Inception. My personal favorite of those is King’s Speech, but I predict Social Network will win (with Colin Firth and Natalie Portman winning Acting honors). I will probably see True Grit soon, but as much as I love James Franco I think 127 Hours would be too intense for me. The noms for Best Costumes are Alice In Wonderland, I Am Love, The King’s Speech, The Tempest, and True Grit. No arguments there, though I might have liked to see Black Swan there. Those Rodarte tutus were awesome.
3) Like Megan, I’ve been thinking about Vampire Diaries! New episodes finally start again on Thursday and I can’t wait. It feels like I’ve been waiting forever to see what will happen next in the twisty plots (or which Salvatore brother will take his shirt off first)
4) Today is the (probable) anniversary of the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, a secret shotgun wedding complete with baby bump in 1533. Er–happy anniversary? (For more information on this event, check this post in The Anne Boleyn Files, an awesome blog that you should check out anyway!)
5) It’s also Burns Day! Poet Robert Burns was born on this day in 1759, which is celebrated every year in Scotland (and by people who just like his work!). A local pub here does a special dinner for it every year, which I will be attending tonight. In honor of his poem “To A Haggis” it’s traditional to serve haggis, which I will not be partaking in. (Check here for more info, and a recipe for haggis if you’re feeling brave)
6) Reading, of course! I’m in the middle of Carol Carr’s new historical mystery India Black, about a Victorian madam solving a murder. I love it so far, a great heroine and witty writing. I also have a new biography of Voltaire, and some birthday gift cards from Barnes and Noble burning a hole in my pocket as I try to decide how to spend them. Any recommendations??
Now I’m running out to yoga class so I won’t feel so bad about the shepherd’s pie and whiskey tonight! What are you thinking about today? Any favorite Oscar movies or predictions?
I hope you’re all having a lovely Tuesday! I am about to jump back into writing an “Undone” short story I’ve been buried in all weekend (I sorta forgot it was due soon, but don’t tell!), and my head is full of Renaissance-era Scotland, but right now I get to take a break and hang out at the Riskies.
There’s new book out next month that looks like a lot of fun, Fall in Love Like a Romance Author–and I have an essay in it about dating as a single writer! (If I had to find one word to describe dating–interesting. I may have to post about dating tips for romance authors here soon…). Since I’m incurably nosy about other people’s life stories, I can’t wait to read the other essays. And it’s just in time for Valentine’s Day too!
And since the Golden Globes were this weekend, of course I have opinions! I posted about the red carpet fashion on my own blog–it was one of the most interesting rc’s in a while, and bodes well for the Oscars!
As part of my New Years resolutions, I’ve been going to more dance classes as well as teaching on Saturday, and it’s been very–challenging. Especially since, after several years off, I’ve decided to get the pointe shoes out again since I’ve been strengthening my feet and legs. My toes are not thanking me. But here is a brief look at the history of the pointe shoe:
In the Renaissance era, court masques were all the rage, where courtiers could put on elaborate costumes and act out allegorical stories amid fantastical scenery, and dancing was a huge part of that. When Catherine de Medici married into the French royal family, she brought this ballet de cour (“court ballet”) to Paris and, being French, they took to the spectacle right away. In the 1600s this art form reached a pinnacle under Louis XIV, who danced in them himself as a young man. He founded the Academie Royale de Danse (later the Paris Opera Ballet). At that time, the men did most of the elaborate dancing, while women, in heavy gowns and heeled shoes, were merely set dressing.
But by the 1730s, dancing of this sort was more theatrical than court, and a style known as “danse haute”, involving leaping and twirling, became the rage. Marie Camargo started a trend by taking the heels from her shoes and heavily darning the toes. Skirts got shorter and turns got faster. By 1830, Marie Taglioni took the dance world by storm. In that year, she danced the very Romantic ballet La Sylphide on the tops of her toes, and what had just been a sort of trick before became the norm of artistic expression. (In Russia, her fans even sometimes cooked her used shoes and ate them with sauce–ugh).
The 19th century was when the classical ballets were know so well today (Giselle, Swan Lake, La Bayadere) came into being, and so many of them feature a central heroine who is an ethereal being, a spirit not bound to the earth, and pointe shoes allowed the ballerina to create this illusion by seeming to hover and skim over the stage as if weightless, while the earthbound hero is enraptured. (But it usually ends badly, alas! Though I love the endings of Giselle and Swan Lake, where love can endure even death).
Taglioni’s shoes were soft satin slippers that fit her feet like a second skin, with a leather sole and heavy darning on the sides and underside. I can’t imagine going en pointe on such a shoe. By the end of the 19th century, the new Russian ballets (choreographed by Marius Petipa in the French tradition) demanded more technique, and the Italian school pushed athleticism over all. The Italians also had 2 secret weapons–the technique of spotting for turns and a better shoe. They also had shorter skirts. (When La Zucchi danced in St. Petersburg in a short skirt against the Imperial Ballet’s strict regulations, it caused a scandal!). The Russians adapted all of this, and even strengthened the shoes. Even today, Russian shoes are usually stiffer, better for the Russian technique of pouncing onto pointe rather than rolling through. (The Danish school, on the other hand, demanded a technique that required softer shoes for more bouncy jumps and elaborate footwork but fewer sustained balances and pirouettes en pointe).
The shoes themselves haven’t developed a whole lot from the 19th century, though they are harder and boxier in the toe. They’re still made from leather, paper, burlap, glue and nails with a final layer of satin. They’re held together by 3 soles, or shanks, the outside and middle ones made of leather and the inside of cardboard. Then, with the edges of the satin and canvas between, they’re glues and nailed together. In order to wear them, they have to be broken in (there’s a brief glimpse of this brutal process in the movie Black Swan), and a professional dancer will go through several pairs a performance.
If you’d like to know more about any aspect of ballet, I highly recommend Jennifer Homan’s new history of the art, Apollo’s Angels. It’s a fascinating book.
So there you have it, a brief glimpse of the history of the ballet shoe! I feel like I need to go off and practice some plies now. What is your favorite ballet? And how are your New Years resolutions holding up now that it’s almost February? And what was your favorite gown at the Golden Globes???