Flattering by Gaslight: Fashion Advice for Nineteenth Century Ladies
The gas-lit ballrooms of the mid- to late nineteenth century weren’t as flattering to some colors as they were to others. For example, the 1897 edition of Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms warns that pale shades of yellow became “muddy in appearance by gaslight,” while shades of rose simply disappeared. Similarly, most shades of purple, as well as darker shades of blues and greens, were known to “lose their brilliance in artificial light.”[…]Continue Reading
A Holiday By Gaslight: Exclusive Cover Reveal at USA Today!
Today, I’m thrilled to be over at USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog with Joyce Lamb for the exclusive cover reveal of my new Victorian Christmas novella A Holiday By Gaslight. This gorgeous cover was designed by James Egan, the same brilliant designer who created the cover for The Matrimonial Advertisement. To see it, you can click through to the USA Today website HERE. I hope you’ll all stop by and have a look! […]Continue Reading
A Holiday by Gaslight, Special Sales, and Other News
Did you know I’ve written a Victorian Christmas novella? A Holiday by Gaslight is set in 1861 and was inspired, in small part, by Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South. It was also inspired by the social, scientific, and technological advances of the mid-19th century. Like us, the Victorians were faced with a rapidly changing world. Many wanted to cling to the status quo, but some—like my heroine’s father—embraced the change to the point of folly.[…]Continue Reading
