Author of Historical Fiction and Nonfiction
JASNA Palm Beaches Region will hold a zoom meeting on Sunday, April 25, 2021 at 2:00 PM. The topic is Col. Brandon, and I will be leading the discussion!
Looking forward to this! For more information, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/JASNAPalmBeaches .
My post on Anne Law, Lady Ellenborough, is up for viewing on the English Historical Fiction Authors Blog.
As a female, I cannot help being interested in the lives of women of earlier times. Finding information about some is easy, thanks to published letters and memoirs, newspaper archives, and (because of their own personal status or accomplishments or notoriety) even biographies. With others, it is a challenge, and we may find ourselves finding that little data is available, and that as side details provided in the information related to a father, husband or other male relative. One such lady is Anne Law, Lady Ellenborough. The November/December issue of JANE AUSTEN’S WORLD magazine included a reference to her in “What Made The News in November & December 1812” that caught my attention.
To read more about her, visit the blog at: https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2020/12/an-amiable-wife.html#comment-form
Be sure to check out the events page for festivals scheduled in 2021!
By Lauren Gilbert
Today on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, I have posted about Princess Nicholas Esterhazy, born Lady Sarah Caroline Frederica Caroline Child-Villiers.
Lady Sarah Caroline Frederica Caroline Child-Villiers was born August 12, 1822 in London, and was baptized May 27, 1823 in St George’s Hanover Square Parish. Her mother was Sarah Sophia Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey and her father George Child-Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey. She was born into one of the wealthiest and most powerful families.
To read the rest of the post, please visit the English Historical Fiction Authors blog.
Elizabeth Evans was the daughter of a wealthy, self-made businessman. She married a man who was the son of a businessman, who was successful himself in his family’s business, and, after his death, married his half-brother. During her second marriage, as a partner in the bank and businesses, Elizabeth utilized talents to make her mark as a businesswoman and as a philanthropist. During the Georgian era, women were theoretically subsumed into their husbands. However, there were some women who managed to make their marks in the business world. Elizabeth Evans was one of them.
To read more about Elizabeth Evans, please visit the ENGLISH HISTORICAL FICTION AUTHORS blog.
In the course of doing research for a non-fiction book due next year with Pen and Sword Publishing, I ran across an interesting character: Louis Eustache Ude, French chef.
Louis Eustache Ude was born around 1769, the son of a chef who cooked at the court of Louis XVI in France. Louis was briefly apprenticed there as as well, left to try other occupations, and then returned to cooking. He cooked for Napoleon’s mother, Maria Letizia Buonaparte for 2 years. Moving on to England (probably late 18th-early 19th century), he went to work for William and Maria Molyneux, 2nd Earl and Countess of Sefton, with whom he stayed for almost 20 years. The Earl and his countess were known for lavish dinners and select parties. His cuisine must have been greatly appreciated, as the Earl paid Ude 300 guineas per year, and left Ude 100 guineas in his will. While in the earl’s employ, Ude published his first cookbook, THE FRENCH COOK, in 1813. It is said that Ude left the earl’s service when the earl’s eldest son put salt in a soup Ude had prepared. The exact dates of service for the earl are not known.
After leaving the Earl’s service, Ude went to work for the Duke of York. After the duke’s death in 1827, he went to work for Crockford’s, a gaming club in St. James’s Street, where he was paid 1200 pounds per year to start. He was there until late 1838 or early 1839, when he left over a salary dispute. He was replaced at Crockford’s by Charles Elme’ Francatelli (about whom more here ), while he moved on to work at other clubs. His cookbook, which he re-titled THE FRENCH COOK: A System of Fashionable, Practical, and Economical Cookery, Adapted to the Use of English Families, went into numerous editions. (It is interesting to note that Mrs. Beeton is rumored to have included Ude’s recipe for turtle soup in her own cookbook.) Ude was living in London when he died April 10, 1846.
Sources include:
Cooksinfo.com “Louis Eustache Ude” by Randall Oulton, published December 31, 2005 and updated May 10, 2018. (c) 2010. HERE
GoogleBooks.com THE NATIONAL REVIEW Vol 25, March-August, 1895. pp. 784-785. London: Edward Arnold. “The Literature of Cookery (18th and 19th Centuries)” by A. Kenney Herbert. HERE
Morningmail.org “Indigestion: Dinner with high drama” (no author or post date shown). HERE
Oldcookbooks.com “Ude, Louis Eustache. The French Cook” (no author or post date shown). HERE
My latest book, A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT, was released in December 2019, and introduced at the Sunshine State Book Festival and the Amelia Island Book Festival (both terrific events, about which more later). Historical Fiction Virtual Blog Tours is conducting a blog hop with a giveaway to celebrate this release. Please go here to check the schedule and see why I’m so excited. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway! In addition to the book and the e-book, there will be some special surprises to enjoy while reading. Don’t miss it!
Over on the English Historical Fiction Authors’ blog, I wrote about Diana Hill, a talented artist in 18th century England.
Diana was born about 1760, possibly in London, to George Dietz, a jeweller. Her mother’s name is unknown. Very little is known about her youth, except that she learned how to paint miniatures from Jeremiah Meyer, who painted miniatures for King George III and Queen Charlotte, and was a foundation member of the Royal Academy in 1768. Mr. Meyer had a son who went to Calcutta, and was employed as a civil servant. In 1775, Diana Dietz exhibited miniatures at the Society of Artists. That year, for “promoting the Polite and Liberal arts” [1], she also won a silver palette and five guineas from the Society of Arts (Society for the Encouragement of Arts Manufactures and Commerce) for her drawings of flowers. During the period 1777-1798, she exhibited miniatures at the Royal Academy, under her own name Diana Dietz from 1777-1780. One such painting was a portrait exhibited in 1778.
To read more about Diana, go the the English Historical Fiction Authors’ blog HERE.
[1] TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY INSTITUTED AT LONDON, FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE, WITH THE PREMIUMS OFFERED IN THE YEAR 1784, Volume II. p. 124.
I spent this past weekend at the Sunshine State Book Festival in Gainesville, Florida, organized by the Writers’ Alliance of Gainesville. It was a terrific weekend. It started with a reception for the attending authors on Friday evening, which was delightful. On Saturday, the book festival itself was held on the campus at Santa Fe College. What a terrific venue! The room was full of authors, presenting books in a wide range of genres. There was excellent attendance, with people coming through and browsing all day. It was a great opportunity to meet other authors, as well as the the attendees who came through to check out the books.
It was an excellent place to introduce my new novel, A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend!
Over on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, I write about Mary Edwards.
Portrait of Mary Edwards by William Hogarth, 1742 from Wikimedia Commons (here.)
Mary Edwards (or Edwardes) has already been mentioned in the English Historical Fiction Authors blog (here) in connection with the arts and Hogarth. She was a fascinating and strong-minded woman, not afraid to make decisions or to take her life into her own hands.
To read more about her, visit the English Historical Fiction Authors blog HERE
