Lady Sarah Frederica Caroline Child-Villiers: An English Princess
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, Businesswoman and Philanthropist
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.
Interesting Finds: Louis Ude French Chef
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
Blog Hop Celebrating A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT!
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!
Diana Hill, Miniaturist
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.
A Great Weekend
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!
Mary Edwards, An Independent Woman
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
A Matter of Trade
In my new book, A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT, the heroine’s father is an extremely wealthy man whose family made their money in trade, banking and business. A well-educated and cultured man, he is unashamed of his family background or the fact that he still engages in the work he enjoys. He becomes interested and involved in a new venture involving a new potential trade post in the east, Singapura.
The British needed a port in the east, in or near the straits of Malacca, to have a place where trade ships could put in and be resupplied, the Navy could have a presence to protect British ships from piracy and from harassment by the Dutch, and where trade could be done. The British also did not want to stress their relationship with the Dutch, already established in the area. The waters off Malacca, in Malaysia, where the British were already established, were too shallow. Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, lieutenant governor of a British colony in Bencoolen in Sumatra, led a party to search the area for an appropriate location. His party landed in Singapura in January of 1819. The British established a trading outpost in Singapura (now known as Singapore), where there was a deep water harbor.
Col. William Farquhar
There was no conquest. A treaty was signed February 6, 1819 by Stir Thomas, Temenggong Abdu’r Rahman (“Temenggong” is an ancient Malaysian title), and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor (Johor was on the Malaysian peninsula and was considered the ruler of Singaura), allowing the British East India Company to establish a trading post in Singapura, in exchange for yearly payments to the Temenggong and the Shah. Sir Thomas left the next day, leaving then-Major William Farquhar as Resident and Commandant of the newly established post with instructions for the development of the site. In spite of these instructions, communications with Sir Thomas were so poor that Singapura developed independently. The colony grew rapidly, and trade with China, India, Arabs and others amounting to 400,000 Spanish dollars passed through it in its first year. By 1821, trade had grown to over 8 million Spanish dollars.
It is easy to see why a successful business man would be interested in such an opportunity!
Sources include:
Facts and Details. “The Early History of Singapore”. here
The British Empire. “A Splendid Little Colony” by Samuel T. W. Wee. here
HistorySG. “The British Land in Singapore 28th January 1819.” here
Wikimedia Commons-Photograph taken in 1924 of a lithograph c. 1830 which was based on an oil painting c. 1828. here
Wikimedia Commons shows Joachim Ottens’ two part c. 1710 map of the Kingdom of Siam and its tributaries, including Malaysia and Singapore here
A RATIONAL ATTACHMENT by Lauren Gilbert is currently in production. Watch for it!
Celebrating the Release of “A Regency Christmas Proposal” + Excerpt + Giveaway
Over on her “Every Woman Dreams…” blog, Regina Jeffers is celebrating the release of A REGENCY CHRISTMAS PROPOSAL. Don’t miss out!
Link to blog: https://reginajeffers.blog/2019/11/06/celebrating-the-release-of-six-regency-beaux-for-christmas-excerpt-giveaway/