Month: September 2011

After a couple of rainy days, it was a pleasure to wake up to a beautiful, sunny morning! Sunshine lifts the spirits! A pineapple from our own plant ripening on the kitchen table, and a bird’s nest in the bottle brush tree-it’s all good.

Today is a very special day. It’s exciting to announce the launch weekend of a new blog!
Please visit

English Historical Fiction Authors
http://www.englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com

Please check it out! Visit and comment to win a Kindle, Amazon Gift Certificate or Books!  There will be articles by numerous authors (including me!),  providing fascinating information.  It is a beautiful blog, and it is sure to become a favorite.

I just finished JANE AND THE MADNESS OF LORD BYRON, by Stephanie Barron. Ms. Barron has written a series of books featuring Jane Austen as a detective. There is a wealth of detail about the people and the period, and the mystery is intriguing as well. Definitely a good read!  She was meticulously accurate about the characters taken from real life, such as Byron, Caro Lamb, and Lady Oxford.  While I first had a little difficulty seeing Jane Austen as a detective, it somehow feels right as presented by Ms. Barron.  Most enjoyable.

I did something new yesterday: I took a picture with my phone! I just had to have a photo of my book on the shelf (it’s now the wallpaper on the phone in question!). I just wanted to share it. There is a link on this page for the Vero Beach Book Center, if you are curious.

As a child, going to the library or a bookstore were very special treats. To this day, bookstores are my favorite places to visit. Today, I visited a beautiful bookstore in Vero Beach, the Vero Beach Book Center, where my book is in stock and on the shelf!!! Yes, HEYERWOOD: A Novel is actually available in a beautiful bookstore. What a great beginning to the day!

This morning was gorgeous-sunny, blue sky, birds singing-so I took advantage of the weather to work on my herbs. I planted some new ones, transplanted my tarragon (the pot was splitting), and top-dressed the other plants. All spick and span, and ready for the fall growing season. As I was working on them, I couldn’t help but visualize an English cottage garden-herbs and flowers all growing together and smelling divine. (Does anything smell more wonderful than lilies of the valley and mint?) Being in south central Florida, I grow my herbs in pots (thanks to nematodes!). I do have some roses, but regretfully must pass on lilacs, lilies of the valley, and many of the other flowers that need a cooler climate and different soil than I have here.

If I sound like I’m complaining, I’m not, really. I more than make up for it with plumeria and hibiscus, pineapples and lemons. However, there is just something about those soft, sweet-smelling beds of flowers…visions of walking through with my basket and scissors to cut flowers for bouquets…. Oh well, in the winter when it’s cold and icy there, I will still be harvesting my herbs and enjoying my Florida sun!

On a more sober note, today being the tenth anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers, it is appropriate to take a moment, smell the flowers, and remember those who lost their lives and those who worked so hard to try to save lives.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am addicted to books.  I buy books the way some women buy shoes or some men buy fishing lures.  I simply cannot resist a book, whether it be a beautiful book, an enjoyable book or a useful book.  Now that dinner is over and the dishes done, I am perusing one of my favorites, a book that is both beautiful AND useful.

JANE AUSTEN’S TOWN AND COUNTRY STYLE, by Susan Watkins (1990: Rizzoli International Publications Inc., New York, NY)  is a very satisfying book.  Whether you are interested in Jane Austen and her writing, the history of the Regency period, or architecture and the decorative arts, this book is a treasure.  Ms. Watkins helps us to see how people lived in Jane Austen’s time (admittedly the gentry class, but still…) by using illustrations (paintings, photographs, account records, fabrics, and more are all here) and by writing fascinating text.  She uses characters and quotes from Austen’s novels, as well as from her letters,  as lead-in’s to provide more detailed information about daily life at this time.  The final chapter on entertaining includes photographs of food prepared based on period recipes.  (If they taste as good as they look, it helps me to understand the Prince of Wales fondness for stuffing himself!)  Interior and exterior design, gowns, table settings and more all appear here with a wealth of information in a friendly format with text that is as enjoyable to read as it is informative.   

Ms. Watkins also provides a chronology of Jane Austen’s life, and a directory of Georgian design information sources, ranging from museums and houses, , to fabric and wallpaper  purveyors, to societies, in England, the USA and some fashion/costume sources in France.  Her bibliography is organized relative to the different subjects, and is very user friendly, which is a blessing if you want to look more deeply into one area or another. 

This is one of my favorite go-to books, whether for reference, or just to enjoy a browse.  Even though it is a bit older, it is a valuable addition to any Janeite’s library.