Back to Work!

This weekend, I have been watching the weather, as have so many of us, and my thoughts and prayers have followed Irene up the east coast. My extreme gratitude for not having the storm here in Florida has been tempered by knowing what those who did experience Irene will be dealing with in the aftermath. These storms cannot be taken lightly.

This is a beautiful morning, and I have been able to return to work with a renewed energy. I’ve added some thoughts to a paper I’ve been working on, and have continued some research for the novel I’m currently writing.

I am currently reading PASSION & PURSUIT The Loves and Lives of Regency Women, by Jane Aiken Hodge. I had not heard of this book, until running across it in a bibliography. Published in 1996, Ms. Hodge examines the role of love in the lives of specific women during the Regency era. This book is an excellent read. Ms. Hodge is a wonderful writer (I’ve been a fan of her fiction for years).  She provides interesting background information about the period (“setting the scene,” as she describes it), and then discusses a range of women of the time, and the effect of love in their lives, whether romantic love, friendship, the love of children or the love of one’s art. This book provides a lot of biographical information, including excerpts from diaries and letters, although certainly not a comprehensive biography of any of the women portrayed. Ms. Hodge’s subjects range from Harriette Wilson, to Hester Stanhope, from Caroline Lamb to Jane Austen, and she brings each woman’s individual circumstances to life. It is an excellent reference in itself, and has whetted my appetite to read more about several of the ladies mentioned. Even if you are familiar with each of these ladies’ stories, this book may give you a new viewpoint, and some new points to consider about women’s lives during this fascinating time.