First of all, it is a beautiful day here in Florida. Summer has definitely arrived, and everything is lush, green and blooming. I am happy to trade the earlier warmth for scraping ice in January!
Secondly, HEYERWOOD: A Novel is live! I have the finished, printed book before me as I write, and it is beautiful.
Thirdly, I want to tell you about another favorite author: Amanda Vickery. I have two of her books: THE GENTLEMAN’S DAUGHTER Women’s Lives in Georgian England, and BEHIND CLOSED DOORS At Home in Georgian England. These books are treasur trove. Both are absolutely jammed with all kinds of information about life in the Georgian era, especially the lives of women. Her writing is lively and interesting, and her sources are the nitty gritty details of daily lives: letters, account books, diaries and other such records. THE GENTLEMAN’S DAUGHTER is an account of the daily lives of genteel women, based on their personal records (seldom, if ever, addressed in traditional histories); BEHIND CLOSED DOORS provides detailed information about how English men and women lived in the Georgian period: what they bought, who bought what, and the domestic details so seldom provided. Ms. Vickery’s writing style holds one’s attention, and the information she provides in these two books brings the Georgian period (which includes Jane Austen’s time) to life. Well worth reading just for the pleasure of it, and invaluable source books to students and writers.