The end of summer is a bittersweet time for many children. Alongside the thrill of acquiring new pencil boxes, markers and notebooks is the realization that the days of seemingly endless freedom are done. In their place will be lessons to learn, homework to finish, tests to take. One day,… Read More »Back to School: A Girl’s Education During Tudor, Regency & American Revolutionary Times
The idea of the daily bath has had its ups and downs throughout human history, but it got an enthusiastic thumbs-up during England’s Regency era, when Beau Brummell – the period’s authority on all things fashionable – insisted on taking an hour-long soak every day. Bucking a popular theory of… Read More »Bath Time with Beau Brummell by Libi Astaire
Powdered wigs. Hoop skirts. Pet rocks. Selfies. Fads have been with us since antiquity, and discovering the foibles of previous generations can be an amusing break from more serious historical research. But when I first sat down to write my newest historical mystery, The Moon Taker, I had no idea… Read More »The Eyes Have It by Libi Astaire
Inspiration. It’s a strange and capricious friend. It can’t be chased; it arrives unexpectedly; and can disappear in a flash. Yet where would we be without it? In every walk of life, nothing would get done or created without inspiration – along with ambition, determination and a healthy dose of… Read More »Inspiration for Thores-Cross by Karen Perkins