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
One of the oddest and most forgotten episodes in California history was that of the “Ingot Lottery” of France in 1851. As sources for this story I rely mainly on that excellent book, The Madams of San Francisco by Curt Gentry, © 1964 by Curt Gentry. I also draw upon The Annals of San Francisco, by… Read More »The California French by Steve Bartholomew
My third novel has taken me nearly a decade to write. Not because I’m a terribly slow writer, but because there are a myriad of other obligations competing for my time. I have kids. You know how it is. I’m also a project junkie. Writing isn’t my only full time… Read More »Truth is Stranger than Fiction by V. R. Christensen
A reader asked me this the other day, and I thought it worth a post because we think of ‘offices’ as being a modern invention, with computers and fax machines and secretaries. And yet, a medieval prince or king–any ruler, from a sheriff to a thane for that matter–must have… Read More »Would a Medieval Prince have had an Office? by Sarah Woodbury
Although a great deal is written about the assassination of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, in 1170, barely anything is written about his murderers. It is accepted fact that they were headstrong and bloodthirsty – and very drunk – knights who mistook a temper tantrum for a kill order… Read More »Knight of Betrayal: A Yorkshire Ghost Story by Karen Perkins