Julia Bennet's Blog

The Madness of Miss Grey…

…rereleases at last on 9th April but you can preorder a copy right now. Look at this gorgeous cover!

Cover art by Bailey McGinn

Here’s the blurb:

Everyone thinks Helen Grey is mad but, despite ten years imprisoned in a crumbling Yorkshire asylum, she’s managed to cling to sanity. When a new doctor arrives, she sees an opportunity. William Carter may seem like an honorable man but she’s sure he’ll prove easy to seduce…and trick into helping her escape.

Will would never bed a patient, ...

Coming Soon: New editions of “The Madness of Miss Grey” and “The Ruin of Evangeline Jones.”

If you’re here because you’ve noticed that the ebook and paperback versions of my Harcastle series have disappeared from Amazon, don’t worry. And don’t purchase an exorbitantly expensive paperback from eBay, either.

The rights to the series recently reverted to me and both will be rereleased early next year with beautiful new Bailey Designs Books covers. Bailey also designed the gorgeous cover for my third book “The Worst Woman in London,” so I’m excited!

What happened to those ebooks?

If you've noticed that "The Madness of Miss Grey" and "The Ruin of Evangeline Jones" are no longer available on Amazon, never fear. The rights have reverted back to me and both books will soon be reissued with shiny new covers; Miss Grey in January, and Miss Jones a few months (exact date tbc) after.

Pre-order The Worst Woman in London

Click here to pre-order

Here’s the blurb:

James Standish knows how to play society’s game. He’ll follow the rules, marry a virginal debutante, and inherit a massive fortune. At least, that’s the plan until he meets Francesca Thorne. She’s not the sort of woman a respectable gentleman like James could ever marry—not least because, strictly speaking, she’s married already.

Francesca is determined to flout convention and divorce her philandering husband. When James sweet talks his way ...

Miss Grey and Miss Jones on Sale!

Just a quick heads up: Entangled are having a massive sale. Almost all their historical romances, including my two books The Madness of Miss Grey and The Ruin of Evangeline Jones, are on sale for 99c each. Snap them up while the price is low!

Georgian Cookbook: Ratafia Cakes

Regency romance readers will be familiar with ratafia as a drink at balls and parties, a fortified wine made from bitter almonds. Ratafia cakes are like little macaroons or amaretto cookies, and you can whip them up and have them in the oven in under five minutes.

Since bitter almonds contain cyanide and are now banned, I used Pen Vogler’s adapted recipe; almond extract may not be authentic, but at least it’s legal. You can buy Vogler’s book here. Martha Lloyd’s actual Georgian recipe inc...

Georgian Cookbook: Gooseberry Fool

To be fair, gooseberry fool is a recipe that’s never gone away. The recipe I started with is Georgian, but I could easily have picked a Tudor one. Unlike last week’s pickled limes, this is yummy and so, so easy.

First, here’s Hannah Glasse’s recipe from The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747):

“Take two quarts of gooseberries, set them on the fire in about a quart of water; when they begin to simmer, and turn yellow, and begin to plump, throw them into a cullendar to drain the wa...

Victorian Cookbook: Amy March’s Pickled Limes.

Twisted fire starter Amy March as played by Florence Pugh in “Little Women” (2019)

Amy has always been my favourite March sister. Yes, I know. How can I, a writer, continue to love her after she burned Jo’s manuscript? But, as a reformed brat myself, I “get” her. Amy March rules.

Except perhaps for her pickled lime obsession.

Apparently all the other girls were into it:

“Why, you see, the girls are always buying them, and unless you want to be thought mean, you must do it, too. It’...

Georgian Cookbook: Bath Buns

This weeks’s recipe is from this book:

Before we even start, let me make it clear that I’ve never baked with yeast before. Never.

And I’m scared.

Here’s what you need for 12 buns:

450 g plain flour

1 tsp salt (not in historical recipe, so leave this out if you’re a purist)

150 g butter

7 g active dried yeast

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp caraway seeds

225 ml milk

2 tbsp sugar (for the glaze)

1 tbsp milk (for the glaze)

Now, here’s what you do:

Add the salt to...

Regency Cookbook: Rout Cakes

This is a nice, easy one. Quick, too.

These small cakes were popular at evening parties or routs (hence the name) and, though the recipe I used was Georgian, they were still popular in the Victorian era. They pop up in Jane Austen’s Emma, Vanity Fair, and Dickens. All over 19th century literature, really.

FYI, I had a little helper in the kitchen this week, but he didn’t want to be photographed.

Emma: Picnic at Boxhill (at which rout cakes were almost certainly not served). Caption read...