Nina Jarrett's Blog, page 2

Duelling Pistols and Mistletoe ...

London was famous for its excellent gunsmiths during the Georgian period. In fact, George Washington himself patronized Hawkins of London for his own firearms.

Joseph Manton was one of the best and most fashionable gunmakers of the time. Many a gentleman purchased his pistols before making use of his shooting gallery on Davis Street to hone their skills.

His fame came from guns that "were light, trim, well balanced, fast handling, and impeccably fit and finished. Stocks were slender and of fin...

Holidays in the Regency

What would Jane Austen be doing this week?

If you have read The Duke Wins a Bride then you know that Annabel loves her holiday rituals because they make her feel connected to her mom.

The question is: what would Annabel or Jane Austen or any of our favorite Regency heroines or authors be doing on this day two hundred years ago?

Until recently, I confess I did not know the exact answer. But I just did my holiday research for my upcoming story, Miracle on St. James Street. This Inconvenient Brid...

Proper ladies never wear underwear?

To wear or not to wear, that is the question. Or in my case, when writing The Duke Wins a Bride, I had to decide did Annabel wear or not wear drawers under her skirts?

You guessed it, this week I will be discussing another rabbit hole of Regency research to uncover the truth about ladies and their private dressing rituals.

This issue took an unexpected amount of time to research. I purchased The History of Underclothes to squint at reproduced images, scoured through blogs and articles and Rege...

The story behind Annabel's favorite gown

Every woman has, at some point, owned her favorite dress. The perfect cut for her body shape, the perfect color for her skin and hair tone, one that makes her feel beautiful and confident in a way that ordinary clothes do not.

For Annabel in The Duke Wins a Bride, that dress is an unusual garment in saffron and ivory, both colors that were in fashion during the Regency period. The first time she wears it, Philip and she suffer their first argument, so she is determined to change the fate of her...

Coffee in the Regency

After several months of insomnia earlier this year, because of some health issues (of the autoimmune variety), I was forced to leave my beloved coffees behind in favor of decaf.

I mourned the loss, and after much experimentation found my new bliss using a new espresso machine and Lavazza decaf espresso. As a reader, you may have noticed a slight preoccupation with caffeine (sigh) when I released my last book, Friends of the Duke.

In researching the story, I learned that coffee and coffeehouses...

How does a villain become a hero?

To Redeem an Earl, Book 2 of Inconvenient Brides, tells the tale of how Lord Richard Balfour, Earl of Saunton, redeems himself despite his immoral past that led to Annabel racing off to find the Duke of Halmesbury.

I wanted Richard's redemption to be realistic. Not just a change of heart, and all is forgiven. I don't know about you, but that would not be enough for me to throw all judgment out the window and fling myself into his arms.

So how did I solve it? What would make such a bad-boy wort...

An Empire of Tea

The exotic beverage beloved by Britain since the mid-1600s, it was so integral in the Georgian reign that it literally sparked a revolution. The very catalyst that birthed a super power!

So expensive during the Regency that if one factored in inflation, and average wages of the period, then during that time the Greenwich Hospital was paying about $256 for a pound of tea by today's standards.

“But indeed I would rather have nothing but tea.” - Jane Austen

In order to reduce the cost of drinking te...

The Taste of Regency Ice Creams

"But in the meantime for Elegance & Ease & Luxury ... I shall eat Ice & drink French wine, and be above Vulgar Economy." - Jane Austen, 1808, to her sister Cassandra

Recently, I mentioned the history of ice cream so I thought it would be interesting to talk about.

In the time of Jane Austen, ice cream was an expensive luxury (the direct opposite of the aforementioned Vulgar Economy) and a treat that had to be eaten as soon as it was served because it melted quickly.

And in 1820, the year of ...

Courtship During Regency Times

When I first decided to begin writing Regency romances, I do not believe I fully anticipated how much time I would spend learning about the courtship and marriage rituals of England in the early 1800s.

I am not talking about reading other Regency romance novels, but non-fiction books on the true history. Books likes Courtship and Marriage in Jane Austen's World by Maria Grace (and, no, I have not read about the history of ice cream ... yet), or the renowned but out-of-print The Regency Companio...

Was Regency Polite Society ... um ... polite?

They named Polite Society for its many rules of proper behavior; from how to address different members of the peerage to courtship rituals, how to pay calls, whether one was permitted to talk to another, and the other endless rituals of etiquette.

However, it only takes a few minutes scanning through the cartoons of the Regency period to realize that while proper behavior might be required, many improper activities were occurring. And many members of the Polite Society were well aware of those...