Cerise DeLand's Blog, page 14

How well were servants paid? How did they live? And why can't they fall in love with their employers?

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 The Regency period imparted very strict social rules on the different classes. Mixing was not done. Social ostracism for those who reached down...or those who reached too far up, was the result. But in many cases, the relationships survived. In the case, for example of one of Victoria's uncles who married a Catholic lady. beneath his station, he survived. And with Victoria's help, the lady was finally received at court. Such reception also helped Prince Albert be received as the superior he was.

The greater problems for servants were a general lack of education and lack of training in the finite terms of etiquette and polite discourse. As Winston Churchill once said, and I paraphrase, the art of conversation is what he cultivated when he had tea with his mother. (She, by the way, was American heiress Jenny, Lady Randolph Churchill.)

Servants led very regimented lives, dictated by the hard work they did. Maids slept in cubby holes in the kitchen or upstairs in the cold rafters. Footmen could find themselves having to bed down on the hard cold kitchen tiles. Baths were sponge baths. The privy was in the central yard and often, none to private!

Book #1 Out now!
Wages were particularly poor. Why? Because general guidelines published for heads of households declared that wages and number of servants should be deterimined by general income. That does not seem out of line with our current thinking about cost control. But when you learn that they recommended a certain number of servants for a special income, you see that the rule of thumb was to hire many servants and pay as little as possible. See my list here!
I hope you will enjoy all 3 of my DELIGHTFUL DOINGS IN DUDLEY CRESCENT and learn how a few servants managed to fall in love with aristocrats...and their love survived the social rules!
HIS NAUGHTY MAIDout in July!

FAB Historical Romance Giveaway: 32 Free novels! Act now!

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WHAT A COVER! SCANDALOUS HEIRESS looks like a painting!

I am sighing over this cover!!!!

Buy SCANDALOUS HEIRESS:

AMAZON:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...

B&N:   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scan...  
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/scandalous-heiress-4

And iTunes soon as I am having troubles with mounting it there! SIGH!

Here for your pleasure is the full print cover toooooo!
THIS is the print cover!!!! I adore it...and him.
Hope you read this and please write a review for me!



ALL Available now and Book 4 on February 4!

SCANDALOUS HEIRESS debuts Monday, Feb 4! What do American Heiresses do on their summer vacations?

AMAZON BUY LINK!What do American heiresses do on their summer vacations?

In my series THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS , they all fall in love!

In Book 4, Scandalous Heiress, Ada Hanniford accompanies her friend Esmerelda Moore to a summer house party and meets a man who never intends to marry anyone ever. Victor Cole had a hideous marriage and he means to save himself the trouble of another disaster. Until he meets Ada, and he cannot help himself from falling in love with her.

She was his ruin.  He was her salvation.Ada Hanniford is a spirited American heiress whom Englishmen seek to marry for her millions.Victor Cole is a rich tai-pan with a scandalous past. Claiming Ada for himself, he rescuesd her from scandal. And destroys his own bright prospects.Can they be happy if few can forget their pasts?
If you love swoon-worthy historical romance, starring endearing heroes, sassy heroines and a family of irresistible charmers, this book is for you!  Buy SCANDALOUS HEIRESS to begin your journey!
SCANDALOUS HEIRESS is the fourth book in THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS series but can also be read as a standalone novel.Book 1: Wild Lily (Lily and Julian)Book 2: Daring Widow (Marianne and Remy)Book 3: Sweet Siren (Liv and Killian)Book 4: Scandalous Heiress (Ada and Victor)Book 5: Title, TBD. (Camille and her mystery lover!)

Buy SCANDALOUS HEIRESS:

AMAZON:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07...

B&N:   https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scan...  
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/scandalous-heiress-4

And iTunes soon as I am having troubles with mounting it there! SIGH!

Cerise’s Brief bio:  Cerise DeLand loves taking readers to distant times with men who cannot undo those dastardly corset laces…and ladies who love them for fumbling!
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Cerise DeLand's Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0089DS2N2Goodreads:   Cerise DeLand BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cerise-deland

Opium? A gift for your fiancee if you are a British merchant in Shanghai? No! Fu Dogs and...

From approximately 1820s until Mao Tse-tung and his communist friends took over in China in 1949, opium was a major influence on Chinese politics. British merchants—and Americans along with other foreigners—traded in the poppy and its products. Why? It was an unequal trade and financed what might have been a losing trade out of China. Complicated but true.

So in my next novel, SCANDALOUS HEIRESS, my hero is a British merchant who lives in the British canton of Shanghai. He does not deal in opium, and in fact, refuses to, understanding the disastrous effects on any human who uses it.

But he is about to get married. (Like you do in a good romance.) And he wants to give his fiancee gifts that are useful, decorative and evocative.

What does he give her?

A kimono from Japan. (Why Japan and not China? Because in the 1880s, kimonos are the rage from the newly opened and modernizing island country. He has many stocked in his factories in the East London docks.)

Fu dogs.  Why? Fu dogs are Guardians of home and hearth. You will also see them at entrances to palaces and temples. They bring good luck, peace, serenity and protection.

Chinese silk wallpaper. The Chinese were expert makers of beautiful yards of highly colored wallpaper. This picture is my own and I took it in Ham House south of London. The silk is faded and the curators of the house have darkened the room to protect the fragile fabric. Yet you can see that what once was red is now a different color.

He also gives her cultured pearls from China. These were developed since the Sung dynasty in China and are still popular today.

SCANDALOUS HEIRESS, Book 4 in popular THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS series, debuts February 4! But it is on pre-order now for 99 cents. Regular prince will be $3.99!
BUY LINK TO AMAZON!
My AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE for all in this series!

Soap was the answer to many problems! Posters!

Cleanliness continued to be a challenge in the 19th century. Keeping the River Thames clean was the first issue many wished to address, including Prince Albert. Cholera was the result of filthy water.

But keeping bodies clean was a major challenge. Running water was not considered a public need and many poor still went to public fountains and troughs to drink and wash. Perfumes and colonies might cover the odors but soap was the solution.

Soap became a desired commodity! Commercially produced, too.
Here are a few advertisements from that era!

Medicines of yore that killed!

I've been doing research in old newspapers and many offer insights into products for sale and their ingredients. One of them that fascinates me is the category of medicines. Home remedies they were called. And many of them were dangerous.
Cough syrups for children contained cocaine. Pills for women who were "hysterical" often contained laudanum. Children and adults died of continued use and overdose.
Here are a few of the ads.

Travels with Cerise, TV, research trips and scullery maids!

Have you watched the BBC/Netflix series Bodyguard? If so, you've seen the Home Secretary pull up to the home of the Prime Minister.

Later they ID it as Chequers, the home once of Winston Churchill, now the PM's.

Well! This one in the show is not the real Chequers! No!

It's Ham House, a marvelous 17th century darkly gorgeous brick home in suburb of London along the Thames! Built for the Dysarts, this home is a wonderful example of Stuart, early Georgian architecture and a wonderful place to visit.

The interior is rich with black walnut walls and tiled floors of many colors. Done in parquet designs too. Many of the furnishings are of the period, too, including a Queen's Bedchamber done in rich reds and gold.

One aspect of touring the house and kitchen gardens was for me the informative plaques describing servants' duties. Here for you is Mary Hobley's. Mary was a scullery maid. Do read about her work, her pay and her superiors.

TRAVELS WITH CERISE a new element in my novels for you!

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJNXZXSInside THE VISCOUNT'S ONLY LOVE is a treat for the historical romance lover in you.I've decided that another wonderful way to share my research with you is to include in my novels addenda about my trips abroad! Yes, I've done a few Live Chats on FB called Travels with Cerise (and do go watch them please), but I wanted to give you something more permanent to relish. You know that in each novel, I take great care to give you accurate history from all my research in books, monographs and travel abroad. Many times those little details that I like to put into my novels can naturally go unnoticed or undocumented. Now to thrill you more, I've taken advantage of the new technological ability to include my photos inside my works. So you see my great pictures like this one of Azay-le-Rideau and you can read what and why I've included those pictures in my text! http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com I'm very excited about this. That means that I will first go back into all 3 of THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS, then CHRISTMAS BELLES to show you my pix and explain how those items or places are reflected in my novels. When I put those in, I will notify you here and you can go to your provider into your account and download the newest version! So tickled to share these with you! In box set, NINE LORDS
FOR CHRISTMASDo write to me and let you me know what you think and what you've loved!
Amazon

Amazon www.cerisedeland.com

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJNXZXSI... THE VISCO...

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJNXZXS
Inside THE VISCOUNT'S ONLY LOVE is a treat for the historical romance lover in you.I've decided that another wonderful way to share my research with you is to include in my novels addenda about my trips abroad! Yes, I've done a few Live Chats on FB called Travels with Cerise (and do go watch them please), but I wanted to give you something more permanent to relish. You know that in each novel, I take great care to give you accurate history from all my research in books, monographs and travel abroad. Many times those little details that I like to put into my novels can naturally go unnoticed or undocumented. Now to thrill you more, I've taken advantage of the new technological ability to include my photos inside my works. So you see my great pictures like this one of Azay-le-Rideau and you can read what and why I've included those pictures in my text! http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com I'm very excited about this. That means that I will first go back into all 3 of THOSE NOTORIOUS AMERICANS, then CHRISTMAS BELLES to show you my pix and explain how those items or places are reflected in my novels. When I put those in, I will notify you here and you can go to your provider into your account and download the newest version! So tickled to share these with you! In box set, NINE LORDS
FOR CHRISTMAS
Do write to me and let you me know what you think and what you've loved!
Amazon


Amazon www.cerisedeland.com