Grace Elliot's Blog: 'Familiar Felines.' , page 35

Fiction Books 5 / 5

I was thrilled, this evening, to find this lovely review of 'A Dead Man's Debt' by Yvonne from 'Fiction Books.' 
A creative, page-turning drama, a poignant story, characters totally engrossing in their complexity, with the distinctive essence of each easily discernible, sensual and evocative writing, from a great new author.—Worthy of:  5 out of 5 for a book in this genre.
http://www.fiction-books.biz/new-authors/my-thoughts-a-dead-mans-debt-by-grace-elliot/comment-page-1/#comment-636

Fiction Books 5 / 5.

I'm so thrilled by Fiction Books review of 'A Dead Man's Debt' that I just had to share it with you!!!

A creative, page-turning drama, a poignant story, characters totally engrossing in their complexity, with the distinctive essence of each easily discernible, sensual and evocative writing, from a great new author.
—
Worthy of: 5 out of 5 for a book in this genre.

http://www.fiction-books.biz/new-auth...


A Dead Man's Debt

The Lambeth Pedlar, his dog and a church window.

A 17th century Pedlar, his Dog and a Painted Glass Window. A drawing of the Lambeth pedlar window.          I came across the story of the Lambeth Pedlar and his dog whilst researching an article for the veterinary press. In the parish church of Saint Mary's, Lambeth there is a painted glass window showing a man weighted down with a back pack, with a dog at his feet. This is not the original window, which dated back to 1608 (destroyed in a WWII bombing raid.) After the war Saint Mary's parishioners, loyal the memory of the mysterious pedlar, commissioned the replacement window that exists today. But who was the pedlar, and why is there a picture of his dog on a church wndow? A view over Lambeth Palace in 1685.
Local lore has it that this window depicts the Lambeth Pedlar and his faithful companion. The story goes that this eccentric salesman hoarded the money earnt by selling his wares door to door and the only comfort he allowed himself was his dog. When the dog died the pedlar was so bereft that he pledged to leave all his money to the parish if they agreed to either bury the dog in the churchyard, or commerate him in the church.  The churchwarden's account for 1608 includes the following:            "Two shillings paid to the glazier for a panel of glass for the window where the picture of the pedlar stands." Pedlars, illustrated above, were a common sight in the 1600's.An alternative explanation of the Pedlar's window has also been suggested. This involves one Henry Smith or "Dog Smith" a wealthy London Alderman who died in 1627. At the time he was a well known benefactor to the poor and it was rumored that Henry sometimes dressed in rags to travel in cognito, accompanied by a dog to test out the character of those he was thinking of helping. His would visit a village and beg a bone for the dog and bread for himself. If the villagers turned him away empty handed then he to, declined to give charity to the Parish.                         Whichever explanation is correct; a story of doggy devotion or eccentric benevolence, this glass window reminds us to this day, of the generosity of the human spirit.  A Cats Meat Man - another type of street trader who peddled his wares door to door.
NEXT POST (Tuesday) "The value of a cat" - in Medieval Wales.

YA Fantasy author Shawn Lamb

Author of YA Fantasy, Shawn Lamb is guesting over at Grace Elliot's blog today. Shawn shares her love of historical fiction and recalls what got her writing in the first place.

Follow the link to read the full post:

http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.co...

Grace xA Dead Man's Debt

Some Victorian sayings to do with cats.

This week’s historical trivia unashamedly looks at Victorian sayings that involve cats.

If a thief talked about a ‘Cat’, the chances are he wasn’t referring to our feline friends but a lady’s muff. Similarly if he mentioned ‘Freeing a cat,’ best hold on tight to your possessions, because he was about to steal something.

For the full post follow the link:
http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.co...
A Dead Man's Debt

WIN a copy of 'A Dead Man's Debt."

Today Grace Elliot is visiting Terry's Place.
Grace's debut novel 'A Dead Man's Debt' is rated 5/5 and described by The Romance Reviews as "Historical romance at its best"!
For a chance to win a copy pop over to Terry's Place and leave a comment.
http://terryodell.blogspot.com/2011/01/hooked-on-happiness.html#more

WIN a copy of 'A Dead Man's Debt.'

The Name of the Cat.

If you take the responsibility seriously, it is surprisingly difficult to choose the right name for cat. I was recently thrown into confusion when an RSPCA inspector asked me to name the litter of kittens she'd brought in for vaccination. Rescue names usually follow a theme eg. Animals abandoned at Christmas will be named Holly, Ivy, Mistletoe, Noel et.c. When suddenly landed with the responsibility of naming my mind went completely blank – each theme I thought of seemed too cliched or not nice enough, so despite my best efforts those kittens left nameless.
Going back to medieval times the most popular name for a cat was 'Gibbe' which is a shortened form of the name 'Gilbert.' Chaucer mentioned "Gibbe our cat" in 'Romance of the Rose'.  In Skelton's 1509 elegiac 'Phyllp Sparrow' it is a cat called Gyb that is responsible for the death of Jane Scrope's pet sparrow. The name was equally popular in France, where the equivalent name was Tibert or Thibert. The name remained popular, especially in Northern England, until the 1860's but is now largely forgotten.
The most common cat names in 2010 were; Molly, Charlie, Tigger, Poppy, Oscar, Smudge, Millie, Daisy, Max and Jasper. A recent list of the worst cat names includes; Small Man in a Cat Suit, The Urinator, Hanibal Lickter, Ducttape, Fattie and Uranus.            My personal favorite humorous name is Furkin. A good school friend called her cat this….think about it…calling out; 'Has anyone seen the Furkin cat?'    
"What did you just call me?"

So how about you? What is your favourite name for a cat. Do leave a comment, I'd love to hear your stories.

5 Reasons the Regency is Romantic.

All this week at Long and Short Reviews, Grace Elliot reveals 5 reasons she finds the Regency so romantic.
http://longandshortarchives.blogspot....

Why not pop over and share what makes the Regency romantic for you?A Dead Man's Debt

"Putting the Cart Before the Horse."

I’m sure you’re familiar the expression ‘putting the cart before the horse’. But this saying, as well as describing a world turned upside down, in the 16th century was also a timely warning against rebellion.

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http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.co...


A Dead Man's Debt