A NEW CHARM
Ella Shane’s first present on her wedding day is a new charm for her bracelet, closing a circle that began three books ago in her first adventure with the Duke.
The bracelet is far more than a fashion statement.
It’s part of thousands of years of tradition…and a very specific class statement for our Lower East side orphan made good.
Remnants of charm bracelets have been found in prehistoric sites, and the ancient Assyrians and others wore strings of various amulets. Back then, it was a charm in the magical sense: an object offering protection from some kind of harm.
While the magical meaning faded with time, the idea of wearing something in an easily visible place to carry an important memory or message is a very popular one, so it never really faded away, even if it took different forms, depending on fashion.
Modern charm bracelet fans can thank – guess who? – Queen Victoria, for making them really popular. Pictures of the Grandmother of Europe from various stages of her life clearly show several of them, some mementoes from her beloved Albert, and others of her constantly growing family. Of course, if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for everyone else, and ladies quickly adopted the fashion.
At that time, it was very much an upper-class vogue. Most people would not have had the money for innumerable little trinkets – and a working woman would never have been comfortable wearing all of those jingling bits on her wrist while she scrubbed or typed, never mind what would have happened in a factory. So simply owning a charm bracelet marked you as woman of a particular class.
That’s one reason Ella prizes hers. While she definitely does not like fancy jewels, finding them wasteful, showy, and cold, she does love the collection of mementoes around her wrist. It’s a very proper way for her to announce that she is now a lady of means and substance, and she’s quite proud of it.
Like any woman who collects charms, she also loves what they represent. Many of hers are pieces that recall roles she’s played over the years, tracking her successful career. But not all. She also has pieces from friends and family marking milestones, like her friend Marie’s wedding and the birth of her children.
Charms were, and are, a thoughtful and meaningful gift. They were also one of the very few respectable gifts a man could properly give a woman. Though charms are undoubtedly jewelry items, their tiny size, relatively low value, and general appropriateness meant a gentleman could give one to a lady in perfect propriety.
So, there’s plenty in play when Ella’s new acquaintance the Duke clasps her bracelet for her after a performance about a third of the way through their first adventure, A FATAL FINALE. It reminds him of who and what she is, but he also sees that the charms show that she cares about more than music. And then there’s the spark when his fingers touch her wrist…
At the end of the book, the Duke, now Ella’s barrister friend Gil, gives her a charm, and formally asks to court her. That charm stays on her wrist through two more books, with murder, mayhem, and all manner of dangers. On their wedding day in A FATAL RECEPTION, Gil gives Ella a new charm, engraved with one word that sums up their relationship.
And yes, you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!
Have a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Leave it in the comments!
The bracelet is far more than a fashion statement.
It’s part of thousands of years of tradition…and a very specific class statement for our Lower East side orphan made good.
Remnants of charm bracelets have been found in prehistoric sites, and the ancient Assyrians and others wore strings of various amulets. Back then, it was a charm in the magical sense: an object offering protection from some kind of harm.
While the magical meaning faded with time, the idea of wearing something in an easily visible place to carry an important memory or message is a very popular one, so it never really faded away, even if it took different forms, depending on fashion.
Modern charm bracelet fans can thank – guess who? – Queen Victoria, for making them really popular. Pictures of the Grandmother of Europe from various stages of her life clearly show several of them, some mementoes from her beloved Albert, and others of her constantly growing family. Of course, if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for everyone else, and ladies quickly adopted the fashion.
At that time, it was very much an upper-class vogue. Most people would not have had the money for innumerable little trinkets – and a working woman would never have been comfortable wearing all of those jingling bits on her wrist while she scrubbed or typed, never mind what would have happened in a factory. So simply owning a charm bracelet marked you as woman of a particular class.
That’s one reason Ella prizes hers. While she definitely does not like fancy jewels, finding them wasteful, showy, and cold, she does love the collection of mementoes around her wrist. It’s a very proper way for her to announce that she is now a lady of means and substance, and she’s quite proud of it.
Like any woman who collects charms, she also loves what they represent. Many of hers are pieces that recall roles she’s played over the years, tracking her successful career. But not all. She also has pieces from friends and family marking milestones, like her friend Marie’s wedding and the birth of her children.
Charms were, and are, a thoughtful and meaningful gift. They were also one of the very few respectable gifts a man could properly give a woman. Though charms are undoubtedly jewelry items, their tiny size, relatively low value, and general appropriateness meant a gentleman could give one to a lady in perfect propriety.
So, there’s plenty in play when Ella’s new acquaintance the Duke clasps her bracelet for her after a performance about a third of the way through their first adventure, A FATAL FINALE. It reminds him of who and what she is, but he also sees that the charms show that she cares about more than music. And then there’s the spark when his fingers touch her wrist…
At the end of the book, the Duke, now Ella’s barrister friend Gil, gives her a charm, and formally asks to court her. That charm stays on her wrist through two more books, with murder, mayhem, and all manner of dangers. On their wedding day in A FATAL RECEPTION, Gil gives Ella a new charm, engraved with one word that sums up their relationship.
And yes, you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is!
Have a #ThrowbackThursday idea? Leave it in the comments!
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