Donna
asked
Elizabeth Hoyt:
Reading D of S and loving it, except for 2 things that I believe you have no control over-the cover. My pet peeve is covers that have nothing to do with what takes place in the book or matches the character's description. 1. Were there actually tiny buttons and neat little buttonholes on men's shirts in 1741? 2. Page 2 re Duke's curly hair: "he wore it long, unpowdered, and tied at the nape of his neck".
Elizabeth Hoyt
I'm glad you're enjoyed Duke of Sin, Donna!
As to covers: I've made my peace with historical inaccuracies a looooong time ago. Your first question re: shirts, actually, they might've had shirts with tiny button holes--they were after all hand-stitched, so sure, why not? Most shirts would not have opened all the way to the waist (they opened to mid-chest and then were pulled off over the head) but eh, then we wouldn't have pretty chests to look at. In my time period, of course, they would NOT have had tight pants (PANTS) or knee-high pull on boots. Sigh. BUT through a quirk of cover fate we can't actually see Val's bottom half on the cover so I don't have to suffer through Regency Cover Menswear. (TM)
As for hair. It's sad, so very sad. ALL my heroes either have very closely cropped hair (because they're wearing wigs and I'm not into bald men) OR long, shoulder-length hair because they're tying back their own hair. Is this reflected on the covers? No. Not even the cropped look? I don't know why. I suspect that the cover artists are fearful of going into mullet territory with shoulder-length hair and I do sympathize. No one likes a mullet.
HOWEVER! Small progress has been made in covers recently--not, alas, in historical accuracy, but in manly chest accuracy. Both covers for DUKE OF SIN and DUKE OF PLEASURE originally had no chest hair. I asked the artist to please put some in...and HE DID. Quite nicely, too, I think.
As to covers: I've made my peace with historical inaccuracies a looooong time ago. Your first question re: shirts, actually, they might've had shirts with tiny button holes--they were after all hand-stitched, so sure, why not? Most shirts would not have opened all the way to the waist (they opened to mid-chest and then were pulled off over the head) but eh, then we wouldn't have pretty chests to look at. In my time period, of course, they would NOT have had tight pants (PANTS) or knee-high pull on boots. Sigh. BUT through a quirk of cover fate we can't actually see Val's bottom half on the cover so I don't have to suffer through Regency Cover Menswear. (TM)
As for hair. It's sad, so very sad. ALL my heroes either have very closely cropped hair (because they're wearing wigs and I'm not into bald men) OR long, shoulder-length hair because they're tying back their own hair. Is this reflected on the covers? No. Not even the cropped look? I don't know why. I suspect that the cover artists are fearful of going into mullet territory with shoulder-length hair and I do sympathize. No one likes a mullet.
HOWEVER! Small progress has been made in covers recently--not, alas, in historical accuracy, but in manly chest accuracy. Both covers for DUKE OF SIN and DUKE OF PLEASURE originally had no chest hair. I asked the artist to please put some in...and HE DID. Quite nicely, too, I think.
More Answered Questions
Julie Wofford
asked
Elizabeth Hoyt:
Are you planning a book about Lord d'Arque?? Would love to see him!!
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