I'm an Australian author of contemporary and historical romances, plus history non-fiction.
My books range from sexy to erotic, late 1700s to the mid 1800s, and with a dash of Australia thrown into the mix. My heroes and heroines challenge tradition and my stories often expose the seamier levels of life.
I now live in a sunny part of Australia after spending many years in developing countries in the South Pacific. My greatest loves are traveling, anywhere and everywhere, meeting crazy characters, and visiting the Australian outback.
I hope my books bring history alive and you have fun adventuring with my roguish heroes and feisty heroines.
1818 Walking Dress and Redingote, French. White walking dress under a royal blue redingote, or pelisse, or coat, with a wide fur trim and high shawl collar and with a large bonnet with black plume. The type of outfit young Regency Era ladies would have worn if they were out shopping on Bond Street, walking in a park, or taking a carriage ride through Hyde Park. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. .
Definition Redingote Or Pelisse Or Walking Dress Or Coat: French word developed from English words, riding coat. Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. Often left open at the front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French fashion plates call these coats Redingotes and they are designed for women, men and children. English fashion plates call them a Pelisse, a walking dress, Promenade dress, or Carriage dress.
1790-1810 ca. Woman’s Black Wool Shoes. Pointed toe and low wedge heel covered in same fabric, black tape binding, leather straight or symmetrical sole, linen insole and lining. Wool satin with wool twill tape binding, plain weave linen lining, and leather sole. Place of Use: Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. Place of Manufacture: possibly Massachusetts, United States Provenance: Worn by a member of the Robbins family; inherited by Ellen A. Stone; gift to MFA, 1899. Credit Line Gift of Miss Ellen A. Stone via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U. S.A.
In Jane Austen’s years, she and her contemporaries spent a lot of time outdoors. Fragile slippers were worn for balls and evening events but for walking sturdier shoes were needed, In the early 1800s, these were typically made of leather and were flat or had a very small heel.
1808 Two Ladies, French. Apricot Evening Dress Or Moire Brochee, French. Patterned dress with very low cut bodice, short sleeves, long white gloves, and holding a Lorgnette, or looking glass, and a handkerchief. Grey Redingote with high waist and holding a red shawl. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien.
The French magazine, Journal des Dames et des Modes, frequently made fashion plates with a single woman, two women or a woman with a man where they wear the same outfit. The two variations show innovative ideas for decorating plain white muslin dresses with a range of colorful accessories, and the early 1800s were definitely the years when accessories were the fashion highlight. Add a pair of colorful long gloves, a draped shawl or scarf, a reticule, handkerchief, fan or looking glass and the typical white dress is given individuality and personality.
Here is the companion to the above fashion plate with the single lady in her apricot dress. The lady in a grey Redingote is added.
1818 Blue Spencer Of Levantine, French. White cotton print dress with ruffled hem, high plumed bonnet and a neck scarf.
Definition Levantine: Stout silk cloth in twill weave. First made in the Levant, a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia.
Definition Spencer: Short jacket, cropped at the waist, worn over a dress, or gown. These close-fitting, tight sleeved, waist length jackets were modeled on a gentleman’s riding coat, but without tails. Delicate and regency dresses provided so little protection from the cold, so over garments were essential for warmth, modesty and good health.
19th Century Leather Travel Trunk, English. #JaneAusten #RegencyEra #travel
The trunk is made of wood and covered with woven canvas. It has leather corners and straps and handles for securing and lifting. The lock plate cover is marked ‘Finnigan’s London’, 18 New Bond Street, London, UK, and there is a Maker’s Brand and a Maker’s Label. There are four removable linen trays with cloth straps and handles. The trunk measures 13 inches high, 20 inches deep, and 36 inches wide.
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19th Century Leather Trunk English Wood covered with woven canvas1. 19th Century Leather Trunk, English. Wood covered with woven canvas, leather corners, and lock plate cover marked Finnigan’s London. via Live Auctioneers . liveauctioneers.com
1818 Blue Levantine Redingote, French. High-waisted walking coat, high white neck frill, bonnet of blue Gros de Naples with pink flowers, short puffed sleeves over long straight sleeves, white gloves and blue shoes. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. The type of outfit young Regency Era ladies would have worn if they were out shopping on Bond Street, walking in a park, or taking a carriage ride through Hyde Park.
Definition Redingote Or Pelisse Or Walking Dress Or Coat: French word developed from English words, riding coat. Long fitted outdoor coat worn over other garments for warmth. Often left open at the front to show off the dress underneath. Sometimes cut away in front. Originally made with several capes and trimmed with large buttons. French fashion plates call these coats Redingotes and they are designed for women, men and children. English fashion plates call them a Pelisse, a walking dress, Promenade dress, or Carriage dress.
Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung to farewell the old year at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. It’s a poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 in Scotland, but based on an older Scottish folk song. In 1799, it was set to the traditional tune.
The song begins by posing a rhetorical question: Is it right that old times be forgotten? The answer is generally interpreted as a call to remember long-standing friendships.[9] Alternatively, “Should” may be understood to mean “if” (expressing the conditional mood) referring to a possible event or situation.
George Thomson‘s Select Songs of Scotland was published in 1799 in which the second verse about greeting and toasting was moved to its present position at the end.[9]
Most common usage of the song involves only the first verse and the chorus. The last lines of both of these are often sung with the extra words “For the sake of” or “And days of”, rather than Burns’s simpler lines. This makes these lines strictly syllabic, with just one note per syllable.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne?
(Chorus) For auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne, We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp! And surely I’ll be mine! And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
We twa hae run about the braes And pu’d the gowans fine; But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot Sin auld lang syne.
We twa hae paidl’d i’ the burn, Frae mornin’ sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar’d Sin auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! And gie’s a hand o’ thine! And we’ll tak a right guid willy waught, For auld lang syne.
English version
Should old acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, And old lang syne?
(Chorus) For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne, We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup! And surely I’ll buy mine! And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
We two have run about the slopes, And picked the daisies fine; But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, Since auld lang syne.
We two have paddled in the stream, From morning sun till dine; But seas between us broad have roared Since auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand my trusty friend! And give me a hand o’ thine! And we’ll take a right good-will draught, For auld lang syne.
Robert Burns Robert Burns, engraving from A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, 1870.
1800s Silver and Carved Mother of Pearl Writing and Desk Set, French. Wax Seal, Dip Pen and Letter Opener in the style that Jane Austen would have used to write her novels and her letters. via Ruby Lane Antiques. rubylane.com
1750 ca. Spanish colonial ‘escritorio’, or writing desk, Columbia. Bone and mother of pearl inlay, hand etched sgraffito and original hand forged iron hinges. Interior has checkerboard drop front and ten compartments, each with original 18th century drawer pulls. Facade over-layed in mother of pearl with hand etched city-scapes, cathedrals, geometric patterns and foliate motifs. Interior has hand carved and gilt wood columns. Via Live Auctions ~ liveauctioneers.com
1799-1810 ca. Cotton Muslin Gown, Probably American. White cotton embroidered muslin, probably Bengal, all over sprigged broderie anglaise decoration,short sleeve with three pairs of inside ties to adjust the double-puff, ruffled edge, back tie at neckline and waist, ruched band above the slightly trained hem with scalloped sawtooth border and with cotton bodice lining. via whitakerauction.smugmug.com
These lightweight white cotton dresses were fashionable in Jane Austen’s times, but they were certainly not warm when a lady was out walking or when riding in a carriage. Numerous outer layers could be added for warmth and to brighten and personalize an outfit. These might be an overdress, pelisse or redingote, hat, shawl, gloves, or large fur muff.
The Empire dress which evolved in the late 1790s began as a chemise shift gathered under the breasts and at the neck. Named after the First Empire in France, by 1800 Empire dresses had a very low décolleté, or neckline and a short narrow backed bodice attached to a separate skirt. Skirts started directly under the bust and flowed into the classical relaxed wide styles of Greece and Rome. This style of dress is associated with Jane Austen and her contemporaries as a simple cotton high-waisted dress was worn most days and accessorized according to the importance of the occasion.
