I Hereby Resolve . . .

Did you make any resolutions as the New Year dawned?  A writer friend, Elena Greene , tells me she thinks more of plans than resolutions.  I have many plans for 2014--write the final two books in my Mercer Brides series for Love Inspired Historical, write Priscilla's story to continue the Lady Emily Capers that included the rewrite of La Petite Four this year, downsize to a smaller house, and work on rebuilding my physical strength, which has proven highly unreliable of late.  I found myself wondering, however, how those in nineteenth century England and America thought about such matters.  So, of course, I did a little research.  (Lovely, lovely research!)

The 1828 Boston literary magazine, The Bower of Taste, edited by Katherine Augusta Ware, had this to say about New Year's resolutions:

We began the year just passed away with prospects full as flattering, with friends as kind, with health as good, and mind as free as now.  We made resolutions at the commencement of the last year, which have, many of them, been long since forgotten.  We complained then, that the year had been too short for the consummation of all our wishes, and formed plans which would, if carried into execution, have essentially bettered our condition; but we forgot that the next was to be as short as the one we had just passed, and that our resolutions were now no better than before.

Guilty.  I always seem to dream up far more than I can possibly do in a year when those twelve months are stretching out before me.  Then again, I am a big believer in setting your sights high.

In 1895, R.G. Hazlett, General Secretary of the Good Templars of Toronto, exhorted all members of the society to be "more kind and patient and long-suffering with our Brothers and Sisters . . . even to those who are not as agreeable to us as some others."

Well said, Mr. Hazlett, especially the agreeable part. 

My favorite piece of lore concerning New Year's, however, dates from 1893, when eighteen-year old M. Henry of South Wales won a prize from a London literary magazine for the following poem:

"The old year now is dead and gone
And as we watched him dying
How many keen regrets arose
To give us cause for sighing!

And so we say that we will treat
The year that's coming better
Good resolutions make--and mean
To keep them to the letter.

But soon, alas! we shall find out
The reason why we make them--
They're made on New Year's Day, because
There's all the year to break them!"

Whatever your plans for 2014, I wish you the very best in fulfilling them all!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring . . . except for Marissa and me, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! May your hearts be full of wonder and joy this blessed season, and may the New Year bring nothing but happiness to you all! You’ve certainly brought some happiness to our lives this past year with your comments and camaraderie!

We will be taking next week off to celebrate the holidays with our families, but we’ll be back at the keyboards in January. Look for more fashion forecasts, historical tidbits, and even a book club reading or two in the coming months.

In the meantime, as our present to you, enjoy these nineteenth-century themed Christmas movies. First up, scenes from Chatsworth, the home of the Dukes of Devonshire. This beautiful estate has been used to represent Fitzwilliam Darcy’s estate Pemberley. A kind gentleman provided these pictures from the 2010 Christmas tour.



Next up, a short, but heartfelt wish for a Merry Christmas.



Have a wonderful holiday, and see you next year!

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Happy New Year!

Think carefully. Who was the first person in your door after midnight last night?

Depending on your family traditions in nineteenth century England, the answer to that question could determine what kind of year you were going to have. The tradition of the First Footer originated in Scotland, but was practiced in the north and other parts of England. Basically the idea was that the first person who walked through your door could, depending on the circumstances, bring you luck for the year.

What constituted the circumstances varied by location. Some folks insisted that the visitor must bring a gift of food. Others had more elaborate traditions where the visitor had to bring symbols of warmth (a lump of coal for the fire), food (anything from bread to red herrings to mine pies to wine or whiskey), and wealth (a silver coin). Some visitors were supposed to remain silent until they had set the coal into the fire; others were supposed to run through the house shouting New Year’s greetings! The tradition was so engrained in some households that families actually tried to game the system by arranging with certain people exactly who would show up at the door so as to ensure their luck.

Most people believed the First Footer must be male, but here again sources differed as to exactly which type of male brought you good luck. Some favored blonds.

Others favored the tall, dark, and handsome.


Frankly, if I had been an unwed young lady eagerly waiting with her family to see who would pop through the door, I wouldn’t turn either of them down. How about you?