Nineteenth Century Christmas Wish List, 2021 Edition

Many people I know started their Christmas shopping early. If you are one of them—good for you! If you aren’t, no worries! Here are a few things to inspire those who love the nineteenth century or to just inspire in general!

Banks by Grantlee Kieza 
Naturalist Sir Joseph Banks dominated the sciences in Regency England. I’ve used him a time or two as a supporting character. This biography by an award-winning journalist shines new light on the man himself, calling him “a fearless adventurer” whose “fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific knowledge.” Sounds like a great read to me!

Becoming Future You: Be the Hero of Your Own Life by Mel Jolly 
Everyone has a dream, but sometimes we aren’t entirely sure how to reach it or why we haven’t reached it yet. Having worked with authors and other creative entrepreneurs for nearly two decades, Mel knows what it takes to move forward in your life. And her warm, encouraging prose will make you feel like your best friend is walking right there with you.

Jewels Through Time on Etsy 

Can I just say I’m in love? This amazing shop has wonderful reproductions of jewelry worn in historical movies. You’ll find pieces that look like they came off the set of Emma, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Poldark, and more, at reasonable prices. For example, you can get a reproduction of this piece worn by Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett in the 1995 miniseries adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth as Darcy). Gorgeous! (My husband has already purchased a piece for me for Christmas.)

Cuddly, Period-Inspired Throw on CafePress
This lovely plush fleece throw blanket is based on Regency dress fabric. Perfect for cuddling up with a good book!

And speaking of books, December 3 through 10, you can get the first book in the Marvelous Munroes series, My True Love Gave to Me, free in ebook form. The print book and series bundle are also discounted.

If you sign up for my newsletter, you’ll also know when a book is on sale or up for preorder. I send an exclusive Christmas story only to newsletter subscribers each year. Sign up before December 20, and you’ll receive it too. 

Happy Christmas shopping!

Nineteenth Century Wish List, 2019 Edition

I’m getting close to finishing my Christmas shopping, but I’m hoping those shopping for me are thinking about gifts for lovers of the nineteenth century. Here’s a few that might make your list too:

Some wonderful Pride and Peppermint tea, complete with bookmark.

Just how foxy do you prefer your Regency dandy? Perhaps this foxy.

Or perhaps a Regency alphabet book: A is for Almack’s. Why yes, yes, it is.

A lovely necklace reminiscent of the Regency period, and at Kohl’s no less.

Proud to show your love of Jane Austen even on chilly days? Try this sweatshirt.

And, until December 12, you will find the first book in my Marvelous Munroes series for free at major retailers. Not an e-book fan? My True Love Gave to Me is also back in print for the first time in 20 years. You might mention that to your library.

Genevieve Munroe is determined to give her newly impoverished family one last happy Christmas, including making peace with their long-time rivals, the Pentercasts. Then the handsome oldest son Alan proposes a wager: if he can give her all the gifts from the Twelve Days of Christmas song, she must marry him.

Alan’s wild gambit is intended to win Gen’s heart. After all, no Munroe would ever marry a Pentercast. But perhaps the joy of Christmas can open her eyes to the man behind the wager, a man determined to turn the twelve days of Christmas into a lifetime of love.

Smashwords

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

Apple Books

Best wishes on your holiday shopping success!

Literary Christmas Wish List, 2015

Some people hate Christmas shopping. I love it. Every year, I am amazed by the myriad of choices available to delight my friends and family, particularly those of a literary bent. So, in case you need inspiration for yourself (or to suggest to others for yourself), allow me to point out a few items.

Perhaps you or your loved one favors jewelry. You might invest in the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw, which proves the owner is endowed with the characteristics of this noble house of Hogwarts: intelligence, wit, and wisdom. 

Or maybe it would just be nice to have a book hanging around.

Then there’s the modern rivalry between e-books and print, spelled out on this coffee cup. 

And of course many would covet this adventuresome journal to write down thoughts.

Have a special gentleman in your life? Help him to dress like Darcy. J

Or maybe you’re the one who prefers to dress with a more historical flare: 

And don’t forget the books! Here are a few that looked interesting and were reasonable:

Deadly Victorian Remedies, 12 cases of medicine gone bad. 

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, that 1800s classic that we’ve quoted on Nineteenteen. 

Dandy Poems: The Dandy in Poetry and Song, a compilation of satirical poems written in the nineteenth century about dandies.

Hm. I think I need to add a few more things to my own Christmas list. How about you?

Nineteenth Century Christmas Wish List--What Would Queen Victoria Want?

Regina's wonderful Christmas Wish List posts got me thinking about some other 19th century present lists I'd seen before...namely, those listed by Queen Victoria in her diaries. She kept careful note of presents given to and received from family, friends, and servants, especially in her childhood and teens.

So...what was on Queen Victoria's Christmas Wish List?

1. Jewelry Well, of course the future Queen of England had a taste for jewelry, even as a child. She lists gift of an opal brooch and earrings, amethyst earrings, a "massive gold buckle in the shape of two serpents", a gold chain with a turquoise clasp, a turquoise ring...and later, Prince Albert often gave her jewelry made from the teeth of stags he'd killed (ew!) or lockets with strands of their children's hair.

2. Art Several of her diary entries list gifts of prints, drawings, and reproductions of famous works of art from her mother, her governess Baroness Lehzen, and others; she also gave away her watercolors and sketches (and yes, she was a fairly skillful watercolorist). She and Albert also shared a love of art, and often commissioned pictures and scupture from important artists as gifts for each other. This 1843 portrait of her at right is one she commissioned as a birthday present for Albert, for his eyes only, so to speak; it was meant to be a picture of Albert's wife, not of the Queen...isn't that romantic?

3. Handmade items You might have thought that princesses and queens expected slightly fancier gifts, but Victoria loved getting and giving homemade presents from family and friends, including embroidered bags and clothing, fancy aprons ("a very pretty black satin apron trimmed with red velvet"--wow!), handkerchiefs, sachets, fabric covered boxes...the list goes on. And it didn't stop once she became Queen; she sewed quilts and blankets for all her grandchildren at their births and many of her great-grandchildren as well. I wonder if, buried away somewhere like Windsor Castle, are trunks full of items like these? I do know that in a museum in Canada is a scarf crocheted by her; during several of Britain's wars she and her daughters knit and crocheted socks and scarves for the war effort. (And if you'd like to make your own version of this scarf at left, check out this delightful blog!)

I love making presents for family; I've knitted sweaters and mittens, made quilts, and made glass bead bracelets. Are any of you following Her Majesty's example and making homemade gifts?

Nineteenth Century Christmas Wish List—What Would YA Writers Want?

Well, actually, what would Regina want? I’ll allow Marissa to comment if she sees fit.

We’ve talked about the young ladies and lads of the nineteenth century and what they might have put on their Christmas wish lists. What of those who write about these wonderful characters? Who secretly long to live in their world, at least for a few hours? I shall show you some of my wish list, but please note that I’m not hawking these products. It seemed only fair to include the links as well as a picture or two, but I haven’t ordered from any of these places, so I cannot vouch for their good business practices. Buyer beware. Nuff said.

So what would a writer of nineteenth century YA want?

--Perhaps some lovely note cards so she could thank all those who are so kind about reviewing her work or supporting her blog.

--Or picture hangers so she could put up a few framed covers. (Of course, I personally don’t have a picture rail at the top of my walls, but I might be able to talk my very handy husband into putting a few in.) Doesn't this just take you back to another time?

Or music so she can get in the mood while writing.

Or faux nineteenth century clothing! (Actually, I want her gown, the settee she’s sitting on, and perhaps the carpet at her feet. Oh, and Santa, maybe make my short hair grow about a foot overnight too?) Wouldn’t that be fun for the booksellers and readers to see when she walked into a signing?


And of course a little bauble never hurt anyone. (You’ll notice I don’t have a writerly excuse for this one!)

Also on my wish list is for all good YA writers to have great books out in 2011 that delight readers, sell well, and earn them publishing contracts for 2012. And a pony. (Well, maybe not a pony.)

What about you? Any ideas for nineteenth century-related goodies you’ve seen?

Nineteenth Century Christmas Wish List—What a Lad Likes

Young ladies weren’t the only ones thinking about what Mama and Papa might be cozened into purchasing for Christmas. Home on break from schools like Eton and Harrow, the nineteenth century young man would be thinking about his future, and perhaps fondly remembering his past, when the school room was all he need be captain of and the most pressing matter was lining up his toy soldiers just so. Given that, what might a nineteenth century teen put on his Christmas list:

--A chess set. Perhaps with some practice even Father will do down in defeat!

--The Iliad in Greek. Learning those old languages has to be good for something, and what better than a rousing adventure of war?

--A dashing waistcoat. A fellow has to get out sometime, and he might as well look bang up to the mark while doing so.

--A multicaped greatcoat. Because it gets terribly cold at school. Oh, does it look just like the one the stage coach driver wears? Hadn’t noticed.

--A toy train. For collection purposes, you understand. It looks well on a mantel, I’m told.

--Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Bit of a girly book, really, but everyone is quoting them. Even the most standoffish young lady is said to swoon when you read her No. 43: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

--Reliable transportation. Think how much more convenient for Mother not to have to loan out the carriage and driver or detour from her own amusements to drive you around. Really, it’s entirely for her benefit.

What am I getting for the two young men in my life? I’ll never tell. How about you?

Nineteenth Century Christmas Wish List—What a Girl Wants

My niece very kindly gave me an electronic wish list of what she wants for Christmas, complete with pictures and places to buy online. She has excellent taste, and I don’t say that just because some of it involved steampunk clothing, and steampunk is my most recent love. (Nineteenth century aesthetics meets modern thoughts on science fiction, with a dash of piracy—what’s not to love?!) But it got me thinking: what would a nineteenth century teen put on her, or his, Christmas wish list?

Of course, many families didn’t give gifts in the first decade or two of the century. Giving gifts was a German tradition, so families with connections to the House of Hanover and other German dynasties were more likely to have Christmas trees and presents, at least at first. But Christmas grew in popularity as the century went on in England, particularly after the publication of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in 1843.

So, let’s say it’s around 1850, and you’re the daughter of a fairly well-to-do family. What would you hint to Mama and Papa to purchase for you for Christmas?

--The compiled version of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, which just finished its serialization in November. The hardback edition would be so very nice, as your serials are starting to wear from rereading.

--New sheet music. Nothing better to perk up the dreary winter months!

--Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Everyone is quoting them. Why, a young man even recently read you No. 43: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Sigh.

--A sewing box. It truly is tiresome to go after Mother’s box every time you want to embroider a slipcover or stitch up a ruff to go with that new gown. And Father would be pleased you asked for something so industrious. Of course, he might balk at this lovely version.

--A pince-nez. Your eyes are fine, but everyone’s wearing these dainty little glasses. They’re quite the fashion statement.

What about you? What would you have put on your list?