Welcome to Upon My Word! The monthly dose of Regency England delivered right to your desktop by Linore Rose Burkard Volume 1 Issue 11 December 2006
********************************************************************** It's Finally Here! ********************************************************************** The first edition of my Regency Christmas book is done just in time for the holidays. I am grateful to all of you who already ordered a copy but I have to let everyone else know: If you haven't done so already, you can nab one for yourself today at an unbeatable value when you go to my website (link is below). Why? Because when you get the book right now you'll get it at 1/2 price, but that isn't even the best of the bargain. You ALSO get--absolutely free--four other wonderful seasonal books! Here's what they are: 1) Pumpkin Pie Recipes ebook (Much more than just pies.) 2) Big Book of Christmas Cookies (over 400 pages of 'em!) 3) Gift Jar Recipes (You can cover nearly everyone on your list with this book alone!) and, 4) How to Avoid Holiday Stress(We all need this, don't we?)
Why am I giving all this away? To jump-start sales on my ebook, that's why. And besides, I enjoy giving good value because I appreciate getting good value--and I know you do, too.
So click the link and pick up your Christmas goodies now!
I'll take a look now! http://LinoreRoseBurkard.com/ChristmasBook.html ********************************************************************** What's Special About the Book? ********************************************************************** There is no other book out there quite like this one, because nothing covers the Regency as extensively with regard to Christmas and how it was celebrated then. Everything you love about this time of year is in it, and all from a Regency perspective. In the book, you get history, Christmas fun facts, original poems, songs, quotations, parlour games--with instructions on how to play them, today!--delicious recipes, both historical, authentic ones and modern or modernized, so you can have your own "olde" English style Christmas feast! Dozens and dozens of illustrations add to the fun and make it a feast for the eyes--and, on top of all that--I've prepared nearly a dozen downloads for you to accompany the ebook. The links are all embedded within the book and the downloads are for great things like "Fireside Stories" and more.
Sounds great! I'll get my copy now. http://LinoreRoseBurkard.com/ChristmasBook.html
********************************************************************** C'mon, Ring Those Bells! ********************************************************************** Ever wonder why we ring bells on so many occasions? Church bells seem to chime for lots of things; I still remember hearing the bells from home whenever the big old Catholic Church in town rang them. Some were to announce a solemn occasion, such as a funeral, but most often, they played hymns and songs and made a cheerful backdrop to whatever I was doing at the time. The following is a snippet that didn't actually make it into this year's edition of Regency House Christmas, but it's a good example of the sort of "diverting" facts that did.
"According to the ritual of the Romish church, the bells were not only blessed and exorcised, but baptized as those above mentioned, and anointed with holy oil. After these ceremonies had passed it was believed that the evil spirits lurking in the air might be driven away by their sound. The general use of bells is expressed in the two following Latin lines:
:Laudo Deum verum--plebem voco--congrego clerum-- Defunctos ploro--pestum fugo--festa decoro." That is, to praise the true God--to call the people--to congregate the clergy--to bemoan the dead--to drive away pestilential disorders--to enliven the festivals."
Do you enjoy little-known facts like that? They are only ONE of the features that the Christmas book is stuffed with! (I'd love to tell you where I found that excerpt, but the reason I didn't put it into the book to begin with, was because when I was researching, I failed to jot down that little piece of important information! (Aargh!) When I (re)discover the source, I'll let you know, too! I can assure you it was a trustworthy one, however. )
I love little known things about Christmas traditions! Take me to the book! http://LinoreRoseBurkard.com/ChristmasBook.html
********************************************************************** Regency Gaming? You Bet Your Life (And many did)! ********************************************************************** During the Regency it was practically a given that a man about town would participate in some "gaming" (gambling). It was dressed up, so to speak, as an ultra-fashionable pastime and took place in some of the most luxurious rooms of the most luxurious men's clubs in existence. In a sense it was part of the lifestyle of the upper class gentleman, and this was nothing new, really. Witness this little gem from the 18th century describing, in poignant, poetic measure, the actual devastation of a seemingly innocuous endeavour. My comments are in parentheses, the poem, green.
The city swarms intense. The public haunt, [in this case, let us say, a London men's club] Full of each theme and warm with mix'd discourse, Hums indistinct. ["indistinct"--not so important at the moment, as my entire fortune is on the line, you see!] The sons of riot [men about town] flow Down the loose stream of false enchanted joy [the lure of winning at the game] To swift destruction. [Ay, there's the rub!] On the rankled soul The gaming fury falls; [Like the dice, or the cards, only much, much, harder!] and in one gulf Of total ruin, honour, virtue, peace, Friends, families, and fortune headlong sink.
James Thomson, from, The Seasons: Winter (1700-1749)
Wasn't that wonderful? I came across so many little gems like this during my research for Regency Christmas that I spent far too much time, no doubt, in the poetry pages of too many books. (But it was fun!) Do you like poetry--especially that having to do with Christmas in England, warm firesides, and the birth of God's Son? The Christmas Book has a good deal of it! (And nearly all the poems have an accompanying illustration. I spent loads of time hunting down good ones. You'll love them!)
Here's what Nancy Mayer (distributor of the Byron List, had to say about the book):
I had to scroll through the book even though I did not have time now to read it all. It is beautiful. Linore it would make a gorgeous Christmas reference and coffee table book. Such a wondrous amount of research... I know people will want a way to keep this as a permanent resource for regency Christmas."
I think you'll agree.
Yes, I'll get my copy now! http://LinoreRoseBurkard.com/ChristmasBook.html
********************************************************************** This Month's Fun Link (Take A Christmas Quiz) **********************************************************************
********************************************************************** Happy Winter! ********************************************************************** I leave you with these words, from Hartley Coleridge (1796-1849) son of the famous Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
The mellow year is hasting to its close; The little birds have almost sung their last, Their small notes twitter in the dreary blast -- That shrill-piped harbinger of early snows from the poem, November
Personally, I do hope for "early snows!" My kids get such a kick out of it.
I'd like more of snow and winter and Christmas during the Regency!(Click here) http://LinoreRoseBurkard.com/ChristmasBook.html
********************************************************************** And don't forget--grab your copy of the Regency Christmas Book and get all the bonus books at no extra cost! (Just click the link above.) There's even more information than I've given here--when you follow that link--about all the great things in the book. I just know you'll love it!
God Bless you as you finish out this year, welcome in Christmas, and do all the myriad multiple things that must be done along the way! I'll be in touch again soon,
Linore
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