Research Finds Archives - Jennifer Joy Writes

Isn’t history fascinating? I relish the opportunity to delve into the everyday details of the Regency period, and if you enjoy my books, you probably do too. If you’d like a glimpse into some of the research that goes into a novel, please read on.

Note: These are by no means all of my sources. I picked the links I thought you would enjoy the most, being both informative and entertaining.

Lady Lucas’ pug thinks some of that meringue would make a lovely treat for such a good girl.
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Are you curious about the recipe that won Mr. Darcy’s heart? Click here to see the inspiration for Mr. Darcy’s favorite plum cake. Please let me know if you give this a try! I chickened out (pun intended!) when I saw how many eggs this recipe required. Hint: It’s A LOT.

So, of all the eggs…why a duck egg? To make a greater splat, of course! Do you want to see the difference in size between a chicken and a duck egg? Click here for a picture comparison, as well as a peek into the Austen’s garden where they would have kept poultry.

Speaking of eggs…

A Splendidly (Un)suitable Match had several Easter eggs. Did you find them?

Did you catch a song title by The Clash? It’s hard to imagine a British punk rock title fitting in a Regency era story, but it worked so well, I snuck it in and left it there for my eagle-eyed rock fan readers to find.

Here’s another one: Several nods were given to All God’s Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. Mrs. Hurst was inspired by one of his characters. And you might have recognized his name as the Meryton farrier. Here’s what I learned about the important role farriers played in the development of veterinary medicine!

Here’s a lovely picture of Princess Charlotte with her beloved Maltese, Lioni.

And finally, here’s a glimpse into the Regency parlor game Miss Bingley suggested—and which backfired in her face. Speaking of games…did you recognize Spillikins as Pick-Up Sticks?

If you have no idea why I’m sharing these links with you, then click here to grab your copy of A Splendidly (Un)suitable Match! Colonel Fitzwilliam bets a guinea that you’ll chuckle at least once.

A lot of the enjoyment I get from writing is in the research. Here are some of the gems I uncovered in my latest book!

Here are the Top 9 things I learned during the creation of Forget Me Not, Elizabeth:

1. Forget-me-nots haven’t always been so romantic.

The forget-me-not (translated from 1530s Old French ne m’oubliez mye) was worn by lovers to ensure they never forgot each other. However, these delicate, blue flowers were known as ‘scorpion-grass’ in England until the early 19th century. Not nearly as romantic…

2. The Royal Navy’s uniform was inspired by a woman. Fashion matters! (Says the person wearing a t-shirt and yoga pants…)

3. Ironically, the originator of the theory that a second blow to the head will cure amnesia…apparently died of a head injury.

4. As early as the 1700s, electronic stimulators were available to the public for treating the brain. Shocking!

5. Frankenstein was inspired by the experiments of 2 eccentric Italians who believed they could bring people back to life with electricity. The uncle-nephew duo’s experiments were both grotesque and extremely popular.

The Hospital of Bethlem [Bedlam], St. George’s Fields, Lambeth. Coloured engraving. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

6. Bedlam, the famous insane asylum, was a tourist attraction often compared to the Palace of Versailles.

The fancy façade disguised crumbling walls and deplorable living conditions for the patients inside.

7. Belladonna, or Nightshade, was the go-to beauty treatment for rich women.
The flowers made a lovely rouge and the oil, used as eyedrops, dilated the pupils, making eyes appear larger. The berries are sweet. Too bad they’re so very deadly.

8. If you want to attract a swarm of bees (like many people do), use a brood comb.

One of the gentlemanly pastimes of the Regency era was beekeeping, not so much for the bees but for the science. They might have used this method to attract bees and further their studies.

9. Mr. Collins was not a very nice beekeeper (according to the ’95 BBC film adaptation, anyway.) Regency beekeepers used straw skeps to house their hives, which, unfortunately for the bees, meant that collecting their honey was a murderous business.

What do forget-me-nots, uniforms, bees, belladonna, Bedlam, blows to the head, and Frankenstein have to do with Darcy and Lizzy?

Click here to get your copy.

Tag: Research Finds

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