Flipping Bookworm

For more information on Rosemary's books please click the cover above. February the Shortest Month of the Year “February brings the snow. “Makes our feet and fingers glow.” 3rd and 4th lines of a nursery rhyme. Anonymous. Hertfordshire. S. East England. 2019 Extracts from My Garden Diary 6th February. First thing in the morning a baby blue sky and sunshine followed by banks of cloud rimmed with gold. Later the sky darkened, and baby snowflakes fluttered to the ground. I wish I was as tolerant in every condition of my life as the trees and plants. 8th February. Patchy snow on the raised beds. Light frost changing the hue of the grass from bright green to silvery green. My nose glowed red when I ventured outside. * * * Miscellaneous. The origin of February’s name is either from the ancient Italian God, Februus or februa purification festivals observed in Rome. Aquarius is the sign of the zodiac for those born between the 1st and 18th. People born between the 19th and 28th/29th are in...

To find out more about Rosemary's work click on the cover above. Twelfth Night In England, Christians observe Epiphany 12 days after Christmas on January 6th to celebrate the Three Wise Men aka the Three Kings who visited Jesus. On this night, in many countries it is traditional to add their figures to the nativity scene. In fact, since childhood, one of my favourite Christmas carols has been We Three Kings of Orient are. I imagined the bright star, the lands they travelled through, the joy of visiting the holy infant and their gifts. I am still in awe when the first verse and refrain is sung. We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts, we traverse afarGift of the Magi Field and fountain Moor and mountain Following yonder star. Oh, star of wonder, star of might Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading Still proceeding Guide us to thy perfect light. Apart from making a wish for the New Year there are many customs associated with Twelfth Night. In my classical Regency Romance, ...

Click the cover to find out more about Rosemary's books. Tis The Season to be Jolly Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly In the Georgian period, which includes the ever-popular Regency carol singers visited country houses decked with holly and laurel. In my novel, Wednesday’s Child, I imagined carol singers at the hero’s mansion on Christmas Eve. “Beyond the flight of steps which led up to the house, a group of men carried lanterns which cast a golden glow on the snow. One of the boys who accompanied them sang the first verse of The Holly and The Ivy. The holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown, Of all the trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown. His clear treble voice rang out across the snow concealing an imperfect lawn which stretched toward a belt of trees, their limbs stark against the night sky lit by a full moon and brilliant stars.” On Christmas Day after attending a church service, plum pudding, which contained thirteen ingredients that represented Ch...

For more information about Rosemary's books please click on the cover above. The Royal Escape from Brighton The town in which my next Classical Regency Romance, Saturday’s Child is set Today, visitors flock to Brighton to visit George IV’s Royal Pavilion, to shop in The Lanes as well as enjoying everything else the vibrant seaside town has to offer. Less well known are the events which took place there during the English Civil War when family loyalties either to the Crown or Commonwealth split them apart. Bodiam Castle was damaged by Commonwealth soldiers who also destroyed Arundel Castle. Without any prominent Royalists in the area it seems most landlubbers, fishermen and their families favoured the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, some landowners and well-to-do traders supported Charles II. After Commonwealth troops defeated the royalist army at the Battle of Worcester on the third of September 1651, except for Lord Wilmot, Charles II dismissed his followers. The distinctive two yards...

To find out more about Rosemary's work please click on the cover above. History inspires, fascinates and triggers my imagination, so it is a pleasure to share a fraction of my research for my new novel Saturday’s Child, Heroines Born on Different Days of the Week, Book Seven. During the summer months, when London was usually hot and malodourous many people considered it detrimental to their health. After Parliament rose in June, they retired either to their estates in the country or a seaside resort. A popular choice was Brighton, only fifty miles from London. There the Prince of Wales, subsequently the Prince Regent, entertained on a grand scale at his Pavilion, which resembled an oriental palace. Members of the bon ton followed the pleasure-loving prince to Brighton where he enjoyed gambling, riding on the downs, shooting, the theatre and other pastimes. Another attraction was the belief that bathing in sea water and drinking brine could cure anything from – for example – corns t...

To learn more about Rosemary's work please click on the cover above. Mermaids at Brighton swim behind their bathing machines. William Heath 1829. 18th Century to the 19th Century. In the 1730’s few people either bathed in the sea or visited the coast, where each of three towns Scarborough, Margate and Brighton, claimed to be the first seaside resort. By the 1750’s resorts developed in locations within easy reach of the capital and large cities. When sea bathing first became popular the advice was against swimming either after exercise or during warm weather when the pores of the skin were open. Members of the medical profession considered cold water during winter to be best. They advised bathers to swim before 10 a.m. to provide a good start to the day. By 1800 most people preferred to swim early in the morning, but some swam for pleasure all day in every season. Bathers At first men and women bathed in the same areas but they were soon segregated. In Brighton ladies bathed to the...