Sapphire Lebesque's Blog: Margin Notes

Ebooks and Paperbacks (PB) have new formatting! (7 books). The covers are the same gorgeous ones, but I'm using Kindle Create for a clean look. I think they look great!

To celebrate the occasion, DFD ebook titles will be FREE on 12, 13 and 14 May on Amazon, (except the Box Sets).

I tried to keep the PBs as cheap as possible, but if you love it, it's a good idea to have a physical copy if your Kindle is not to hand, or if the world goes offline.

(N.B.) Lady Nightshade and The Curse of Nightshade Hall are not free this time around, because I haven't done the new format yet.

I will make them free (probably in June) and I'll give you warning.

Christmas Trees became a popular thing in the USA around 1812, when John Lewis Krimmel, a European who had migrated to Philadelphia in 1809, included them in his watercolour sketchbooks. The idea of the Christmas tree also came from Quebec in 1781, introduced by Hessian soldiers from one of the myriad small states that today comprise Germany. Quebec was a British colony before it became Canada.

In the UK, the introduction of the Christmas tree in the 1840s has been widely attributed to Prince Albert, German husband of Queen Victoria, who had one brought in to Windsor Castle, but it more than likely was introduced by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George 111, who had one at her childrens' party in 1800. Queen Victoria, as a girl growing up, was certainly used to them, having one placed in her room every Christmas.

I don't feature Christmas trees in my Georgian and Regency Romances, mainly because they weren't widely adopted then, but I do have the houses decorated with evergreens, holly, yew and mistletoe, and sometimes a Yule log will be brought inside for burning.

The Christmas tree was a common concept in European countries, in German states, Slovenia and thanks to the popularity in the aristocracy, was adopted in Russia. Earlier traditions in Latvia, Estonia and German states of hanging decorated branches inside the home and buildings go back several centuries, and the idea of a fully decorated tree probably grew out of these.

On the night of 5th November, in Britain, we have a tradition of building a huge bonfire and burning a stuffed effigy of a Guy Fawkes to a background of a firework display and it's also known as 'Fireworks Night'.

Not so much these days, but there used to be a common tradition of children parking their guy in public and begging for cash for fireworks for weeks beforehand.

On 5th November 1605, Robert Catesby and his group of conspirators tried to blow up the Palace of Westminster.

Fawkes, whose job was to light the fuses, used a false name of John Johnson and was guarding 35 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar beneath the palace. When he was arrested, guards found fuses in his pockets.

The gang were mostly put to death for treason.

The plot was to blow up King James 1 (James V1 of Scotland) and his nobles in an effort to reassert Roman Catholicism. James 1 was already king of Scotland before he was called upon to become king of England because Elizabeth 1 left no heir on her death in 1603.

Why did Fawkes and his conspirators feel aggrieved? Because Henry VIII, England’s king from 1509 until 1547 and desperate for an heir, fell out with the Pope over the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon because Henry wanted to marry Anne Boleyn, mother of Queen Elizabeth 1. He founded the Church of England to that end and married her, the 'Protestants' breaking with Rome in 1534.

England suffered two changes of official religion consequently, Protestantism under Edward V, Roman Catholicism under Mary 1, and Protestantism under Elizabeth 1 during her 70 year reign. Many martyrs were burned at the stake on both sides.

James 1 was Protestant (Presbyterian) by upbringing and the English hoped that the Scottish king would be more tolerant in religious beliefs of the individual.

This was not the case, and even more so after the plot by Guido Fawkes to reassert Roman Catholicism.

The word 'dungeon' is derived from the old French 'don-jon' which meant 'great tower', also from the word 'dominiumem' in Gallo-Roman. A don-jon was originally the strongest tower within the castle keep and the dungeon evolved into cramped and dark cells beneath the castle.

The 'oubliette' was the most horrific form of confinement, being no more than a hole in the ground where the hapless prisoner was lowered and didn't have room to change position or lie down. The word comes from the French and as it implies, once the trap door above was closed, often the occupant was simply forgotten about.

But medieval France wasn't the only nation to think of horrible ways to make prisoners suffer. The English adopted the concept with enthusiasm and the Spanish Inquisition turned torture into an artform, famously satirised by Monty Python.

Dungeons feature in Princess Vanora, Book 2 of Romances of The Chivalrous series. Poor Sir Nathan keeps getting locked up!

Before the advent of the motor car and steam train, and even hot air balloons (or "envelopes" as they were properly called), horses were an essential form of transport. Not everyone had a canal or river nearby to take a journey by boat. People got about on horseback, or by cart or carriage.

Town coaches were massive, drawn by up to six horses, and generally afforded only by the rich. It took a cartload of cash to be able to pay for their upkeep, a mews to house them in and a stable team to look after them, as well as the coachman and grooms. The general public had to travel by public coach, hackney carriages in the city and stage or the mail coaches for long-distance.

A gentleman's horses were often a status symbol. A matched pair or matched team drew admiring glances and clean and healthy horses added to the kudos. Tattersalls of London was a leading horse market (cattle) in the 18th and 19th centuries.

When buying horses for riding or for transportation, a coachman looked for strength and fitness on a city's cobblestone streets, a steady temperament and smooth gait, and if for a team, that the horses worked well together.

Horses (and ponies and donkeys to a lesser degree) were essential to the commerce and social life of society.

Transport was essential to the plot of Winning Lady Madeleine, one of my Georgian Romances.

A box-hedge maze features in Romancing Ava Russell. When Hugo and Ava attend the Duke of Stapleton's house party, the hosts have devised a competition in the maze in their formal south-facing garden. I took the inspiration for Stapleton's maze from the one at Hampton Court.

Garden mazes evolved from the knot gardens, which were earlier herb gardens. These were low and mostly planted with herbs, but over time the dwarf box became popular because it was robust.

The puzzle maze was inspired by the labyrinth concept of mythology, most famously the labyrinth the Minotaur lived and lurked in, in the myth of ancient Greece. The Minotaur was a half bull, half man monster who demanded an annual sacrifice of young virgins, male and female.

The words 'maze' and 'labyrinth' have become almost synonymous in contemporary culture. Puzzle mazes or hedge mazes became popular during the Renaissance and many stately homes have them.

Famous ones in the UK are Hampton Court Maze (of course), Longleat Maze, constructed of yew, and in Europe, Andrássy Castle Maze (Hungary), Hedge Labyrinth of Villa Pisani (Italy), and around the world, Ashcombe Maze (Australia) and Dole Pineapple Maze (Hawaii), not purely grown from pineapples but thousands of species of Hawaiian vegetation.

Chain mail was made by linking each ring through four others, either riveted, welded or butted together. Riveted rings were most secure as being most resistant to impact.

But there was a cost. Warriors had to lumber round and fight with an extra 10 or so kilos, plus a shield and sword, the combined weight was burdensome. One advantage of chain mail was flexibility and mobility over and above rigid plate armour, which also carried a weight cost, a necessary price to pay for added security on the battlefield.

It was also expensive in terms of labour, taking a skilled armourer many months to make and also in materials, quality steel or bronze being the most expensive.

Today, battle armour for a knight might cost thousands of pounds, euros or dollars, and only wealthier lords and knights could afford quality, and it carried a status. Sometimes rulers would foot the bill for chainmail for their elite warrior knights.

A 5-Star Review from Readers' Favorite.

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite.

Princess Rio: Romances of The Chivalrous Book 1 is a young adult fantasy novel by Sapphire Lebesque in which the titular heroine issent from her mountain kingdom of Asprei to marry Crown Prince Geoff of Zastrona as part of a strategic alliance.

Faced with the fear of an arranged marriage and the unknown, Princess Rio must navigate the dangers of travel, court intrigue, and rivalries, including the scheming Lady Floriana.

As Rio sacrifices her own future to protect her kingdom from marauding orcs, she wonders if
her new life will bring love or heartbreak. This romantic fantasy explores themes of bravery,
loyalty, and destiny.

Author Sapphire Lebesque’s intricate world-building and immersive medieval setting vividly transport readers to a richly imagined fantasy realm where it feels like anything is possible, and that’s a really rare and enjoyable quality to capture.

The compelling character dynamics are a strong central core of the novel, particularly the interplay between Princess Rio and her many rivals, showcasing Lebesque’s skill in creating engaging and multifaceted
personalities that come alive with vivid dialogue and witty banter.

Lebesque's ability to blend romance with political intrigue is also to be celebrated as this offers a sophisticated take on YA interpersonal
drama that is deeper and more complex than most novels of this kind.

This allows the characters to have varied and interesting motivations and puts Rio to the test with different challenges as we root for her personal growth and success in all the different facets of being a princess.

Overall, Princess Rio is a highly recommended read for fans of accomplished YA fantasy everywhere.

Bed Warmers and Hot Bricks

Before electric blankets, hot water bottles and central heating for our homes, generations before used more primitive means of warming the bed and chasing away the cold and damp. A bed warmer was a shallow, round, copper or brass bowl with a tightly fitting lid, on a long wooden handle. The maid (usually) would fill it with hot coals (or ashes) and move it up and down between the sheets. Hot bricks, often made from ceramic, were used for the same purpose. They were too hot to handle and were wrapped in cloth or placed in a fabric bag.

Chamber Pots

Before the flush toilet was common, what did people do? They used chamber pots, made of ceramic and kept under the bed. Hostesses often set up rooms as 'retiring rooms' when entertaining.

Flat Irons

Flat irons (smoothing irons for clothes) were made from solid iron. They were heavy, weighing more than 5lbs and were heated on a fire or stove. Also known as 'sad irons', the word 'sad' being derived from old English meaning 'solid'.

Boot Scrapers

These devices for cleaning footwear could be found outside building entrances. In days when urban streets were dirtier than they are today, these were common and essential tools to prevent muck being trodden into a house. Routinely made of iron or sandstone, many were decorative and consisted of some kind of bar with a sharp edge, often embedded in a stone and low in the ground.

Old Craftsman Tools

We're so used to power tools these days that we often forget that in the past they had to do everything with muscle power, whether beast of burden or man or woman. Hand drills, braces and augurs, hand wood planing and carving tools have become rare or specialist items, or used in some parts of the world. Many seem quaint to modern eyes, though they were essential tools in their day.

Clay and Vasso travel to Putney Heath in the story of Kissing The Contessa. In 1796, the heath was not built-up like today and the landscape was a haven for highwaymen and the travelling public feared them. Jeremiah Abershaw was one of the most notorious and feared.

Abershaw often spent time in The Green Man pub (tavern, as it would have been known then) on the heath's north side, so Clay and Vasso, coming from a north-easterly direction (from Fulham) as they would have done, might have passed by it.

I mention a tavern which Vasso goes into to ask for directions, but I haven't named it as The Green Man, because I haven't researched that building in detail and also I felt it would distract from the story, but I had The Green Man in mind when I wrote that chapter.

The year before my heroes travelled to Putney Heath, Abershaw was arrested in The Green Man in 1795 and sentenced to death for his crimes, hanged in Kennington and his body strung up on a gibbet, no doubt as a lesson to others.

The rich guarded their property jealously, and in the climate of the time, when citizens could be put to death for stealing a sheep, or poaching deer from an aristocrat's land, this punishment wasn't seen as anything outstanding. Horse theft was a serious crime and punishable by death, also.

Putney Heath has a colourful history of highwaymen. Dick Turpin, probably the most famous, is said to have stashed guns in The Green Man, but he was active in the 1730s and outside of the scope of the novel.

The Heath was also famous for duels. In 1798, Prime Minister of England, William Pitt the Younger and an MP, William Tierney, tried to resolve their dispute over a Parliamentary Bill and faced each other off with pistols on the heath. However, they both missed and both survived.

Pistols were famously inaccurate in those days, so even if they chose not to 'delope', (and obsolete term meaning to deliberately miss the opponent by shooting into the air) the chances of shooting the other man dead with one shot were slim.