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Social Media in the Olden Days

March 28, 2025 by in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as , , ,

First, an apology

Though this is meant to be a quarterly blog, last December completely got away from me. Apologies!

I’m back this quarter to talk about political memes, and since I write historical fiction, the old style ones known as caricatures.

Making Fun of Famous People

Before there were social media platforms, there were print shops like the one depicted above. And before there were social media moguls, there were print shop owners like Samuel Fores and Hannah Humphrey.

This print depicts Hannah’s shop, and below is a caricature of Hannah herself:

Though she may look a like a staid spinster in this picture, people flocked to her Georgian era London shop to stand outside and view the latest caricature satirizing the follies of the British ruling class, the French revolutionaries, and later, Napoleon.

And what fodder they had! Skilled artists like Thomas Rowlandson, Isaac Cruikshank, and Hannah’s particular friend, James Gillray made fun of the high and mighty: the young prime minister, William Pitt, the frugal King George III and his German wife, and others.

Here are the king and queen “enjoying a frugal meal”:

This may not seem so frugal to our modern eyes. As with many of the caricatures, some explanation is required, and author Alice Loxton provides one in her fabulous and cheeky new book, Uproar, Satire, Scandal & Printmakers in Georgian London:

Hannah Humphrey’s clients would have adored Gillray’s trail of clues…”They haven’t even lit a fire! In deepest winter! And look at the figure in the fireplace!” Instead of a roaring fire, the grate is filled with foliage of the season: snowdrops, holly and mistletoe. It’s so chilly that the carved figure in the fireplace has sprung to life, warming his hands in a muff…

Born for the camera…

Or should I say, born for the artist’s pen or the engraver’s etching tool, the burin.

Charles James Fox was a Whig politician who supported both the American Revolution, and the French Revolution–at least until the revolutionaries’ atrocities became unsupportable. A, short, stout hairy fellow, he was a favorite of the caricaturists. Here he is with his frequent opponent, the young, tall, thin, William Pitt, “Billy Lackbeard and Charley Blackbeard playing at Football”:

Another favorite subject for satire was the fellow we Regency fans call “Prinny”, the Crown Prince George, who upon his father’s descent into madness was named Regent until he succeeded to the throne as George IV. A grossly fat libertine whose only thought was for his own convenience and consumption, he was generally despised, as depicted in “A Voluptuary under the horrors of Digestion”:

Revolution!

Feelings in England about the revolution in France were mixed, but as news leaked out about French atrocities, the caricaturists went to work expressing and helping to shape public opinion in images like this one by James Gillray, “A Family of Sans-Culotts refreshing after the fatigues of the day”:

Sans-culotte, meaning “without breeches” was the name given to the lower class revolutionary rabble who wore trousers instead of the silk breeches of the upper classes. Gillray depicts them as completely without lower garments, and the family is sitting on and feasting on the bodies and body parts of the aristocrats they’ve killed that day. There’s even an aristocratic child being roasted on the spit and spare body parts for the next meal stored in the rafters. A ghoulish image indeed!

News about Books

Alice Loxton’s book, mentioned above, was my source for this blog. I highly recommend it.

And I have other news! I have two preorders available for books that will publish next autumn:

Her Impeccable Scoundrel

Book 44 in the multi-author Wicked Widows League Series

Anxious to save a cherished inheritance, Blythe Blatchfield, widowed Countess of Chilcombe, knows she must repair her reputation with the beau monde in order to face the powerful marquess challenging her dissolute husband’s will. She vows to resist handsome rogues like her late husband, and to never again give her trust so blithely. But when the new earl, absent from England for many years, finally appears, new rumors swirl around Blythe. Facing the loss of everything, she finds herself needing the help of an old enemy, the man whose interference years earlier led to her unhappy marriage, the new Earl of Chilcombe.

Called back to England to take up his late cousin’s title, diplomat Graeme Blatchfield is eager to see his cousin’s widow and learn for himself whether the rumors about the woman he once held a childish infatuation for are true. Having plunged into marriage with the last earl—Graeme’s fault for revealing their tryst—she’s been tainted by her husband’s decadence.  Forced by matters of the estate to spend time together, he soon discovers the vulnerable and lonely woman underneath the society mask. Can he get her to forgive him—and more? 

And… Love’s Perilous Road, A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

Travel, houseparties, smugglers, spies–and a mysterious highwayman. Who is the infamous Captain Moonlight? And how many lives will he change–for good or for ill?

My contribution to this collection is called Sir Westcott Steals a Heart, a sequel to my story in the Belles’ Desperate Daughters collection from a couple of years ago.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I’ll see you in June for my next Quarter Day’s post!

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Peeking into the Past

September 28, 2024 by in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field tagged as , ,

One of the most enjoyable things about writing historical fiction is falling down the research rabbit hole.

Yes, I know authors of contemporary fiction have to do research also. Not disrespecting other writers. Just saying that historical research is, in my view, lots more interesting.

I especially like to read memoirs, and collections of letters. I have a couple of print books in my memoir collection, and more that I picked up from Google Books and Project Gutenberg. Though social norms and societal expectations might have changed, people’s wants and desires haven’t changed that much.

Another print book recently came into my collection, from my sister who was shuffling her collection of books for a cross-country move. It’s our grandmother’s geography text from her school days:

Old like Us

I’m up there in years, and as I was the second youngest of all the many grandchildren, this book is also old. In fact, it’s from the century before last. It was copyrighted in 1897, and that’s the year Grandma received it, inscribing it with her name and “her Book, Dec. 26, 1897.”

What I love is that, like a kid from my generation, the grandma who I knew as a very old, very proper octogenarian doodled and scribbled on the interior and exterior covers. In one place there are her initials in a pin-point design; in another, a penciled flower drawing; and a math problem when she maybe ran out of scrap paper.

And then there are these schoolgirl ditties from others:

Remember me early

Remember me late,

Remember me at

The Golden Gate

And this one:

Dear friend,

Love me little

Love me long

Love me when

I’m dead and gone

And:

These few lines are tendered

By a friend sincere and true

Hoping but to be remembered

By an honest friend like you

And this last:

Dear Sister

When on this page

you chance to look

remember it was

your sister that

wrote this in your book.

That one is rather poignant, because grandma’s sister died the following year.

A Budding School Teacher

Grandma was seventeen when she acquired this book, and she went on to become a country schoolteacher before marrying, having six children, and carrying out her share of the responsibilities of running the family farm–gardening, canning, cooking, cleaning, clothing everyone, etc. Her only water was pumped from a cistern, and she cooked on a wood stove. It makes me tired thinking about it!

Do you have any old treasures like this in your personal collection? Share in the comments, please!

Have a wonderful autumn, and I’ll see you at my next Quarter Days post.

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Alina K. Field July Featured Author

July 14, 2024 by in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , ,
Alina K. Field | A Slice of Orange

Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with two furry four-legged girls and keeps a dependable stash of lollipops for the munchkins in her life.

She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!

Visit Alina

In addition to Quarter Days, Alina’s quarterly column’s on A Slice of Orange, you can visit her at:

Books by Alina K. Field


CHRISTMAS KISSES

Buy now!
CHRISTMAS KISSES

STORM & SHELTER

Buy now!
STORM & SHELTER
FATED HEARTS: A Love After All Retelling of the Scottish Play
MISTLETOE & MAYHEM: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

THE COUNTERFEIT LADY

Buy now!
THE COUNTERFEIT LADY

A LEAP INTO LOVE

Buy now!
A LEAP INTO LOVE
WINTER WISHES: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

Buy now!
HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

MARRYING MR. GIBSON

Buy now!
MARRYING MR. GIBSON

ROSALYN’S RING

Buy now!
ROSALYN’S RING

LILIANA’S LETTER

Buy now!
LILIANA’S LETTER

THE MARQUESS AND THE MIDWIFE

Buy now!
THE MARQUESS AND THE MIDWIFE

ADVENGING THE EARL’S LADY

Buy now!
ADVENGING THE EARL’S LADY

THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

Buy now!
THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

ROMANCING THE PAGES

Buy now!
ROMANCING THE PAGES

THE VISCOUNT’S SEDUCTION

Buy now!
THE VISCOUNT’S SEDUCTION

THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

Buy now!
THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

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Alina K. Field July Featured Author

July 1, 2024 by in category Featured Author, Featured Author of the Month tagged as , ,
Alina K. Field | A Slice of Orange

Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but her true passion is the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with two furry four-legged girls and keeps a dependable stash of lollipops for the munchkins in her life.

She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of Regency romances, but loves to hear from readers!

Visit Alina

In addition to Quarter Days, Alina’s quarterly column’s on A Slice of Orange, you can visit her at:

Books by Alina K. Field


CHRISTMAS KISSES

Buy now!
CHRISTMAS KISSES

STORM & SHELTER

Buy now!
STORM & SHELTER
FATED HEARTS: A Love After All Retelling of the Scottish Play
MISTLETOE & MAYHEM: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

THE COUNTERFEIT LADY

Buy now!
THE COUNTERFEIT LADY

A LEAP INTO LOVE

Buy now!
A LEAP INTO LOVE
WINTER WISHES: A REGENCY HOLIDAY ROMANCE ANTHOLOGY

HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

Buy now!
HAUNTING MISS FENWICK

MARRYING MR. GIBSON

Buy now!
MARRYING MR. GIBSON

ROSALYN’S RING

Buy now!
ROSALYN’S RING

LILIANA’S LETTER

Buy now!
LILIANA’S LETTER

THE MARQUESS AND THE MIDWIFE

Buy now!
THE MARQUESS AND THE MIDWIFE

ADVENGING THE EARL’S LADY

Buy now!
ADVENGING THE EARL’S LADY

THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

Buy now!
THE GHOST OF DEPFORD HALL

ROMANCING THE PAGES

Buy now!
ROMANCING THE PAGES

THE VISCOUNT’S SEDUCTION

Buy now!
THE VISCOUNT’S SEDUCTION

THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

Buy now!
THE ROGUE’S LAST SCANDAL

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The High Road/The Low Road

June 28, 2024 by in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field tagged as , , , , ,

The Bonny Shores of Loch Lomond

Welcome to another Quarter Days’ Post

I celebrated the summer solstice a few days early with the release of my latest novel, A Wallflower’s Midsummer Night’s Caper, Book 15 in the multi-author Revenge of the Wallflowers series. More on that below, but first…

Midsummer in the far north

A visit to Scotland has been on my bucket list, and I was finally able to get there a few weeks ago. It’s a country of dramatic landscapes and many, many, many castles. Here’s one of the abandoned ones:

photo of Dunnottar Castle in Scotland
Dunnottar Castle

The rainy weather made for dramatic vistas and cloud formations.

A photo of the fairy pools on the Island of Skye in Scotland
The fairy pools of Skye
Outlander

Everywhere we went, folks asked if we’d watched the series, Outlander, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon.

While Outlander has been a definite boon to their tourist industry, it seemed to me that many of the people we talked to really do treasure their proud, defiant past. They’ve moved on from tragedies but they haven’t entirely forgotten them.

The Culloden battlefield museum commemorates the Highlanders’ defeat by the British in 1746. What followed that battle was an attempt by the victors to destroy the Highland way of life.

Concerned about another rebellion by Highlanders, the British banned Highland dress and bagpipes. It would be years before author Walter Scott popularized Highland life again in his novel Waverley.

The High Road/The Low Road

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

Chorus:
O ye’ll tak’ the high road, and I’ll tak’ the low road,
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye,
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

A photo of Loch Lomond in Scotland
Loch Lomond

After Culloden, not all captured rebels faced execution. Some were allowed to return to Scotland to share descriptions of the terrible punishment meted out by the British. Those spared death took the “high road” up and down mountains, through the glens, across rivers, on the long and difficult journey from England. The others–those drawn and quartered–sped along home to Scotland over the “low road”, their spirits escorted by the fairies, sadly, unable to reunite in this world with their true loves.

On a Happier Note

I prefer my romantic stories to have happy endings, don’t you?

My latest release is a happily-ever-after story about a young lady spurned at her first ball by her brother’s friend.

As Midsummer Night’s magic unfolds and passions rise, will a repentant duke be well and truly punished, or will a vengeful wallflower be caught in her own game?

A Midsummer Night’s masquerade at her family’s country home presents the Honorable Nancy Lovelace with the perfect opportunity for revenge against the man who ruined her first London season—a man she’s known since childhood, a man she’d once thought she loved. With the help of her crew of younger relatives, she’ll give him his comeuppance.

Thanks to his bad behavior, Simon Crayding is now known to society as the Swilling Duke. When an old school chum invites him for a Midsummer Night’s party, he jumps at the chance to lick his wounds among friends and apologize to his friend’s sister, Nancy, because apparently, he’s done something to hurt her, he just doesn’t remember what.

It soon becomes clear that Nancy will not easily forgive. Never one to resist a challenge—or a beautiful lady—Simon vows to persevere. As the night unfolds and passions rise, will Simon be well and truly punished, or will Nancy be caught in her own game?

Available wide in eBook and in print at Amazon. Find your favorite bookstore here: https://books2read.com/aWallflowersMidsummerNightCaper

I hope you enjoyed the Loch Lomond story. I had no idea before what the high road/low road of the song signified. Happy summer, and I’ll be back in September with another Quarter Days’ post.

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