Would I want to live in a different time period?
As an avid reader of historical romance, I love to be immersed in the pageantry of long ago. The excitement of a crowded ballroom, the gleam of jewels, the rustle of silken gowns, all carry me back to a romantic time. I can almost picture myself strolling the sun-dappled lanes whilst clad in a sprigged muslin gown, stepping aside to allow a curricle to speed past – driven by a dashing and most eligible bachelor, of course.
As an avid reader of historical romance, I love to be immersed in the pageantry of long ago. The excitement of a crowded ballroom, the gleam of jewels, the rustle of silken gowns, all carry me back to a romantic time. I can almost picture myself strolling the sun-dappled lanes whilst clad in a sprigged muslin gown, stepping aside to allow a curricle to speed past – driven by a dashing and most eligible bachelor, of course.
As a writer of historical romance set in the Victorian era, I
attempt to inject as much realism as I can into my stories without ruining the
reader experience.
Not everyone was a duke, and not everyone
had an army of servants. In my novel, Love & Turmoil, heroine Arabella,
daughter of an earl, has fallen on hard times. Her gowns are many times mended,
and her silk stockings turned to dust years ago. The one luxury she clings to
is a proper bath. She’s fortunate that her rented cottage has a bathtub modern
enough to have a drain. Gravity empties the water, “grey water”, into the
flower garden. But there is no tap with which to fill the tub. Her combination
gardener/ coachman/ handyman, one of two servants she employs, needs to lug
buckets of water up the stairs to fill the tub.
A popular scene in many of the historical
romances I’ve read is for the heroine to be in the bathtub when the hero storms
into the chamber, forcing the shy virgin to duck under the water in an attempt
to protect her modesty. Unless she was quite wealthy, the tub would be filled
by bucket and thus the water level wouldn’t be all that deep. (Or it would be
tepid by the time it got filled!) Which would make for an interesting scenario
<wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more>.
Could I live for a week in the era I most
enjoy writing about? Well, I prefer taking baths over showers so that wouldn’t
be an issue, except I’m not a duchess with a small army of bucket-wielding
footmen so my baths would be quite shallow.
Then
there’s the whole privy situation.
As an avid wilderness camper, I’ve used
outdoor privies on many occasions at campsites accessible only by canoe or kayak. A household privy is not glamorous – I’ve used those too, but that’s a
story for another day. <grin> I can’t imagine negotiating privy use while
wearing a long gown and numerous petticoats.
While I love the idea of shopping trips to the modiste, carriage rides with a handsome
rake, and cute bonnets perched atop my artfully arranged curls, I need modern
indoor plumbing. Send me back to hang
out with Hercule Poirot in the equally romantic “between the wars” era and I’d
be thrilled.
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5 comments:
Welcome to Romancing The Genres, Luanna!
I've wondered about the steam rising from the tub filled with buckets of water carried from the kitchens (several floors below and oft separated from the main buildings) unless, of course, the room is barely above freezing. Then even tepid water might give off a bit of steam? I'm totally with you on the plumbing which would limit my staying for a week anywhere before the age of more modern day plumbing.
Fun post, Luanna! Point taken about the bath water level.
I think I'd be okay in Victorian times, although I wouldn't be thrilled with the plumbing situation.
I wonder what they used for toilet paper? I was once told by someone who remembered living on an American farm during the Great Depression that they had a cabinet or bin full of dried corn husks and cobs for that purpose.
Thank you, Judith. I'm thrilled to be here!
That whole water level issue has troubled me for a while, LOL. I'm particularly bothered when an author has one maid fill the tub, all on her own, and it takes but a moment. Ha!
Sarah, I imagine corn husks would do the job though it wouldn't be the most comfortable experience and rather crinkly, hehe. My dad grew up on a small farm and there wasn't always money for luxuries, like toilet paper, so they'd use old newspapers torn into strips.
When I was young and hardy I might have been able to live in Victorian Times. I have enjoyed camping and hiking and sleeping under the stars in the past. But now, I prefer a slightly more luxurious abode (at least a yurt and a community bathroom with actual plumbing).
The other thing about the Victorian era that is rarely written into romance novels is how awful the streets were for walking. All kinds of things were emptied from the windows of homes onto the streets--from bedpans to washing basin water. Yuck!
In terms of how far I'd be willing to go back for a short period of time? Maybe the 1950's. I know, I'm spoiled.
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