Beyond the Book Civil War Music

Art and music always reflect the times they are written in. Think of the many songs associated with wars, for example. Almost everyone has heard the Marseillaise, the song of the French Revolution. And at the beginning of the 20th century new schools of painting arose to match the new technological world.

It was no different during the Civil War. Both the North and South had favorite songs, and sometimes they both laid claim to the same music.

If you were a Consfederate, you probably loved the following:
Dixie
Lorena
Bonnie Blue Flag
Goober Peas
The Yellow Rose of Texas

If you lived in the Union you probably liked:
Marching Through Georgia
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Just Before the Battle
All the Pretty Little Horses
When Johnny Comes Marchings Home Again

There was no way to record music back then so people bought sheet music. It generally consisted of a booklet of booklet of two, four, or six pages. The covers were attractively illustrated, and the back usually had advertisements.

My Fortuna heroine Aimee Sherwood had no interest in the Civil War until a guy she really likes, maybe more than she should, moves into a Civil War era home and started talking about it.
Fortuna is available at http://www.amzn.to/23yoW2d .

Beyond the Book: Fans Can Talk

If you've read Fortuna, you know that there are two important houses in the book. One is Fortuna itself, and the other if called Bad Creek. Cade McCoy owns Bad Creek which was built in the 1800's, and of course Aimee got interested in the Civil War era because of Cade.

Last week we saw the favorite accessories of a Civil War era lady, and today we're focusing on a lady's fan. There's a lot more to a fan than you ever knew! In fact, the way a lady held her fan told a multitude of secrets. What do you think of this?

 *Fanning quickly - I am engaged* 
*Fanning slowly - I am married* 
*Fan with right hand in front of face - Follow me* 
*Fan with left hand in front of face - Desirous of Acquaintance* 
*Slowly open and shut fan - Kiss me* 
*Very slowly shut the open fan - I promise to marry you* 
*Fan open wide - Wait for me* 
*Carrying fan in right hand - You are too willing* 
*Carrying fan in left hand, open - Come and talk to me* 
*Twirling fan in right hand - I am watching you* 
Twirling fan in left hand - I love another* 
*Clasping hands under the open fan - Forgive me, I beg of you* 
*Resting fan on the right cheek - Yes* 
*Resting fan on the left cheek - No* 
*Covering the left ear with an open fan - Do not betray our secret* 
*Drawing the fan through the hand - I hate you* 
*Drawing the fan slowly across the cheek - I love you* 
Drawing the fan across the eyes - I am sorry* 
*Drawing the fan across the forehead - You have changed* 
*Placing the fan behind your head - Do no forget me* 
*Touching the fan against the left ear - Go away!* 
Fan presented shut - Do you love me?* 
Presenting a number of sticks, fan apart, opened - At what hour? 
*Open fan placed near the heart - You have my heart* 
*Closed fan placed near the right eye - I'd like to see you again* 
*Closed fan in left hand in front of face - I'd like to meet you* 
*Touching a closed fan to the lips - I love you!* 
*Gazing pensively at a closed fan - You misunderstand me* 
*Fanning with little finger extended - Goodbye* 
*Quickly open and shut fan - You are cruel* 
*Shaking a closed fan - You are very improper!* 
*Touching the tip of the fan with finger - I must speak to you* 
*Touching a closed fan while waving - I wish to always be near you* 
*Placing the fan's handle to the lips - Kiss me* 
*Placing the tip of a closed fan to the lips - I love you*

Bad Creek

Beyond the Book: #CivilWarLadiesAccessories

If you've read Fortuna, you know that my heroine, Aimee, started an online business selling authentic reproduction clothing from both the Revolutionary and Civil War Eras. Let's talk for a minute about the Civil War costumes. I bet everyone knows what the big, hoop-skirted dresses looked like, but have you ever thought about accessories and undergarments? They aren't the same as what we wear. Let's start with accessories.

All ladies liked jewelry. They preferred a rosy gold color, and the earrings and brooches they wore were on the small side. They liked dangly earrings and either oval or vertical brooches at the top of the collar. It wasn't polite to show much skin before the afternoon. They enjoyed wearing matching, chunky bracelets on each arm.

Fans were also a necessity. It's hot in the South, and a fan stirred the air and cooled you off. You could have a palmetto frond fan, but it was fun to have one that was somewhere between six and ten inches long and was painted with elaborate scenes.

And speaking of the heat, fragrant flowers were made into nosegays that could be extremely helpful in an era without deodorant.

A lady always has her purse, right? Small drawstring bags were popular.

Lace was rarely used except for collars and cuffs which were usually white, and please don't forget the parasol. White skin was popular, and the parasols kept the hot Southern sun off delicate skin.


If you don't want to wait until next week for more, my source for this post was: https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/WomensClothingoftheSouthintheAmericanCivilWar

Fortuna blurb:
Aimee Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection pro-gram would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy. She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new online business, life in the country is anything but boring.

Buy Link:

http://amzn.to/23yoW2d

This is a Jenny Lind fan introduced into America by PT Barnum during the mid 1860's.

Beyond the Book: #Garden Party

Blurb:

Aimee Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection pro-gram would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy. She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new online business, life in the country is anything but boring.


Now about that guy who lives down the road... His name is Cade McCoy, and he owns a 19th century property called Bad Creek. He raises horses. Here's a picture of Bad Creek. Pretty, isn't it?

Since Cade's house was constructed in the 19th century, he decided to give a 19th century garden party. People in the that era loved garden parties. They were thrown and attended by the well-to-do people of the day. The parties were held outside and were quite formal. In this selection from Fortuna, Aimee and Cade are talking about the food he served.

“Is the food all nineteenth century stuff?”

Cade’s laughter rang across the yard and made Rocky look their way. June scowled at him and laid her hand on his arm to distract him. “Sort of. The petit fours, ham, and fruit are authentic, but I didn’t bother with the cucumber sandwiches, jellied tongue, or pate. Lemonade, coffee, and tea are all authentic, and so is the punch and claret cup.”

“What’s claret cup?” Aimee asked.

“It’s a gentleman’s punch made of red wine, sugar, lemons, and carbonated water. Sometimes they added fruit juice, spices, or liqueurs.” 


Personally, I think Cade should have served the cucumber sandwiches. They were small and crustless and filled with thinly sliced cucumbers and butter or mayo. I had one at a tea once, but I didn't think it was all that great. Still, it was a traditional favorite. As far as the main dishes are concerned, they were mostly served cold. Ham was a good choice, but the pate and jellied tongue were very popular as were cold birds, lobster salad, jellied tongue, and salmon. Sorry, but I can't do jellied tongue.

Peaches, grapes, melons and strawberries were popular fruits, and no garden party was complete without a nice selection of petit, dainty cakes, filled sweet biscuits, tarts, scones, and iced cookies.

I guess Cade did all right with his menu, and with everyone in costume, it would have been an evening to remember. It was for Aimee, but not because of the food or her costume. Bet you can guess why.

Buy link:

http://amzn.to/23yoW2d

Beyond the Book: Fortuna

A merry tale of life, love and confusion in a small town.

Fortuna is the name of the house my heroine's fiance bough for them to live in. You can see a little bit of Fortuna on the cover, but not too much. The house was a total wreck and actually leaned to one side when Rocky bought it. He wanted to restore it, but Aimee wanted to gut it and start over. Here are Aimee's first thoughts about Fortuna.By the way, Fortuna is the goddess of luck and good fortune.

Rocky grabbed her hand before she could scold. “Let me show you the house, hon. It’s just incredible. I can’t believe how lucky I was to find it.” He beamed at June. “Thanks to you I didn’t buy that tacky McMansion for sale on the other side of town.”

Aimee’s teeth ground together.

With Cade and June following, Rocky indicated the room to the right of the fallen door. “This is the living room.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “See that pretty molding up near the ceiling?”

Aimee shook her head. “No, but I do see some crumbling plaster. Is that what you’re talking about?”

Rocky closed his eyes as if her assessment of the molding pained him. “Hon, this house was built in 1750. Of course it needs a little work.”

“With historical properties one focuses on the potential, not the current condition,” June inserted.

Aimee’s lips tightened when June’s snarky tone registered.

They left the living room and went straight into the room on the left of the fallen door. “This is the dining room,” Rocky said. “Don’t go into the far corner. We have a hole in the floor.”

Aimee bounced on the supposedly safe part of the wooden floor. “I’m not sure we should be in here at all. It feels spongy to me.”

Cade stepped into the hall.

From the hallway, Rocky led them to the back part of the house. “Here’s the kitchen, hon.”

“Much nicer,” Aimee approved as her eyes swept the room. “The kitchen must have been redone in 1920. Is that a woodstove over there?”

June scowled and Cade laughed.

“Hon,” Rocky reproved.

The bedrooms were no better, but the bathroom . . . “There are no words,” Aimee whispered. She kicked the claw-foot tub and dislodged a rain of rust particles. They made a pretty pattern where they drifted across the dirty floor. What did the floor look like? Was it black and white? No, maybe gray and white, or maybe brown? “Rocky . . .”

“Don’t worry, hon.” He patted her shoulder. “We have outside facilities. I told the contractor he’d need to work on the bathrooms first thing.”

“No, he’ll need to shore up the entire thing first, or it’s going to fall down and kill us.”

Cade’s eyes were full of laughter. “Hey, Rocky, where are the outside facilities?”

“Look out the window.”

Aimee rushed to the window and looked out. She saw an outdoor shower with absolutely no way to conceal oneself. Not far away she saw a small, crooked hut. No! It couldn’t be. Her grandmother had told her of such things, but . . . “Is that hut an outhouse?”

Rocky nodded. “Uh-huh. It has two holes and some catalogues from 1955. You won’t even have to take a book with you.” He pursed his lips. “I don’t really know why they needed two holes. Maybe people in the country make communal bathroom visits.”

Aimee tried the deep breathing technique that usually calmed her. It had no effect whatsoever. She gripped the window frame, which of course had no glass in it. “We can’t live here. Besides the fact that the place is falling down and actually tilts to one side, we don’t have a stick of furniture, a working bathroom or kitchen, or a bedroom fit to sleep in.”

June cleared her throat. “You aren’t using your historical imagination, Aimee. Take your cue from Rocky. He appreciates the opportunity to be the caretaker of such a fabulous property. With his vision and foresight, this will be one of the most beautiful homes in West Virginia.”

As you might expect, Aimee's reply to June, the realtor who sold the house to Rocky, isn't too polite, but that's an excerpt for another day.

Buy link: http://amzn.to/23yoW2d