Author: Author Cherith Boardman
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Lying About is a Bummer
Good morrow, fair readers. I wish everyone a pleasant spring – or autumn for our fellow Janeites in the southern hemisphere. It’s not every day I commiserate with my characters… well, at least since leaving the Amish community a decade and a half ago. Occasionally, when I play adult dress up in my Regency gowns,…
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Feliz Páscoa!
One of my favourite parts of writing Total Want of Propriety was Portugal. My nerd heart rejoiced to have new useless factoids to research, and many were the rabbit holes I fell down, branching into dozens of delightful warrens. Even the language was fun for me – and I am using Duolingo to further what…
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The Good, the Bad, and the Loving
It is hard to believe, but Mistaken Premise is already a year old. My little book baby, all grown up and making an impression on the world! I have decided to share here, at Always Austen, a modified version of the post I initially wrote for Ms Meredith’s lovely blog, Austenesque Reviews, within weeks of…
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Please excuse me, Dear Aunt Jane
Sunday is the 211th anniversary of the publication of our beloved Pride & Prejudice, dear readers, and as I contemplate, it amazes me how late in my life I came to Jane Austen. I have been a prolific reader since I first figured out Green Eggs & Ham on my own. (That’s forty-seven years, in…
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…Let social cheer/ Invest the dawnin’ o’ the year
My post on the first of December explained how the Kirk of Scotland frowned upon (our outright outlawed for a time) celebrations at Christmas – deeming them as too frivolous for a Christian holy day; thus today, I wish to share how the average Scotsman found a way to bring warmth, light, and fun to…
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Hae a Braw Wee Christmas
Happy December, dear readers! When researching Mistaken Premise, my little nerd heart tap-danced whilst learning the multi-faceted and fascinating history of Christmas in Scotland. As one could expect, there is evidence of neolithic people’s observances of the winter solstice, but the real fun comes after the Viking invasions starting in the eighth-century AD. The Vikings…
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Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November
As I used Meryton’s Bonfire Night for a scene in Mistaken Premise, and as the history of Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators tie directly into the history of King James I of England, VI of Scotland, I thought I would share the history of the Gunpowder Plot in honour of Guy Fawkes’ Day on Sunday.…
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Down the Rabbit Hole!
It hardly seems possible, but the tenth anniversary of starting Second Son fast approaches: November 13, 2013. (The meet-cute scene between Darcy and a young Lizzy during the dinner at Chatsworth was the first scene I wrote.) I remember those heady days of researching anything and everything, including a deep dive into the history of…
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What Is In a Name?
Good morrow, fair readers. This morning I thought I might muse on a topic unexpectedly dear to readers hearts: the names JAFF authors bestow upon the multitudinous unnamed characters in Jane Austen’s novels. Several JAFF authors are adamant about bucking trends – giving the otherwise unnamed Colonel Fitzwilliam the Christian name of Edward, for example…
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Hug Him and Squeeze Him and Call Him George
Above image: King George IV’s landing at Leith Scotland, by William Lizar, August 1822 Next Tuesday marks the 201st anniversary of King George IV’s, known to Regency readers as Prinny, visit to Edinburgh, Scotland – the first official visit of Great Britain’s monarch since the exiled King Charles II’s Scottish coronation in January 1651 amidst…