Still More Fun With Research


 Still more fun with research that has pretty much nothing to do with New Orleans at Christmas of 1840, or Hollywood in May of 1924... (or the Winterlands while I'm writing a Further Adventure for the first time in AGES...)

Instead I've been reading Katie Hickman's wonderful book, "Daughters of Britannia," about the lives and experiences of British diplomatic wives and daughters - the ladies who got dragged willy-nilly to places like Constantinople in 1661 (What WAS the proper etiquette when calling on the Sultan's harem?) or Kashgar, Central Asia, in 1898 (COULD one purchase Marmite in Azerbaijan?). These ladies were not diplomats themselves, but got roped into doing everything from coping with local servants (" 'Why do grammars only teach one such phrases as Simply through the courage of the champion's sword when what one wants to say is, Bring another lamp?' ") to sewing shirts for British sailors who have been ransomed from the local pirates by one's husband as part of his duties. The lady pictured above is Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who as a result of her stay in Constantinople as wife of the British Ambassador there, saw - and brought back to Europe - the technique of inoculating against smallpox, which the Turks had been practicing for years.

Having finished with that, I went on to dig out one of the source books I used years ago while writing The Days of the Dead, i.e. the journal of Frances Calderon de la Barca, a Scots diplomatic wife married to the Spanish minister to Mexico under Santa Anna (she was there 1839-1841). While writing Days I'd skimmed much of it, concentrating on information that I needed; now I'm moseying through it, enjoying Madame de la Barca's entertaining view of the world. Yet another blog from another planet.

All this in snippets, between organizing and teaching my class, reading page-proofs and copy-edits, doing physical therapy exercises and trying to make enough time to feed the cats and sweep the floor.

I don't understand how so many instructors - as I have heard from many, many students over the years - can make history boring.

Oh, and on the subject of the Winterlands, I did find a website that deals with medieval cooking, so I have a better idea of what John Aversin's aunts would serve noble visitors who show up on his doorstep asking for help in dealing with slimy monsters... I was happy about that. medievalcookery.com includes fairly specific recipes. 

Comments

  1. Alexis KennedyOctober 31, 2022 at 1:19 AM

    This and your previous research blog suggested ideal Christmas presents for two family members. Thanks for the serendipity. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbara HamblyOctober 31, 2022 at 8:39 AM

      Glad to be of help! Sometimes it's a real thrash, figuring out what those we care about would really like. ("Gosh, SOCKS! I was just thinking the other day how much I'd LOVE a pair of socks!")

      Delete

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