Eighteenth-century housewife baking cakes “After we had demonstrated our talents—except the captain, who pled destitution thereof—we feasted on almond ratafia cakes and Sally Lunn buns smothered with butter and jam as the ladies interrogated our fascinating guest.” Mariah Weston in Of Gentlemen and Heroes . As in every age, an eighteenth-century party always featured delicious foods to satisfy everyone’s appetite. Clearly, Mariah and all her cousins, as well as the charism

The Abbott Longcase Clock Today In Part 4 of Of Gentlemen and Heroes , a special longcase clock (in modern times also called a grandfather clock) plays a cameo role. The inspiration for incorporating this piece of furniture into the story is a family heirloom that has belonged to my family for over two hundred years. It stands today in my parents’ front hall. However, when I was a child, it lived in my grandparents’ house in Milford, Connecticut. When my parents and I were vi

Readers may wonder why I set Of Gentlemen and Heroes in the years 1750–1751. Was there any rhyme or reason to that choice? The answer to that question is: yes! First, I wanted the story to occur before the Seven Years War (or what we Americans call the French and Indian War). If Mariah and Adam’s story had taken place during the hostilities (17 May 1756–10 February 1763), interactions between the French and British would have been much more limited, and less friendly, than

One of my resources for shipboard life on a merchant vessel was Voyages of Capt. George Coggeshall of Milford, Connecticut by Morris W. Abbott (Bound Manuscript: 1968). As you might have guessed, I am related to the author—he was my paternal grandfather. He compiled Captain Coggeshall’s journals into a smaller book, which is a treasure trove of details about life at sea. Coggeshall, born in 1784, lived a bit later than the characters in Of Gentlemen and Heroes , but his adve

“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently over there.” L.P. Hartley This opening line from a novel I’ve never read, by an author I’ve never heard of, is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It perfectly captures the relationship we who are alive today have with history. The people and places sound familiar, but still seem awfully odd! Every historical novelist can testify to this. A tale set over one hundred years in the past turns the author into a tour guide