The Wild Blog in the West

The last chapter is here . For those in mourning that Downton Abbey 's fourth series won't air until January 2014 in the U.S. (stupid PBS), get your country house fix here.  I'll confess that this isn't a full chapter -- the full chapter would take up an entire page.  But between this and my last chapter, it should give you a flavor of what my novel is about.  Again, legitimate feedback is welcome, either in the comments below or by clicking on the About Me link and hitting Email . ********************** Mount Edgecumbe House, taken by  Philip Halling Bella’s room.  Upon seeing it for the first time since her death, Elizabeth had the strong impulse to flee.  But she promised to come sort through her possessions, and here she was. Except for the drawn curtains, the room looked just as it had when she was alive.  Her water basin was filled.  Brushes sat on her dressing table at varying angles, where her maid had last laid them down.  A list sat beside the

Just a note: I will be going out of town for a few days, so I probably won't have the next Earth's Children   critique up until Sunday at the earliest.  Until then, I thought perhaps there might be some out there * sound of crickets * who would be interested in reading a chapter of my own novel.  I recently learned that the publishing person I sent it to has not read it yet, which is frustrating but not surprising, since people in that industry are so busy.  Hopefully she will get to it soon, and in the meantime, I would love any feedback on what I've posted -- real feedback, not spam feedback, please.  You can either post below or click on the About Me: Wild Blogger  link and hit Email . As I mentioned before, the novel is set in 1860s Britain, and is very much in the "country house" genre.  However, I think there is more to it than massive skirts and horse-drawn carriages. ********************** Mount Edgecumbe House, taken by Philip Halling   Isabel

Queen Victoria, date unknown.   PD-US Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl But she doesn't have a lot to say. Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl But she changes from day to day . -- Beatles, " Her Majesty "* Before I leave Downton Abbey  for good until Series Four, I wanted to write a post that I had hinted at writing earlier  about one of history's most misunderstood women.  Well maybe I shouldn't go quite that far, but there are definitely some preconceived notions about Queen Victoria that should be put to rest.  That she was a dull, pious person who always said "we" and who spent 40 years mourning her husband.  Well, that last one was true. But she was also passionate, astute, and remarkably progressive for her time.  And where she wasn't progressive, her five daughters were.  In short, she was awesome. First, a quick history of Queen Victoria.  She was born in 1819 to King George III's third son, Edward Duke of Kent, a

Okay, so the song doesn't quite apply, since I'm mainly looking at two things.  Oh well.  It's catchy. So where does a twerp like me get off thinking that she can criticize the historical accuracy of the great Downton Abbey ?  I'll confess that I'm not the most qualified person.  While one of my degrees is in history, I specialized in a different time period.  I have been an amateur historian of the Victorian period (1837-1901) for well over a decade, and recently spent a year doing some intensive research into Victorian reforms and social customs.  But Downton Abbey isn't set during the Victorian period -- it's not even set during the Edwardian period (1901-1910).  From Series One to the present, it has been set during the reign of George V (1910-1936). However, despite the occasional reminders that "the world is changing!", Downton Abbey  seems to be stuck in a time warp.  It's still 1912 on the estate, which might as well be 1892.  In