WHEN PERFUME FELL FROM THE SKY
What would you do if perfume fell from the sky? Well, women on 5th avenue in New York City got to find out on March 31, 1941.
15 HISTORICAL FICTION MOVIES TO GET EXCITED ABOUT IN 2022
After two years of watching movies from the couch, I’m so excited to get back to the theater! (I will probably still watch most of my movies on the couch though lol). I went through the anticipated releases for the year and found these 15 movies that looked promising for us history buffs.
BEHIND THE PERFUME: KA'IULANI, CROWN PRINCESS OF THE KINGDOM OF HAWAII
Princess Ka’iulani was the last Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Hawaii before the monarchy was overthrown and the kingdom was annexed by the United States. She tried to save her kingdom’s independence but was thwarted in her efforts by a racist press and ill health. The shy, beautiful princess ultimately died at just 23 years old. Here is her story.
30 HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT IN 2022
Calling all bookworms! With the new year comes new entries for the historical fiction canon. Here are some books I found coming out this year that I CANNOT WAIT FOR!
This list is not exhaustive and while I’ve put things in order based on publication month, please note that sometimes release dates get moved around. This list goes through August and I will update when more details get released.
THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
It was a dreary day in Charm City when a typesetter from the Baltimore Sun discovered an incoherent, delirious man close to death in the gutter outside of a public house called Gunner’s Hall. The typesetter recognized the man at once, for it was Edgar Allan Poe, the famed poet and author.
WHY ARE WITCHES ASSOCIATED WITH HALLOWEEN?
As with many festivals and traditions, Halloween can trace its roots back to the Druids – the Celtic peoples who lived in Ireland more than a millennia ago.
VICTORIAN MOURNING JEWELRY & VICTORIAN JEWELRY HISTORY
When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria's grief was so profound that not only did she have her servants lay out Albert's clothes every morning after his death, but she only wore black until her own death in 1901. Unwittingly, she started the craze for what was popularly dubbed, mourning jewelry. Items such as necklaces, rings, brooches, and bracelets that contained jet were all the rage.
WHAT IS JUNETEENTH?
We all remember the story from elementary school – Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and just like that, slavery was over in America. History is never this clear cut and simple.
ALL THINGS ANNE BOLEYN
Before her tragic (and definitely orchestrated end) she was a glamorous queen, early feminist, and fiercely intelligent woman at a time when that was not a good look for a lady. To celebrate the life of England’s most infamous queen, here is a round up of all things Anne Boleyn!
THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF MARY SEACOLE IN MANY LANDS
I recently received a request: to cover more of the many positive stories about historical people of color. The requester also had a perfect first candidate: Mary Seacole! In honor of Mary Seacole (who died on the 14th of May in 1881), and in honor of the nurses on the frontline of the current pandemic, today we’re going to look at her incredible life.
HISTORICAL OUTBREAKS AND PANDEMICS
With the rapid spread of COVID-19, people across the globe are feeling anxious and uncertain. It’s important to remember that we’ve been here before. Many times. With less technology and less knowledge about health, medicine, and germs. So, before you rush out and buy more toilet paper, take a look at some of the worst pestilences in human history and how we got over them and changed the world.
BEHIND THE PERFUME: MARY SHELLEY'S UNHALLOWED ART
Mary died on February 1 1851. Her son Percy Florence was there at her side. When Percy Florence died in 1889, he was buried with the ashes of his father’s heart.
BEHIND THE COLOGNE: DHARMA BUM
Iconoclast. Pioneer of the Beat Generation. Catholic. Dharma Bum. Just a few descriptors that comprise the complicated identity of one of the 20th Century's most famous writers, Jack Kerouac.
ANNE BOLEYN: A KING'S OBSESSION
This is the review of the second book in Alison Weir's series, Six Tudor Queens. If you missed the first one, check out the review of Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen.
I said it in the last review. Anne Boleyn's story is Tudor prime time and A King's Obsession, the second book in the Six Tudor Queens series, did not disappoint.
THE VOODOO QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS
Mardi Gras is upon us. For this installment of the Behind the Perfume series, we'll be visiting one of New Orleans' most famous residents. This is part of a series of posts on the historical figures that are the inspiration for Immortal Perfumes. For more historical figures, check out the rest of the series.
SIX TUDOR QUEENS: KATHERINE OF ARAGON BOOK REVIEW
Immortal Perfumes came about because of my love for historical fiction. I've always been a history nerd, but I didn't realize that the heroes of history I'd enjoyed reading about could be fleshed out and made to come alive again until the TV show, The Tudors, came out in 2007. After I got hooked on that show, I got past my haughty, self-imposed, English major, "I only read literary fiction" weirdness and began devouring novels based on the Tudors and Marie Antoinette, among others.
BEHIND THE PERFUME: MADAME MOUSTACHE
Frontier life was no picnic – especially not for women. In the Old West, if a woman was to survive she had to have a certain level of luck, charm, and resourcefulness. Enter Eleonore Alphonsine Dumont; also known as Madame Moustache.