In England, under Oliver Cromwell’s Puritan regime, drunkenness was considered an ungodly sin but, at the time, as for centuries before, ale or beer were the safest drinks. Water might be a more godly drink but the danger of swallowing disease-causing agents with every mouthful was understood, even if microbes wouldn’t be discovered for another two centuries. Therefore,… Read on
Author John Pilkington (@_JohnPilkington) writes about the colourful and seedy side of Covent Garden in the 17th Century.
The Institution of Marriage in 17th Century England By Deborah Swift My new book, A Plague on Mr Pepys, has at its heart a marriage. During my research for the book I had to look into attitudes to marriage in the 17th Century, and how these attitudes might affect my characters, Bess and Will Bagwell, when their marriage… Read on
Fiction and other works of imagination have an insidious way of working their way into history. Stories that ring true, that look true, that appeal to our prejudices, become ‘fact’. It is a form of historical truthiness in which plays, pictures, and propaganda create a past that is accepted as the genuine record. I unearthed one example, which… Read on
I am very pleased to welcome historical fiction author Alison Stuart to The Seventeenth Century Lady. Alison is both very talented and one of the nicest people I’ve met on the Twittersphere. So, please give her a very warm welcome! COURTING THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR – Alison Stuart Hi Andrea…Thank you so much for the invitation to visit your… Read on