THE RISQUE RETICULE by Marisa Masterson

 Absolutely scandalous! Look at the woman with her purse. 

No, that's not something I would ever think. The viewpoint has radically changed from the time when the reticule was first introduced as an accessory. Here's why the idea of a woman with a purse was considered shocking...

Example of hidden ladies' pockets.

A reticule when it was first introduced was considered a pocket. After all, a woman carried things in it that she would ordinarily put in a hidden pocket, one a lady could reach through a discrete slit in her skirt. 

Why hidden? Because pockets were considered part of a woman's underclothing. Only men's pockets could be worn on the outside on clothing.

Not only was it thought of as scandalous, but ridiculous as well. In fact, they were known as ridicules. Why would women want to carry their things around?

Examples of Reticules

Amazing to consider that attitude. Baby, you've come a long way! 

In my next book, my heroine stores her coins in a crocheted reticule. She keeps this hidden in a trunk inside her covered wagon. 

Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, or as close to that as she could get in the confining four-foot-wide wagon. Pulling her best shoes from a corner where they had been discarded by the intruders, Willa shoved her hand inside the left one. Cloth tickled the tip of her fingers. She fished the little bundle out and held her crocheted reticule. The flash of gold coins had her sighing with relief. They missed taking her eighty dollars. 

 

Wagon-Train Willa releases May 23rd. It's an adventure on the Oregon Trail:

Willa was only the nanny. How did she end up on the Oregon Trail with her young charges?

Cade Chester enjoys his life as a scout for a wagon train. Little does he suspect that any woman could change his desire for adventure.Willa Winston is more than merely a woman needing help. She is the one person he cannot let walk out of his life.
When Willa is forced to pick a husband on the trail, she asks Cade to marry her. Only, she wants to be able to walk away at the end of the journey. That is, until danger comes after her.

This is a sweet historical romance. If you enjoy historical Christian romance with a dash of mystery, sink back into a chair and start reading.