LIVING ON 12 CENTS A DAY by Marisa Masterson

Research recently led me to the first few years of the Good Housekeeping magazine. Did you know it was first published in 1875? I had no idea it was that old. Its original issues advertised corsets even! 

No fun covers yet at that time. The contents were listed on the cover like you would see now. 

In one issue, I found the results of a study on how much nutrition a man needed and where he should get that. Sounds boring, right? 

What interested me was the listing of prices. For an author who writes historical fiction, primary sources like this one with actual prices is like hitting gold for a miner. 

The article suggests that the normal man would live on 12 cents a day. I love this line from it. "If a man wants to gorge himself, and spend almost 22 cents a day on his stomach..." 

How can anyone live on 12 cents each day? It wasn't only a matter of things being lower in price (comparably) in the year of this article (1885) but also what the person would eat. 

The source of protein was very different from ours today. Steak, hamburgers, Kentucky Fried Chicken. None of those. 

According to the study from Wesleyan University, the average man would eat 1/2 pound of beef neck and 1/4 pound of beans to get his protein. After all, beef neck was only 8 cents per pound! A real buy!

The largest part of his diet would come from potatoes. He should be eating 2 pounds of these each day. I think this remains true for some people today. For me, I grew up eating potatoes daily, though not that large amount. Even McDonald's promotes eating potatoes as they group french fries with their sandwiches in meal deals.

To read more about this study or the recommended diet for 1885, you can find this magazine online. Simply click on the icon to the left. No membership or library card is required and it is interesting reading. (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015023904959&view=1up&seq=179)

Since I have you thinking about the 1800s, here's a new read to consider. 

LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR by Marisa Masterson

 It started with a name and then a title. Sookie's Silence. I wanted to use that unusual nickname for my next heroine. I needed a word to go with it, so I chose silence. But why was this heroine silent?

Had she been assaulted? Threatened? I considered all of these and dismissed them. It came to me that Sookie was silent because she could not talk. How would I write a novel where the key female had no dialogue?

Sign language! I had to create a language for her.

I started by researching whether sign language was even invented at that time. Through this research, I discovered the sweet story of a minister who lived out Christ's command to love our neighbors.

It was in Connecticut and the year was 1814. Minister Dr. Thomas Gallaudet had a neighbor whose daughter was deaf. Despite her handicap, Alice appeared to be extremely intelligent. Gallaudet tried to teach the girl to read and write. Quickly, he realized he didn't have the skills to educate her. 

Instead of giving up, the minister raised money to go to Europe. There, he studied at the National Institute for Deaf-Mutes. When Gallaudet needed to return to America, he convinced one of the leading teachers from that school to move to Connecticut. The man agreed, knowing he would help set up a school for the deaf in the United States.

The two men established the American School for the Deaf. This school was free for its students. Over the next forty-five years, many more schools came into existence because of Gallaudet's efforts.

American School for the Deaf

And why? Because one many loved his neighbor enough to make a difference in her life and others in desperate need. I've never read Gallaudet's personal writings, but I am guessing he felt the Lord's calling to do this. And his efforts were certainly blessed.

Back to Sookie. My heroine doesn't have the benefit of learning in a school for the deaf. And, she isn't deaf after all, only mute. She and her sister create a language between themselves and even record it in a dictionary of sorts. This language appears throughout my book as well as a page from their dictionary.

Intrigued? Sookie's Silence releases April 13. Pre-order today if you want to be sure it's on your reading device right away.

AND YOU THOUGHT A ROLEX WAS GREAT...by Marisa Masterson

 Patek Phillipe. Have you ever heard of the company? I hadn't but it was exactly the watch I was looking to include in my next novel.

I wanted a watch that royalty would covet and a wealthy lady of distinction might proudly display on the lapel of the jacket covering her walking dress. Research turned up this brand name. An old brand, actually, that is still in business today.

This company gained acclaim soon after it started in the 1830s because of the owner's design for a keyless watch. Yes, keyless. Watches and clocks required keys to wind them. This company premiered the design to wind using the fob. By 1851, Queen Victoria purchased one and proudly wore it.

In my novel, Sookie's Silence, the wealthy matchmaker wears a Patek Phillippe watch pinned to her mauve walking dress.

The elegantly dressed woman who rose from the room’s single chair stepped around the ripped sofa and held out an inviting hand, palm up. Her clothing and manners brought a longing to Sookie. The woman somehow reminded her of the mother she lost only months before.

The stranger’s clothing fit the elegant air of the woman. A mauve jacket trimmed with gray covered a walking dress of the same color and material. She had a lovely piece of blue jewelry pinned to the lapel. A Patek Phillippe keyless watch, if Sookie was any judge of it.

Sookie's Silence releases in April and readers are able to pre-order now so you won't miss out on the release...

Mildred Crenshaw's latest match in the Westward Home and Hearts Mail-Order Brides series--

The accident that kills her parents leaves Sookie Donaldson mute. She grasps at the chance to be a mail-order bride. The only catch is that she must also be able to teach school.
Since Sookie taught school for a number of years that is no problem. Hopefully in Nebraska, people will welcome any trained teacher--even one who cannot speak. She fits all the requirements outlined by Milly Crenshaw, the matchmaker. The man in Nebraska is a perfect match. She hopes.
Will her surly groom send her back on the first train east when he realizes Sookie is silent? And who is the man who shadows her every movement in her new hometown?
Suddenly, Sookie's silence stands in her way of both happiness and safety.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T6N9TJF