Book Review--The History of Underclothes by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington

 

This reference has proven invaluable over the years when I’m figuring out what people of the past wore under their street clothes. Some outerwear is also described, as in: first comes this undergarment followed by these other layers.

The book was published in England and covers undergarments for both sexes over the past six centuries—from medieval times to 1939. Not only is the construction described, but also information is given about what the garments were made of and which garment was worn next to the skin. From the medieval times, not much change happened. People of the working class wore shapeless garments that allowed them to complete the tasks of their profession. They didn’t concern themselves with the body’s outline or garments that changed its shape. The authors used both written sources (poems, novels, church writings) and paintings, etching, and sculptures to determine what was worn.

Through it, I’ve learned the difference between panniers and hooped petticoats or crinolines and crinolettes. Detailed are how some garments started out long in this era but became shorter in another. The approximate time period of when various fashion items like bustles or corsets (for both men and women) or types of shirt collars came into general usage are given. Sometimes, yardage amounts are given for styles of dresses or how big the circumference of the hem was. These facts help the reader picture the amount of space they took.

Writing a story set in the decades of hoop skirts means the whole skirt would move in the opposite direction if another person pressed close. Or having a woman travel in a stagecoach during the time when bustles were considered an essential wardrobe piece means the character must be uncomfortable without the ability to lean back all the way.

(all photos taken from the referenced book)

I’m an author who wants the reader to be immersed in the everyday details of life in whichever year I’m writing. When I know of a gem like this book, I like to share it.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a print copy of Present for a Cowboy, a multi-author anthology of western stories (US addresses only).

Stay in touch

Facebook

BookBub

Amazon

Goodreads

All Author

Book Review--Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

Doing research is part of the job for a historical author. To create a rich story world of a time when no one currently alive experienced firsthand, we have to dig into books or we go cruising on the Internet.  The reference section of the local library might be intimidating, so we rely on the guidance of the reference clerks who are fonts of information.

Or you snap up the recommendation of a friend who was bopping around Amazon and found a gem. This book is one of those treasure troves of facts and figures. And the contents within were more than I expected from the title. Details about sanitation, hygiene, women’s health, beauty products, bathing, courtship, etc. are shared in an easy-to-read and humorous style that feels like you are sharing a pot of tea with the author on a rainy afternoon.

I always do lots of research for each new setting or time frame when I’m plotting a new story. By reading this title, I learned of products that I hadn’t encountered through other sources. My only complaint is the lack of specific dates on invention or availability of certain items. But once I’m armed with a product name or a manufacturer, I can head off on that new research trail.

I highly recommend Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage and Manners by Therese O’Neill mainly because I loved receiving my research details in such an enjoyable read.

Linda’s latest release is Baling Wire Promises, a Montana Sky Kindle Worlds novella.

Book Review—Land Of The Burnt Thigh by Ethel Eudora Kohl

One of my works in progress is set in 1867 Kansas and involves a homesteading family. I ‘m involved in ongoing research so I can build the best story world of what’s involved. I mentioned this fact at a recent writers’ meeting and received a recommendation for this memoir.

Although the setting is South Dakota in 1907-08, much of what was shared about the attitudes and emotions of the people involved could be applied to many time periods. The first paragraph has two sisters, both younger than twenty-one years, arriving on the vast, empty prairie from Chicago to claim the older sister’s plot. Ida Mary had been proud of the fact she’d chosen one with a house about thirty miles away from Pierre. Nothing in the land office informed them the “house” was a shack with tar paper for siding—a disappointment that sets the tone for the story.

The young women are dropped off by a man who makes his livelihood as a locator who drives homesteaders out to their purchased plots. Seeing how ill-prepared they are, he does leave them a jug of water. Otherwise, they are left to their own devices. What transpires in the mandatory time to gain their deed, described in prose that is almost lyrical at times, are the struggles the women endure to survive. Especially worthwhile was learning about the ways the women adapted and the community that is built when people share hardships together.

Often research is a bit dry, but this memoir was enjoyable and entertaining. A highly recommended read both as a research tool regarding homesteading but also as a tale of the human spirit determined to make a better life. The definition of a pioneer spirit.

(free for Kindle)