Mr. Clemens, Esq.
Sir:
Please be so kind to inform the readers of the Tattler about the guests coming to a very special event at RWA16 this year in San Diego. Sarah Richmond, along with the San Diego Costume Guild presidents Margaret Hagar and Lisa Root are presenting a workshop entitled: Dressing the Part: Costuming Romantic Characters of the 19th Century: A Fashion Show.
This is a fashion show they’ll not want to miss.
The first guests are Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters accompanied by no other than Mr. Darcy. (Maybe he’ll reveal his Christian name.) The women will be wearing the Empire waist dresses of the Regency era made famous by author Jane Austen. The accessories such as a pelisse, reticule et al which are part of the vocabulary of a Regency author will be on display.
Representing the romantic era of the 1840’s is the poet who wrote ‘How do I love thee’ Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband Robert Browning. The couple will be arriving from the continent where they eloped—so irresponsible and yet so wildly romantic.
Next, and I’m holding my breath just thinking about it, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. What a treat to have them. Scarlett will explain the mysteries of wearing a hoop skirt and how ladies in mid-century America managed to maneuver in them. Rhett will be dressed as the handsome rouge he is.
The last guests will be a couple from the Naughty Nineties/fin de siècle. A tragic pair and I’m thrilled they could attend: The Phantom of the Opera and his much adored Christine. He will be wearing his iconic evening suit. Her silhouette, complete with a bustle, will show off a woman’s S curve.
There you have it. The workshop will be held on Saturday, July 16 at 2 pm. at the Marriott Marquis and Marina. The room will be announced at the conference. Hope to see you there.
Your obedient servant,
Miss Dorothea Wycliffe
A Perilous Proposal
Edmund Caruthers is a man with all the answers, comfortable in his own circle, and confident in his profession as a junior barrister with ambition to wear the silks of a King’s Counsel. Born to privilege, he loves to gamble with the old money heirs at his club.
A milliner’s apprentice, Dolly Wycliffe pursues her dream to make fashionable ladies’ hats, but her earnings cannot support her widowed mother and siblings. She seeks legal council to sue a powerful English peer for the wrongful death of her father who was in his lordship’s employ. Everyone including Edmund turns her down. The death has been ruled an accident and there is nothing he can do. The old boys at Edmund’s club agree and bet he can’t loosen the purse strings of a titled gentleman, especially with a shop girl as a client. With a sizable wager at stake, Edmund decides to prove them wrong.
Edmund and Dolly uncover a dastardly plot that suggests her father’s death was not an accident, but murder. Together, they risk ridicule and ruin to prove their suspicions are true.
Excerpt from A Perilous Proposal
Dolly sighed. “I must go.”
Edmund must convince her of his earnestness before all was lost.
“If you don’t forgive me, I shall shrivel up and die an old, forgotten barrister with nothing to show for my troubled life but a drool cup and thick glasses.”
Her upper lip twitched. “You are a most unusual man.”
“So I’ve been told.” Encouraged, he carried on. “In truth, I couldn’t bear us parting with you holding me in such low regard.”
“Very well, you are forgiven.”
Edmund was so pleased he couldn’t help but grin.
“I’ve thought of a way to make amends,” he said.
“That is not necessary.” They continued toward the high street.
“I must. Your hats inspire me.”
“Now you are making fun.”
“I wouldn’t. Truly they are the most wonderful hats I have ever seen.”
They’d reached the stop for the tram. She turned to face him. “Thank you.”
At that very moment, he made a decision that would be met with controversy among his friends and family. And he didn’t care a fig what any of them thought.
“I say,” Edmund said. “Would you like to go to Ascot with me?”
“Are you joking?”
“I’ve never been more sincere.”
She gave him a soulful look. “Now you are being charitable.”
“Do you think so badly of me? I am asking because I want to spend the day with you. Besides, you can wear one of your creations. Think of the publicity.”
She fluttered her eyelashes. All the meanness of this world flew away.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes.”
And she did.
Sarah Richmond is a multi-published author of historical romance set in the Old West and Edwardian England. When not in front of her computer, she enjoys lunch with friends, University of Michigan football and old movies.
Please visit me at www. SarahRichmond.com, Sarah Richmond Writer on Facebook and SRichmondWriter on Twitter.
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