Happy Birthday, Mrs. Smith
Marissa Doyle
March 23, 2023
One of the most engaging and romance-novel-like yet true stories of the 19th century has to be that of a lady named Juana María de
Author : Marissa Doyle
Marissa Doyle graduated from Bryn Mawr College and went on to graduate school intending to be an archaeologist, but somehow got distracted. Eventually she figured out what she was really supposed to be doing and started writing. She’s channeled her inner history geekiness into a successful young adult historical fantasy series, and is now also happily writing contemporary romantic fantasy. She lives in her native Massachusetts with her family, including a pair of bossy but adorable pet rabbits, and loves quilting, gardening, and collecting antiques. Oh, and coffee.
It’s Not That Easy Being Green
Marissa Doyle
March 9, 2023
Spring. It’s just around the corner, right? Right? That’s what the little green pips of bulbs in my yard are trying to tell me. I’m
Oh, the Ennui!
Marissa Doyle
February 23, 2023
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, a popular weekly magazine published in London between 1822 and 1847, ran the following short piece in its
Did They Really Say That?
Marissa Doyle
January 26, 2023
One of the joys of leafing through the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is running across slang expressions and figures of speech still in
Guess the Mystery Object!
Marissa Doyle
January 12, 2023
Feeling clever? Historically clever? Then let’s play What the Heck is That? the game where I show you some 19th century object, and you get
Queen Victoria’s Christmas Dinner
Marissa Doyle
December 22, 2022
If anyone in the 19th century was going to celebrate Christmas in a truly outstanding fashion, you know that person had to be Queen Victoria,
Treasures from the Past
Marissa Doyle
December 8, 2022
Used bookstores. Is there anything better than an afternoon spent hunting through the shelves and stacks in one? As delightful as a new bookstore is,
Om Nom Nom Nom
Marissa Doyle
November 24, 2022
I love Thanksgiving food. I know it’s fashionable to hate on the usual turkey and gravy, but I love them. Green beans with almonds are
Making a Further Spectacle of Yourself
Marissa Doyle
November 10, 2022
Last month I discussed what the nearsighted young ladies of the 19th century did to avoid walking into walls and other people (though walking into
Making a Spectacle of Yourself
Marissa Doyle
October 27, 2022
I am, alas, blind as a bat. I’ve worn glasses since fourth grade (and probably needed them in third), and just can’t imagine what I
Almack’s Again: the “Marriage Mart”
Marissa Doyle
October 6, 2022
Modern readers can certainly understand how Almack’s was the place to be, the most exclusive of exclusive social venues, because that concept is timeless…but there’s
A Good Michaelmas to You
Marissa Doyle
September 22, 2022
If you’ve read much historical fiction set in Great Britain, you may have run across the word Michaelmas—there’s Michaelmas term at Oxford and Cambridge (and
1917: Introducing…the Supermarket
Marissa Doyle
September 8, 2022
As we’ve seen in previous posts, World War I impinged on daily life in America possibly more than any previous war…especially in terms of what
