Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Romantic dream

As a teenager I started reading Georgette Heyer's books. For those who do not know the name - Heyer was a novelist, being most famous for her Regency romance novels.

I myself am a hopeless romantic at times.
I dream of wearing a Regency gown like this beautiful example from Jodi's Costumes and Formals (and having the right figure for it to show it off well ....).


I dream of the viscount, earl or even duke meeting me at the ball for some witty conversation and some sillabub dessert .
I usually leave out the part of being married, the courtship itself is so much more fun ;-)
Seriously now, I love her books because they are very detailed concerning the little things, like the fabric, the hats or how much a pair of gloves cost, because they are undoubtedly romantic and most of all - and that sets them apart from other historical love stories in my opinion - because they have a humor I like very much.

Let's go to a not uncommon plot.
Entrance of a young, inexperienced heroine trying to make her way in society, trying to impress others, trying to be a little different.
Lurking in the shades, waiting for their chance, her opponents - an ex-mistress of the hero, someone the hero humbled or malicious family members.
The place - any place where an inexperienced heroine can go to play some pharaoh, a popular card game in those times.
You know what this is leading to ... our heroine is in the clutches of evil people who encourage her to play and when her pin money is all gone, they tell her it's perfectly alright to put down a piece of jewelry as a pawn.

Imagine yourself in that position. What would you put down?
Maybe this silver swirls and hematite bracelet by Dianne Karg Baron?


This stunning beaded creation by Peter Sewell?


Or would you go for this classic design of a natural sapphire ring in gold setting by Distinction Jewelry?


I hope you answered no, no and no. These pieces would make beautiful family heirlooms, handed down from generation to generation, and that is something you shouldn't even think about giving away except in a real emergency.
Our heroine usually isn't that smart and that's a good thing in this case because it keeps the book going, telling us about the humorous entanglements when she and her brother, cousin or friend try to get the piece back.
It might not come as a surprise to you that it always ends well. The family heirloom is recovered, the opponents get their punishment, our heroine has learned an important lesson for life and our hero throws her hat out of the carriage so that he can kiss her better.

We shut our book and heave a happy sigh ... and go back to today's life. Isn't it nice to dream a little from time to time, though?

The SATeam blog features artisan handmade creations by the etsy starving artists jewelry team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current etsy shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com.

6 comments:

mcstoneworks said...

Cat, your stories are priceless.

Caron Michelle said...

Sensational - you weave the most magical stories yourself, I used to read Georgette a long time ago - you've brought it all back :)

tjrjewellery said...

Lovely ring!

Another great story full of imagery Cat!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful story!

Happileerving said...

I am afraid I wouldn't be able to gamble any of them away. Even for a great story line!

Danagonia said...

This was such a fun article. I love reading Julia Quinn myself, but I imagine the stories are simular...