Mysteries at the Museum

The Travel Channel has an ongoing program on Tuesdays that takes the viewer to different museums to witness the strange and unexplained. For those of you who are fond of mysteries, or museums, like I am, here are the upcoming museum spotlights for next Tuesday's show, the 4th in this very interesting series. 

Mysteries at the Museum: Volume 4

The History Museum at the Castle: In the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin, a plaster bust is modeled after Harry Houdini, who has long passed on but whose mysterious talents still baffle the mind. Is it possible that this bust is actually possessed by the spirit of this famous magician? The answer lies in the suspicious circumstances that surround Houdini’s death.

The Henry Ford Museum: In Michigan, the Henry Ford Museum showcases an artifact that soared high above the roadways in 1926- a unique airplane named “The Josephine Ford”. At the time, the intrepid pilot of this airplane set out on a death defying flight to the end of the earth with one goal in mind. What was this pilot’s goal and why is his journey still shrouded in mystery?

Coos Historical and Maritime Museum: Located on Oregon’s rugged Coast at the Coos Historical and Maritime Museum, there is a peculiar object that looks like a piece of faming equipment, but in fact, it’s actually a piece from a diabolical weapon of mass destruction sent here by America’s former enemy. How did this artifact cause the only deaths resulting from enemy action to occur on mainland America during World War II?

The Chicago History Museum: A plain scrap of fabric, emblazoned with a striking design located at the Chicago History Museum was one of the banners designed for protests at the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Who made this flag and how did it play such a large role in changing the direction of our country?

Fall River Historical Society: The Fall River Historical Society in Fall River, Massachusettes houses an artifact that may have been the murder weapon in one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history. This hatchet head was the key piece of evidence used against Lizzie Borden in the murders of her parents; but did she really commit the heinous crime?

National Museum of American History: Among the many thousands of objects at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution, is a worn and weathered eighty year old briefcase. This attache once belonged to a lifelong politician and diplomat and held countless, top secret and sensitive government documents. Why do curators at the Smithsonian believe this briefcase was party to one watershed event that changed the history of the planet?

I'll be posting the next volume later, so you can see what's coming after this.

If You Love History. . .

One of the highlights of my recent London visit was to Westminster Abbey, the church in which many historical figures were married, crowned, and buried. The abbey is a virtual history of England, and to visit there was like walking into the past.

London Skyline from the Thames

Your ticket allows entry to almost every part of the abbey and grounds. Some of the more memorable sights in the abbey were the St. Edward Shrine, Henry VIII’s Lady Chapel, and the coronation chair used by Edward I in the 13th century (and by every succeeding monarch during the coronation ceremony).

Thousands of notables are buried at Westminster Abbey, from kings and statesmen to men of ordinary birth who later gained fame, such as Charles Dickens, George Frederic Handel, and Charles Darwin.

The Pyx chamber is one of the earliest parts of the abbey, and one that caught the eye of this medievalist. The chamber was built around 1070 and has low vaulted ceilings and tile floors, giving at a medieval feel. It was probably used as the treasury in the 13th century, and Henry III may have used it as a sacristy. In 1303 the treasury was stolen while the king was in Scotland. The abbot and monks were suspected and sent to the Tower, but were later released when the real culprit was identified and hung. After the theft, builders installed heavy double oak doors, which guard the entrance to this day. Inside the chamber are two large 13th century chests, emptied now of their valuables. Earlier, the Pyx Chamber held wooden boxes (pyxes) which contained coins of the realm. The coins awaited the recurring public demonstration, where a few coins were melted down to prove their purity.

I could have spent another full day or two in Westminster Abbey, but there were other places I needed to see, like the library I’ll blog about in my next post.

Why I Read and Write Regency

When I was a youth, I read almost everything, especially sci fi and fantasy, but was always more interested in the interpersonal relationships and romances than the plot itself. I started reading Romances when I was about 14 or 15, and was immediately attracted to historicals of all kinds.

You’re going to laugh when I confess how clueless I was, but I didn’t really know what a Regency was until I started really researching it. Until then, I couldn’t have told the difference between a Regency and a Victorian. But I love historicals overall. I grew up on Little House on the Prairie books, Jane Eyre, Anne of Green Gables. Historicals are like a whole new world, totally different from the modern world in which I live. Regency in particular is fun because the manners and mores of society are so formal and lavish (unlike my reality). Besides what’s not to love about men who can dance? Not to mention that there are few things as manly as a man riding horseback or fencing or willing to engage in a dual to protect his honor. Or that of his lady love. I have a thing for medieval romances, too. Love those knights who are all about duty and honor.

Honestly, I didn’t know if I wanted to choose Georgian, Regency or Victorian until I really did my research. I discarded Georgian because I detested the white wigs and the wide panniers women wore then. I chose Regency over Victorian for a number of reasons: it was during and right after the Napoleonic war, which provides the perfect backdrop for the tortured hero still haunted by the horrors of war (my favorite kind of fictional character); it was a unique period, people were more free thinking and also their days were filled with huge, lavish parties which adds an element of fantasy or magic (yeah, still soooo not like my real life); I like the clothing styles and part of the fun of a historical is getting immersed in the ‘world’ which includes describing clothing; and a large part of my decision to go with fantasy is because it is a solid market niche which helps with marketing.

To do research, I read a lot of Regencies, but the most helpful resources are books actually written by authors who lived in that era, which is why Jane Austen is used so much by Georgian/Regency Era authors; she lived during that time, so what she writes is how things were, rather than someone’s perception of how things were. Georgette Heyer is also hailed as the "Queen of Regency" because of her uniquely believable voice. I've heard she wrote her books using the same terms and speech as her grandmother (who was born just after that time) used which is how she so easily achieved that voice. I also read a bunch of research books. And I joined an online writer's group called the Beau Monde which is for authors of the Georgian/Regency Era. The members are a plethora of information and can sometimes just answer questions, other times they can recommend sources for what members need.

In addition to the Beau Monde RWA group, some of the best sources for that era are:

The Regency Companion, by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L Hamlin
Georgette Heyer's Regency World, by Jennifer Kloester
Dee Hendrickson's Regency Reference Book (now on CD)
Our Tempestuous Day: A History of Regency England, by Carolly Erickson
The Prince of Pleasure and His Regency, by J.B. Priestly

I love Regency because of all this and more. Mostly, I love it because of the men. Or at least, my perception of the men. They were all about honor and duty. They were so wrapped up in honor that they were willing to die for it. And that is a character trait I find immensely attractive.


Donna Hatch is the Author is "The Stranger She Married" and "Troubled Hearts," both available on Amazon.com, The Wild Rose Press, and her website, www.donnahatch.com