Research & Resources

Research is at the heart of every good historical novel, romance or otherwise.  Here I share my research finds:

Historical and Primary Sources

• The Book of English Trades and Library of the Useful Arts
• British History Online -  
• New York Public Library Digital gallery  - All collection guide
• Recent Antiquarian Acquisitions The Lewis Walpole Library Yale University - a treasure trove of ephemera from the 18th and 19th centuries
• Gallica Bibliotheque - French National Library Online 
• The Peerage
• Peerage Law in England
• Primary Source Nexus -  
• Los Angeles Public Library - online digital archive 
• A History of the Cries of London by Charles Hindley

Sources for all things Regency

• Regency England 1790 - 1830
• The Georgian Index 
• Memorials of St. James Street Together with the Annals of Almack's by E. Beresford Chancellor, M.A. - a book written in 1922 that "attempts to trace the history of one of London's most notable thoroughfares and has been undertaken because nobody has done it before." 
• The Regency Library - Research for writers
• La Bon Genre  -  whimsical look at life in Paris 1827
• Historical and Regency Romance UK
• Hearts Through History  - a writing resource 
• Writers in the Storm
• The Regency Redingote 
• A Victorian - a comprehensive collection of all things Victorian  

Fashion Resources

• Commitment to Costume - a blog by a Maryland curator of fashion 
• The Regency Library of Fashion
• Fashion in Paris - published 1898 
• FIDM Museum and Galleries blog - showcases garments and accessories from the museum; focus on 19th and 20th centuries
• The Dreamstress - fashion, costume, history, textiles   

Garden History Resources

• An Essay on the Picturesque by Sir Uvedale Price -   
• Mazes and Labyrinths A General Account of their History
• A Dialogue upon the Gardens 1748 by William Gilpin -
• American Gardening with a Love for the English Garden
• A Collection of Roses from Nature - Mary Lawrence 1799  
• Les liliacées - Pierre Joseph Redoute
• Les Roses 1817-1824 Pierre Joseph Redoute 
• Pomona Britannica or A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits with the blossoms and leaves - George Brookshaw 1812  

  Time of the Tudors

• Tudor Pattern Book

Museums and libraries offer a peek into the past through art, fashion, and the written word.  A few favorites are listed:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) 
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries 
• V&A Search Collections 
•  Kent State University Museum - A fine collection of fashions from 18th century on
• National Trust Collections - Easily accessible art, architecture, furnishings, fashion, and so much more
• MFA - Museum  of Fine Arts Boston
• LACMA - Los Angeles County Museum of Art  
• The British Museum -