Friday, July 10, 2015

A Will of Iron Blog Tour ~ Guest Post & Giveaway!

Hey, Everyone! For my stop on the A Will of Iron Blog Tour, Linda Beutler is here with us today to discuss the interesting topic of Regency Funerals in conjunction with her new book, A Will of Iron! Now, this is one topic I haven't thought much about, but I found it fascinating!    




Many thanks to Jakki at Leatherbound Reviews for organizing this Blog Tour!


Also, Meryton Press is giving away a paperback of A Will of Iron to one lucky person! You'll find the information for the giveaway at the bottom of this post.


Funeral Folderol

Thanks so much for the opportunity to guest post! It is always great to have So Little Time... offer to host a stop on a blog tour. 

What follows might seem a tad morbid to some, but honestly, my best friend Jacky and I had a great time researching Regency era funeral fashions, customs, and slang for A Will of Iron. You see, there are a lot of deaths in this story, and three funerals (—ending with two weddings! Hmmm…one is a double ceremony. How do we count that, I wonder?). Anyway… thanks to The Regency Encyclopedia and similar sites for making my tale more authentic and stoking me with knowledge to make Lady Catherine de Bourgh reach new heights of pretension.

Rest assured, A Will of Iron is not a mystery. It is a macabre romp. Thanks to Anne de Bourgh’s journals being spirited into the guarding hands of Charlotte and Lizzy, readers learn the truth as Lizzy and Charlotte read the pertinent entries. There are murders here, but also enough foreshadowing to sink a battleship. The main death scene in the story is so weird that I hope it will also be relatively angst free. (There’s an author’s twisted logic for you. Or perhaps, there’s a twisted author’s logic?)

The first death in the story is the most important: Anne de Bourgh. Because she is the heiress to Rosings Park, Anne is first laid out for viewing in the largest, most splendid drawing room. Sadly, is it a warm April, and because Lady Catherine will have none but the Archbishop of Canterbury perform the funeral rites, and he has to preside at a royal event first, Anne must be removed to a cooler location (the basement of the Hunsford Church, where she is protected from rats and what-not by Mr. Collins). 

Go ahead and start saying “Ewww!” now, because it gets rather worse. But for the timing and unseasonable heat, Anne would have been transferred from the table in Rosings to her casket, the service would have taken place in the drawing room with no ladies present, and the casket would then travel via black-draped hearse to the de Bourgh family crypt in the Hunsford churchyard. Pallbearers would have carried the casket from the hearse to the crypt.


As it was, Anne’s “eternity box” (coffin) had to be built quickly around her, even in the cool cellar. It was built by a “cold cook” (undertaker). Yes, “Eww” again as needed. The cold cook and his assistants carried her casket to the lych-gates in front of the church. These were covered structures under which the caskets were perched before the pallbearers came to carry them inside the church for the service.

The number of carriages in a funeral procession denoted high rank—more carriages (even if they were empty!) indicated a higher regard for the dead. Imagine Lady Catherine’s surprise when Darcy reminds her his father’s procession had a mere ten carriages: 

“No, only ten. It was but three miles from Kympton to the family vault at Pemberley. We did not wish for the cortege to meet itself coming and going.” 

But of course, Darcy would not wish to appear pretentious in making his father’s arrangements. However, he did agree with his aunt in the use of “mutes”: leather booties (presumably black) worn by horses in a funeral procession to dampen the vulgar clop-clopping. Procession horses also wore special, non-clinking bridles. This give Lady Catherine a chance to show-off her daughter in death as she never could in life, what with Anne’s weak constitution and all.

After the services, which for the upper classes never included the ladies of the family, a “shoulder-feast” would have been held to honor the pallbearers (who carried the casket on their shoulders). Anne’s pallbearers were: “…Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy; Colonel Alexander Fitzwilliam; Theodore Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock (Colonel Fitzwilliam’s father); James Fitzwilliam, the Viscount Scofbridge (the colonel’s elder brother and the earl’s heir); Kenneth Sapwater, Lord Dirthbevridge (elder brother of Regina, Countess of Matlock), and Sir Everett Sapwater (Lord Dirthbevridge’s eldest son).” [Okay, I admit I had fun making up names–lb]

In 1812, the Archbishop of Canterbury was—and this is the truth—Charles Manners-Sutton. For the purposes of this story, Darcy’s paternal grandmother was a Manners, making Darcy the Archbishop’s distant cousin. The following is also true: his eminence had twelve children, ten daughters and two sons. Such research as I had time for did not reveal the birth order of these children. Try as I might, I could not finagle the plot to include a conversation in which the Archbishop could advise Mr. Bennet (with his mere five daughters) that Mr. Bennet should have kept trying. But this is simply a silly side shoot, and did not bear fruit (of either sex). 

After the shoulder feast, dignitaries of the local neighborhood could have been invited around for somber refreshments. In A Will of Iron, it is in this scene we first bring Elizabeth and Darcy back together, although both have espied each other without the other knowing. He watches Elizabeth from the safe distance of a sitting room at Rosings:

“I have seen her, and I do not appear to love her any less than I did seven days ago. Yet I know myself better, and her too. I must see her happily settled…”

Elizabeth is reading about Darcy in Anne de Bourgh’s journal while sitting in the vicarage garden, when his carriage rolls to a stop to acknowledge the welcoming Mr. Collins:

“Her observation could not completely restore Elizabeth to her former dislike of Darcy, or anything near it. She felt a sinking sensation. There had been no doubt she would see him again, but with Anne de Bourgh’s insight and the forlorn gentlemanly tone of his voice, she found within herself naught but forbearance and a desire to comfort.”

Ah…those crazy kids. 

But back to funerals… Let me leave you with one last disgusting intriguing nugget. Plumbers were often called in to fashion caskets for those to be “interred out of the usual way”. I have NO idea what that means, and I find myself holding my hands over my eyes.


You’re saying, “Enough already!” Yes, I’ll stop. But I have not given all of the gruesome traditions and terms away, and I’ve only hinted at the romance. I hope you will all laugh, and cry, and say “Ewww!” as you enjoy A Will of Iron.

It is a pleasure to have you here, Linda! Wow! Thank you for the fun and a bit gruesome post! You certainly have piqued my interested in A Will of Iron! I am also intrigued in Anne's journal! I can't wait to see what she has written in there. 



Blurb:

The untimely death of Anne de Bourgh, only days after his disastrous proposal at the Hunsford parsonage, draws Fitzwilliam Darcy and his cousin Colonel Alexander Fitzwilliam back to Rosings Park before Elizabeth Bennet has left the neighborhood. In death, Anne is revealed as having lived a rich life of the mind, plotting rather constantly to escape her loathsome mother, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Anne’s journal, spirited into the hands of Charlotte Collins and Elizabeth, holds Anne’s candid observations on life and her family. It also explains her final quirky means of outwitting her mother. Anne’s Last Will and Testament, with its peculiar bequests, upheaves every relationship amongst the Bennets, Darcys, Fitzwilliams, Collinses, and even the Bingleys! Was Anne de Bourgh a shrewder judge of character than Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy combined?

ISBN 9781936009442

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Author Bio:

Linda Beutler is an Oregon native who began writing professionally in 1996 (meaning that is when they started paying her...), in the field of garden writing. First published in magazines, Linda graduated to book authorship in 2004 with the publication of Gardening With Clematis (2004, Timber Press). In 2007 Timber Press presented her second title, Garden to Vase, a partnership with garden photographer Allan Mandell. Now in 2013 Linda is working with a new publisher, and writing in a completely different direction. Funny how life works out, but more on that in a minute.

Linda lives the gardening life: she is a part-time instructor in the horticulture department at Clackamas Community College, writes and lectures about gardening topics throughout the USA, and is traveling the world through her active participation in the International Clematis Society, of which she is the current president. Then there's that dream job--which she is sure everyone else must covet but which she alone has--Linda Beutler is the curator of the Rogerson Clematis Collection, which is located at Luscher Farm, a farm/park maintained by the city of Lake Oswego. They say to keep resumes brief, but Linda considers Garden With Clematis her 72,000 word resume. She signed on as curator to North America's most comprehensive and publicly accessible collection of the genus clematis in July 2007, and they will no doubt not get shut of her until she can be carried out in a pine box.

And now for something completely different: in September 2011, Linda checked out a book of Jane Austen fan fiction from her local library, and was, to put it in the modern British vernacular, gobsmacked. After devouring every title she could get her hands on, she quite arrogantly decided that, in some cases, she could do better, and began writing her own expansions and variations of Pride and Prejudice. The will to publish became too tempting, and after viewing the welcoming Meryton Press website, she printed out the first three chapters of her book, and out it went, a child before the firing squad. Luckily, the discerning editors at Meryton Press saved the child from slaughter, and Linda's first work of Jane Austenesque fiction, The Red Chrysanthemum, published in September 2013. Her second work of fiction, From Longbourn to London was published in August of 2014.

Linda shares a small garden in Southeast Portland with her husband, and pets that function as surrogate children. Her personal collection of clematis numbers something around 230 taxa. These are also surrogate children, and just as badly behaved.


Connect with Linda Beutler

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Blog Tour Schedule:

7/6: Review at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell 
7/7: Guest Post & Giveaway at More Agreeably Engaged
7/9: Review at Wings of Paper
7/10: Guest Post & Giveaway at So Little Time… 
7/11: Review at Half Agony, Half Hope
7/12: Excerpt & Giveaway at My Jane Austen Book Club 
7/13: Review at Songs and Stories
7/14: Review at Austenprose
7/15: Guest Post & Giveaway at Babblings of a Bookworm 
7/16: Review at Margie's Must Reads
7/17: Excerpt & Giveaway at Best Sellers and Best Stellars 
7/18: Guest Post & Giveaway at My Love for Jane Austen 
7/19: Excerpt & Giveaway at The Calico Critic 
7/20: Review at Diary of an Eccentric


* * * GIVEAWAY * * *


It's giveaway time!! Meryton press is giving away one paperback copy of A Will of Iron to one lucky person!  To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below and leave a comment.

Many thanks to Meryton Press!

  • One person will win a paperback of A Will of Iron.
  • Open Internationally.
  • Last day to enter: July 17th, 2015, midnight PDT.

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Please, leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you! Remember, to enter the giveaway you MUST fill out the Rafflecopter (shown above). If you need help entering, email me by clicking on the email icon at the top of the sidebar. Thanks! 

41 comments:

  1. Sounds really intruiging, even if eww is the right word for it! I enjoyed Linda's other books, so I'm sure I will love this one!

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    1. Arjanne, because we have the strong, distinct voice of Anne de Bourgh traveling with us on this journey, it gives the book a different tone than simply a romance. Think of her as a misguided version of Puck, the sprite from A Midsummer Night's Dream, trying to push and pull people's affections from beyond the grave!

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    2. It's funny that you say she was messing with people from beyond the grave. I just sent my review to Austenprose & I said something really similar. It's a fun thought.

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    3. I love that you are reviewing at Austenprose, Monica! That's awesome!

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    4. It's a little nerve-wracking for me, honestly. Lol The fact that she has a word limit is a healthy challenge for me. I had to edit out the part I mentioned above, because I couldn't make it make sense in the context of the rest of the review.

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  2. I was actually eating when I started reading this - still want to read the book though

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    1. Oopsie! Sorry Vesper! Hope nothing got spit on the keyboard! -lb

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  3. I enjoyed your other book and all the flower meanings, thanks for the chance to win this one!

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    1. tgruy, there are some flowers mentioned in this story, but they do not drive the plot. Perhaps I'll write another story driven by the meanings of flowers one day.

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  4. I am really looking forward to this new release. Congratulations Linda! Great job!

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    1. Thanks, Jen Red! If you like comedic romances with a touch of dark irreverence, you'll like this!

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  5. Er, did a plumber mean then what it means now? If not, perhaps knowing what it meant then would help determine what "interred out of the usual way" means! :-) And does your book go into such 'elaborate' detail about Anne's funeral? Can't wait!

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    1. Ginna, the important scene around Anne's funeral is the gathering afterwards, where we get Darcy and Elizabeth in the same room for the first time. Everyone behaves very civilly amongst their intense embarrassment. Plumbers then were like plumbers now. I suspect whatever plumbers did for the dead involved lead and soldering. That's as far as I let my speculation wander. Because, you know, "Ewww!"

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    2. More 'Ewww' then: you know, at times, our innards are referred to as 'plumbing'. So maybe plumbers were doing something along the lines of the process of Egyptian mummification (think 'liquid') Food for thought?

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    3. Embalming in England came into the funeral technology in the 1770-80s. It wasn't widely available until later in the Victorian era. And, I think the "cold cooks" would have been the ones to master those techniques not plumbers. "Food for thought" you say? Ewww back at you! LOL!

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    4. Hee hee, I was hoping you'd catch that! ;-)

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  6. This was a fascinating post Linda. And a little gross too! :)

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    1. I know, Ceri, I know! Just trying to prepare everyone! On the upside, I think my readers will enjoy the Archbishop of Canterbury. Charles Manners-Sutton served a very long time, and was highly regarded. He was not the fire and brimstone type. With 10 daughters and 2 sons, he had to have been a character! At least I hope he was!

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  7. Interesting article about funerals. I would have guessed that back at that time they would have buried the next day. Also I didn't know that they covered the horses feet so they wouldn't clop. From other readings regarding funerals, I didn't know that only men went and the women stayed behind.
    Thank you for the chance to enter into the drawing. Your novel sounds interesting and I hope it is as interesting as your other novels I have read!

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    1. Thanks, MaryAnn! I, too, was surprised to learn that amongst the upper classes, funeral services were held in the home (assuming said home was a very classy estate manor) and the women did not attend, as excessive declarations of grief in public were highly unseemly. How soon the body was interred depended on the time of year. In winter, a few days here or there would not matter so much. In an unseasonably warm April, the matter is quite different, but Lady Catherine does insist on having the Archbishop. Most counties have a bishop somewhat local, but in Kent, because Canterbury is there, the Archbishop is the defacto bishop. Oh...how complex things can get!

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  8. I think this is a fascinating topic! If a bit gross. As I was reading the scenes you mentioned, the phrases eternity box, cold cook & shoulder feast were all new to me. I was wondering if shoulder feast was related to pall-bearers - happy to know I was right! Haha That bit about the plumber is odd!

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    1. And speaking of you making up names, I loved that the attorneys were named Phawcett and Drippe. *giggle*

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    2. Yes...I couldn't resist adding a given name there, Chauncey Phawcett, then elevating him to a knighthood, Sir Chauncey Fawcett. I am so pleased you noticed! I did have great fun with the names. Usually I fake it and use place names or family names from Jane Austen's life. This story was such a flight of fancy that the names came easily.

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  9. Hi, Everyone! I've had a busy day, but I've enjoyed reading your comments! The 'plumbing' thing has me stumped too! Maybe, putting together a metal lining in the casket? My first thought was the same as Ginna's, internal plumbing. Lol. And your names, Phawcett and Dripp! What a hoot! Very interesting about the Archbishop of Canterbury - 10 daughters and 2 sons! Yes, I'd say he would encourage Mr. Bennet not to give up so soon!! Ha!

    Thank you, Linda, for being a wonderful guest! I appreciate that you have taken the time to reply to everyone's comments!

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  10. I never know anything about Regency funeral, this is the first time so thank you for sharing with us this post.

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    1. Chiara, I never expected in my whole life to need to know much about Regency funerals either. How difficult it would have been to write this story before the days of the internet, when fairly good research can be done from the comfort of my home office or cozy flowery front porch! I'd have had to live at the central Multnomah County Library!

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  11. Thank you so much for sharing the information on regency funerals. The boots and special bridles that make no noise are interesting. I have heard of booting horses feet for other reasons...to escape or sneak up on an enemy. I love those made-up names. They are a hoot! Depending on how a story is written, macabre can be funny , kinda like the spoof on Dracula called Dracula:Dead and Loving It. I am looking forward to reading this. What does plumbing have to do with a casket? Calling an undertaker a "cold cook" is kind of weird. Is there a quirky reason for this?

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    1. I do hope you will find this macabre funny. My editor deemed this a "macabre rom-com". A few minor Lizzy/Darcy misunderstandings, and the usual insecurity they both experience as their feelings grow after the Hunsford Proposal. Meanwhile, all around them, mayhem!
      As to plumbers: they did then what they do now, solder pipes together. I'm thinking they provided lead-lined caskets, or similar things, where necessary. And as to "cold cook", which was slang for undertaker, the cold bit is obvious, but "cook" may have to do with mixing embalming chemicals? Just a guess there.

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  12. You certainly know how to capture our attention! Thank you for the giveaway and congratulations.

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    1. Becky, I wish everyone could win! Hope you will continue along on the blog tour. Coming up are some musings about the law and the legalities of wills, as well as more excerpts from Anne de Bourgh's journals. But I must say, this post for Candy as grabbed the most attention! Funeral details! Who would have guessed!

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    2. Lol, Linda! I think it's a fascinating topic, and apparently I'm not the only one! ;) Without refrigeration, it's interesting to see how they keep a body for a period of time without it turning horribly wrong! Plus, mourning rules are interesting too. Your upcoming posts sound intriguing also! Looking forward to them!

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  13. I only know that upper and middle class ladies are not allowed to attend funerals, even if it's a close family member. I read somewhere that Jane Austen's only sister did not go to her funeral service, only her brothers were there. Other than that, I do not know of the funeral do's and don't's so thanks for sharing this enlightening piece, Linda.

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    1. I have gotten a bit of criticism for how my characters in mourning behave, but as you read, please remember most of the story is told within the confined and unvarying world of Rosings and Hunsford. And the ladies are in mourning dress nearly all of the time. Also, no less a person than The Archbishop of Canterbury absolves Darcy and his family from mourning those in that family who die. After all, the moral compass of the de Bourgh women is extremely skewed. Those that shirk mourning dress do so for obvious reasons—however much we might disapprove, some characters will not be hypocrites. Besides, it isn't like the characters are in London, where the ton's tongues would wag. Thanks, Luthien, and see you later in the tour!

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  14. I always learn something new from you when I read your work and I love that. Cant wait to read it.

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    1. Thanks so much, Marcia! Hoping you enjoy the romance of it, too! In this story, falling in love can save your life!

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  15. Thank you Candy and Linda for this guest post! It is very interesting and I liked to know better what I have read in the book. It is truth that a good research makes a good novel!

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    1. Loren, you are very welcome. Hopefully you will find some good romance, too!

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  16. Very interesting post! I can't wait to read A Will of Iron.

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  17. Caryl, as of today I have one more guest post to write for the blog tour, and I think it will be about the actual romance part of this twisted romantic comedy!

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  18. Very interesting info on the Regency funerals. This sounds like a very unique variation and I can't wait to read it! Thank you for the giveaway!

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  19. Anne de Bourgh is an interesting character... looking forward seeing her influences from beyond the grave.

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