That's the subject of the current issue of Common-Place.

Hello everybody! I've come with arms full of book recommendations. 2, anyways; they are: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig. They are the first 2 books out of a series containing 5 books.

They're actually amazing, I read them each in only a day or so, or a few hours. They're basically about ( Read more... )

A Perfect RedThe book describes the search for a perfect red dye. On the way, you travel through the various countries and intrigues involved in finding a substance that will yield a true red dye. Since the most famous natural red dye is cochineal, which is found primarily in Central America, a great deal of the history concerns the Spanish ( Read more... )

A reprint of a Regency era etiquette book. If you click here, and scroll down a bit, you'll come to it. Also other books on clothing and cooking.

I was adding the Sano Ichiro novels to my reading list comment, and see that Laura Joh Rowland has written a new book: The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Brontë. I love her Sano Ichiro series, so I'll have to check this out.

THE SECRET ADVENTURES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË, by Laura Joh Rowland (author of the Sano Ichiro mystery series) is an epic, ( Read more... )

I was wondering what some of your favourite historical novels are? Summer is coming up, and maybe we could compile a community summer reading list.

This book was recommended over at Word Wenches a few months ago, and it looks fascinating. It's on my list of books to buy soonish. It's a book from the late eighteenth century that's a printed version of a handwritten housekeeping guide, written by a wealthy paper mill owner's wife.

There are excerpts from the book here.