In our first holiday collection, A Colonial Christmas, Owen and David ride with the Philadelphia Light Horse and General Washington to cross the Delaware on Christmas night. I did a lot of research to make this as accurate as possible, but I did take literary license with some things! The Philadelphia Light Horse You might … Read more
In the 18th century, a ball or assembly would typically begin with a formal minuet. In 1773-1774 in Virginia, diarist Philip Fithian said their balls went in this order: “first minuets one round; second Giggs [sic]; third Reels; and last of all country-Dances.” The first dance, the minuet, originated in the French court. It’s a … Read more
While I was researching for Freedom’s Ring, I read a LOT about the radicalism and the ideology of the American Revolution (including both Pulitzer Prize-winners by those titles!). The Revolution showed a big change in the way the average citizen saw the world and even what it means to BE a citizen. Today, we look at the … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the games we refer to! Nine man morris One game they mention several times in the book is nine man morris (also called nine men’s morris, mill(s), cowboy checkers and more). Each player places 9 … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the games we refer to! Believe it or not, one of the very first games a child learns to play actually led me to a research rabbit hole when I couldn’t figure out what my … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the games we refer to! Dissected maps Temperance doesn’t use this one, but her sisters are playing with a dissected map in one scene. This is not an early biology lesson, but an early puzzle! … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the games we refer to! A Journey Through Europe The first board game by an individual designer! (Before this, board games are “folk games,” developed over centuries.) Designed in 1759 by John Jefferys. Players start … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the strategy games we refer to! Checkers/draughts I was really excited to call checkers “draughts,” but when I consulted the definitive Oxford English Dictionary, I found that checkers became the term in British America as … Read more
In Freedom’s Ring, Temperance Hayes loves games of strategy—whether they’re board games or games of the heart. Check out all the strategy games we refer to! Fox and geese Fox and geese is played on a + shaped board. One fox and 13 or more geese pieces are placed on vertices of the lines on … Read more
A lot of the time, we look back at 18th century clothing and develop a serious case of presentism: we decide that our clothing today is so much more practical and comfortable. However, 18th century women’s clothing was designed for practicality and comfort in their daily lives–and maybe fewer serious body image issues! Here are … Read more