I just read Life in a 17th Century Coffeehouse by David Brandon and, by and large, I enjoyed it. This is a quick read as it is short (8 chapters and 90 pages long), but it is jam-packed with information and written in a very readable, entertaining style. The chapter on “The Everyday Life of a Coffee Shop” was… Read on
The Seventeenth Century is pleased to welcome M.J. Logue today. I’m currently working on an anthology with Logue and several other 17th-and-18th-century writers which should be out for your enjoyment later this year. Bolton, the Geneva of the North. My own, and Captain Hollie Babbitt’s, home town. A fiercely Puritan town, so-called in reference to the Swiss town… Read on
Ruth Norrington’s beautifully-bound and carefully selected compilation of letters between King Charles II and his sister, Henrietta, Duchesse d’Orleans is a wonderful read for anyone remotely interested in the Restoration court and the colourful people associated with it. [amazon template=image&chan=default&asin=0720609917] The book begins with an excellent, concise short history of the time shortly before and after the birth… Read on
Please welcome 17th-century historical fiction author Katherine Pym to The Seventeenth Century Lady! My work in progress (WIP) is titled The Barbers, a historical novel set in London 1663. Due to the current events of the 1660’s, my goal is to write a novel per year until 1666. So far, I have released stories that mark each year 1660-1662. This… Read on
John Evelyn is my favourite diarist of the 17th century. Why? He calmly noted things that happened, what he observed, with none of the high marital drama that Samuel Pepys recounted in his diary. Also, he was far more prolific in his writing than the far more popular Pepys – he travelled extensively for a man of his… Read on
Stage Beauty, is a film from 2004 which starred Claire Danes as the first actress, Margaret Hughes, and Billy Crudup, as Ned Kynaston. The film is based on the play, “Compleat Female Stage Beauty” by Jeffrey Hatcher. Ned Kynaston is a shining star of Restoration-era drama, and his over-feminine portrayal of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello is popular. He relishes his female… Read on
The following satire was written by John Wilmot, the debauched Earl of Rochester, in 1678. The following is one of the few I can put here (his naughty bits are found in Bawdy House Banter). Crushed by that just contempt his follies bring On his crazed head, the vermin fain would sting; But never satyr did so softly… Read on