by Charlene Raddon | Apr 10, 2025 | Blog
Nineteenth-century men liked cigarettes but also enjoyed cigarillos. What were cigarillos? Short (3-4”), narrow cigars, usually without a filter, the same size and shape as cigarettes, and packaged similarly. They’re taxed differently these days, and some tobacco...
by Charlene Raddon | Apr 10, 2025 | Blog
Every author is asked enumerable times where they get ideas for their stories. My entire writing career began with a dream. Not the dream of becoming a writer. I didn’t seriously consider doing that until sometime after I began my first novel. No, it was a dream that...
by Charlene Raddon | Apr 10, 2025 | Blog
Women Earning a Living in the 19th Century In 1841 occupations were included in the census and provided some of the best information about working women, but it is more accurate for men than for women. Women’s work was often part-time, casual, and not regarded...
by Charlene Raddon | May 18, 2024 | Blog
A surprising fact I learned while studying bandanas, kerchiefs—whatever you wish to call them—is that, unlike the cheap neckerchiefs I’ve seen in local stores, usually blue or red with fancy western designs, those that real cowboys used were silk, not cotton....
by Charlene Raddon | May 18, 2024 | Blog
Today, chocolate is a universal sweet loved by virtually everyone, but how long has it been around? The Victorians adored the hot drink, but did they invent it? The first London chocolate house opened in 1657, advertising the sale of “an excellent West India...
