In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #2

This scene originally followed the one in Chapter 12 where Lady Bedlow suggests that Penelope must naturally feel more comfortable with Percy because he is so much nearer her own class. In my first draft Nev had a little brother, Charlie. In that version Sir Jasper had also had a son, Jamie. Charlie and Jamie were friends until Jamie (instead of Sir Jasper’s wife, who died of a fever or something) was killed by a spring-gun while the boys were out playing “Robin Hood.” Charlie was, understandably, rather traumatized by this experience.

Charlie didn’t serve much of a purpose beyond me really liking a couple of his scenes, so he was one of the first things to go in revisions. I kept the bit with Nev working in the fields, of course, and the last part of this excerpt led into a conversation between Penelope and Nev that now appears in Chapter 14, the scene where Nev reads to Penelope from the Morte d’Arthur. Continue reading “In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #2”

In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #1

This scene originally went between the end of Chapter 7 (Nev and Penelope’s meeting with Kedge and Snively and Nev’s explanation of the 1816 riot) and the beginning of Chapter 8. In it, Nev and Penelope visit the local village and meet Josie Cusher for the first time. It was one of the first things to go when I had to make major cuts (in fact, only one mention of the village remains in the final draft), but I always liked it. Note the original first appearance of Agnes Cusher’s satin ribbon, and also of the ribbon Penelope is wearing in the first scene in Chapter 8. Continue reading “In for a Penny: Deleted Scene #1”

A Lily Among Thorns bibliography

If you have any questions about any of the historical background of the book, feel free to comment or e-mail me! I love talking about this stuff. This is only a partial bibliography with some of my favorite sources.

1. The Regency Underworld, by Donald A. Low. Invaluable for understanding how the world of London crime functioned. (I also used this book heavily when writing True Pretenses.)

2. Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century, by Graham Robb. I absolutely love this book and recommend it highly, especially if you want to read about nineteenth century queer people whose lives are NOT all doom and gloom.

3. Philosophy of Experimental Chemistry Vol. 2, by James Cutbush, 1813. My college library had this early nineteenth century chemistry textbook, and I pulled most of Solomon’s chemistry references from it.

4. Black London: Life Before Emancipation, by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina. I love this book! It inspired me to try to create a more inclusive picture of Regency London.

5. Immigration, Ethnicity and Racism in Britain, 1815–1945, by Panikos Panayi. Includes a valuable, if short, section on pre-1815 immigration as well, and helped me people my London realistically.

6. One Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Road to Waterloo, by Alan Schom. I really enjoyed this book and it helped me established my timeline. It also has one of the clearest accounts of the military strategy at Waterloo I’ve read.

7. Greenwood’s 1827 Map of London. While obviously there were changes to London between 1815 and 1827 (Regent Street wasn’t there, for example!), this detailed map really helped me understand the geography of Regency London.

(back to a lily among thorns extras page)

(a lily among thorns main page)

True Pretenses bibliography

If you have any questions about any of the historical background of the book, feel free to comment or e-mail me! I love talking about this stuff. This is only a partial bibliography with some of my favorite sources.

1. The Big Con by David Maurer. Yes, he’s talking about con artists of a much later era than my book, but let’s be real, there is nothing new under the sun. While the specific slang and operating procedures described in this book might not have existed, the principles hadn’t changed, and I have reason to believe that many of the short cons described in this book existed in the Regency era.

Continue reading “True Pretenses bibliography”