Wednesday
I've recently been reading a series called Lady Darby Mysteries. The heroine is a 19th century, upper class women who investigates. She is an artist and despite constraints on women, at that time, her paintings do produce an income. In the series, Lady Darby (Kiera) lives in seclusion in the remote Scotland home of her sister and brother in-law. Previously, Lady Darby had been married to a nasty man who only married her for her artist abilities. He'd wanted to produce a medical journal but didn't want to pay for an artist. He hid his true intentions while acquiring the approval of Kiera's father. After the marriage he forced Kiera to watch dissections of cadavers so she could sketch body parts. Fortunately, he dies from a heart attack two years into their marriage.
It's interesting to read about how women lived in the 19th century. The author, Anne Lee Huber, has taken care to be accurate with not only women's habits, clothing and, speech but also ways they were treated and their rights in society. Ms Huber captivates the reader with the actions of Kiera, her Lady's maid and other women in and out of English high-society.
I enjoy reading about the past because it helps deal with the present. In many ways we are very similar to our ancestors: loving, associating with others, working, etc. We all have disagreements with others, have concerns regarding our society, and, contemplate our futures. Daily activities are different-they didn't have modern conveniences-yet still managed to get things done-cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.
Endnotes provide additional information regarding activities, places, events used in the book. For instance, did you known that jigsaw puzzle was created in 1760 by John Spilsbury.
I enjoy traveling to all the places Kiera visits. Ms. Huber does a great jog of creating each scene thus pulling the reading into the book.
There are currently nine books in this series. So far I've enjoyed three.
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