Happy Valentine's Day

My Valentine's gift to you is a batch of brownies. To be honest, in my family, we rarely cooked the Brownies, having chowed down on the batter,* but there are people who do eat the fully-prepared treat. So where did Brownies come from? According to the February 12th issue of American Profile magazine, the chocolate convection was unveiled at the Women's Pavilion at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

"Chicago socialite and philanthropist Bertha Palmer had asked the pastry chef at her husband's hotel, The Palmer House, to create a dessert that wasn't as messy as a cake or pastry and that could fit inside the box lunches for ladies at the fair... Fondness for the delicious dessert spread, and in 1896, Fannie Farmer published the first brownie recipe in her Boston Cooking School Cook Book... The original recipe developed at the Palmer House was handed down, chef to chef, and the hotel continues to serve a variation of that first Brownie."

In addition to the Brownie, neon lights, an early zipper, Juicy Fruit gum, and Shredded Wheat all made their debuts at the exposition, but none of them come close to the perfection of the Brownie. Enjoy!

Please tell me if you ever eat cookie dough or raw Brownie batter? Be honest. Candy and I do. :)

*Warning: It's not a good idea to eat raw eggs, but the Simonsens live dangerously.

Charles Dickens and the Heiress

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906) was a nineteenth-century philanthropist, and the granddaughter of banker Thomas Coutts. In 1837, she became the wealthiest woman in England when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of nearly three million pounds sterling. She spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest was to establish, with the novelist Charles Dickens, Urania Cottage, a home that helped young women who had turned to a life of immorality including theft and prostitution. By the time of her death, she had given more than £3 million to good causes. She was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave Westminster Abbey.*

In 1847, Dickens found a small, solid brick house near Shepherd’s Bush, then still a part of the countryside and surrounded by fields. The idea was to create a home environment rather than that of an institution. Miss Coutts funded the project for about £50,000 per annum in today’s money.

Jakki L.'s Review of Compulsively Mr. Darcy

For anyone obsessed with Pride & Prejudice, it's Darcy and Elizabeth like you've never see them before! This modern take introduces us to the wealthy philanthropist Fitzwilliam Darcy, a handsome and brooding bachelor who yearns for love but doubts any woman could handle his obsessive tendencies. Meanwhile, Dr. Elizabeth Bennet has her own intimacy issues that ensure her terrible luck with men... As Darcy and Elizabeth unravel their misconceptions about each other, they have to decide just how far they're willing to go to accept each other's quirky ways... (from the Publisher - Sourcebooks)

By just looking at the cover, the reader can tell this is going to be a fun book. From her humorous one-liners and wit, to her portrayal of her characters, Nina Benneton offers a great diversion. With chapter titles such as “Two Men and a Baby,” “Escort Service,” and “What the Frick?” amongst others, I knew I was in for a real treat.

From the moment Darcy and Bingley enter the hospital in Vietnam, misunderstandings abound. It is during their first meeting, where Darcy’s need to control the situation and Bingley’s carefree attitude, lead Elizabeth to believe they are a couple. While this book is lighthearted and fun, Benneton keeps her readers’ attention with new conflicts. Elizabeth needs to let go of her past relationships while Darcy must realize that someone can love him for himself, neuroses and all. As Elizabeth and Darcy work through their baggage, Wickham is working behind the scenes causing mischief. At one point, Benneton had my heart aching for the couple, yet the story never lost that lighthearted feel. Continuing in the pleasure of the novel is the fate that befalls Wickham, Lady Catherine and Anne.

Turf fires - burning peat

While writing stories, my mind tends to wander. Before you know it, I'm clicking out of a word document so that I can go exploring. I found an excellent site: Old and Interesting: The History of Domestic Paraphernalia. One particular article caught my eye: Peat Fires. Many of my Irish ancestors emigrated from Omey Island off the coast of Galway. If there were trees on the island, you could count them on one hand, so they needed other sources of fuel. The way the residents heated their homes was with bricks of peat (i.e., turf) cut out of a bog with a long-handled tool called a slane. This was back-breaking work performed by the whole family. Here is more from Old and Interesting:

Cutting the turf in Connemara
with  the Twelve Bens in the background

Cooking and living with peat fires

There used to be many areas of northern Europe better supplied with peat bogs than with trees. Peat, also called turf, was a convenient household fuel when there wasn't much firewood around. Some regions of North America made use of peat for domestic fires in the 1700s and 1800s - and a few still do. (See quote lower left column.) It's been used for cooking, heat, and what we would now call background lighting for longer than history has been written.

Well into the mid-20th century there were places where peat fires were kept alight all year on the floor of a cottage. You can also burn turf, or sod, on open hearths, and in well-engineered fireplaces with grates. Natural, locally-dug peat is still used for domestic heating in Scotland and, famously, in Ireland where the slices of peat are always called turves and the fires are turf fires - even when manufactured peat briquettes are used. In the 19th century cutting peat for fuel was an important part of life in Scandinavia, and in fenland or moorland regions of England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany...

To continue reading, please click on the link above.

I just wanted to share. :)

Dreaming of Mr. Darcy - A Review by Jakki Leatherberry

Fledging illustrator and Darcy fanatic Kay Ashton settles in the seaside town of Lyme to finish her book, The Illustrated Darcy, when a film company arrives to make a new adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Kay is soon falling for the handsome bad boy actor playing Captain Wentworth, but it's the quiet screenwriter Adam Craig who has more in common with her beloved Mr. Darcy. Though still healing from a broken heart, Adam finds himself unexpectedly in love with Kay. But it will take more than good intentions to convince her that her real happy ending is with him. (from the Publisher - Sourcebooks)

In Dreaming of Mr. Darcy,* Kay Ashton lives in her own dream world, forever dreaming of “the perfect hero.” But what does he look like? Is he the libidinous and charming Oli Wade Owen, who just happens to be playing the role of Captain Wentworth, or the compassionate and gentlemanly Adam Crain, or does he exist only in Kay’s dreams?

In her quest for the perfect hero, Kay faces many obstacles.  She chooses to overlook many signs that she is currently heading down the same road her mother traveled, always falling in love with the wrong man, never finding Mr. Right. With her wild imagination, Kay imagines that there is more to her relationships than there really is. When her hero winks at her, Kay’s imagination is let loose, taking them from innocent flirtation to marital bliss.  Kay fails to see that guys do this all the time. Disregarding red flag after red flag, Kay is continually setting herself up for another heartache.

4.5 Stars for Captain Wentworth - Home from the Sea

I'm so pleased with a review I received from Meredith at Austenesque Reviews for my novella, Captain Wentworth - Home from the Sea. Here is a part of her review:

My favorite aspect about this novella (and every novel I've read by Mary Simonsen) is her accurate renderings and illustrative augmentations of Jane Austen's characters. I adored Mrs. Simonsen's depiction of Anne; she was so patient and compassionate, and I enjoyed seeing her tender nature with Frederick.


To read the full review, please click here.

Physiognomy and Jane Austen

While reading Patricia Meyer Spacks Annotated Pride and Prejudice, I read a footnote in reference to the following statement from Elizabeth (in speaking to Jane): “I can much more easily believe Mr. Bingley’s being imposed on, than that Mr. Wickham should invent such a history of himself as he gave me last night; names, facts, every thing mentioned without ceremony. If it be not so, let Mr. Darcy contradict it. Besides there was truth in his looks.”

My take on that quote was that Elizabeth believed Wickham’s tale because he was an accomplished liar and gave nothing away by his facial expressions. But according to Spacks, there was more to it than that:

“Interest in physiognomy, a pseudo-science that purports to read character from facial expression, was widespread in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries... Joseph Kaspar Lavater, a Swiss clergyman, wrote an extensive treatise on the subject (1778). Translated into English in 1793, it exercised considerable influence. Austen, however, is skeptical. A propensity to judge people on the basis of their looks turns up again in Emma, where Emma’s initial enthusiasm for Harriet Smith is based mainly on the girl’s “soft blue eyes” and her “look of sweetness.” Both Elizabeth and Jane have consistently cited Wickham’s looks as evidence of his amiability and authenticity.”

Review of Becoming Elizabeth Darcy

May I brag? I received a wonderful review from Kimberly at Reflections of a Book Addict for Becoming Elizabeth Darcy. Here is part of it:

I feel that Simonsen has a great balance between these themes of humor and seriousness, and this makes the novel an exciting and fulfilling addition to the fan fiction world.  Simonsen has once again shown that she can tackle any JAFF genre and is a force to be reckoned with.  I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!


Thank you, Kimberly. I hope you will stop by and read the entire review.

Conspicuous By Its Absence

Et Tu, Brute!

Do you every wonder where a particular phrase originated? I can actually hear you nodding. One of those phrases is "conspicuous by its absence." So I looked it up. According to Brush Up Your Classics by Michael Macrone (a book I picked up from a remainder table), it goes back to Imperial Rome. It has been attributed to the Roman Chronicler Tacitus in a description of the funeral of Junia Tertulla, the sister of Marcus Brutus, one of Julius Caesar's assassins, and the wife of Cassius, Brutus's co-conspirator.

"Though she died sixty-three years after Marc Antony defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi in 44 B.C., her relatives' crimes had not been forgotten. The emperor Tiberius, a rather touchy individual, might have been expected to bear a grudge because his stepfather was Caesar Augustus, Julius's nephew. But in rare show of restraint, Tiberius allowed Junia a ceremonial funeral." Among the statues lining the funeral route, conspicuous by their absence were monuments of her brother and husband.

British Prime Minister John Russell used the phrase in his 1859 address to the Electors of the City of London. He was referring to a provision lacking in a reform bill. O'Henry used it as well, and if you care, so have I.

So there you have it. Mystery solved!

Time Travel on Austen Authors

Today, I have a post on Austen Authors talking about time travel. In my novel, Becoming Elizabeth Darcy, Beth Hannigan, a 26-year old American, wakes up in the body of Elizabeth Darcy in 1826. What would she have found in the late Regency Era. More importantly, if you could travel through time, where would you go and who would you meet? I hope you will join me.

Jakki's Review of Robin Helm's SoulFire

In the second volume of The Guardian Trilogy, Fitzwilliam Darcy, powerful Chief of all guardian angels, adjusts to life with a dual nature. An angel/human, Darcy seeks to win the love of his beautiful partner in SoulFire Ministries, Elizabeth Bennet, as they travel together across the country. While keeping his true identity hidden, Darcy joins archangels Michael and Gabriel in defending and protecting Elizabeth from the schemes and trickery of Gregory, the Dark Prince, and Lucifer, his father. The question remains, will Elizabeth find the strength within herself to forgive Darcy for his secrecy after she discovers that he was her guardian angel, or will Gregory be ultimately successful in separating this match made in heaven? (From the Publisher)

Review of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is based on the true story of a mole buried deep inside the British Intelligence Services in the 1950s. In the film, the story is moved forward to the 1960s. In the purge following the capture of a British agent in Budapest and the subsequent debacle, Intelligence Officer George Smiley is sent packing from the Circus, the headquarters in London for British spies. But when evidence surfaces proving the existence of a mole, Smiley (Gary Oldham) is asked to investigate and ferret out the spy in their midst. Possible suspects include Bill Hayden (Colin Firth) and Roy Bland (Ciarnan Hinds).

The story’s setting is the 1960s in an unscrubbed London: soot-stained buildings, dirty windows, and gloomy skies set the stage. It is a time of bad tailoring, bell bottoms, dress patterns you should only see on upholstered furniture, and bad haircuts. Colin Firth is either wearing a hair extension or he has the biggest head in England. Benedict Cumberbatch (George Smiley’s right-hand man, Peter Guilliam) gives us an idea of what Justin Bieber will look like when he grows up. As for my daughter’s crush, Tom Hardy, he looks like a poster boy for an STD-prevention campaign.

Review of Caroline Bingley by Jakki Leatherberry

From the back jacket of Jennifer Becton's Caroline Bingley: "When Charles Bingley and Mr. Darcy made proposals of marriage to the Bennet sisters at the end of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Caroline Bingley was both distressed by her brother's choice of bride and humiliated by Mr. Darcy's rejection of her... Now banished from her brother's household, Caroline must return to her mother's home in the north of England until she can make amends with both Bennet sisters... Instead, she seeks an alternative route back into society in the form of Mr. William Charlton, heir to a barony… However, she must also contend with her vexing emotions regarding Mr. Patrick Rushton... When all that Caroline has ever dreamed of attaining… is finally within her reach, will she grasp for it even if it means disregarding the workings of her own heart? Or will she cast off the trappings of society and give herself to true love?"

Daylesford House, Gloucestershire, Chimney-piece

Daylesford House, Gloucestershire Chimneypiece*

A night of entertainment at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips:


When this information was given, and they had all taken their seats, Mr. Collins was at leisure to look around him and admire, and he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the apartment, that he declared he might almost have supposed himself in the small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings; a comparison that did not at first convey much gratification; but when Mrs. Phillips understood from him what Rosings was, and who was its proprietor, when she listened to the description of only one of Lady Catherine's drawing-rooms, and found that the chimney-piece alone had cost eight hundred pounds, she felt all the force of the compliment, and would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeeper's room.


I think even Lady Catherine would have been impressed by this chimney-piece. Jane Austen visited Daylesford in 1806. It was the home of Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India.

Review of Mr. Darcy's Letter by Jakki Leatherberry

I love books, but because I write books, I don't like to comment on the work of other authors. On the other hand, I know my readers would like to know when a good novel comes out, especially an Austen re-imaging. To that end, I have asked Jakki Leatherberry to help me out, and she has agreed to post her reviews on my blog. For her debut, she has chosen to review Abigail Reynolds' Mr. Darcy's Letter.

Abigail Reynolds writes another Darcylicious novel, Mr. Darcy's Letter. Reynolds's decision to have Elizabeth not read Darcy's letter after his disastrous proposal changes many of the events in the story. In this version, there are a few more misunderstandings between Darcy and Elizabeth; however, I feel they add to the storyline and the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth.

Vignette - The Marriage of Antony, Lord Fitzwilliam

In Pride and Prejudice, we learn that Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, is the younger son of an earl. But what about his brother, the heir? I have decided that the colonel’s brother has already succeeded to the title, and like so many titled gentlemen of the Regency Era, he is a rake, a gambler, and a seducer.Antony has appeared in my novels, The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy and A Wife for Mr. Darcy. He is married to the Evil Eleanor and is thoroughly unhappy in his marriage, but he also has a heart of gold. My original character has become quite popular, and I have received many requests to write a story about Antony, the Earl of Stepton, and so here it is.

The Marriage of Antony, Lord Fitzwilliam, to Lady Eleanor Henley

As Lord Fitzwilliam climbed the stairs to the nursery of his London townhouse, he thought about the two little girls who were waiting for their dear Papa to tuck them in. He was always at his best when his children were on parole from their mother, the Evil Eleanor, Queen of Darkness, now residing at Briarwood in Kent. But as long as Lady Eleanor haunted the halls of the ancestral seat of the Earls of Stepton, he would call London home.

After dismissing his daughters’ nurse with a wave of his hand and a finger to his lips, he tiptoed to their shared bed. Looking at the lovely Sophia and Amelia, with their long, golden tresses cascading over their pillows, he noted how kind Nature had been to his children. They had inherited their father’s blond hair, cornflower blue eyes, and adorable dimples, and from their mother, they had inherited… He paused while gazing at his two lovelies. Surely, they have something from Eleanor, Antony thought as he continued to study his children. But when nothing came to mind, he decided to have a look at their feet after they had fallen asleep to see if they had any extra toes.

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy - On Sale

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy is on sale on Amazon in paperback for $6.00. That is 60% off the original price. It also qualifies for free supersaver shipping. Who could possibly resist?

Christmas Movies and Jane Austen

While watching Love Actually, it looked very much like a reunion of actors who have appeared in Jane Austen adaptations: Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman. I really enjoyed most of this movie. (I could skip the creep who goes to Wisconsin to find hot women and the porn couple.) But there's so much good chemistry in this film that it has now become a holiday favorite. Another new favorite is The Holiday with Kate Winslet (Sense and Sensibility) and Jude Law. If you include period pieces in my JA/classic connection, I can mention Rufus Sewell, who plays a cad in this movie and Will Ladislaw in Middlemarch (another favorite). Happy Holidays!

I know you are dying to know what my favorite movie is: While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman.

Happy Birthday, Jane Austen

Join Abigail Reynolds in cele-brating Jane Austen's birthday. She has a post on the Kindle Daily Post where she talks about her books and her new release, Mr. Darcy's Letter.

Becoming Elizabeth Darcy in Paperback

Finally, Becoming Elizabeth Darcy is now available in paperback. When self-publishing, it is necessary to jump through various hoops, which I understand. It's the extra hoops that give me heartburn. To read my tale of woe, click here. Anyway, the book has worked its way through Amazon's labyrinth, and is now available. Yippee!