I love setting a scene in my novels, and I've mentioned before how much I enjoyed writing and thinking about the girls' bedrooms in Project Darcy.
Jess's bedroom is a Regency haven with a French bed with buttoned silk upholstery - On the walls was a collection of silhouettes of people from past times. The profiles of soldiers and debutantes looked across at one another from ebony frames ranged around the marble mantelpiece. It looked as if it had been designed with Jess in mind with its Regency furniture and vast portraits of ladies dressed in white muslin.
and her bedroom has an exquisite deco dressing table - A deco dressing table complete with a mirrored surface and a triptych looking glass was topped with a selection of exquisite objects – a porcelain tray and boxes for jewels, a Japanese fan, a silver hairbrush enamelled with blue as vivid as a butterfly’s wing, and a cloisonné vase filled with old-fashioned roses.
When Ellie finds herself in Madame Lefroy's bedroom, she can't think where she is at first.
When I opened my eyes, I couldn’t think where I was
for a moment. I was sitting on a bed that looked nothing like the one I’d
collapsed onto earlier. This one was a four-poster, simply carved with reeded
motifs and dressed with drapes and swags of sprigged cotton. The panelled walls
were painted a dusky blue-grey which echoed the tones in the long curtains at
the floor-length windows. A chest of drawers and a dressing table were the only
other items of furniture, but the biggest clue to its owner lay in the
elaborate powdered wigs set on stands, the silver-topped scent bottles, and the
set of ivory-backed brushes, upon the dressing table. An open box of jewels
glinted in the candlelight, and I recognised one or two of Madame’s favourite
Rivière necklaces, one of amethysts, and the other of topaz.
Most people who know me, are aware that I love jewellery, and as it's such a special day for me today, I wanted to share some, as a way of saying thank you to all the wonderful people who make life so fabulous with their kind words and messages every day.
In celebration of the release of Project Darcy, I have two brooches to give away. They are both old pieces, one is Georgian and the other probably Victorian.
This is the Georgian brooch I am giving away - it is very small - half an inch or so, but perfect for a lapel or a scarf. The stones are paste and the backing pinchbeck, a form of brass made to look like gold, which was very popular in Georgian times. It has a long pin and c-clasp at the back.
The other heart-shaped brooch is probably Victorian, but quite Georgian in style - I love the pretty colour of the stones, which are paste, of course.
I hope you like them, and if you'd like one of them to be yours, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me about a favourite piece of jewellery that you own. The giveaway is open until Tuesday, November 19th 2013. Once you've done that, please visit me on Austenprose for more giveaways to celebrate my special day!