Fiona Veitch Smith immerses herself in researching her 1920s and 1930s novels, using period objects and recreating costumes – which she also wears. She tells Historia about her 10 years of historical fashion research and offers some tips for anyone who’d like to try this way of getting a feel for the era they’re writing […]
A charmed life: childbirth and superstition
Eagle-stones, holy girdles, cheese and cake and a coral rattle: all were meant to aid childbirth and keep the newborn baby safe. Quaint superstitions to us, perhaps, but sensible approaches when facing the danger of giving birth, Martine Bailey, author of The Prophet, argues. “When a woman conceived she was launched on a roaring wave […]
What Lies Beneath..?
To celebrate National Underwear Day on 5 August, Karen Bowman journeys through 300 years of unmentionables. So…5 August 2018 is National Underwear Day… a full 24 hours to contemplate how undergarments down the centuries have pushed, pulled and bullied our bodies into an altered state of reality, if not always being able to shape our […]