Guest Post & Giveaway: Susan Dennard
12:35 AM
I'm so excited to welcome Susan Dennard, author of Something Strange and Deadly, to Harley Bear Book Blog! Thank you Susan for taking time out of your busy schedule to do a guest post!
On this blog tour stop, she will be telling us a little about the main characters in her book and what they wore. Something Strange and Deadly takes place in 1876 so fashion showed your social status and gender.
I wish I had seen this post before I read the book so I could picture the characters even more clearly. If you want to see what I thought about the book my review can be found here. Don't forget to scroll down and enter the GIVEAWAY!
One of the most fun things to research for Something Strange and Deadly was the fashion--at least for
Eleanor. Men's fashion in Victorian days was rather drab. Frock coats, top hats, and a nice tie--boooring.
Fortunately, my three main characters in men's garb are so different, they demand different styles. For Joseph
Boyer--leader of the Spirit-Hunters and son of a plantation owner--only the finest, most elegant clothes will do.
he EVER be seen without his gloves. He's a firm believer in cleanliness being next to godliness.
American boy's fashion. Trousers, a waist coat--or more often, just suspenders--and a bright red tie leave this brawl-loving character happy...and more importantly, mobile enough to knock skulls when needed.
In fact, the only thing still Chinese about Jie--other than the lovely facial structure, of
course--is the Manchu Queue, which was required for all Chinese men (punishable by death!) and leaves the front
half of the head bald with a long braid behind.
to him as...well, snowfall in Antarctica (not at all, in other words). That said, he does care what people
think of him, so he's been known to clean up on occasion. But, when it comes to working in the lab, he's most
comfortable in loose trousers and a baggy white shirt--collar scandalously unbuttoned at the top and hands
glove-free (gasp!).
looking exactly like this:
Darkness Strange and Lovely, well...let's just say, things change.
Finally, we have the heroine of the story, Miss Eleanor Fitt of thePhiladelphia Fitts. Though she was born into privilege, her family has fallen on some seriously hard times. No more
new wardrobe each season; no more scouring the pages of Godey's and Harper's
Bazaar for a new walking gown; and no more worrying about which parasol would look best with which hat.
Eleanor since she needs things that will stay as timeless as she can make them. Even though she may
not care about fashion, her Mama does as well as all the people in her social circle. When the book opens, she's
wears something like:
even! (It's not like it's easy to fight the dead in layers of petticoats and bustle!) Yet, by the end of the
trilogy, Eleanor has gone back to skirts because--despite her love of mobility--she's still a curvy young woman and proud of it. I imagine her dressing in something of her own design, similar to this image by anndr on Deviantart:
and zombies! As Jie teaches her, Aim for the Knees!
You tell me: What do you think of Victorian fashion? Are you a
fan of all the ladies' frills or more into the simplicity of men's clothes?
I love dresses and am glad that girls are starting to wear them again. Not sure if I'd like to wear one with all the frills every day though. I don't like corsets so I would probably be like Eleanor and complain about it all the time. The men's clothes are nice. Daniel's hat reminds me of what Noah (Ryan Gosling) wears in The Notebook lol so of course I like that! What do you guys think?
Susan, thank you again for stopping by!
I can't wait to find out what happens next for the spirit hunters in book 2!
Check out other blog tour stops at Itching for Books
or enter the giveaway!
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