Olivia Huxley, Author

Ball Gown, circa 1820

This gorgeous gown is made of silk satin with a silk net overlay, embroidered with metal and trimmed with blonde lace. It's of British origin from roughly 1820.

Just look at the gorgeous detailing of the metal embroidery, and the puffed sleeves are lovely!

The gown is part of the Textiles and Fashion Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Check out this gorgeous men's evening jacket, circa 1890, by designer Charles Frederick Worth of the Parisien House of Worth. The silhouette imitates the court costume of the late 1700s, and the jet beadwork embroidery mimics the elaborate silk floss embroidery of that era.

The jacket is part of the collection of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Tea With Austen, an anthology of short stories from The New Romance Cafe authors, is now available for purchase on Amazon. Each story has at least one character from a Jane Austen novel, and in some tales, they're the main characters.

That's the case in my story, A Wife for Mr. Weston.

We see the wedding of Mr. Weston and Miss Anne Taylor, Emma Woodhouse's governess, at the start of Emma's own story. But how did the two of them end up married to one another in the first place? That's what I decided to explore in my story.

Everyone in Highbury believed that the always cheerful widower Thomas Weston would never marry again. Mr. Weston himself had believed that as well, having considered and discarded the idea several times in the past. Until one rainy day, when Miss Anne Taylor, the lovely, quiet governess for the Woodhouse family, catches his eye while sharing his umbrella. Now he must attain his goal of purchasing a small estate outside of Highbury while determining how to woo, and win, a wife for Mr. Weston.

Robe à la française, British, 1740s

This gorgeous, intricately detailed Robe à la française is part of the collection of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The hand-painted silk gown exemplifies the silhouette of the mid-Georgian era, with the wide panniers at the hips, narrow waist, and deep décolletage at the neckline.

Imagine having to clear doorways, and DANCE, with panniers!

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Three Days to Release Day!

The Tea With Austen anthology, featuring my short story A Wife for Mr. Weston, will be released on August 28, 2024. It's available for pre-order for both Kindle and paperback.

Every story features at least one Jane Austen character.

A portion of the profits will be donated to charity, as is the case with every The New Romance Cafe anthology. This anthology's donations will be for breast cancer research.

I'm excited to get my first officially published work out there! If you'd like to order a copy, you can do so here:

1891 Corset from Maison Léoty, a premier 19th-century French fashion house that specialized in high-end corsets

FAVORITE BOOKS & AUTHORS

The Palace of Rogues is the current series from the ridiculously talented romance writer Julie Anne Long. Book 1, Lady Derring Takes a Lover, begins with Delilah, a recently widowed countess, discovering not only that she's destitute, but that her husband had a mistress whom he left equally penniless.

When she comes face to face with the other woman, an unexpected alliance forms, and the two of them decide to open a boardinghouse in the dilapidated property that is the only thing Delilah has left from her marriage. Well, that and her inept but well-meaning maid, Dot.

Her plans didn't include Captain Tristan Hardy, a dashing naval hero who rents a room in the boardinghouse under false pretenses in his relentless pursuit of a ruthless smuggler. Neither of them anticipated the sizzling passion that would grow between them.

The boardinghouse is an amazing setting for a romance series. It not only allows for an ever-changing sequence of couples who meet at the boardinghouse and gives us glimpses of the proprietresses and their loves. We also get to enjoy the interactions of the more permanent boardinghouse residents.

Long is an amazing writer with beautiful descriptive abilities and a wonderful sense of humor. She brings the romance and the deep emotional connection to every story, and she writes gorgeous, sensual love scenes. She's the whole package.

If you are a fan of historical romance and haven't tried Julie Anne Long, do yourself a favor and give her a try! The Palace of Rogues currently has 7 books, with an 8th being released in October 2024.

House of Worth Evening Dress ca. 1882

Designed by Charles Frederick Worth