Fashion in TO ENTICE A SPY by Diane Scott Lewis

Diane Scott Lewis visits today with her historical romance TO ENTICE A SPY from The Wild Rose Press. Diane tells us about some of the clothing worn just after the French Revolution. Thanks for visiting, Diane!

After the storm of the French Revolution in 1789, women’s clothing changed drastically. Tight corsets and fitted gowns gave way to a classical style. A loose Greek-style chemise, with a ribbon under the breasts, and very little clothing underneath. Women discarded their corsets and petticoats, the bolder ones dampening their gowns to show all their assets. Fine silks gave way to plain cottons. Later on, when Napoleon came to power, this was known as the Empire style. When the Regency began in England in 1810, it was dubbed Regency-style.

Hair went from piled high with fancy decorations to simple, short curls.

Men’s clothing also changed, from ruffled shirts and high heels, to plain, earthier colors and cut. Brown and dark green, buff, and tan, were popular colors.

In my novel To Entice a Spy, it’s 1784, and the mode of dress is caught between the old style and the new. My heroine, Eseld, has returned from France to England. She attends an afternoon soiree given by her close friend Rose Menadue. Eseld is searching for a spy, and wears the bold, changing fashion, feeling a bit “risqué”.

Excerpt from Lady Menadue’s soiree.

A tall butler took Eseld’s wrap and gestured to the right. She didn’t miss his nose wrinkle at her mode of dress.

Her blue silk chemise gown, with a ribbon under her breasts was far more comfortable with its long, loose line than the stiff, corseted styles popular before the revolution. She’d wanted to look confidant, a woman in charge and au courant. Yet she felt like a lost swan. In France few gathered at fancy parties or flaunted their wealth to act ordinary and preserve their lives.

A beautiful woman, her blonde hair in Grecian curls approached, wearing a green-flowered robe a la anglaise. “Eseld, I’m so happy you came. And you’re in that new fashion, how lovely.” She gave a twirl of her full skirt, cut in front to show a green-striped petticoat. “As you can see, my hair is the latest kick, but my gown is still in the past. I’m not certain with my curves if I can manage such an unstructured style. Yet these designs are catching on in London."

Rose linked arms with Eseld and they walked into the salon. “With those short sleeves, your arms are enticing, if shockingly bare.” Rose wore three-quarter sleeves with lace trim.

Eseld laughed as she gazed about the room. Who here could be a ruthless spy? “My bodice is so low, there’s little decency. I wrap a band around me to bind my breasts in place.” She touched the fichu, the small shawl tucked into her bodice. “But the French insist no more outrageous garments once worn by the aristocrats. No voluminous skirts with wide hoops, or elaborate wigs decorated with toy ships.”

Rose whispered close, “Is it true, all those terrible beheadings by that machine in Paris?”

“Unfortunately, very true. That’s why I left.” One of many reasons. Eseld patted her fingers over the pinned up curls where her lady’s maid had woven a blue ribbon. Did her fingers shake? And as a countess she would have been questioned, imprisoned, then perhaps sent to the guillotine. She swallowed slowly.

“Lady Trehearne, my darling, I’m so pleased to see you, Eseld.” The diminutive Lady Jane Quintrell flittered forth in an old-fashioned Robe à la Turque, a full-skirted gown of red velvet, with a revealed satin petticoat of purple and white flowers. The dress looked too heavy for a spring party. But this woman was politely called “eccentric.” A small red feather bobbed on her graying head. 

“I’m pleased to see you, my lady. I do need to be in society again. I’ve been away too long.” Eseld bent and kissed the older woman’s papery cheek. Once she’d been a skilled hostess, used to balls and parties, happy beside her late husband; but now she was out of practice in the social whirl.

A tall man in a dark frock coat caught her attention. Her heart twitched as he approached. Robert, her childhood love. “Eseld, I’m relieved you’re home from France.”

“Robert, it’s good to see you.” She touched her fichu, wishing it hid more of her breasts. Could she stand to be this close to him again? She could not let anyone get in the way of her hunt for a French spy; one sent to murder her.

“Aunt Jane, you’re quite the picture, as always.” Robert bowed to his bird-like aunt, his eyes amused.

“Pish. You have no idea how difficult it was to convince Robert to attend today. He’s a veritable recluse.” Jane patted her nephew’s arm, then turned to Eseld and scrutinized her gown. “Is that the latest fashion? Oh, Eseld, don’t you realize you’re half undressed?”

Eseld turned away from Robert’s searching gaze and his aunt’s disapproval. Each man she was introduced to, she scrutinized. Which one could be the French spy sent to murder her?

Buy Link: 

https://www.amazon.com/Entice-Spy-Diane-Scott-Lewis-ebook/dp/B09D9ZCRKX

Blurb: 

In 1794, Widowed Countess Eseld Trehearne seeks revenge for the brutal death of her female companion during a Paris riot. On her return to England, Eseld delves into espionage to defeat the French rebels. 

Baron Robert Penhale, Eseld’s childhood love, rejoins the Secret Services after his wife’s death. He’s determined to protect England from the revolution terrorizing France.

 A  ruthless French spy fights for the common man while disguised as an English aristocrat. He’s intent on revenge against those who oppose him.

With the spy stalking them and Robert in fear for Eseld's life, the fate of the couple verges on disaster. 

Author Bio: 

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons all over the world, including Puerto Rico and Guam. A member of the Historical Novel Society, she wrote book reviews for the Historical Novels Review. Diane worked from 2007 to 2010 as an on-line historical editor. She has had several historical and historical-romance novels published between 2010 and 2021. 

Her first Time-travel, Beyond the Fall, was published by The Wild Rose Press in 2018. To Entice a Spy was published in 2021.

Diane lives with her husband in western Pennsylvania.

For more on her books visit her website: www.dianescottlewis.org

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