Ruth Elizabeth Stiff
Bio
I love all things Earthy and Self-Help
History is one of my favourite subjects and I love to write short fiction
Research is so interesting for me too
Stories (879)
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Today's Lesson Is The Lady's Maid
After the Butler and the Housekeeper, the valet and the Lady’s Maid were the two most senior “domestic servants” during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. They had the ‘ear’ of the Master and the mistress which gave them some influence with the Lord and Lady of the House. Despite being at the top of the maids ‘ladder’, the Lady’s Maid still had to answer to the Housekeeper, as well as her Mistress.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in FYI
Today's Lesson Is The Valet
After the Butler and the Housekeeper, the Valet and the Lady’s Maid were the two most senior “domestic servants” in the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. They had the ‘ear’ of their Master and Mistress which gave them some influence with the Lord and Lady of the House. This was either a good thing or a bad thing with the other staff within the household. The valet answered only to his master but still worked closely with the butler.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in FYI
Charles II
“I always admired virtue — but I could never imitate it”. He was known as the “Merry Monarch” and was the King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1660 to 1685. His mother was 15 years of age when she married his father, who was 24 years of age. He saw The Great Plague and The Fire of London. He was Charles II.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in FYI
The Mystery Box
Saturday afternoon was always “My” afternoon. The boys had gone out to footy and Sheba snuggled up on my lap purring, while I bing-watched Game of Thrones (yet again!). There was a glass of red wine and a box of my favourite chocolates on the little coffee table by the settee, where I was stretched out. After a very busy week at the office I needed to relax and unwind.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in Fiction
Ladies Fashion in the Victorian Era. Top Story - November 2022.
The one thing that always impresses me personally, when looking at a Victorian-styled dress, is the sheer “workmanship” that can be so clearly seen. Every dress was cut, put together and sewn — by hand! These dresses were “High-Fashion” and very similar to our Haute Couture today. The skill of the embroiderers who attached their piece of work to the dress is comparable to the dresses the rich women wore in the Tudor Era. It is no wonder that these dresses were so expensive, when we think about the time involved to ‘create’ them and the sheer skill — it is no wonder that only the very rich could actually afford these dresses.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in Styled
Victorian Prisons
The truth about Victorian prisons was that to many (especially those of the poorer classes), life in prison was better than life in their own homes. Many ‘broke the law’ deliberately to go back into prison, for a roof over their heads and ‘decent food’. Even those in the Workhouses did this — because prison was better than the Workhouse!
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in Criminal
Street Life in Victorian London
Six years after Charles Dickens died (1876), the streets of London were ‘recorded’ by Adolphe Smith, who was a journalist, and John Thomson, who was a photographer. The result shocked the middle classes when they read the book “Street Life of London”. Luckily for us today, this book is still available. To us this is history but when the book was first published in 1876 — it really was how people lived every day of their lives. The book was firstly put into articles which were full of facts and which the black and white photographs only added to. The book is regarded as “a key work in the history of documentary photography”.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in FYI
Today's Lesson Is The Housekeeper
They belonged in another time period and were at the top of their careers. Most learnt their trade by ‘working up the ladder’. Very few of the upper-class, who lived in the magnificent “Houses” and who had an army of domestic servants, could manage without them = the Butler and the Housekeeper.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff3 years ago in FYI
Today's Lesson Is The Tudor Kings And Queens
The years 1485 to 1603 are called “The Tudor Era”. This is because the House of Tudor ruled England England and Wales at this time. According to the historian John Guy (1988): “England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors” than at any time since the Roman Occupation.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in FYI
The Fashion Of Elizabeth I
When she was a child, after her mother had been beheaded and the little Princess declared illegitimate, Lady Margaret Bryan (who was looking after Elizabeth) wrote to Thomas Cromwell: “Would the King deign to send his daughter new clothes? She had outgrown everything in the closets. She has neither gown nor kirtle nor petticoat nor linen for smock”. When Elizabeth I was Queen, she had over 2,000 gowns in her Royal Wardrobe. It is no wonder that “Fashion” became important to “Good Queen Bess”!
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in FYI
Georgian fashion
The Georgian Era had one of the most beautiful “fashions” of any Era, but it was also a very ‘impractical’ fashion. For the rich, upper-classes, the materials were lavish and the colours were ‘rich’, but women could only (just about) sit down in these exquisite dresses. This Century was known for its “Opulence”, with elaborate wigs, rich embroidery and (very) full skirts. The rich showed off their wealth through their clothes, and this applied to men as much as it did to women. The working-classes wore similar clothes, but they were not so rich in colour or material, and they owned fewer clothes, wearing more ‘practical’ clothes for working in.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiff4 years ago in FYI
