Extended Regency and American Federal Sewing, Needlework, and Millinery Instructions

Backed up by research in similar contemporary British and American works, Frances Grimble has translated, edited, and linked different sources, rendering them in the English of their period. The result is both comprehensive and charming. Nothing is left out. Excess hair? With a warning in the original manual that the preparation is highly caustic and therefore should be applied with ‘the greatest circumspection,’ the recommendation is for oriental rusma, which is apparently ‘so much used in harems.’ Take two ounces of quicklime, half an ounce of sulphur of arsenic, and a pound of ‘sufficiently strong alkaline washing powder,’ and boil them all up together. It is ready when a feather dipped into the potion loses all of its barbs. Don’t try this at home, then.

The well-illustrated section on clothing of all kinds is wonderfully detailed. Provincial ladies should beware of the charlatans in Paris who will fool them into exchanging a good-quality cashmere shawl for a poor one. Ladies who wish to make their own stays, hats, or gowns are given detailed instructions on how to go about it. Embroidery and knitting patterns are also included, from the finest beaded purses through gentlemen’s waistcoats to knitted pantaloons. There is strongly worded advice too for the ‘lower orders,’ who should encourage their children from an early age to knit worsted stockings, both to earn some money and to stop them from being idle in the evenings. It was obviously unthinkable that the working classes should ever not be working.

Ladies socializing at assemblies, balls, and dinners are told exactly how to dress for each occasion. Ladies of a certain age are shown how to fashion a turban out of a scarf or shawl made of ‘silk, cashmere, merino, barège, muslin, gauze, &c.’ It is essential, of course, that the right side of a turban should always be higher than the left. Fichus, flounces, fringes, and the trimming of bonnets—it is all in this beautifully produced book, the index of which is complemented by a very clean and clear table of contents.

Frances Grimble writes in her introduction that The Lady’s Stratagem is aimed at researchers, history reenactors, film and theatrical costumers, and romance and historical novelists. The abundance of detail is certainly stunning and should prove hugely useful to anyone who wishes to reproduce authentic period costume. For the novelist, there is much inspiration as well as information to be found here. Take, for example, the advice that while young married ladies may run their errands and visit their friends by themselves, young unmarried ladies must have at least a maid as a chaperone when they go out. Only once she turns thirty is it proper for an unmarried woman to go out unaccompanied. Neither a married nor an unmarried lady may ‘present herself alone in a library, or a museum, unless she goes there to study or work as an artist.’ If another young woman should lose her reputation, and even if the allegations made against her are false, the advice is not to allow your heart to rule your head. If you choose to remain friendly with such an unfortunate person you risk losing your reputation too, coming down with a bad case of ‘moral contagion.’ It is easy to imagine a fiery and independent-minded heroine rebelling against these rules, deciding perhaps there must be more to life than simply being agreeable. Meticulously researched, beautifully translated and written, threaded throughout with Frances Grimble’s passion for her subject, The Lady’s Stratagem offers a treasure chest of information and a cornucopia of delights.”