This month we're going to have a lot of Valentine's themed books featured. And we're opening up with today's guest author Kadee McDonald's Regency Novella entitled An Arranged Valentine. But before we showcase her book she has graciously supplied a history short on Valentine's Day....enjoy:
A Short History of
Valentine’s Day
by
Kadee McDonald
Valentine’s Day has always
been celebrated with candy, flowers and greeting cards, some heartfelt and
others sappy, right?
Well, no…not exactly.
There really was a Saint Valentine…at least a dozen or so of them, in fact, depending on whether one consults the lists of martyrs of the Roman Catholic or the Eastern Orthodox Church. The name “Valentine” (or “Valentinus”) is from the Latin word, valens, meaning “strong.”
The simple feast (or Commemoration) of St. Valentine in the Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church’s official list of recognized saints, has traditionally been February 14th, supposedly the date in the year 273 when Bishop Valentine of the Diocese of Terni (in what is now Italy), was imprisoned and killed in Rome for defying Emperor Claudius by secretly performing marriages for young lovers after Claudius forbade his young soldiers from marrying.
The first recorded connection of St. Valentine to the concept of “romantic love” was in the poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, Parlement of Foules, in 1382, which was written to celebrate the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, who were married when each was but 15 years old. (Without doing any further research, methinks it certain that was an arranged marriage.)
Later writers such as Shakespeare (in Hamlet) and John Donne also mention Valentine’s Day. By 1797, a British publisher printed The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, with a number of suggested verses for young lovers who felt they were not capable of composing their own. By the early 1800’s, the Regency period in England, factory-produced paper valentines became popular, with fancy ones adorned with real cloth lace and ribbons.
Real lace became paper lace by the mid-1800’s. In the United States, Esther Howland received an English valentine from one of her father’s business associates. Since her father operated a book and stationery store, Esther decided to create and mass produce valentines in the late 1840’s, using decorations imported from England.
Hand-written valentines thus led to greeting cards, which paved the way for Valentine’s Day to become the commercialized, multi-billion-dollar industry it is today. Paper cards, e-cards, flowers, chocolates, and even diamonds are now necessary accoutrements each February 14th to go along with those three little words that never seem to go out of style: “I love you.”
Well, no…not exactly.
There really was a Saint Valentine…at least a dozen or so of them, in fact, depending on whether one consults the lists of martyrs of the Roman Catholic or the Eastern Orthodox Church. The name “Valentine” (or “Valentinus”) is from the Latin word, valens, meaning “strong.”
The simple feast (or Commemoration) of St. Valentine in the Roman Martyrology, the Catholic Church’s official list of recognized saints, has traditionally been February 14th, supposedly the date in the year 273 when Bishop Valentine of the Diocese of Terni (in what is now Italy), was imprisoned and killed in Rome for defying Emperor Claudius by secretly performing marriages for young lovers after Claudius forbade his young soldiers from marrying.
The first recorded connection of St. Valentine to the concept of “romantic love” was in the poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, Parlement of Foules, in 1382, which was written to celebrate the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, who were married when each was but 15 years old. (Without doing any further research, methinks it certain that was an arranged marriage.)
Later writers such as Shakespeare (in Hamlet) and John Donne also mention Valentine’s Day. By 1797, a British publisher printed The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, with a number of suggested verses for young lovers who felt they were not capable of composing their own. By the early 1800’s, the Regency period in England, factory-produced paper valentines became popular, with fancy ones adorned with real cloth lace and ribbons.
Real lace became paper lace by the mid-1800’s. In the United States, Esther Howland received an English valentine from one of her father’s business associates. Since her father operated a book and stationery store, Esther decided to create and mass produce valentines in the late 1840’s, using decorations imported from England.
Hand-written valentines thus led to greeting cards, which paved the way for Valentine’s Day to become the commercialized, multi-billion-dollar industry it is today. Paper cards, e-cards, flowers, chocolates, and even diamonds are now necessary accoutrements each February 14th to go along with those three little words that never seem to go out of style: “I love you.”
****
Question for You- Post Your thoughts for Kadee in our comment box:
So, what about you? Are you
planning a very special Valentine’s Day this year? Or did a Valentine’s Day in
your past lead the way to true love? Celia and I would appreciate it if you left
a comment and shared a special Valentine’s Day memory with all of us today!
Kadee's Bio:
Growing up in Texas, Kadee McDonald was a world away from London
and the beautiful English countryside. But she still loved all things
British…the lilt of the language, tea & crumpets, the castles and country
estates (Pemberley, anyone?) After devouring hundreds of Regencies, Kadee
decided to start writing her own. She now lives and writes in sunny southern
California.
Book Feature: An
Arranged Valentine (traditional Regency novella)
Log
Line:
In the coldest
days of February, can St. Valentine create enough heat to melt two hearts into
one?
Book Blurb:
Miss Penelope Braxton
has never met either sensible George Harburton or his more dashing younger
brother, Henry, but she agrees to grant her dying father peace of mind by
considering marriage to one of them.
The advantage of the
match for the brothers is evident in the form of Miss Braxton’s substantial
dowry. But her money takes second place when both George and Henry realize the
extent of Penelope’s courage, wit, and devotion.
Will either gentleman
be able to compose the perfect poetry to win Penelope’s heart?
Book Excerpt:
Divested of the boots
at last, George dispatched Laurence for a pair of shoes more suitable to the
house and told the servant he would find him working in the library. He needed
to make a note in the account books of the additional amount now owed for the
grain. There was another, less tedious, but certainly more difficult, task to
complete, as well—the writing of the St. Valentine’s Day verse, the first step
in his wooing of Penelope.
George paused at the
entrance to the great hall, found neither Sir Robert nor his daughter anywhere
in sight, and made haste, his stocking feet noiseless on the cold stone floor.
Once in the library, he shut the door behind him and exhaled in relief,
grateful that their guests hadn’t caught him running about the place like an
errant child, with no shoes on.
“Good morning, Mr.
Harburton.”
His heart sank to his
non-existent boots. George turned and saw Penelope seated in one of the wing
chairs by the hearth, with an open book on her lap and a look of amusement in
her eyes.
“Miss…Miss Braxton,”
he stammered. “Yes, good morning. I trust you slept well?” Gathering his wits,
George embraced his embarrassment and strode forward, seeking the warmth of the
fire.
“Yes, quite well, sir.
Thank you.” She nodded and smiled, as if finding one of her hosts pacing about,
wearing twice-patched stockings, was an everyday occurrence. “I pray I haven’t
overstepped by making myself comfortable here with my favourite of Mr.
Shakespeare’s plays?”
She held up the volume
in question, so he could see the title, The Merry Wives of Windsor.
“Not at all,” he
assured her. “But, may I say, what an unusual choice. For I can imagine you
enjoying a romantic tragedy such as Romeo and Juliet or even a
history, on the order of Julius Caesar, but not a risqué
comedy.”
“Do you think I
possess no sense of humour, then, Mr. Harburton?” She cast a fleeting look down
at his unshod feet.
Contact Kadee:
Valentine Book Sale Special:
Just
for Valentine’s Day, the ebook of An
Arranged Valentine will be discounted to a very special $1.14 until
February 13th. Happy February 14th, everyone!
My honey and I will celebrate with a special get-away at a local historical inn and picnic on the beach.
ReplyDeleteHi, Celia, and thanks so much for inviting me to stop by today! Your plans for Valentine's Day sound perfectly lovely. I hope everyone will be spending time with their special someones! :)
ReplyDelete