Mr. Churchill's Secretary

Mr. Churchill's e-ad

2012-01-27T08:17:00.002-05:00

From Random House, the gorgeous new electronic ad for Mr. Churchill's Secretary....

Click the link and watch what happens!

Mr. Churchill's Cat

2012-01-25T09:13:00.000-05:00

Winston Churchill's cat, Jock, now has a Facebook page! (There has been various Jocks, marmalade tabbies, at Churchill's home, Chartwell, since the 1940s.) Jock says, "I will do my best to give you a real insight into what really goes on at Chartwell!" https://www.facebook.com/chartwellnt

Winston Churchill named Jock after one of his favorite private secretaries, Jock (John) Colville. I used Jock Colville as the inspiration for my character, John Sterling. I was able to use his wonderful memoir: The Fringes of Power: The Incredible Inside Story of Winston Churchill during WWII for a behind-the-scenes look into what day-to-day life was like on Churchill's staff.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary's First Review!

2012-01-14T08:23:00.003-05:00

From Kirkus Reviews, a lovely nod!

It will go live on the Kirkus site on January 18th, 2012. The review will also be published in the February 1st print edition.

The best bit is this:

Brave, clever Maggie’s debut is an enjoyable mix of mystery, thriller and romance that captures the harrowing experiences of life in war-torn London.

Two More Maggie Hope Books

2011-12-29T12:19:00.000-05:00

It's not just a book — it's a series! Huzzah!

Thanks to Kate Miciak and Victoria Skurnick, Maggie Hope will live on, and have even more adventures....

From Publisher's Marketplace:

Susan Elia MacNeal's HITLER'S NIGHTINGALE and untitled book four, the next two mysteries in the Maggie Hope series, to Kate Miciak at Bantam Dell, by Victoria Skurnick at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (World).

Mr. Churchill's Galleys

2011-12-29T11:20:00.002-05:00

Yes, the galleys are being sent to reviewers from the Random House offices!

Drumroll, please... The cover!

2011-11-05T14:45:00.000-04:00

Woman at War

2011-09-14T10:57:00.001-04:00

The Atlantic has published some amazing images of women during World War II. Here's my favorite:

In the Garden of Beasts

2011-08-18T12:58:00.003-04:00

Jana Riess is a scholar, editor, writer, and book critic.

She was also (full disclosure here), my sophomore-year roommate at Wellesley. And is still a good friend!

I recently read Erik Larson's In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin for researching my third novel (yet untitled, but set in Berlin during 1941). Dodd's tome is a magnificent look at William Dodd, the U.S. Ambassador to Berlin, and his family, living in Germany during the rise of the Third Reich — a vivid, chilling, and gripping read.

Jana gives a wonderful review on her blog, which is also worth checking out.

Madonna and W.E.

2011-08-17T16:15:00.000-04:00

W.E. is a new film about the Duke of Windsor (formerly King Edward VIII), who abdicated the British throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American divorcée. It's directed and co-written by Madonna.

Yes, Madonna.

It's scheduled to be released in Los Angeles on December 9, 2011.

The Duke and Mrs. Simpson make an pivotal appearance in Princess Elizabeth's Spy, so I've also done my research on W.E. (short for Wallis and Edward and how they privately referred to themselves as a couple). I'm fascinated to see how the film will turn out.

The August issue of Vanity Fair features a sumptuous spread on the film, called, "Windsor Dressing." The costumes look gorgeous. Walis may have been a Nazi sympathizer, but she did have style. The photo above show James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
The costumes are by the Oscar-nominated Arianne Phillips, who worked with Cartier, Dior, and and Dunhill.

(Personally, I have Wallis in Schiaparelli.)

What President Obama Could Learn from Winston Churchill

2011-08-09T12:53:00.002-04:00

What if President Obama took a page from Prime Minister Winston Churchill and appointment a coalition government? It might help. And could it possibly make anything worse?

Perhaps Obama should have kept the bust of Churchill in the Oval Office after all...

More Wonderful News about Bletchley Park!

2011-08-09T07:51:00.004-04:00

The Queen to Visit Bletchley Park and Honor (or Honour) Codebreakers

Googling Bletchley Park

2011-08-07T15:51:00.004-04:00

Great news from Google blog about the restoration of Bletchley Park!

Mr. Churchill's Cigar

2010-02-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

Fire Sale!

According to the BBC, one of Winston Churchill's wartime cigars, half-smoked, was recently sold at an auction for 4,500 BPS.

Um, ok.

Mr. (and Mrs.) Churchill's Christmas Card

2009-12-18T12:35:00.000-05:00

It's that most wonderful time of year again, but with everything going on, we probably won't get our cards out by Christmas — and so we're doing a New Year's "Happy 2010!" card.

However, I'm sure Mrs. Clementine Churchill was never late with her holiday cards. Above is one that Mr. and Mrs. Churchill sent, featuring one of Sir Winston's paintings.

It's now on exhibit at the Redbridge Museum, located in Ilford, just outside London. Their description reads as follows:

This Christmas card was donated to Redbridge Museum by Vera Wilson, who was for many years the Secretary of the Wanstead and Woodford Conservative Association. The card's cover is a reproduction of one Churchill's paintings. Churchill was an accomplished artist and took great pleasure in painting. It often helped to relieve the depression he suffered from, or as he termed it, the 'Black Dog'. He is best known for his impressionist scenes of landscape, many of which were painted on holiday in the South of France of Morocco. He continued throughout his life and there are around 500 paintings in existence, most of which belong to his family or at his home at Chartwell, Kent.

Production Date:

1945 - 1964

ID no:

REBMR_1997.1349 a-c

Object size:

W 12.5cms (a), L 17cms (a)

Maker:

Churchill, Winston (paintings)

Redbridge Museum

Mr. Churchill's 2010 Golden Globe Nominations!

2009-12-16T09:07:00.000-05:00

Congratulations, HBO/BBC's Into the Storm !

Nominees for the 67th Golden Globe Awards include HBO's Into the Storm for Best Television Miniseries or movie, Brenden Gleeson (Winston Churchill) for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, and Janet McTeer (Clementine Churchill) for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or movie.

The movie takes look at not only Winston Churchill's leadership during World War II, but why, after leading his country to victory, he was voted out of office in 1945 (losing the position of Prime Minister to the Labour Party's Clement Attlee).

Read the Washington Post's review here.

Mr. Churchill's Brandy

2009-12-13T17:22:00.004-05:00

Hello kittens! One of my birthday presents to myself this year was the gorgeous book, MixShakeStir: Recipes from Danny Meyer's Acclaimed New York City Restaurants. It's the gift that keeps on giving, believe me.

I was looking for a good brandy to use in their recipe for a classic Brandy Crusta, when I came across Astor Wines & Spirits's Eniseli Georgian Brandy. Their copy says it was a favorite of Winston Churchill's.

Hmmm.

I was not convinced. First off, Churchill was a known Francophile — why would he favor a Russian brandy? And it's a clever marketing tactic, of course, linking a luxury good, such as a brandy, to Winston Churchill. But after a bit of research (all right, googling. But still....), it turns out to have a bit of evidence on its side. From Russian Cigar Clan Magazine:

IN THE STEPS OF CHURCHILL

The history has it that the first brandy distillery appeared in
Armenia in 1887. Then first-guildmerchant Nerses
Tairyan built on the territory of the ancient castle Sardar
Khana a smalldistillery and equipped it with devices for
creating brandy under classical French technology.

However, the enterprise reached its hey-day in 1898,
when it was acquired by Nikolay Shustov, well-known
in Russia vodka and liqueur producer and seller. Soon
“Shustov and Sons” partnership became appointed
supplier of His Imperial Majesty’s court. Although,
Shustov’s brandy was officially acknowledged not
only in Russia, but in France, too, when at the
International Exhibition in Paris in 1900 after a blind
tasting it got the Grand-Prix and the legal tight to be
called ‘cognac’, not ‘brandy’.

The brandy glory did not diminish in the Soviet time.
It was incredibly popular with statesmen. Winston
Churchill was known to be a great admirer of the
‘Armenian cognac’, he first tasted the drink at the
Yalta conference. The British Prime-Minister ordered
up to 400 bottles of brandy per year, stubbornly calling
it “Shustov’s”, which made Stalin hit the roof. Agatha
Christie and Frank Sinatra loved this brandy, too.

Love the image of Churchill calling it "Shustov's" — just to tick off Stalin.

P.S. Here's the recipe for Brandy Crusta:

1.5 oz Brandy
0.25 oz Maraschino liqueur
0.5 oz Cointreau
0.25 oz lemon juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
Lemon peel spiral and sugared rim for garnish

Cut a lemon in half and moisten the rim of the glass with the lemon. Then heavily coat the rim with sugar. Completely peel one of the lemon halfs in a ½ inch wide piece of lemon peel. Fill glass with ice leaving enough room to place the peel in glass. Cut one of the lemon halfs in half again in order to get a quarter of the lemon. Juice the lemon quarter and add the juice to the brandy, maraschino, Cointreau, and bitters. Shake with ice for 10 seconds and then strain into prepared glass.

Creed's Windsor

2009-12-11T11:40:00.003-05:00

Recently we chatted about Lord Randolph and Sir Winston's fragrance, Bleinheim Bouquet (1902). This year, the venerable 250-year-old French perfume house, Creed, has introduced a new fragrance, albeit inspired by Great Britain of the past, called Windsor.

According to Creed, the Windsor fragrance was:

... created in 1936 for King Edward VIII of England from ingredients grown in the British Empire. Edward was the first air pilot to be king, and Windsor is presented in a shatterproof 1.7 oz. leather wrapped bottle ideal for aircraft carry-on (or in an 8.4 oz. flacon numbered by laser and signed by sixth-generation master perfumer Olivier CREED).

Edward made headlines when he quit the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. He wore Windsor as king and later when he and his wife began a new life in Paris as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, superstars of international society.

Classification: Citrus / Green. Windsor is as subtle as the Duke of Windsor’s hand-tailored suits, shirts and ties, following his philosophy, "Royalty need not shout"

Top Note: Windsor is a tour of the British Empire Edward once ruled. Its top note is British gin, Jamaican lime and a touch of Scottish highland pine.
Middle Note: "Duke of Windsor" roses, those he preferred in his own garden, the Nuits de Young variety.
Bottom Note: Bahamian orange, Canadian cedar and a dab of Australian eucalyptus.

So, now for my own snarky take.... First off, King Edward VIII, who was renamed the Duke of Windsor after he abdicated the throne (and his wife, Mrs. Simpson, for that matter), are on record as being admirers of Nazi Germany in the 1930s — note the lack of reference to that or any "German" fragrance notes. (Edelweiss? No, wait — that's Austrian.)

Second, Edward and Mrs. Simpson were ultimately banished to the Bahamas during World War II (the Duke of Windsor was the British Ambassador to the Bahamas), which makes the note of "Bahamian orange" all the more amusing. (The Bahamas post was considered to be a punishment for the couple's German involvement and a way to remove them from Europe.)

Third, "Royalty need not shout"? Oh, for pity's sake...

Still, I'd give it a sniff, maybe next time I'm at Aedes. The notes sound promising (gin, lime, pine and rose). However, at over $400 per bottle, it's a bit rich for my blood....

Personally, I like Demeter's Gin & Tonic — and for $20 per bottle, it's a steal.

Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon

2009-12-10T08:32:00.005-05:00

Hello kittens! Today's post is a bit of a cheat, since I haven't actually read the novel.

Let me explain. Recently I had an editor question one of the codes I used in Mr. Churchill's Secretary. So I took said question to a group of "wicked smaaaat" friends, who happen to be MIT graduates. Many have a long-standing interest in codes and cryptography, including the multi-talented and all-around amazing Wes Carroll.

Thanks to their collective expertise, I solved the issue in the manuscript. They also (collectively!) recommended a book, Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I'm a little busy with my own book at the moment, but I bought Cryptonomicon and am looking forward to reading it. (Until then, I'm using it as a doorstop, since it's — gasp! — 1168 pages.)

Here's Cryptonomicon's description (from HarperCollins):

With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with dazzling virtuosity the forces that shaped this century.

In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse - mathematical genius and young Captain in the U.S. Navy - is assigned to detachment 2702. It is an outfit so secret that only a handful of people know it exists, and some of those people have names like Churchill and Roosevelt. The mission of Watrehouse and Detatchment 2702-commanded by Marine Raider Bobby Shaftoe-is to keep the Nazis ignorant of the fact that Allied Intelligence has cracked the enemy's fabled Enigma code. It is a game, a cryptographic chess match between Waterhouse and his German counterpart, translated into action by the gung-ho Shaftoe and his forces.

Fast-forward to the present, where Waterhouse's crypto-hacker grandson, Randy, is attempting to create a "data haven" in Southeast Asia - a place where encrypted data can be stored and exchanged free of repression and scrutiny. As governments and multinationals attack the endeavor, Randy joins forces with Shaftoe's tough-as-nails granddaughter, Amy, to secretly salvage a sunken Nazi submarine that holds the key to keeping the dream of a data haven afloat. But soon their scheme brings to light a massive conspiracy with its roots in Detachment 2702 linked to an unbreakable Nazi code called Arethusa. And it will represent the path to unimaginable riches and a future of personal and digital liberty...or to universal totalitarianism reborn.

A breathtaking tour de force, and Neal Stephenson's most accomplished and affecting work to date, CRYPTONOMICON is profound and prophetic, hypnotic and hyper-driven, as it leaps forward and back between World War II and the World Wide Web, hinting all the while at a dark day-after-tomorrow. It is a work of great art, thought, and creative daring; the product of a truly icon

The Clover Club

2009-12-04T09:10:00.006-05:00

So it was yet another birthday (they just keep coming, don't they?) and The Husband took me, as a surprise, to the swanky bar The Clover Club, for a little party.

The Clover Club is a Victorian-styled bar in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, and makes some of the best, most sophisticated, most delicious cocktails in the city. Really superlative. (It's another cocktail joint from Julie Steiner, who also owns art-deco-themed Flatiron Lounge in Manhattan.) The food was excellent, too. And, best of all, there was live music! A group, performing mostly Cole Porter and Gershwin and the like was playing — wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

Cheers to great friends, great cocktails and great music! What more could a birthday girl want?

The Clover Club's Creed:

“Who enters here leaves care behind, leaves sorrow behind, leaves petty envies and jealousies behind.”

So went the motto of the original Clover Club, a select group of Philadelphia journalists who, from 1882 until the 1920’s met once a month at the Bellevue Hotel to eat and drink and talk. The only people the above words didn’t necessarily apply to were their guests, celebrities of the day who were invited to address the club and were heckled relentlessly once they did—the more pretentious or self-important they were, the worse they got it. But they came anyway. Maybe it was because “Major” Moses P. Handy, the club’s president, knew everyone who was anyone and was liked by them all. Or maybe it was the challenge—if you could get over with the Clover Club, you could get over anywhere. Probably, though, they came and took their lumps because of George Boldt. Boldt, you see, was the Bellevue’s manager, and—in all matters pertaining to food and drink, anyway—he was a perfectionist.

To sit at his table was worth a little ribbing. Throw in a couple of the club’s famous cocktails, and you’d be singing along with the best of ‘em: “While we live we live in clover; When we die we die all over!

Blenheim Bouquet

2009-12-01T16:06:00.005-05:00

Established in 1870, Penhaligon's is one of London's traditional perfumers, with a long-standing and august lineage.

In the late 1860's, William Henry Penhaligon left Cornwall and moved to London to establish himself as a barber. By 1870, he had a thriving business supplying perfume to the aristocracy, including Queen Victoria.

Hammam Bouquet was the brand's first offering, in 1872. Bleinheim Bouquet came next, in 1902. It was made for Lord Randolph, Winston Churchill's father, whose residence was Bleinheim Palace.

Sir Winston is reputed to have worn Bleinheim Bouquet as well, a lemon-scented men's cologne with a good dose of pine and some woody and lavender notes. It's really pretty darn fantastic, I have to say, and just as refreshing on a woman as a man.

Although the original Penhaligan's shop, on Jermyn Street in Mayfair, was destroyed in the Blitz, the line lives on after a renaissance in the 1970s. Today there's a flagship Penhaligon's in Covent Garden, plus all sorts of ritzy department stores and posh perfume boutiques carry the line as well.

A definitely different spin on the "celebrity fragrance" idea, indeed!

Foyle's War

2009-12-01T09:17:00.003-05:00

Hello, Friends! Well, it's going to be a short post today (because of endless novel revisions...), but I hope it's still a good one.

One of the shows I'm currently obsessed with is Foyle's War. It was a British television series now available on disk. The acting and directing are first-rate and the attention to historical detail, of the south coast of England during the spring of 1940, is fantastic. Here's a description:

In early World War II Britain, as British soldiers and pilots valiantly resist the German forces on land and in the air, their kinsmen at home face head-on the effects of the awful war that has engulfed their nation. Food rationing, black-outs, German bombing raids, all these and more are daily reminders that no one is to be spared.

For Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle of the Hastings police department, a man who served his country in World War I and then rose through the ranks of the police force to his current position, sitting on the sidelines during this war is frustrating. Requesting more direct involvement but continually rebuffed by his superior officer, DCS Foyle is further frustrated by a shortage of manpower that impedes his powers of policing.

As Foyle quickly learns, however, the role he plays is in no way a small one, for the war has certainly not brought a cessation of crime. If anything, it has intensified the heinous nature of domestic crime when carried out against innocent people already suffering, sacrificing, and struggling to persevere in such a brutal time.

Each episode of Foyle's War, created by Anthony Horowitz (Midsomer Murders), blends real-life war stories with tales of treachery and suspense. Whether investigating sabotage, looting, stolen food or fuel supplies, police brutality of conscientious objectors, treason, or murder, Foyle and his colleagues must wage their own personal war amidst the tumult of a larger one. But more than a period whodunnit, Foyle's War is redolent with rich human drama subtly revealed through the lives of these main characters who make up the heart of the series. Steadfast and loyal to each other, they strive to uphold the values for which they and their countrymen - their loved ones - are fighting and dying.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary's Jewelry

2009-11-28T09:35:00.005-05:00

Etsy is a site dedicated to "buying and selling all things handmade" and vintage.

I was delighted to see that their current featured seller is Elizabeth of the Etsy shop, Keys and Memories — Vintage Typewriter Key Jewelry and Other Punky Stuff. (The "C" necklace above is only one of her gorgeous designs.)

I can't help thinking about all of the people who typed with those keys, before they were resurrected into jewelry.

What a perfect holiday gift!

Artist Mark Hearld

2009-11-25T08:59:00.002-05:00

The art of British artist Mark Hearld was featured recently on a blog I adore, called Creature Comforts. I was instantly smitten with all his work, but especially this collage of St. Paul's Cathedral and pigeons.

His art will be on display in 2010 at St. Jude's Gallery, which specializes in British printmaking and design.

Thanksgiving Libations

2009-11-23T16:52:00.006-05:00

Each year, we like to greet our Thanksgiving guests with a special cocktail.

This year's is going to be one part sparkling wine, one part cranberry juice, a splash of Calvados floated on top, plus a lemon twist. Calvados (a French apple-cider brandy) makes it seasonal (and ties in with the apple stuffing and apple pie to come), and the cranberry juice gives a lovely ruby color to the fizz.

It's my own creation (at least as far as I know), but it's an pretty obvious take on the classic Poinsettia Cocktail — which is also equal parts cranberry juice and champers, plus a healthy tablespoon of Gran Marnier (or instead try Rhum Clement's Creole Shrubb, a spiced orange rum from New Orleans).

I can't help but hope that Mr. Churchill (who was, after all, half-American on his mother's side and claimed Native American blood) would approve.

We'll call it the Jennie Jerome, in her honor.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

2009-11-19T18:11:00.005-05:00

Just had the delightful experience of watching the film, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), a gorgeous confection of a screwball comedy set in pre-war London. It stars Amy Adams as an ambitious torch singer juggling three men and Frances McDormand as a former governess fallen on hard times who becomes her "social secretary." Wacky hijinx, of course, ensue.

Miss P's day is never given an actual date, but as far as I can tell, it's set sometime in the spring of 1940. Neville Chamberlain is still Prime Minister, and while war with Germany has been officially declared, but Britain is still in the "Bore War" phase. Only a few months later, in May 1940, Mr. Churchill will become Prime Minister and in September the Blitz will start in earnest.

I read many of the film's reviews, many of which revel in the film's froth, some of which criticize it for being too light.

Personally, I found the imminent Blitz to be a constant shadow. It's never overtly mentioned, but we see store mannequins modeling gas masks, British Spitfires flying God knows where (France, most likely) reflected in a building's windows, and the panic of a practice air raid drill.

Frances McDormand and amazing character actor Ciaran Hinds, as the older couple who've already lived through one war, add tremendous depth and gravity to what could be a throw-away film. McDormand's Miss Pettigrew still morns her lost love, killed in the last war. Hinds is a veteran who's the only one among his contemporaries still living. While Amy Adams and her beau gallivant off to New York on the Queen Mary, McDormand and Hinds are left behind, to face the Blitz we all know is coming.

Still, there's a feeling that they, of all people, will be strong enough to pull through and "do their bit."

Definitely recommended.

Fired Up

2009-11-19T08:57:00.004-05:00

Yes, I've already blogged about Poppy King's Lipstick Queen, but this lipgloss is too good (and good for women) not to single out.

Lipstick Queen has partnered with Count Me In For Women’s Economic Independence to launch a sheer flame-red lipgloss – with the inspiring moniker, Fired Up.

One hundred percent of the profits from the sale of Fired Up will go to Count Me In, the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education, and community for women entrepreneurs.

“The power of red and its mystique is already embedded in our culture," Poppy is quoted as saying. “From Rosie the Riveter’s trademark red lips during World War II, no cosmetic item has more power to get a woman FIRED UP about the task ahead.”

Buy Fired Up here and look for it at stores near you.

The Savoy Cocktail Book

2009-11-17T16:33:00.004-05:00

So I was browsing at Anthropologie (a very, very, very naughty habit) when I caught sight of this absolute gem — The Savoy Cocktail Book, with a brand new and gorgeous Art Deco design on the cover. (Yes, I'm shallow. Also, just to tie all this into the blog, Winston Churchill is reputed have gone to the American Bar at the Savoy regularly, and the bartenders there created several cocktails in his honor.)

According to the description copy:

Originally published in 1930, the book features 750 recipes, paired with Art Deco illustrations, from legendary barman Harry Craddock of London's Savoy Hotel. Perfect for budding mixologists or fans of 1930s-style decadence and sophistication, it's a fascinating record of the cocktails that set London alight at the time.

It's available at amazon.com, et al. as well.

Yes. Oh, yes. It. Must. Be. Mine.

If anyone's curious, the terrific host of the of Underhill-Lounge blog has devoted himself to making all 750 cocktails from the Savoy Cocktail Book. His explanation, "Why the Savoy?" may be found here. Trace his progress through the recipes at Stomping Through the Savoy.

New York Sensation

2009-11-14T15:21:00.005-05:00

Aymee G. and I decided to go to see the film, Precious. Which was powerful, harrowing, frightening, difficult and ultimately beautiful.

Not surprisingly, afterwards we decided we needed a drink.

It was a cold and drizzly grey day here in New York — and so I thought a cocktail with warming and reinvigorating port would be perfect.

We went home and I decided to go with Mr. Churchill's Sensation:

Sensation (also known as Brandied Port)

Shake well with cracked ice:

2 oz ruby port

1 oz brandy

Dash of fresh-squeezed orange juice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

However, I didn't look up the recipe — and ended up doing my own version, which was (if I may say so myself) remarkably good. I've decided to call it the New York (as opposed to the original London) Sensation

New York Sensation

Shake well with cracked ice:

2 oz ruby port

1 oz Cointreau (Grand Marnier, Creole Shrubb or anything orange would do)

1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Cheers!

P.S. Vintage port ad by the artist Leonetto Cappiello.

Remembrance Day

2009-11-11T10:06:00.005-05:00

It's Veterans Day here in the U.S. and Remembrance Day (or Poppy Day) in the U.K.

In Britain, a two-minute silence is traditionally observed. The First Two Minute Silence in London took place on November 11, 1919 — and was reported in the Manchester Guardian the following day:

The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all.

Lipstick Queen

2009-11-10T08:33:00.013-05:00

The only thing I love more than red lipstick is a successful female entrepreneur. Poppy King knows all about both.

Poppy's the creator of the brand Lipstick Queen, which specializes in 1940s-style lipsticks, glosses, lip liners — everything for the lips. And only for the lips.

Her story's pretty darned inspiring. In her own words:

Gosh... It is hard to know how to tell this without it sounding like I made it up... But I didn’t! I started my own lipstick brand in 1992 in Melbourne Australia when I was about 6 months out of high school and had just turned 18.

I did this not because I was a chemist, a make up artist, a designer or anything else (I was barely an adult and sometimes wonder if I am one yet!) I did this because I couldn’t find any lipsticks I liked. They were all thin, slimy and too greasy feeling. Plus there were no deep colors or browns and most reds went pink. I wanted lipsticks that gave me the look of the 1940’s. Rich, opaque and filled with pigment.

Her lipsticks, available online and in stores around the country (and around the world), are fabulous. For the vintage 1940s look, try Red Sinner, a full-strength matte red that won't budge. For a more everyday version, try Medieval, a sheer red that looks gorgeous, moisturizes and stays on.

Poppy's story is chronicled in her book, Lessons of a Lipstick Queen: Finding and Developing the Great Idea that Can Change Your Life.

P.S. Lipstick Queen lipsticks are vegan and there is no animal testing. (Thanks Danielle, for reminding me to check this out!) Lipsticks should be tested only on supermodels and not on animals, no?

For Sentimental Reasons

2009-11-07T12:21:00.007-05:00

For Sentimental Reasons: An Evening of 1940s Nostalgia is a Boston-based singing group devoted to performing the music of the early 1940s. In their own words:

The world is at war...Jitterbug, Rosie the Riveter, the Andrews Sisters, Dance Marathons, Ration Coupons, Betty Grable, Frank Swoonatra"...the list goes on and on. These images instantly take you back to a more innocent time, when Big Band music ruled the airwaves...and our hearts.

For Sentimental Reasons was created as a result of our affinity for the music and the nostalgia of the 1940s. So let us take you back--or introduce you--to these songs filled with bittersweet and melancholy lyrics and swing tunes that set your toes tapping and your spirits soaring.

Ok, disclaimer here — Bob De Vivo, the founder and lead singer of For Sentimental Reasons is a friend (we did musical theater at MIT together several lifetimes ago). But I just looooove this group and their music. They post their performance schedule on their web site and are also available for private gigs.

Coming to New York anytime soon, guys?

The Chap

2009-11-05T10:48:00.005-05:00

One of my male friends recently pointed out that while cocktails are gender-neutral, there's quite a lot about lipstick on this blog, without anything offered for the blokes.

Well, my friend, here you go: I recently discovered the web site for the U.K. magazine The Chap — and instantly fell in love.

The Chap is — well, I'll let the gentlemen describe themselves:

The Chap Manifesto

Society has become sick with some nameless malady of the soul. We have become the playthings of corporations intent on converting our world into a gargantuan shopping precinct. Pleasantness and civility are being discarded as the worthless ephemera of a bygone age - an age when men doffed their hats to the ladies, and small children could be counted upon to mind one's Jack Russell while one took a mild and bitter in the local hostelry.

Instead, we live in a world where children are huge hooded creatures lurking in the shadows; the local hostelry has been taken over by a large chain that specialises in chilled lager, whose principal function is to aggravate the nervous system. Needless to say, the Jack Russell is no longer there upon one's return.

The Chap proposes to take a stand against this culture of vulgarity. We must show our children that the things worth fighting for are not the latest plastic plimsolls but a shiny pair of brogues. We must wean them off their alcopops and teach them how to mix martinis. Let the young not be ashamed of their flabby paunches, which they try to hide in their nylon tracksuits - we shall show them how a well-tailored suit can disguise the most ruined of bodies. Finally, let us capitalise on youth's love of peculiar argot Ð only replace their pidgin ghetto-speak with fruity bons mots and dry witticisms.

It is time for Chaps and Chapettes from all walks of life to stand up and be counted. But fear not, ye languid and ye plain idle: ours is a revolution based not on getting up early and exerting oneself - but a revolution that can be achieved by a single raised eyebrow over a monocle; the ordering of a glass of port in All Bar One; the wearing of a particularly fetching cardigan upon a visit to one's bookmaker. In other words: a revolution of panache. We shall bewilder the masses with seams in our trousers that could cut paper, trilbies angled so rakishly that traffic comes to a standstill; and by refusing the bland, watery substances that are foisted upon us by faceless corporations, we shall bring the establishment to its knees, begging for sartorial advice and a nip from our hip flasks.

I'll be getting a subscription post-haste.... (Santa, are you listening?) Just call me a Chapette!

P.S. If the chaps from The Chap and the broads (yes, their word) from Ladies for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails ever got together — oh my, what a party that would be!

The Cambridge Five

2009-11-04T11:50:00.005-05:00

One of the interesting things about writing is you often end up researching what may seem to be random topics. Sometimes the research done doesn't make it into the final draft, but it's always a weird and wonderful journey.

Doing some research for a character who may (or may not) have Soviet ties lead me to investigate the rise of the Communist movement during the Thirties among British university students (especially those at Trinity and King's Colleges at Cambridge University).

The Cambridge Five were the most infamous of the Cambridge students infatuated with Marxism. They became passionate believers in during their student years in the Thirties and ultimately became spies for Stalin, passing British state secrets to Russia.

Because of their education and high social class, they were able to not only keep their cover, but achieve prominent careers with MI-5 (oh, the irony), the BBC and the Royal Family.

For those who'd prefer not to wade through all the reading, Cambridge Spies (2003) is a two-disk multi-part series dramatizing the lives of the five from 1934 through the Fifties. It was written by Peter Moffat and directed by Tim Fywell and produced and first shown on the BBC.

Bésame Mucho

2009-11-02T09:18:00.006-05:00

Bésame is a line of vintage-inspired cosmetics (Bésame meaning "kiss me" in Spanish) made in the United States and available online and in select stores.

The line, developed by Gabriela Hernandez (pictured above), is a 1940s-inspired collection of compacts and lipsticks and more. The original collection includes rouge, lipstick, powder, mascara and pencils, and has now expanded to include some Art Deco pieces as well as "Mad Men" 1960s-inspired shades.

All right, here comes the disclaimer: I've never even seen the Bésame line, let alone tried it. (Alas.) It's not readily available to test here in New York City (at least right now). And while it is available through various online retailers, I'm wary about purchasing cosmetics untested.

Still, when we next visit Southern California (and I'm hoping that'll be soon!), I'll be sure to scout out one of the the many stores that carry the line there and issue back a full report.....

In the meantime, I just love the fact that a woman (claro!) has created such an amazing-sounding business (and amazing-looking — check out all the shiny baubles and gorgeous reds on the site!). Also, her commitment to recreating the vintage formulations is admirable.

Besos!

Mr. C. and the FTC

2009-11-01T11:43:00.003-05:00

Recently the Federal Trade Commission has updated its regulations regarding the product discussion, specifically on blogs.

In light of this, I would like to formally disclose that I receive no samples, free products or financial reimbursement for mentioning any products.

However, if anyone would like to send me things, particularly cases Pol Roget and fine claret, Shalimar and Chanel, Churchill biographies, and lots and lots of red lipstick, I'd be delighted! And, of course, I'd be upfront about anything I receive that I write about.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging....

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

2009-10-30T10:01:00.007-04:00

In 2006, it was discovered that Nazi agents in England had, in fact, embedded Morse code in drawings of models wearing the latest fashions, in an attempt to outwit Allied censors.

According to the released British security service files, Nazi agents relayed sensitive military information using the dots and dashes of Morse code incorporated in the drawings. They posted the letters to their handlers, hoping that counterespionage experts would be fooled by the seemingly innocent pictures.

British secret service officials became aware of the ruse and issued censors with a code-breaking guide to intercept them. “Heavy reinforcements for the enemy expected hourly,” is the message disguised as a decorative pattern in the stitching of gowns, hats and blouses in the line drawing above.

This discovery of hidden code, and the fact that it was concealed in an ad for women's clothes of all places, was the catalyst for my heroine Maggie Hope's foray into the world of espionage.

Thank you Evay, for sending that clipping my way!

Patron Broads of Endangered Cocktails

2009-10-29T12:30:00.005-04:00

Recently I came across a fabulous-sounding group, called "Ladies for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails."

(Just to bring this post back to Winston Churchill — I bought my bottle of yellow Chartreuse, used in a few of his cocktails, from Astor Wines & Spirits.)

Today, Astor sent me an email about a class they're doing with the Ladies for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC), called: "Cocktail Tweetup with Chartreuse and LUPEC NYC."

From Astor's web site:

Location: The Lounge

Price: $35.00

Date: Mon, Nov 2nd, 6:00 PM - 9:00

This fly-by-night bar is a triple threat: a tasting of Chartreuse and Chartreuse-inspired cocktails, a fundraiser for LUPEC, and an opportunity to meet some of the fixtures of the NYC cocktail twitteratti.

First, the broads: Chartreuse-inflected cocktails will be shaken and slung by Lynette Marerra and friends, working as members of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC). $5 of each ticket goes to help this new chapter get established. Their mission? * To create a secular "coven-like" atmosphere in which Classy Broads of today can invoke and honor the spirits of their Forebroads

* To continue the 150 year American tradition of dangerous women calling themselves Ladies and getting together in groups, clubs, and societies to work undercover while they chipped away at the patriarchy.

* To protect the collective Joie de Vivre of LUPEC members by assuring them at least one good party a month

* To encourage the accumulation and use of vintage serving and barware.

* And most importantly, to let LUPEC ladies use our skills to support women-based charitable organizations.

My feeling is that any group of women who call themselves "broads" and refer to "forebroads," who want to create a "coven-like atmosphere," "chip away at the Patriarchy," and shake vintage cocktails has got to be pretty cool.

Plus, they support women-centered charities. All this greatness, plus booze!

Maybe I'll see you there?

Mr. Churchill's Father

2009-10-26T11:10:00.003-04:00

Winston Churchill had a complicated relationship with his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough.

Sir Winston wrote in Life of Marlborough, that "famous men are usually the product of an unhappy childhood. The stern compression of circumstances, the twinges of adversity, the spur of slights and taunts in early years, are needed to evoke that ruthless fixity of purpose and tenacious mother-wit without which great actions are seldom accomplished."

Perhaps thinking of this, in 1898 he wrote of Mohammed: "Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong; and a boy deprived of a father's care often develops, if he escapes the perils of youth, an independence and vigour of thought which may restore in after life the heavy loss of early days."

Well, after all that, I know I could certainly use a cocktail. And, as fate would have it, there's one called The Duke of Marlborough. Named for Churchill's father? Perhaps. It's a fortified-wine-based cocktail, which would right for Lord Randolph's era.

Let's pretend that if the Duke had been alive to witness all his son's accomplishments, he would have raised a glass to him.

The Duke of Marlborough

1 oz dry sherry

1 oz rosso vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

1 twist orange peel

Stir well over ice cubes in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, add a twist of orange peel, and serve.

Turnaround Is Fair Play

2009-10-21T18:42:00.004-04:00

So, those of you playing at home may know that I'm also an editor. One of my clients is Josh Axelrad, whose memoir on card counting, Repeat Until Rich, will be published by Penguin in March 2010. His British publisher's calling it: "Fight Club meets Bringing Down the House."

Here's a description from Amazon.com:

A deliciously wry, edge-of-the-seat memoir of making a fortune with card counters across a wide swath of blackjack in America.

At twenty-four, Josh Axelrad held down a respectable and ominously dull job on Wall Street. Adventure was a tuna fish sandwich instead of the usual turkey for lunch. Then one night, a stranger at a cocktail party persuaded him to leave the nine-to-five behind and pursue an unlikely dream: the jackpot. The stranger was a blackjack card counter, and he sold Axelrad on the vision of Vegas with all its intrigue, adventure- and cash.

Repeat Until Rich is Axelrad's taut, atmospheric, and darkly hilarious account of ditching the mundane and entering the alternative universe of professional blackjack. Axelrad has one thing in common with his team: Jon Roth, the leader and a former white-shoe attorney; Neal Matcha, also a recovering lawyer; Aldous Kaufman, a retired math Ph.D. candidate. They all thrived in the straight world, found success boring, and vowed to make life more exotic. Axelrad adopts Kaufman's philosophy-"repeat until rich"-and from his strategy and skill spring hasty retreats across casino floors, gun-toting henchmen, high-speed car chases, "wrongful" arrests, and six-figure paydays that make it all worthwhile.

Along the way, he unveils the tactics and debunks the myths of professional card counters. In team play, he's either the "big player," who bets the big money, or the "controller," who subtly coordinates the team's betting while wagering only the minimum himself. Counting is not illegal, and it's less intellectually daunting than its MIT-level mystique suggests. With clarity and wit, Repeat Until Rich proves the old gambler's maxim that "if you can tip a waiter, you can count cards." But it also proves how zealous, even forceful, casino bosses can be in "backing off" counters-seeing past their undercover methods and banning them from the tables. Josh soon grows to love all this trouble, which provides a rush he starts to need more than the money and yearns for when he's away from the tables.

Filled with actual bad guys, chase scenes, and high stakes, Repeat Until Rich offers an intoxicating, unprecedented view of the dangerous allure of living off the cards and one's wits.

About the Author

Josh Axelrad played blackjack professionally for five years and poker unprofessionally for one. A graduate of Columbia College, he languished briefly in investment banking before he turned to cards. His personal win as a card counter, at $700,000, has left him eighty-sixed from the finest casinos in Vegas and around the United States. His subsequent losses at poker (exceeding $50,000) have cost him credit privileges at the Internet's most reputable poker rooms. A commentator on the casino industry for National Public Radio'sMarketplace program, Axelrad also performs at Stories at the Moth in New York and has been featured on the award-winning Moth Podcast.

Now his manuscript is turned in and, for all intents and purposes, finished. Mine... not so much. I had a deadline last week, and my final, final deadline is December 15.

When I asked if he'd take a look at my manuscript, he seemed pleased. Maybe too pleased.

Hmmmm......

Winston Churchill and KBO

2009-10-19T11:31:00.004-04:00

Despite the alcohol, despite the naps, despite the baths, Winston Churchill was a work horse.

All accounts have him rising at eight, reading newspapers and attending to paperwork all morning from bed, taking the first bath of the day, then meetings and dictation, then luncheon. After lunch, a nap, then writing, second bath, dinner, and work often long, long past midnight. It was in this way that he was able to "... press a day and a half's work into one," as he's quoted saying.

During the Second World War, his constant refrain to his female typists was KPO, or "Keep Plodding On." (His male associates often heard KBO or "Keep Buggering On.") Allegedly, he would start the day saying it and end telephone conversations with it.

That tenacious attitude is integral to anything important — winning a war, finishing a novel, raising a child, battling illness, making a living, running a marathon, learning the violin.

Looking at Churchill's schedule, you can see an interesting balance — long hours of work, true, but balanced by rest and meals. (And having a staff certainly must have helped!) So, KBO, but take care of yourself as well. Then, back at it. Every single day.

KBO, everyone.

Mr. Churchill's Wit

2009-10-14T17:59:00.005-04:00

Winston Churchill was, and still is, known for his sense of humor and witty turns of phrase. Here are a few favorite Churchillian quotes from James C. Humes's charming book, The Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill.

On animals: "Dogs look up to you. Cats look down on you. Give me a pig. He just looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal."

On illness: "It is a nuizenza to have the fluenza." (from a letter to President Roosevelt)

On free speech: " Some people's ideas of free speech is that they are free to say what they like but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."

On opponents: "I like a man who grins when he fights."

On punctuality: "I am a sporting man. I always like to give trains and airplanes a fair chance of getting away."

On stupidity: "Unwisdom prevailed."

The Pegu Club Cocktail

2009-10-14T08:47:00.005-04:00

Robare came by for dinner the other night and I made Pegu Club Cocktails to celebrate his finishing the draft of his latest children's book.

As far as I know, the Pegu Club Cocktail has no relation to Winston Churchill, but as it was popular during the 1920s and 1930s, it's not improbable that he sampled a few.

The Pegu Club Cocktail was first mentioned in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. Harry Craddock credits the drink to the Pegu Club, a British officers establishment, in Burma. The drink traveled throughout the world and was a hit until World War II. As always, Esquire has the most amusing take on the drink's history.

There are variations on the recipe. I've tinkered with a few, and this is the one that I like best:

The Pegu Club Cocktail

Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

2 oz London dry gin (I personally like Plymouth or Hendrick's)

3/4 ounce orange curacao (or Cointreau, Gran Marnier or even Rhum Clement Creole Shrubb)

3/4 ounce lime juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters (Optional. If you read any cocktail blogs, you'll see this ingredient's inclusion in the drink is fiercely debated. No, I'm not kidding. Cocktail aficionados are deadly serious about their tipple.)

For an amazing Pegu Club Cocktail in New York City, try one at mixologist Audrey Saunder's glamorous Pegu Club lounge in Soho.

Mr. Churchill's Baths

2009-10-12T10:04:00.005-04:00

Winston Churchill not only napped daily, but took very long, very hot baths.

They were drawn by his butler, Mr. Inces, and had to be kept at a particular temperature, measured by a thermometer.

Not only were the baths important to Churchill's well-being, but he often dictated from the bathtub (his secretary would sit just outside the bathroom, portable typewriter on her lap) and took meetings from there, as well.

There are terrific scenes in the HBO film, The Gathering Storm, and also HBO's Into The Storm with Churchill in the bathtub.

In The Gathering Storm, there's a scene with a pre-war Churchill dictating from the tub at Chartwell, while his typist is just outside. At one point he becomes irritated and throws his bar of soap out the bathroom door. Her facial expressions as she throws it back, never looking at Churchill of course, are marvelous.

In Into the Storm, Churchill is talking to President Roosevelt about the situation in the Pacific from a bathtub in the White House. (Roosevelt is sitting just outside.) When the Prime Minister is done, he rises from the tub, wraps a towel around his waist, and walks into the bedroom to address the President directly. At one point, the towel drops, leaving the Prime Minister naked.

"As you can see, Mr. President, I have nothing to conceal from you," Churchill deadpans.

Early Forties Makeup

2009-10-09T08:44:00.006-04:00

Want to recreate this gorgeous vintage look? Check out Makeup411.com's breakdown on Diane Kruger's makeup in Quentin Tarantino's film, Inglourious Basterds [sic].

She's rockin' MAC's Russian Red, bien sur.

(photo: Francois Duhamel/ The Weinstein Company)

The Blenheim Cocktail

2009-10-08T08:57:00.006-04:00

Last night we had some friends over. In honor of Sir Winston, I decided to make Bleinheim Cocktails, created by Joe Gilmore of the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London, in honor of Sir Winston's 90th birthday.

We had over, among others, our bad-ass card-counting memoir-writing friend (Josh Axelrad, Repeat Until Rich, Penguin, 2010), who watched me carefully measure ingredients into the shaker for round two. (Just to review, we're talking brandy, yellow Chartreuse, Lillet Blanc, orange juice and Dubonnet; the recipe is elsewhere on the blog.)

"Wow," he said. "We're really talking a lot of alcohol, aren't we?" he said.

It's true. And it doesn't taste as alcoholic as it sounds — I'd characterize it as a wonderfully aromatic after-dinner cocktail, sweet but still sophisticated, with a lot of herbal overtones. All in all, it's pretty deadly.

The perfect potable for the great man's ninetieth. Cheers!

(The photograph above is of Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill and his father's, Lord Randolph's, family home.)

The Sadler's Wells Ballet

2009-10-06T21:29:00.007-04:00

One of the characters in Mr. Churchill's Secretary, Sarah Sanderson, is a corps dancer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet, the forerunner to the Royal Ballet.

Even after being an editor at Dance Magazine, I knew very little about the Sadler's Wells. Thank goodness for the Jerome Robbins Dance Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, particularly for issues of Dance Observer from the thirties and forties.

So, what did I learn? Well, the original company, the Vic-Wells Ballet, was established by Madame Ninette de Valoise in London in 1931. Frederick Ashton was named the company’s choreographer in 1935, and a young Margot Fonteyn (really Peggy Hookham!) was the company's fast-rising prima ballerina. The company was renamed the Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1940, and in 1956 became the Royal Ballet.

Frederick Ashton and his Ballets by David Vaughn was a terrific resource for information on the Vic-Wells Ballet.

One of the most amazing stories about the Vic-Wells/Sadler's Wells Ballet is that they were stranded in Holland when war broke out, and barely escaped. They left behind the sets, costumes and notes for the Frederick Ashton/ Constance Lambert ballet, Horoscope, which starred Margot Fonteyn and Michael Soams, now forever lost.

However, I'm delighted to say that Ashton's 1939 production of Sleeping Beauty starring Margot Fonteyn not only survived, but will be be performed by the Royal Ballet in the spring of 2010.

Mr. Churchill's Naps

2009-10-05T08:40:00.006-04:00

You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That's what I always do. Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one -- well, at least one and a half.

— Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill, even during the worst of the Blitz, took a daily nap. Now sleep researchers are verifying naps are a healthy way to add some extra rest to our sleep-deprived lifestyles.

I never used to nap, even when our son was born. All those people who said, "Sleep when the baby sleeps"? Yeah, I'd smile and nod, but really, I thought were crazy. Didn't they know how much I had to do?

Somewhere around my son's first birthday, though, I gave in and embraced the nap. Wow, what a difference it made!

My son's four and a half now, and while he'll nap at home, he's given it up at pre-school. I realize that the days of his napping are numbered.

However, I hope that, somehow, I'll be able to keep up with mine.

As a parent, I can attest that it's far easier to "Never, never, never give in" when you've had a nap. Winston Churchill was onto something.

(The photo above is Winston Churchill's bedroom, in the Cabinet War Rooms.)

Victory Gardens

2009-10-04T14:17:00.009-04:00

UK Citizens were urged to plant their own Victory Gardens (or War Gardens) to add fruit and vegetables to their diet. Victory Gardens also saved on shipping costs and fuel.

After the U.S. joined the war in 1941, Victory Gardens became common in the States as well.

This past summer, in the shadow of the so-called Great Recession, First Lady Michelle Obama planted a "Victory Garden" on the South Lawn of the White House. It's the first vegetable garden on the White House grounds since Eleanor Roosevelt's during the World War II years

My family also planted a few things this summer. All right, in window boxes, but still. It wasn't inspired by the First Lady though, but by our young son, who wanted to grow pumpkins.

(Note: don't try growing pumpkins in window boxes. We did fine with pumpkin sprouts and even orange pumpkin flowers, but as the plants grew, they needed more and more water. And the soil of the window box, even with twice daily waterings, simply couldn't support them. Plus, the flowers need to be pollinated by bees; I'm not sure if bees can fly as high as our window boxes.)

RIP pumpkins.

We also planted fennel, again, because my son somehow got it into his head to plant fennel. I had no idea he even knew what fennel was, but I think he liked the picture on the seed packet. So far, so good, but I rather doubt that the kid who won't even eat corn or red peppers or carrots (foods other parents tell me their kids love) is going to eat fennel. But who knows? At least The Husband and I are looking forward to fennel.

We also tried to grow herbs. The chives did all right, but the cilantro took over everything else. The poor basil and oregano didn't have a chance.

Still, as I started to make a shopping list today for Spicy Sweet Potato Soup (which uses fresh cilantro), I had a moment of, "Hey, take that Union Markup (Union Market) and Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods). Screw you and your over-priced fresh herbs!"

I believe War-era Britons would be proud.

Vintage Perfume

2009-10-03T12:27:00.012-04:00

When writing Mr. Churchill's Secretary, it helped to think of what kind of perfume each female character would have chosen to wear (and cologne for some of the male characters, too). Whether or not the perfume's name made it into the text, it was a helpful exercise. (And also fun.)

Since the book is set in England during the summer of 1940, I deliberately didn't consider any perfumes released that specific year. My characters would have had bottles on their bureaus from past years.

If you're interested in vintage perfumes from the twenties and thirties, decants (testers) are a great way to try them. I've tried sampler packs of vintage scents from the Perfumed Court (I'm in no way associated with them or their site) and had a great time — Nuit de Noel was a favorite.

Despite the Great Depression (or maybe because of it?) many magnificent perfumes debuted during the Thirties. Many of these outstanding scents are classics and still available today:

Patou's Joy (1930)

Acqua di Parma's Profumo (1930)

Dana's Tabu (1931)

Worth's Je Reviens (1932)

Guerlain's Vol de Nuit Parfum (1933)

Of course, gorgeous classic perfumes from earlier decades were also available, such as:

Guerlain's Jicky (1889)

Coty's l'Origan (1905)

Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue (1912)

Caron's Violette Precieuse (1913)

Guerlain's Mitsouko (1919)

Chanel's No. 5 (19121)

Caron's Nuit de Noel (1922)

Guerlain's Shalimar (1925)

Lanvin's Arpege (1927)

Bourjois Soir de Paris (1928)

Winston Churchill's favorite scent is reputed to have been Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet, created in 1902 and named after the family home of Churchill's father, the Duke of Marlboro.

The Cabinet War Rooms

2009-10-03T09:43:00.006-04:00

The Cabinet War Rooms in London were created in 1938 from a storage basement not far from No. 10 Downing Street, as a safe place to wage what's now known as World War II. Ironically, they were built just after Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain delivered his now infamous "Peace in our time" speech.

The underground Cabinet War Rooms were the scene of hundreds of history-changing meetings of Winston Churchill's War Cabinet and Defense Committee. Churchill also had a radio room, from which he delivered several of his famous speeches. He also had a scrambled telephone room, which he used to make calls to world leaders, including President Roosevelt. While the Prime Minister had a small bedroom there for safety reasons, he preferred to work and sleep above ground at No 10 or his own Annexe, much to the consternation of his advisors and of his wife, Clementine Churchill.

The Rooms closed on August 16, 1945 and have been kept to this day as they looked in 1940, with the War Cabinet Room, the Map Room and Winston Churchill's Room still containing all their wartime contents. In 2005, the Churchill Museum opened in an adjoining space.

I first visited the Cabinet War Rooms in 2000 — and was immediately taken by the place with its history and atmosphere. Walking the subterranean corridors, seeing everything left just as it had been, it was easy to imagine life as it must have been during the War. Looking at the small typists' room and listening to a recording of the words of Churchill's secretary Elizabeth Nel, the idea of a novel set in the war rooms was inevitable.

Here's a short description of the War Rooms, taken from Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Bantam Dell/ Random House, 2010):

She looked up at the heavy black hands of the clock on the wall and sighed. There were no windows in the War Rooms, the warren of underground space used by the Prime Minister’s staff. The low ceiling was buttressed by the beams from one of Nelson’s ships of the line. Signs warned, Mind Your Head. The once magnolia-colored walls had faded to a dull yellow and the floors were covered in ugly brown linoleum. Overhead were braces of drainage pipes, where gurgles of sewage from the New Public Office could be heard. While the air was filtered by a special ventilation system, there were still lingering odors of unwashed bodies and too-often-worn clothes, chemical toilets and stale cigarette smoke.

The windowless typists’ office was lit by four green-glass pendant lamps and adorned with several gas masks, along with steel helmets and whistles for air raid drills. It was quiet in the small room, but outside, in the hall, the subterranean air was punctuated with the clatter of typewriters, conversations in low voices and the piercing ring of unanswered telephones.

The only evidence it was spring was the calendar on the wall. May 1940.

Winston Churchill and Pol Roger

2009-10-02T15:28:00.006-04:00

So, after I received some good news yesterday, The Husband came home with a bottle of Pol Roger Champagne.

You see, it was Winston Churchill's favorite fizz. (And whatever else you may think of the man, he had absolutely impeccable taste.)

After Sir Winston's passing, Pol Roget even produced a Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill in his honor.

According to The Wine Doctor:

"Pol Roger was Churchill's tipple, and his relationship with the house was cemented when entranced by Odette Pol-Roger, Jacques' wife, when he met her at the British Embassy in November 1944. Churchill became Pol Roger's best, and certainly most influential, customer. He named a winning race horse after Odette, which I think is a compliment. After his death, Pol Roger placed a black border around the labels of Brut NV shipped to the UK. And, in 1984, they released a prestige cuvée named after the great man, starting with the 1975 vintage. The launch of the wine was a grand affair, attended by Lady Soames, Churchill's daughter, who commented of her father, "I saw him many times the better for it, but never the worse." The blend for this cuvée is a closely guarded secret, but it is likely to be a Pinot-dominated cuvée, reflecting the style of wine that Winston preferred."

Cheers!

The Perfect Red Lipstick

2009-10-01T22:22:00.002-04:00

"I live by a man's code, designed to fit a man's world, yet at the same time I never forget that a woman's first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.”
— Carole Lombard (photo by John Rawlings, 1939)

Red lipstick never goes out of style.

While British women during World War II had cosmetics rationed and often had to make do when items ran out (margarine wrappers for moisturizer, burned bobby pins for mascara, ink stamp pads for rouge), lipstick was kept in production because of it's supposed effect on morale. Despite the war (or because of it) sales soared.

While researching Mr. Churchill's Secretary, I definitely went through my own red lipstick phase. Favorites include MAC's Russian Red and Ruby Woo, Clinique's Retro Red, and Chanel's Red No. 5.

It's a bit much for the playground and preschool pickups, but I'll still put some on for Date Night with The Husband.

Alan Turing Honored

2009-10-01T13:46:00.005-04:00

Alan Turing — mathematician, computer scientist and cryptographer — is widely considered by many historians to be just as influential in winning World War II as Winston Churchill.

Turing's work was cracking German codes. More specifically, creating the "bombe" that translated the coded messages sent by Nazi Enigma machines, a forerunner to the modern computer.

Turing was homosexual — and convicted of "gross indecency" in 1952, after admitting to a relationship with a man.

He was chemically castrated as a "treatment," and his criminal record meant his security privileges were withdrawn and he could do no more work with the UK government.

Two years later he killed himself, at age 41.

There is, of course, no happy ending to Turing's story; but at least last month an apology was made.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a statement apologizing for Britain's treatment of Alan Turing, ending with, "So on behalf of the British government, and all those who live freely thanks to Alan’s work, I am very proud to say: we’re sorry, you deserved so much better."

(Read the statement in its entirety here.)

Mr. Churchill's Typewriters

2009-09-30T22:08:00.012-04:00

Winston Churchill's secretaries used specific typewriters — both portable and noiseless. Churchill wanted his secretaries to type his words directly, as opposed to taking them down in shorthand and then typing them up later. It caused them no end of anxious moments.

Elizabeth Layton Nel, one of his typists during World War II, had this recollection in her memoir:

"In those days, he was in the habit of dictating straight on to the typewriter, in order to save time, the war being most anxious and pressing. One used a noiseless typewriter, and as he was finished dictating, one would hand over the Minute, letter or directive ready for signing, correct, unsmudged, complete. He would then sign or initial it, buzz for the Private Secretary, and it would be dispatched, frequently topped with the bright red sign stating, 'Action This Day ' " ....

The font at the heading of this blog (and also on my web site) is from a Remington Noiseless Portable typewriter, probably very similar to those Winston Churchill's typists, including Elizabeth Layton Nel, used. The font was recreated for the computer by antique typewriter aficionado and expert Richard Polt.

According to Richard, the font was created from his own "beloved Remington Noiseless Portable Model Seven.... Using fontifier.com and a scanner [to create a] Remington Noiseless TrueType font that you are welcome to download here and use as you please. If you want other 'typewriter' fonts, try this site."

For all of us who love fonts, particularly old typewriter fonts, thank you Richard.

Keep Calm and Carry On

2009-09-30T10:45:00.009-04:00

This British World War II poster from 1939 has had an unexpected renaissance of late.

Ironically, the poster was never distributed in England during the war, and was only recently discovered in a British shop.

Today it's on posters of all sorts of colors that might have surprised Brits back then (turquoise, hot pink, lime green). On design boards such as Apartment Therapy, it was first beloved and now decried as ubiquitous.

Still, I love it, both sentiment and design. It remains relevant seventy years later.

A Churchill Cocktail, from the Savoy Hotel

2009-09-29T08:40:00.009-04:00

The Savoy Hotel in London boasts the American Bar — one of the world's most venerable drinking establishments.

Irishman Joe Gilmore was head barman at the American Bar, with a terrifically long tenure.

He created any number of cocktails for stars of the stage and screen, royalty, and politicians. And, of course, Winston Churchill.

The Blenheim, also known as Fourscore and Ten, was created in honor of Sir Winston's ninetieth birthday.

The Blenheim

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass:

3 parts brandy

2 parts Yellow Chartreuse

1 part Lillet

1 part orange juice

1 part Dubonnet

Secretary Marion Holmes

2009-09-29T07:38:00.008-04:00

Elizabeth Layton Nel wasn't Winston Churchill's only secretary, of course. Over the years, there were countless women who typed for him. But there was another young woman who worked for him During World War II, Marion Holmes.

I particularly love the story where Churchill couldn't remember her name and an aide said, "Holmes — like Sherlock." And then he began to call her "Miss Sherlock."

Marion Holmes didn’t write a memoir, but her quotations in Tim Clayton and Phil Craig’s book Finest Hour and the BBC-TV series of the same name were incredibly helpful. When I write that Mr. Churchill calls Miss Hope “Miss Holmes” by mistake, that’s an allusion to Marion Holmes.

In fact, according to her diary, Winston Churchill once referred to Miss Holmes as Miss Hope: “He went straight into dictating and I took it down on the silent typewriter. ‘Here you are’ — he still didn't look at me. I took the papers, he reached for more work from his dispatch box and I made for the door. Loud voice: ‘Dammit, don’t go. I’ve only just started.’ He then looked up. ‘I am so sorry. I thought it was Miss Layton. What is your name?’ ‘Miss Holmes.’ ‘Miss Hope?’ ‘Miss Holmes.’ ‘Oh.’ ”

When I read this exchange, I knew I’d found the last name of my heroine.

I was never able to speak with Miss Holmes, who passed in 2001, but Mrs. Nel assured me that they’d had quite the adventure accompanying Mr. Churchill to Russia together.

Secretary Elizabeth Layton Nel

2009-09-28T22:32:00.023-04:00

Mr. Churchill's Secretary was inspired by a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms in London and its meticulously researched and wonderfully presented exhibits. One of the audio accompaniments was an actress reading the recollections of one of Churchill’s young secretaries, taken from the memoirs of Elizabeth Layton Nel. As I listened to her words describing working underground during the Blitz and walked the concrete corridors of those same War Rooms, I felt a shiver go up my spine — and knew I’d found an extraordinary setting for a novel.

Mrs. Elizabeth Layton Nel was kind enough to reply to my letter from her home in South Africa in 2004. I told her (in my own, probably dorky, way) how much I admired the work she had done, and also how much I enjoyed her memoir. She was gracious in her replies and generous enough to give her blessing to my using her “mistakes” (“right” for “ripe,” et al.). But she did caution me that in reality the secretaries never would have had any time for my protagonist's intrigues or romance. (!)

We’d planned to meet in London at the Cabinet War Rooms for the opening of The Churchill Museum in February of 2005 (I wanted to take her to tea). But, alas, a difficult pregnancy prevented my traveling to from New York to London. (The indefatigable Mrs. Nel not only made the journey, but was honored at the Museum’s opening, along with Queen Elizabeth.)

A widow since 2000, Mrs. Nel passed in October of 2007 and is survived by a son and two daughters.

Her inspiring and important memoir, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, was first published in 1958 and, after many years, went out of print. A new edition of her book, Winston Churchill By His Personal Secretary Elizabeth Nel, was completed shortly before her death in 2007. And so her story, I’m delighted to report, is readily available to all once again.

More Churchill-inspired Libations

2009-09-28T12:29:00.007-04:00

In addition to the preceding cocktail recipe, here a few more, just in case you're feeling particularly Churchillian.

There is, of course, the Churchill Cocktail, first mentioned in Esquire, 1939. It's reputed to have been his favorite cocktail at the Savoy hotel's American Bar.

Churchill Cocktail

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass:

1 1/2 oz Scotch

1/2 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz Italian (sweet) vermouth

1/2 oz lime juice

There's also a cocktail invented by Sir Winston, according to the 1965 Esquire Party Book:

Sir Winston

Strain into a chilled champagne glass:

3 oz brandy

1 1/2 oz champagne

dash of Cointreau

The Churchill Cocktail

2009-09-28T08:57:00.004-04:00

Having a blog allows me indulge in the intersection of two topics I love: Winston Churchill and cocktails.

Churchill was a prodigious drinker, of course. Scotch, scotch and soda (light on the soda), Champagne (Pol Roger preferably), claret, Burgundy, brandy, port.... From our modern perspective, it may seem over the top — and yet, if one were indeed going to "fight them on the beaches" — it was probably a good idea to have some liquid courage first.

To the best of my knowledge (and I'm by no means an expert), Churchill really didn't indulge in mixed drinks. However, he and his family are associated with a number of cocktails. Legend has it that his mother, American (Brooklynite!) Jenny Jerome had the Manhattan cocktail created for a party in honor of her husband, Lord Randolph Churchill. Different mixologists have debunked the story, but I like it....

There is one cocktail, though, that's reputed to have been created by Sir Winston. According to Esquire's "Potables" column (a fantastic source for cocktail history), the Sensation was created in Britain in 1939 and was either created by or inspired by Churchill. Here's the recipe:

Sensation (also known as Brandied Port)

Shake well with cracked ice:

2 oz ruby port

1 oz brandy

Dash of fresh-squeezed orange juice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

Cheers!

It's a Book!

2009-09-27T19:29:00.005-04:00

This from Publishers Marketplace:

"Susan Elia's CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY, to Kate Miciak at Bantam Dell, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2011, by Victoria Skurnick at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency."

All right, so the actual title is MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY — and my name is Susan Elia MacNeal — but, still, pretty awesome.

Thank you, Victoria. Thank you, Kate. Thank you, Noel. Thank you, Idria.

And thank you, Random House, for sending not only a contract, but a (gasp) check! It even came with a cover letter on the cream-and-brown Random House stationery I remember so vividly from interning there in the early nineties. (And not only did I use the stationery, but I remember typing on it. Like, with a typewriter.) I even remember the floor with the contracts — although Random House long since been bought by Bertlesmann and has moved from East 50th Street to new digs in Midtown.

Still, remembering working on the stationery and now getting my own letter in the mail, it's a lovely full-circle kind of feeling.