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The Victorian Trousseau

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This week I worked on the proposal of marriage offered by Patrick Rochester to Charlotte Gray. After torturing the man for a good five pages, she finally relented to marrying him.
Her sister, Lilly Collins, is actively involved in preparations for the wedding. One task that she is helping Charlotte with is preparing her trousseau. This French word refers, of course, to a bride's bundle of personal possessions amassed prior to the wedding that include undergarments and clothing. Late in the 19th and early 20th century a collection of household wares (tablecloths, towels, linens, etc.) were included.

My story is set roughly around the 1885-1890, so Charlotte's collection of personal items deal mainly with fine undergarments and clothing. Below is an excerpt from Vintage Connection describing a typical trousseau around 1884. It would include the following:


"... a dozen chemises trimmed with embroidery or insertions, a dozen nightdresses, six well-trimmed combinations…
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The Language of Congenial Intercourse

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Sorry to disappoint you, but this post is not about sex. It's about congenial intercourse, which we could also term as the art of conversation. Let’s face it, our abrupt language today leaves much to be desired when compared to the Victorian era filled with manners and polite communication.
My style of writing in the past has been somewhat remiss of the way people spoke in the late 19th century. This time, I’m trying to make it more true to form. I will admit, it’s been a challenge. I don’t want my text to read like an Elizabeth Gaskell novel, who by the way had some hefty run-on sentences. Take this one for instance: 
The chill, shivery October morning came; not the October morning of the country, with soft, silvery mists, clearing off before the sunbeams that bring out all the gorgeous beauty of colouring, but the October morning of Milton, whose silver mists were heavy fogs, and where the sun could only show long dusky streets when he did break through a shine. (I’m out of brea…
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