Hi readers! I hope you are enjoying a lovely week! I am very excited to welcome back author Riana Everly! As you may already know, Riana Everly is the author of 4️⃣ distinctive and creative Pride and Prejudice variations, 1️⃣ Pride and Prejudice prequel and 1️⃣ Pride and Prejudice prequel novella. Each story is impeccably researched and often includes fascinating details. Riana Everly is here today to celebrate her newest release, Death of a Clergyman, and share the interesting details she learned about Regency silver! We hope you enjoy! 😊

The Clue of the Silver Candlesticks

Death of a Clergyman: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery by Riana Everly

In Death of a Clergyman, when Lizzy Bennet is accused of murder, her sister Mary decides to see what she can discover to clear Lizzy of all blame. And one of the first things she hears – seemingly quite unconnected to the murder – is about a set of missing silver candlesticks. She thinks little of it until a series of other events convinces her that the candlesticks are somehow connected to Mr. Collins’ unnatural demise.

A quick Internet search suggests that a modest pair of sterling silver candlesticks can easily cost between $500 and $1000 today, and that price can quickly go much higher depending on workmanship and details. The set that went missing from Mr. Bingley’s dining room on the night of the Netherfield ball would have been much larger and more expensive even than these!

As Mary and Alexander investigate the case, more and more missing silver comes to light, and I wanted to find a few examples of Regency-era silverware to give you an idea of what sorts of pieces these might have been.

In general, silverware made during the Georgian era in Britain was eclectic in style. The early years of the era (mid-1700s) favoured pieces with simple forms and designs, made with elegance and usefulness in mind. But as fashions changed, the pieces became more varied in style. Some works kept to clean classical lines, inspired by Roman and Greek designs; other craftsmen moved towards more elaborate elements, borrowing from French fashion and elements from nature. According to I. Franks in London (“Purveyors of the Finest Quality Antique Silver”), “the Regency style was visually very rich and Regency silver is perhaps the most elaborate and imposing of any British silver.”

Here are a few pieces.

These silver candlesticks, on sale at I. Franks, bear the Sheffield hallmark of Kirby Waterhouse & Co. from 1816. They are covered with rococo elements inspired by nature. Each stick is about 10 inches tall and the pair is offered for £3,475 (about $4500 US or $6000 Canadian). A steal at twice the price… perhaps that’s why someone stole them from Mr. Bingley!

If the sterling candlesticks are a bit pricy, try this soup tureen instead. It is Old Sheffield Plate, made around 1815 (Old Sheffield Plate was made by fusing silver onto copper and working with the metal as one piece). It has a removable lining and is about 12 tall, 14 inches across, and 10 inches deep. It is more expensive than the candlesticks at £3,775 but look how much more shiny stuff you get!

Here is a bargain for you at only £2,475. This is a sterling silver water or beer jug. The style is much simpler around the body of the jug, but there is some fancy stuff on the handle and under the spout. It was hallmarked in London in 1816 by Thomas Wallis and Jonathan Hayne.

Here is something else for your casual family dinners. This set of sweetmeat dishes is being offered by Pushkin Antiques for £3,595.00. They date from 1753 and bear the Maker’s mark WC for William Cripps. Notice the elaborate botanical elements at the rims. A set of these would do quite nicely under Mr. Darcy’s morning eggs, no?

Here is something a bit simpler, if no less exquisite. This is a sterling silver meat platter created by silversmith Paul Storr. It is hallmarked London, 1819, and measures about 10 by 14 inches. It can be yours for only $12,850 from RAU Antiques. A dish similar to this one helps provide our sleuths with a bit of a clue in Death of a Clergyman. I wonder what Alexander was looking for, and what he found!

~ Excerpt ~

As she had imagined, Mary was not conducted to the large wooden table in the middle of the main kitchen, where a cup of tea and a plate of leftover biscuits might appear before her. She was led, instead, to a hard bench in the dark hallway that led to the small servants’ sitting area, where they might rest for a few moments when not at their required duties. I am invisible once again, she thought. In my dark riding coat, with my dark hair, in a dark corridor! I shall be forgotten and my ghost shall haunt these halls until my mother’s shawl is finally returned to her. This time she did allow herself the smallest of chuckles and made herself comfortable against the wall, whilst she engaged in one of her favourite activities: Listening to the world around her.

Her reward came quickly, for it was the end of the day, and contrary to Mrs. Harwick’s exhortations, much of the work had been completed, save the final preparations for dinner. Mr. Bingley had already departed for London, and the rest of the party would be preparing for departure the following day and would not require a large meal. Consequently, there were several maids and footmen at leisure in their sitting room, talking and complaining about their days, unaware of being overheard by the ears of the gentry.

“My feet,” one maid moaned, “I never should’a taken the mistress’s old shoes, for they pinch me toes somethin’ awful. Standin’ on that ladder all day, cleaning the chandeliers! Thousands of tapers, all dripping wax that need cleanin’! Where is Polly? She rubs me feet so well when they ache. I have not seen her since we cleared up from breakfast. She has such a way with feet.”

“Here, let me rub ‘em,” a man’s voice replied. There was a moment of silence, then a low moan of pleasure, and a third voice spoke, relieving Mary greatly lest some impropriety occur between the first maid and the footman.

“Aye,” came the third voice—that of another maid. “And the stains on the table linens! One would think the folk raised in a barn, for all their airs and graces. Do they wipe their dirty mouths on the table covers and drag their plates across their napkins? Why, me children know better than that!”

“Did you know,” came the first voice, “that Bessie found seven bottles of wine in the small salon behind the library? Tell them, Bessie.”

“‘Tis true,” a young-sounding maid replied with a titter. “Seven bottles, all quite empty, and not a glass to be found. But I did find,” she lowered her voice to a near whisper, “a single silk stocking!” She tittered again, and the room erupted into laughter and lascivious noises.

“At least you have an extra stocking,” another footman replied. “I still cannot find those cursed boots! And Robinson is running mad because another set of silver candlesticks has gone missing. That makes three in two weeks, and these are the large ones with the fruit decorations and the gemstones. They’ll not be easy to replace.”

Mary sat up straight in the dim hallway. Missing candlesticks? Even a simple pair of silver candlesticks would be worth a year’s wages for these servants. Three pairs would be worth a small fortune, and if the large ones were the set she was thinking of, Mary estimated their value at nearly one hundred pounds alone.

This was most alarming! And how very unusual for two alarming events to occur so very close together. Thefts and a murder! What strange events these were to be happening in as quiet a town as Meryton. They could not possibly be related. That would be even more strange still. Nevertheless, Mary found herself determined to learn whatever she could about the candlesticks, and also whatever she could about Mr. Collins to help save her sister from a terrible fate.

I love the intrigue and I love seeing Mary Bennet in stealth mode! 🕵🏻‍♀️ I will be curious to see how the two crimes are connected and who is to blame! 🤔 Thank you for sharing, Riana! it is fascinating to learn about how expense and ornate Regency silver pieces are! I wish you all the best with Death of a Clergyman!!

~ Connect with Riana ~

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~ Author Riana ~

Riana Everly was born in South Africa, but has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She has a Master’s degree in Medieval Studies and is trained as a classical musician, specialising in Baroque and early Classical music. She first encountered Jane Austen when her father handed her a copy of Emma at age 11, and has never looked back.

Riana now lives in Toronto with her family. When she is not writing, she can often be found playing string quartets with friends, biking around the beautiful province of Ontario with her husband, trying to improve her photography, thinking about what to make for dinner, and, of course, reading!

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Today Riana brings with her ONE ebook of Death of a Clergyman for me to give away to 1 lucky reader!!

To enter this giveaway leave a comment, question, or some love for Riana!

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Riana!
• This giveaway ends November 1st!

 

Visit next week to read my review of another Riana Everly book – The Bennet Affair!