Hi friends! I’m so excited to welcome back author, Heather Moll to Austenesque Reviews today! 
If you are a longtime reader of this blog, you may have noticed that Heather Moll has been furthering our education on Regency and Georgian jewelry – one blog post at a time. 💍
We learned about toi et moi rings, memorial rings, acrostic rings, and lover’s eyes. 📿
And today, Heather is here to share about a diamond aigrette which is featured in her new novel – A Most Natural Consequence! 💎
We hope you enjoy! 
Thank you Austenesque Reviews for hosting A Most Natural Consequence! I always enjoy working jewelry into a book. Sometimes it’s a thoughtful gift, and often that gift ties in to a story’s theme. And other times, in the process of searching gems while I’m outlining, the jewelry ends up being a plot point. In A Most Natural Consequence, a meaningful gift and a plot point came together with a diamond aigrette.
An aigrette is a hair ornament designed to hold or depict feathers and is usually jewel-encrusted. Aigrette is the French word for egret, a large water bird with long, fine feathers. Over time, upper-class women in France took the aigrette from being a military embellishment on a man’s hat to an ornament for their intricate wigs and hairstyles.
By our time period, jeweled aigrettes were made to be worn without the addition of real feathers. Even after elaborate hairstyles went out of fashion, aigrettes remained popular in Regency ladies their evening wear. Aigrettes gradually became the preference among those who preferred less ostentatious and lighter hair ornaments.
They were often mounted en tremblant, meaning “to tremble”. The gemstone pieces were attached to a something that acted as a spring, like a thin metal wire, to create movement when worn.
This is the style aigrette I had in mind for Darcy to give to Elizabeth in A Most Natural Consequence, but replace the multicolored stones with diamonds. This one is from the Victoria and Albert Museum, ca. 1810 (made), ca. 1820-1835 (altered). It has brilliant-cut diamonds, turquoises, an emerald, and other colored stones. Others were added later to increase the polychromatic effect.
In A Most Natural Consequence, Darcy decides to buy his new wife a gift so she feels pretty and confident as she meets his friends and adjusts to London life. Here’s an excerpt where he gives it to her before they attend an important ball.
~ Excerpt from A Most Natural Consequence ~
She was at the small desk in Georgiana’s old room, taking advantage of the afternoon light, when Darcy came
in. “Recording all your secret thoughts in your journal?”
“Managing your engagements, actually,” she said archly as he came farther into the room. It had again been a few days since she had needed to unburden herself to her diary. Darcy’s companionship had marked quite a change. “Although, if you continue to tease me, I will be sure to make a lengthy note of your sporting behaviour toward me in my next journal entry. I am impressed by your improvement.”
“I have learnt from the best.”
She grinned at him. His manner was more wry, more quick quips than her own playfulness, but Darcy still had a sense of humour. He featured prominently in every journal account. His generosity, his kindness, his cleverness. What thoughts and reflections did he have about her? Were they the thoughts of a friend he respected, or could they be stronger and more fervent than that?
“You see all the dinner parties and evening parties made for you and your lady,” she said, gesturing to the table when she realised she had been staring at him, “and invitations are flowing in so fast that we will never have a disengaged day.” She looked over the stack. “In the course of the autumn, I must return their civilities with one superior party.”
“You cannot begin all of that yet, because I must return to Pemberley. I am typically there in August and September, and matters can no longer be put off. I will leave tomorrow, after Lady Summerlin’s ball. I can get a few stages in before dark, even though we will have a late night.”
“You must be there for the Michaelmas season?” she asked. Sunday was the twenty-ninth. Tenants would want to speak with Darcy to discuss their rates and deductions and harvest yields. Mrs Reynolds would discuss hiring of servants. His steward would want to meet with him to plan and budget for the following year.
“I will only be gone a fortnight, then all the parties honouring our marriage can resume.”
“Thank you for telling me.” She looked at the letters again, already deciding which ones she might accept alone and which ones to defer for after Darcy returned in October. She noticed he still hovered by the door, and then she looked up to see him turning a small parcel over in his hands.
He cleared his throat and came nearer. “Am I too late to add something to your preparations for tonight?”
Elizabeth rose and pointed toward the parcel. “What is it?”
“Something for your trinket box.”
She unwrapped it and opened the lid to see an aigrette made of diamonds. The hair ornament was designed as a posy of flowers, grasses, and a single peacock feather tied by a ribbon. The jewelled feather sat on a small hidden spring, mounted en tremblant, so that it trembled ever so slightly when she moved her head.
It was the prettiest thing she had ever seen.
“Darcy…” She stared at it, tracing her fingertips over the diamonds. “It is stunning. When did you get this?”
“I went to a jeweller in Ludgate Hill the other day.”
She supposed it must have been after another one of Miss Bingley’s taunts about her hair and dress not being fine enough for the great Mr Darcy. If she did not know his character as well as she did, she might assume he found her lacking and wanted her to appear the part of the elegant bride worthy of a man of Darcy’s rank and wealth.
But by his manner, rather than his words, it was clear he simply wanted to make her happy.
Fascinating! I never knew the origins of aigrettes and I love how they look!
If I lived in the regency era, I’d pick them over tiaras and turbans any day!
How lovely of Mr. Darcy to give such a beautiful gift!
~~~
Here are some other aigrettes from the mid 18th to early 19th century, all from the British Museum.
Jeweled aigrettes were listed in royal collections at the beginning of the 17th century. During the 18th century, they were popular in intricate hairstyles before they were used to ornament the sleeker, simpler styles of the early nineteenth century. Then they fell out of style, and many aigrettes were converted to brooches. But there was a resurgence in the late Edwardian era when aigrettes, often with a small real feather, were worn on short hairstyles with a bandeau or a tiara.
The aigrette in A Most Natural Consequence, is a thoughtful gesture, but the eye-catching diamonds end up playing a larger role in Darcy and Elizabeth settling into their new marriage and finding their happy ever after.
~~~
~ GIVEAWAY TIME!!! ~
In conjunction with her blog tour, Heather brings with her a lovely prize pack to give away to one lucky winner!!
- a paperback copy of the book A Most Natural Consequence
- a pair of Pride and Prejudice earrings
- some snazzy bookish pencils
Just leave a comment on the blog or subscribe to my newsletter before Sunday March 22 and you’ll be entered to win the goodies. Giveaway is open worldwide.
(Already a subscriber? You’re already entered!) Subscribe here and get a free story!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Heather!
- This giveaway ends March 22nd!
What beautiful jewels! I would have loved to wear something like that in my younger days when my hair was long and thick enough to take it! I love Darcy’s thoughtfulness and caring about Elizabeth’s comfort and happiness. A fabulous book!
Isn’t Darcy a sweetheart? He has such good taste! Thanks Glynis!
Just started reading this book, and loving it!!
Thank you for reading it!!
I’ve already read the Kindle version of this book, but the paperback would be lovely. What a fascinating deep dive into Regency jewelry!
I’m glad you liked the jewelry! Best of luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for the excellent lesson on regency jewelry. I’m older and I’d still wear it if I had one!
I’m so happy you found it interesting!
I have some brooches made in the aigrette style.
denise
That’s so cool! Some of them are really lovely. I love the ones that move.
I think one of mine does. I’d have to go through them again. They were given to me.
I still love when you told us about the toi et moi rings, because I had just inherited two right before that.
That’s so cool! Great timing. You must have a lovely collection.
Oh wow wow WOW! The beautiful descriptions and backstory of jewels is quite fascinating, and that excerpt was so sweet!! Thanks for sharing and thanks for this lovely giveaway opportunity
So glad both piqued your interest! Best of luck in the giveaway!
It is lovely to see the aigrette – I imagined what it looked like when I read the book, but to actually see it (or its moral equivalent) makes it more real.. Thank you for sharing.
Sometimes having a visual really helps. Thanks for reading!
Looking forward to reading another of your excellent books! Thanks for giving this background!
So glad you’re excited for it Becky!
The jewellery are beautiful.
Aren’t they stunning??
Lovely jewelry and book sounds great.
So glad you liked the pieces I shared!
The jewels are absolutely stunning!
So gorgeous! Darcy has good taste.
How beautiful is both the jewelry and the book excerpt! I love older jewelry. I have some of my grandmothers – tho not as exquisite of pieces as these. (Mine are sentimental value) I really loved the peacock feathers one. Thank you for the education. I haven’t read your novel yet. Sounds sweet with a touch of genuine and sincere kindness, respect and love. Thank you for sharing. I do believe I would enjoy reading it.
Those sentimental and family pieces we hang on to are the special ones. So glad you enjoyed the jewelry and the excerpt!
The aigrettes are beautiful. I love that the English word for aigrette is so similar. There’s something so graceful about the jewelry, it reminds me of egrets. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and offering the giveaway.
Yes, something so elegant about them! Good luck in the giveaway!
Wow! I’d be nervous that such a bejeweled decoration would slip out of my hair and get lost. But they are gorgeous and thanks for running the giveaway.
Me too! That’s a lot of diamonds on your head. You might not know it’s gone until you got home!
I really looking forward to reading this new book soon. I do enjoy your jewelry posts on FB, I’ve learned a lot about Regency jewelry reading them. It’s usually the obvious workmanship and artistry that really gets to me.
I’m thrilled you like the posts! Even if I don’t always love the piece for myself, I have to admire the talent it took to create them!
I love learning about the jewelry that Heather educates (truly she does!!) all of us on. It is a fun thing in her stories to see what is mentioned. This story was very enjoyable!
Thanks for telling me you like the jewelry stuff! Sometimes I wonder if I’m boring people, but I just love them!
Such a sweet moment!
Darcy’s a thoughtful guy, with good taste in jewelry!
I’ve never heard of aigrettes and I love them. Thanks for telling us about them, and for the chance to win such a super prize.
Aren’t they lovely?? Best of luck in the giveaway!
This is another great story. I loved the tension created by Wickham and Georgiana (well, obviously I hated it for Georgiana). Like everyone else, I loved the gift of the aigrette!
Good thing Darcy and Elizabeth were pretty solid because those two sure stirred up a lot of trouble! Thanks for reading it!
Those jewels are stunning and certainly something I would have been pleased to wear in my younger days. The excerpt demonstrates Darcy’s thoughtfulness, but I wonder why Elizabeth is not traveling to Derbyshire with him and will his absence create whispers among the ton? Guess I will have to read the book to get answers to my question! Congratulations on publishing a new story.
The short separation won’t cause whispers, but something else will if they’re not careful… You’ll have to read and find out!
This sounds very intriguing! Definitely one to add to the TBR hoard.
My TBR is also out of control!
I love how you do such fine research on costumes of the past and introduce it to us in your stories. A great way to give a history lesson with your wonderful books!
Thank you! I’m happy my nerdiness is educational and entertaining.
I would love to win a copy
Best of luck in the giveaway!!
Nice post! The book sounds good! I would love a copy and the earrings so pretty! I love the excerpt too!
So excited it piqued your interest! Good luck in the giveaway!
I’ve always liked your books, so I know I’ll read it, whether I win or not. And at 83, I’ve never had my ears pierced, but for Pride and Prejudice earrings, . . .Is “Shad Up” the proper response?
Thank you for your kind words, Betty! And you made me laugh with “shad up”!!
What beautiful jewelry! Thank you for the fun little tidbit of history I was unaware of before. Looking forward to reading this new book! Fingers crossed I am the giveaway winner 🙂
So happy you found it interesting! Best of luck in the giveaway!
Hi Heather,
I always love your historical perspective and the jewelry is beautiful. I’m so glad you incorporate the jewels in your novel. Elizabeth is one lucky lady. Thanks for excerpt, I look forward to reading more. –Leslie
Thank you Leslie! Isn’t Elizabeth lucky? Darcy did good with this one.
Those are some gorgeous jewelry pieces- I love the delicacy of them. Fun! And that was a sweet scene…
Aren’t they stunning? And Darcy was so thoughtful here. Maybe I need to raise the bar for my husband??
Darcy is welcomed to leave anything in my trinket box! The bouncing feather in the design is fascinating. Thank you for expanding my knowledge of Regency jewelry. The excerpt was lovely, but what is going to occur when Darcy is away for a fortnight?
I wouldn’t say no if Darcy visited the jewelry store for me. As for that time away, it will make the heart grow fonder, but also give Wickham time to cause problems…
Dholcomb1 was the randomly chosen winner! Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their enthusiasm for A Most Natural Consequence!
Well, I am late posting, but did want to note that I enjoy your historical diversions.
The pins looked so familiar that I looked at a small vintage pin of my late mother’s and found it to be so similar! Not on a spring, but it was a pleasant comparison.
Thank you for sharing.
How lovely they reminded you of something belonging to your mother. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!