Fan Giveaway Winners

Well after much ado *cough cough blogger being down* I am pleased to finally announce the winners of the 3rd blogiversary giveaway.  I selected the winners using the numbers generated from Random.org which claims to have the randomest of random numbers to randomly generate.

The winners of the snappy sandalwood fans are as follows:
 
Heidenkind- Who will now be able to hide behind a fan while she steals a snooze in class.
Lydia G- Who will now be able to turn her flirtatiousness up to the maximum level, especially during reenactments this summer.  Watch out, boys!
Vinery- Who will now be able to cover up those pesky champgane stains if she is ever unfortuate enough to be rudely bumped into again.  I think a fan will also be useful to swat any clumsy rapscallion who dares to bump into her as well!
Tourbillion- Who will not only needs a fan to match her gowns but to become a pro at flirting with them.

The winner of the white fan and cosmetic bag is:

Rebecca- Who will now have a fan in order to communicate with her bestie across the room at parties and avoid any unnecessary embarrassment. Yay!

Congratulations! Please email me (GeorgianaGossip@gmail.com) with your mailing addresses by the stroke of Twelve midnight next Thursday 19 May.

Thank you to all who entered.  I had a good many laughs reading all your reasons for needing fans.  If only I could give you all fans!

The Gossip Guides' 3rd Blogiversary Celebration!

Psssst PSSST! *Touches finger to tip of fan* Did you hear? *raises fans*  It's The Gossip Guides' blogiversary!

The colors may have stayed the same
but the blog certainly hasn't

Three years ago Lauren and I began our blogs.  Were any of you reading when they looked like this?  Yikes! Look at that moldy oldy!  Since that time, so much has happened with this little internet project and I've met so many wonderful people thanks to all this 18th century gossip.  Thank you so much, all of you!


*Snaps fan* But enough of this sentimental hoo-ha! How have you all been doing with your fan challenge?  Have you been practicing your fan language?  Yes, no? Well, perhaps there's a good reason for that....and perhaps Lauren and I could help you in your fan culture *Snaps for champagne* No one should attend a party without a fan, especially our blogiversary celebration so Lauren and I want to do our part by having a fan giveaway to our fans!

The Prizes

Participating in Georgiana's Gossip Guide 3rd Blogiversary Giveaway qualifies you to win one of five fans!  Four of the fans are sandalwood; perfect for snapping at rakes or making into a mildly harmful weapon when smacking those attempting to put their hands on your cocktail.  One lucky reader will win a white silk fan which comes with this cute Too Face Marie Antoinette cosmetic bag, but in order for that lucky reader to win they mustn't be a stranger to this blog (ie: I will recognize their name from their history in leaving comments- Yes, I pay attention!).

How to Enter

Leave a comment on this post explaining a situation where you have needed a fan (or leave a picture, how cool would that be!). 

Example: Have you found yourself grabbing for a magazine in order to whisper something to a friend?  Perhaps a playful swat at your guy-friend turned out more violent then planned and a closed fan would have been a safer bet?

Five comments will be chosen at random a week from now (Friday the 13th, yikes!) and announced.  If you are chosen you have 5 days to write back to me with your address before you forfeit your rights to your fan.  Good luck!

And the winner is...

Thank you for all the well-wishes that you left on the Blogiversary post! A big *mwah* to all of you! Now is the time to announce the winners of the giveaways. Thanks to a random number generator, here are the results.

The winner of The Sylph is

MmeHistoire

The Winner of Wedlock is

Emily J

Congratulations! Email GeorgianaGossip@gmail.com with your mailing address by May 21 so I can send you your new book. Thank you all who participated!

The Gossip Guides Second Blogiversary!

Huzzah! Would you believe it's been two years now since Lauren and I have been filling your ears with gossip? I'll be expecting all your cotton and straw gifts by my door tomorrow. Just kidding! You can nix the straw gift, cotton will be just fine!

Oh I know, I should be giving the gifts out. After all, I am more than appreciative of all the wonderful people who have strolled through here whether they are just passing through, or leaving their comments daily! Thank you so very much to all of you! Without you, I would be gossiping to myself, and that isn't nearly as fun. As a small token of my appreciation, let's have a giveaway!

There are two books up for grabs.
Book the first: The Sylph by our patron duchess, Georgiana Devonshire and foreword by some gossipy old spinster.
Book the second: Wedlock by Wendy Moore which tells the amazing story of Mary Eleanor Bowes.

What You need to do.
Leave a comment telling us what you like most about the 18th century and stating which book you would like to win.
Winners will be drawn at random for each book and announced a week from now, next Friday.

The blogiversary celebration continues over at Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide where Lauren also has a fab giveaway going on. Good luck!

Let the Gossip Party Commence!

Welcome to the Gossip Party celebrating the Gossip Guides' first anniversary, or blogiversary! There seems to be many rumours swirling around. Get out your fans and snuff boxes and let's listen-in:

"I heard that Ann Radcliffe is dead!"
"No, no, no. She totally went crazy from writing all those Gothic novels, and now she's been committed to an insane asylum!"
"... uh ... I heard she has asthma..."

-Alicia

Heard in 1762: "Have you seen Allan Ramsay's latest portrait of Queen Charlotte? It is the talk of London amongst the Abolitionists.

-Judy

When Princess Sophia (daughter of George III) became pregnant out of wedlock, rumors circulated that she had been impregnated by her brother. I first read this in Flora Fraser's Princesses : The Six Daughters of George III, which included a frustrating lack of interest in this rumor: Fraser simply points out that the Duke of Cumberland couldn't be the father since all of his probable attempts to rape his sister would have occurred at the wrong time, and then (frustratingly) feels the subject is closed (p. 192, Book 3, Chapter 10).

-Emily K.

The Queen of Sweden, that odd, silent Sophia Magdalena, has given birth to a son after twelve years of marriage and the boy is not the son of the King at all! He was begotten by a simple stable hand - well, alright, a Baron - because the King himself was...unable, so he asked his good friend Baron Munck (which, to make things very droll, means monk in the local language. Ha! Ha!) to step in for him and do the deed. Just like Count Ehrensvärd so interestingly has shown us in this little masterpiece to the public delight of King Gustav's mother, the poor little bastard's Grand Mama...

-Tina

Ever wonder why Casanova, that naughty loverboy, ever kept up with all of his conquests? (takes a pretty energetic guy...) So, his secret? As part of his staple diet, he downed 46 oysters a day...hmm-ok.

-Lucy

I heard Anna Nancy Storace was a total skank and hooked up with Mozart AND Emperor Joseph II.

-Katy

The gossip I remember I liked very very much was that about Georgiana's Picture Hat. It was one of the firsts I read. I love Georgiana's style, and when I see pictures of her I always admire her her style. So when I read this "gossip" I just loved it.

-Anabel

Well, Susan Fox-Strangeways has done it now. Mr. O’Brien certainly is handsome, but really, marrying an actor? No wonder her parents exiled them to the colonies!

-Cathy

The oldest female convict on the First Fleet was Dorothy Handland, an elder in rags and old clothes who was eighty-two years old in 1787. She had drawn seven years for perjury. In 1789, in fit of befuddled despair, she was to hang herself from a gum tree at Sydney Cove, thus becoming Australia's first recorded suicide.

-Mary

One of the first teabaggers?
From the colony of Pennsylvania, town of Philadelphia, comes news that a lowly female shop keeper, known by the name of Lydia Hyde, is rousing other proprietresses of shops and fellow traders, to call for a general meeting. Her meeting of the merchants is characterized as a local effort in Philadelphia to protest England's passing of the Stamp Act to and forgo the importation and future sales of British goods. Does not the poor lady understand that she is causing harm unto herself and her neighbors by giving up on of the greatest sources of her profits? Tea!

-Dana

Pst... did you hear that Lord and Lady Auckland were trying to arrange a match between her eldest daughter, Eleanor, and the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger?

-Elyse

It is shocking that Sir Hamilton would be so open with his mistress Emma Hart, but after all they were on the Continent. Now I hear that he is going to marry her, and I will have to address her as Lady Hamilton? Unbearable!

-Andrea

Did you hear that Prinny nearly sliced himself to ribbons when that Papist tart Mrs. Fitzherbert refused him? Leave it to a royal to botch even killing himself . . .

-Merry

I've just had a confab with miss Burney and she is still not on speaking terms with Mrs.Thrale, or Mrs. Piozzi now I suppose; Dr Johnson has also broken off relations with her. I daresay, it's all very romantic but terribly injudicious. Imagine marrying an Italian music teacher!

-Sandra

Have you seen that new painting of Emma Hamilton? She has a pretty face, but I hear that she’s quite witless!

-Sara

Goodness, what scathing tongues we have! Now, don't forget to make your way into the French Salon for even more! Thank you for all this great gossip and thank you again to all who have made this a great year of blogging!

The winners (picked out of a hat) are:

Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman- Lucy
The Duchess on DVD- Cathy

Congratulations! Email me your mailing address and I will quickly dispatch a courier to your estates.

Last Chance

You now have until midnight tonight to submit your gossip to either Lauren or I for the Blogiversary Gossip Party which will be held tomorrow on both of our blogs. Remember, email either of us with your 18th century gossip and you will be qualified to win some fabulous prizes from each of our blogs. Of course, don't forget to to write which prize you prefer at the bottom of the email. Some fabulous gossip is being spread by readers and I'm just happy to be the first to hear it!

On a different note. If you happened to enjoy the party artwork, I made it available on Georgiana's Gossip Shop in note card form. Thank you to Cathy for the suggestion!

For full Gossip Party Rules and details click here!

Don't Miss Your Chance...

To win! Or at least participate in some saucy gossip! The Gossip Party is this Friday and we'll still be accepting entries up until this Thursday, 7 May. For more details click the above link.

Once again, participating qualifies you to win The Duchess on region 1 DVD or the amazing book that the movie was based on, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. For anyone who hasn't read Foreman's biography, this is an opportunity not to be missed. Georgiana's fascinating life is laid out in the most interesting fashion. Even if biographies are not your thing, you'll be surprised by how fast you'll whiz through it. Lauren has four delicious prizes up for grabs, so you should check out her site as well. So start thinking up some gossip because entering to win doesn't cost you a guinea!

The Gossip Guides Blogiversary Celebration!

Copyright 2009 Heather Carroll

It's hard to believe, but it was a year ago that Marie Antoinette's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century and The Duchess of Devonshire's Guide to the 18th Century came to fruition. This coming Friday marks our first blogiversary!

I don't even know where to begin in expressing how amazing the experience has been. When we began this endeavor, Lauren and I never expected to meet so many fantastic people and have been truly privileged to receive the many graces bestowed upon us through the blogs.

But enough of that blather! What would Marie and Georgie do? Celebrate of course! Throw a party? Yes! But what kind of party? It seems it would only be appropriate to throw a GOSSIP PARTY and everyone (of course) is invited! Even though it is our b-day, we're going to give out gifts to you in the form of Georgiana's amazing biography by Amanda Foreman or The Duchess DVD (region 1) that you can win. All you have to do to qualify is participate in the Gossip Party by spreading some 18th century gossip of your own.

18th Century Gossip Party Rules

How to Enter:
Email your favorite piece of 18th century gossip to Lauren or Heather. This can be gossip you have read here and would like to spread, or new gossip that hasn't been published on the blogs before. French Gossip to Heather will not be accepted, nor English to Lauren. However, juicy 18th century gossip from other countries will be accepted to either. Entries will be accepted through Thursday May 7.

Rules:
1. 18th Century Gossip can be no longer than 3 sentences.
2. You may only enter 1 piece of gossip per website.
3. Subject line must be 18th Century Gossip.
4. Specify if you prefer to enter for a book, a movie or either at the bottom of the email.

Gossip Example:
Did you hear that Mary Wortley totally dumped Clotworthy Skeffington!?
(Feel free to get more creative than that!)


The Gossip Party will officially be held on 8 May and will be like a two salon party between Lauren's blog and my own. So you can participate in both, and should!