Book to Reel: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

  

A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere… the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie. They are given to all kinds of marvelous beliefs, are subject to trances and visions, and frequently see strange sights, and hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions…

Vintage Happy Hour with Jenny Q: The Corpse Reviver

It's a special Halloween edition of Vintage Happy Hour, and as promised, our second holiday-inspired selection is at hand! Whether you need a pick-me-up after dressing up and toting the kids around trick-or-treating, a remedy for a Halloween party hangover, or just a jump start to bring you out of that candy coma, consider the Corpse Reviver! (Cue the ominous, spooky music.)

The Corpse Reviver is a classic cocktail--one that seems to only be called upon for Halloween these days, but back in the 1920s and 1930s, it was a popular anytime libation, particularly so in the mornings, when having a cocktail was an acceptable and widely practiced custom. "Corpse reviver" used to be a generic term pretty much equivalent to "hair of the dog" by today's comparison, and such cocktails were touted as cure-alls for whatever ails ya. The Corpse Reviver first appeared (where else?) in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book, and good old Harry gives us two variations to try, along with caveats for their enjoyment.

Sample Sunday: At the Sign of the Jack O' Lantern

      

Get it today for 99¢!

 

In this sharply funny tale from the bestselling author of Lavender and Old Lace, newlyweds Harlan and Dorothy Carr have no idea what they're getting into when they inherit an old house from a distant relative and decide to spend a summer there to escape the city life, because it turns out that even though Uncle Ebeneezer is dead and gone, he still has plans for his house! And one by one, Uncle Ebeneezer's other relatives start showing up until the house is filled with colorful characters and ulterior motives.

So rather than post a chapter excerpt today, we thought we'd do things a bit differently and share some words of wisdom from one of our favorite characters, the oft-married Mrs. Dodd:

Mrs. Dodd on psychology:

(Mr. Perkins) “They are doing wonderful things now in the psychological laboratories. They have a system of tubes so finely constructed that by breathing into one of them a person’s mental state is actually expressed. An angry person, breathing into one of these finely organized tubes, makes a decided change in the color of the vapor.”

“Humph!” snorted Mrs. Dodd, pushing back her chair briskly. “I’ve been married seven times, an’ I never had to breathe into no tube to let any of my husbands know when I was mad!”

If in the Mirror Your Lover is Seen, You'll Surely be Happy on Hallowe'en

I just love this time of year! For me, Halloween kicks off a whole season of celebrations that goes on until New Year's Day. Here in Virginia, fall is a treat for the senses, a combination of colors and scents and sounds and perfect weather for outdoor activities that gets me in a festive mood. This year I've had even more fun sifting through Victorian and Edwardian Halloween ephemera for our new release, At the Sign of the Jack O' Lantern. When I think of Halloween today, I think of trick-or-treaters, carving pumpkins, and scary stories, but I'd never thought of Halloween as being a romantic holiday or a time of good fortune. So I was surprised to find so many vintage Halloween postcards (the sending of which was another popular tradition of old) spouting wishes of good luck and romantic revelations.

Though the commercialism of Halloween has mostly overtaken October 31, the holiday's roots are derived from the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain. Occurring at the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, the Samhain festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It was a time to take stock in and celebrate the bounty of the harvest and ask for blessings for the coming "dark season." According to a long tradition of Gaelic folklore, the veil between the living world and the spirit world is at its weakest point on Samhain. Many Halloween traditions still in place today originated from Gaelic methods of protecting themselves from evil spirits, but it was believed that some of those spirits could be useful as well, for what better time is there to attempt to divine one's future than when the spirits are nearest to help?

Vintage Happy Hour with Jenny Q: Satan's Whiskers

Fall is in evidence everywhere you look, Halloween is just around the corner, and we're going to be celebrating our newest release, At the Sign of the Jack O' Lantern, with two spooky Vintage Happy Hours this month! First up, a devilish twist on the Bronx martini with an air of mystery surrounding its origins: Satan’s Whiskers.

The Satan's Whiskers cocktail first appeared in print in 1930 in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book, and it appears in two variations, depending on whether your vision of Satan has a straight beard or a curly one. If you're going for straight, make it with Grand Marnier; if you like yours curly, make it with orange curaçao.

Enhanced eBook: At the Sign of the Jack o' Lantern by Myrtle Reed

      

Get it today for 99¢!

 

For newlyweds Harlan and Dorothy Carr, inheriting a grand country home from a distant relative seems like a dream come true—a chance for respite from the hustle and bustle of New York City, for Harlan to pen his first novel in peaceful quiet, and for Dorothy to try her hand at farming. But Uncle Ebeneezer’s house is nothing like they imagined, and quickly turns out to be more than they bargained for!