Research for "Fine Eyes & Beastly Pride"

In my most recent book, Fine Eyes & Beastly Pride, I did extensive research to ensure that the story was as historically accurate as possible. I know many of my readers often have questions about the history behind my books, so I thought I’d share that research here.

Warning: this post will contain spoilers!

Beauty and the Beast story

There are several different variations of the Beauty and the Beast story, which you can read about here.

In the original story, Belle had siblings who were jealous of the finery she received while with the Beast prince. When she went home to see her father, they tried to keep her there past her deadline so he would be angry and eat her.

Petrus Gonsalvus was the real-life version of the Beast; a man with the condition hypertrichosis. He was part of the French court in the 1500s, and he was married to a beautiful woman by the king who wanted to see what their children would look like. Half of the babies were born with the condition, and they were given as gifts by the king and queen to political friends (which is really awful).

Obviously, I got some inspiration from the Disney version.

Character Names

The valet is like Lumiere from the movie. His name is Reimont, which is similar to the word “raiment” meaning clothing, since a valet dresses his master. A ray is also a ray of light, and Lumiere was a candlestick.

The butler was like Cogsworth, who was a clock. His name is Major Horace because the French word for butler is majordome, and l’horge is the French word for clock.

The parson is Mr. Chipley, the son of Pemberley’s housekeeper. Mrs. Reynolds is like Mrs. Potts in the movie, and her teacup son was named Chip.

The maid, Mégane Plumelle, is like the feather duster. She is French Candian. The French word for feather duster is plumeau, and the Cree (a First Nations group in Canada and the United States) word for feather is meegwin.

Dr. Gillman in my story was based on real-life Dr. James Gillman, who wrote the book “The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.” Coleridge was able to get close to sobriety by living with the Gillmans and being slowly weaned off.

Roses

Rosa rugosa (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand dunes. The Latin word “rugosa” means “wrinkled”, referring to the wrinkled leaves. Often used as an ornamental plant, it has become invasive in parts of Europe, North America and South America.

Burns & Their Treatment

Here are notes from what I read doing research:

The practice of classifying burns in ‘degrees’ was introduced in the 18^th century. Two German surgeons, Heister (1724) and Richter (1788) classified burns into four degrees:

First degree: Heat, pain and small blisters.
Second degree: Severe pain and large blisters.
Third degree: Damage to the skin and underlying flesh, with crust formation.
Fourth degree: Damage to all soft tissues down to the bone.

The following are the most common symptoms of a full thickness, third-degree burn. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:

Dry and leathery skin
Black, white, brown, or yellow skin
Swelling
Lack of pain because nerve endings have been destroyed
Large, full thickness, third-degree burns heal slowly and poorly without medical attention. Because the epidermis and hair follicles are destroyed, new skin will not grow.

The ‘ebb’ phase in burns (also known as the acute or shock phase) occurs within 48 h of injury and is characterized by a decrease in the metabolic rate with depressed oxygen consumption, cardiac output and glucose tolerance. If patients survive this shock phase, they then go into the ‘flow’ or chronic response phase which is typically characterized by an elevated hyperdynamic state with increased metabolism and cardiac output.This increased hypermetabolism is responsible for the highly catabolism seen in severe burn injuries with accelerated glycolysis, proteolysis, and lipolysis leading to weight loss and the erosion of lean body mass (LBM), generalized fatigue and a weakened immune response.The loss of LBM has a particularly devastating effect on the outcome of patients as Chang et al., has shown that impaired immunity is seen with 10% loss in LBM, decreased wound healing with 20% loss in LBM and death with 40% loss of LBM.

Schjerning advanced this idea of the relation of mortality with burn size in 1884; he found that death always followed if two thirds of the body was burned, to be expected if 50% of the body was burned, and generally occurred if a third of the body was burned.

One of the first topical antimicrobial treatments discovered was sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) (basically bleach) in the 18^th century by Berthollet. Its use was hampered by irritation it caused, but this was later discovered to be due to its variable quality and the free alkali or chlorine it contained.

Potassium hypochlorite was first produced in 1789 by Claude Louis Berthollet in his laboratory on the Quai de Javel in Paris, France, by passing chlorine gas through a solution of potash lye. The resulting liquid, known as “Eau de Javel” (“Javel water”), was a weak solution of potassium hypochlorite.

Give LOTS of fluids = vital to survival.

Therefore the practice of early burn excision was rightly abandoned even though physicians recognized the importance of the early removal of dead tissues to reduce the inflammatory response. Patients with full-thickness burns could only languish in hospitals while their eschars, which were invariably infected, sloughed off, leaving open wounds that heal by secondary intention with remarkable contractures and disabilities.

Use pressure dressings in 1797 – Edward Kentish.

During the siege of Turin in 1536, Ambroise Paré (1510–1590), a surgeon with the French Army, ran out of boiling oil and substituted a salve of egg yolk, oil of rose, and turpentine, which, to his astonishment, reduced inflammation and enhanced patient comfort, at least compared with “seething oil.”

Significant advances in infection control made burn eschar excision possible, when Lister in 1865 started successfully utilising carbolic acid (or phenol) as a method to sterilise surgical instruments and clean wounds.

Skin grafts?

The first documentation of a modern skin graft in humans was by Carl Bunger in 1823. This again involved a nose wound, and full thickness skin from the inner thigh was used for this purpose. During this time however, the success of skin grafts was low due to inefficient harvesting and use of large and thick grafts. Free skin grafting was successfully reproduced by Reverdin, who was still a student at the time, in 1869 to encourage healing and closure of slow healing or chronic wounds.

Burn treatment in 1800s

Treatment for the burns in the 1800s can be found in this book (with the longest title ever):

Domestic Medicine: Or, A Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines: with Observations on Sea-bathing, and the Use of the Mineral Waters. To which is Annexed, a Dispensatory for the Use of Private Practitioners by William Buchan, published in 1769 and used for 80 years.

Darcy’s Specific Burns

Darcy’s burns specifically turned into what are called hypertrophic scars. Here are some common problems, as well as a picture:

Scars across joints can cause a decrease in your ability to move. These are called contractures.
People with visible scars may feel self-conscious and avoid social situations. This can lead to isolation, depression and lower quality of life.
Scars can be dry and result in cracking or breakdowns in the skin.
Scars are more sensitive to sun and chemicals.

Here is useful information about scarring that can happen even a few years after burns:

Blisters

Skin that is newly healed is fragile. Scratching or bumping the scar can cause blisters. Blisters also can develop if you wear clothes that fit too tightly.
You should pierce and drain blisters as soon as you notice them. Use a sterile needle to make a small hole. Then, drain the blister onto a piece of gauze. Put a little antibiotic ointment and nonstick dressing on the area.
If a blister opens, you will need to bandage it with a nonstick dressing. Do not use adhesive or sticky bandages or tape that is hard to take off. Your skin might tear or blister even more.

Skin Tears

Skin tears occur when you bump into something such as a doorway, a countertop, or a piece of furniture. Scratching can also cause skin tears.
If the area bleeds, put firm pressure over the wound for about 5 minutes or until the bleeding stops. Wash the area gently and thoroughly with mild soap and water. Use a small amount of antibiotic ointment and a nonstick dressing each day and let the wound heal. If the area around the skin tear becomes red and warm or the wound gets shiny or larger than it was originally, you might have an infection. Contact your health care provider for further evaluation.
If the wound continues to crack open, get bigger, or deepen, contact your health care provider.

Ulcerations

Ulcerations (uhl-suh-REY-shuhns) are breakdowns in the skin. They may occur with bands of scar tissue around your neck, shoulder, the front of your elbow, or the back of your knee.
It may be difficult for these areas to heal. Physical movement like exercise can cause the wound to continuously crack open or get bigger.
Keep the wound covered. Use a thin film of antibiotic ointment and a nonstick dressing. Keep the skin around the wound well moisturized, especially when you are exercising and stretching.

Contractures

Contractures can affect your ability to move and take care of yourself. If your contractures involve your legs, you may have difficulty squatting, sitting, walking, or climbing stairs. If your contractures involve your trunk and arms, you may have difficulty with grooming, eating, dressing and bathing as well as working with your hands. Some contractures are unavoidable, but many can be prevented with active involvement in your rehabilitation program. Here are a few reminders:

Stretching should be performed a minimum of 5-6 times per day. To make stretching easier, first moisturize your scars with a moisturizer recommended by your doctor.

Your therapist may make a cast or splint to help position your scar in a stretched position. It is important that you wear the cast or splint as prescribed and tell your therapist if it becomes painful or causes skin irritation.

Do as much for yourself as possible such as getting dressed and self-grooming. It may take longer than you are used to, but movement and activity will improve your ability to move and take care of yourself.

Stretching exercises to help with tightness

The list below shows exercises for different parts of the body where skin is tight because of a burn injury. Talk to your primary care doctor or the burn care team about the exercises that are right for you.

Face
• Look into a mirror and make facial expressions like smiling or looking surprised.
• Close eyes tightly and massage skin around eyes.
• Stretch your mouth open and massage the edges of your mouth.
• Say the alphabet, exaggerating the letters with your mouth.
Neck
• Combine stretching your neck with face stretching.
• Stretch in the opposite direction of tightness.
• Lie on your back on the bed. Look up to stretch the front of your neck. As you get better, let your head jut out over the edge of the bed.
Chest
• Lie on your back with a ball or cushion in the middle of your back.
• Start with your hands on your hips.
• Arch your back.
• Stretch both arms out to the side or over your head to increase the amount of stretch on your chest.
Shoulders
• Hold a stretch band with each hand. Use one arm to hold the other arm at the point of pull. Repeat to stretch the other shoulder.
• Prop your arm on the back of the couch or chair when sitting.
Elbows
• Sit with your elbows all the way straight and your palms facing forward or up.
Hands
• Stretch each finger at the knuckle to help get the hand into a fist (see photo to the right).
• For a longer stretch, wrap your hand in a fisted position.
• To get your hand into an open position, press down against a firm surface.
• Increase the amount of stretch by using the other hand to press down on the back of the open hand.
Knees
• To help get the knees straight, sit with your legs propped up.
• Increase the amount of stretch by pressing on your thighs or knees with your hands.
Ankles
• Standing helps stretch your ankles to get your feet flatter on the ground.
• Stand on a step as if you are about to go up the steps. Lower your heel off the step.
Toes
• Toes tend to curl up. First, massage the scar. Then use your hand to stretch the toes.

Laudanum Use

This article about Drugs and Addiction in Regency England was very useful. Another helpful article was The Lure of Laudanum, the Victorians’ Favorite Drug.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, which was published in 1822.

Some famous opium addicts include John Keats, Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, his daughter Ada Lovelace (famous mathematician), poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edgar Allen Poe, William Taylor Coleridge (called it milk of Paradise), and many more.

“There were opium dens where one could buy oblivion, dens of horror where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new.” Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

Since the British captured Calcutta in 1756, the cultivation of poppies for opium had been actively encouraged by the British and the trade formed an important part of India’s (and the East India Company’s) economy.

Godfrey’s Cordial: opium, water and treacle and recommended for colic, hiccups and coughs. Overuse of this dangerous concoction is known to have resulted in the severe illness or death of many infants and children. Opium caused infant mortality through starvation rather than overdose; as one doctor stated that infants ‘kept in a state of continued narcotism will be thereby disinclined for food, and be but imperfectly nourished.”

William Wilberforce, an MP in Yorkshire and famous abolitionist, had a laudanum addiction.

Research for “Fine Eyes & Beastly Pride”