Free (Kindle/Kobo) On Hosting Your Regency-Era Xmas Party [Tie-in Activity & Recipes]

[ATDrake]

On Hosting Your Regency-Era Christmas Party: A Companion to Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas is a festive historical period-re-enactment activity guide with recipes meant to be a tie-in promo to the titular latest novel in the Austen-derivative mystery series starring Jane herself by Stephanie Barron, a pseudonym of Francine Matthews (SYKM), free courtesy of publisher Soho Press' Crime imprint.

This is pretty short, but provides brief nifty background info on the holiday customs of the time, along with old-fashioned games and recipes that Regency-era party-goers would have tried, and which you can try, too. They seem to mainly involve putting brandy in things and then setting them on fire, but as long as you've got a Designated Sober Person™ armed with a fire extinguisher, it's probably not so much in the Kids Don't Try This At Home® category for modern-day DIY party planning.

In any case, this is a pretty nice way to get a taste of the setting of a series, rather than the usual glorified chapter excerpt kind of sampler promo, and I approve.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK) & Kobo (available to Canadians).

The formatting on this is kind of… special, and I think you may need a particular level of compatible device to read it properly, although it's possible to read it online via the Kindle Cloud Reader, albeit in somewhat messed-up format.

Description (the blurb implies a lot more involvement with the actual series than really happens in the text of the guide)
The latest installment in Stephanie Barron's richly historical Jane Austen mystery series takes place over the twelve days of Christmas, a Regency-era tradition unlike the holiday we celebrate today.

In the pages of this companion you'll find authentic ways to celebrate your own Georgian Christmas-from decorations to recipes to parlor games-for full immersion into the world of our heroine.

On Christmas Eve of 1814, Jane Austen and the Twelve Days of Christmas finds the Regency era's most beloved author on holiday at the Vyne, the gorgeous estate of the prominent Chute household, with family and friends. As they prepare for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, the guests are all in a celebratory mood-until one of the Yuletide revelers dies in a riding accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, can Jane discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?