"Dressing the Countess" by Rachel Brimble

Here we are again on a Friday with the NEXT author interview. Today we have Rachel Brimble, author of more than 30 novels, on her new historical romance novel Dressing the Countess from Harpeth Road Press. Take a look at the dress on the cover! If you like the details in historical clothing, you’ll fall in love with this novel.

Rebecca:  Your historical Romance Dressing the Countess released on May 9th. Tell us what first sparked the idea of a seamstress in Victorian England. 

Rachel:  It was after a visit to a Royal Women exhibition at the Costume Museum in Bath, England. They were showing the dresses of past British queens, princesses and duchesses and the designs were stunning. As I looked more closely at the stitching and detail, I was blown away and the idea started churning in mind to write a seamstress heroine…

 Rebecca:  The cover features an elaborate dress. You also describe the wardrobe in the novel with great detail. Do you sew as well, or did you consult historical sources to get the tiny details right on the dresses? Or maybe both? 

Rachel: All the inspiration for everything I describe in the book came from what I saw at the exhibition with a few tweaks and changes to suit what my fictional Countess would like. No, unfortunately, I can’t sew at all – although I do love to knit!

 Rebecca:  Often, it's hard to find tiny details when researching a historically-based novel. Any suggestions of good resources for other writers in the Victorian era? Was there a certain resource that was especially helpful for you? 

 Rachel: After writing six or seven books in this era, my shelves are bending with research books, but the ones I tend to go back to the most are Consuming Passions by Judith Flanders and Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management – I highly recommend visiting your local archive centre website and exploring what diaries, letters and newspapers they hold for the time you are writing. Nothing is better than learning from the people who lived then!

 Rebecca:  One part of the novel that resonated with me was the relationship between the heroine, Rose, and her parents. Her parents seem as if they never wish her to leave the safety of their own protection--even if it means giving up dreams. I personally found this relatable to today's society. Is connecting the historical setting to readers on an emotionally recognizable level important when writing about a different time period?

 Rachel: It's vital! I think every genre is about evoking readers’ emotions, but none more than romance – the thing that most new writers tend to forget is that emotions do not change. So love, fear, hope, anguish, they all would’ve have been felt the same way (and as deeply) for people in 1824 as they would in 2024. It is the setting, societal and work life, income etc that changes, not the emotions, so the more emotion you can bring to your writing, the more readers will immerse themselves in your story.

 Rebecca:  Are you planning any other novels in the Victorian setting or perhaps a sequel to Dressing the Countess?

 Rachel: At the end of last year, I signed a four-book contract to write a WWII series so it will at least 18 months before I can think about writing anything else, BUT I have already made quite a few notes for the sequel to Dressing the Countess (I haven’t even told my editor that yet!), so watch this space!

Rebecca: This sounds exciting! I’ll be sure to check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and your website often to be the first to find out. Thanks for giving us a sneak peek of what’s to come.

Amazon: Dressing the Countess