Collection

On the way we slept before the 19th century came along - an interesting look at a two-sleep-cycle system!  It's odd to me, though, that the examples of activities people might take part in between first sleep and second sleep (reading, smoking, even praying, which here seems not to see beyond the Christian world in which smoking/reading would have been possible) are extremely limited in period/geography ...

As always, Elizabeth Chadwick has good thoughts on writing - this time, a look at the language of a historical novel.  I tend, as she discusses, to keep it simple, though one always has to keep an eye out for anachronisms.  The fun part is making a reader do a little looking - as with blankets!