History of Coffeehouses

Coffee houses first appeared in Europe in the 17^th century, probably in Venice. Ottoman traffic with the Venetians brought the shops to the island, and the idea spread from there. In 1652 the first coffee house in England was started in Oxford, and run by a Jewish businessman. The building still exists, and is now known as The Grand Café.

Because my current work-in-progress is set partially in Warsaw, I was interested to learn that the first Polish café, as coffee house were called, was in Warsaw, begun be an enterprising courtier in 1724.

Charles II tried to discourage the patrons of coffeehouses, insisting the gathering places were filled with disgruntled citizens who spread rumors about the present monarch, but citizens ignored the warning and flocked there in droves, assuring the owners of a handsome profit.

Women were banned from most coffeehouse in Europe, especially in England and France, but Germany, for the most part, allowed women to join in the pastime.

In London, Jonathan’s Coffee House posted  stock and commodity prices, a list that eventually evolved into the London Stock Exchange.

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, coffee houses became the preferred gathering place for artists and writers, so with the advent of coffee shops in bookstores, the trend continues.

19th Century Travel

In doing research for my latest novel, I came upon a helpful resource, a book on the subject of Florence Nightingale’s travels through Europe. Because my book is set in the same time period, Nightingale’s letters and journals, documenting her travels, were priceless.

Among other modes of travel, which included ships and omnibuses, she frequently traveled in a diligence, the popular name for a French stagecoach. A diligence was drawn by either four or six horses, and had a place in front like a small porch, on which one could stand or sit. Diligences were used mainly between towns or rail stations, and competed with canal boats, until rail travel in Europe became more widespread in the last half of the 19th century.

Joyce Elson Moore

http://www.joycemoorebooks.com/

French Film Ooh-la-la

Two of my books are set in France, and when I was doing research for my 2010 novel, The Tapestry Shop, I spent a few weeks there. I love everything French, from the sidewalk cafes to the chocolate-filled pastries and medieval cathedrals, but I think the French excel at making films. Granted, American filmmakers are masters of technology and sound effects, but I believe the French are better at capturing images of the human condition. Somehow, the emotions are more raw, more apparent in their films. Is it because they are more comfortable with showing emotion? In any park or square in Paris, on any main street, one can see couples locked in an embrace. No one frowns or gives them the time of day.



This is all to say that their culture, the way they are comfortable with their emotions, shines through in their films. I love French films. If you get films from Netflix, they come with English subtitles, and believe me, you will be so engrossed in the film you will forget you’re reading the English. Some of the best I’ve seen recently are Avenue Montaigne, Tous les Matins du Monde (All the Mornings of the World), The Chorus, and Un Coeur en Hiver (A Heart in Winter). Try just one. You’ll be hooked.