https://astoriabane.com/blog/ Notes from behind the drawing-room door. A Gilded Age society column from the world of Astoria Bane's dark historical romance. en https://astoriabane.com/blog/what-is-dark-historical-romance.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/what-is-dark-historical-romance.html Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Reading Guides Dark historical romance explained: what makes it dark, how it differs from historical romance and gothic romance, the tropes readers love, and where to start. https://astoriabane.com/blog/gilded-age-servants-hierarchy.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/gilded-age-servants-hierarchy.html Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 The Real Rules Butler, housekeeper, lady's maid, footman: how the staff of a Gilded Age New York house was ranked, what each servant did, and what they were paid. https://astoriabane.com/blog/arranged-marriage-gilded-age.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/arranged-marriage-gilded-age.html Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 The Real Rules Dollar princesses, marriage settlements and a mother who admitted she forced it: the real Gilded Age history behind the arranged-marriage trope. https://astoriabane.com/blog/dark-historical-romance-villain-heroes.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/dark-historical-romance-villain-heroes.html Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Reading Guides Six dark historical romances whose heroes are villains, blackmailers and crime lords, from Georgian London to Gilded Age New York, and how dark each one gets. https://astoriabane.com/blog/history-behind-the-devils-asking-price.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/history-behind-the-devils-asking-price.html Fri, 13 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Start Here What is real in Astoria Bane's The Devil's Asking Price: the 1911 calendar, Easter on Fifth Avenue, mourning, calling cards, the Met, Newport, the gardenia, and a fact-or-fiction quiz. https://astoriabane.com/blog/who-is-astoria-bane.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/who-is-astoria-bane.html Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 Start Here Astoria Bane writes dark historical romance set in Gilded Age New York, 1911. Meet the author of The Wreckage Between Us: the books, the heat, where to start. https://astoriabane.com/blog/a-season-begun-in-black.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/a-season-begun-in-black.html Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 From the Column Issue No. 1 of a Gilded Age society column: a shipping man is buried and New York does the arithmetic. Plus the real rules of mourning in 1911. https://astoriabane.com/blog/the-dashwood-ball.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/the-dashwood-ball.html Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 From the Column Issue No. 2: the Ainsley heir comes to a ball in mourning, goes out onto the terrace, and comes back laughing. Plus how a private ball worked in 1911. https://astoriabane.com/blog/a-corner-turned.html https://astoriabane.com/blog/a-corner-turned.html Thu, 12 Nov 2026 12:00:00 +0000 From the Column Issue No. 3: a gentleman in mourning leaves one card in New York, and Society decides whom it was for. Plus what a turned-down corner meant in 1911.