Fun (or not so fun) Facts about life in England in the 1660s People didn’t like to go to the dentist or tooth-puller (that hasn’t changed) and dental hygiene was seldom practiced except (on occasion) by the wealthy. Consequently, most people had black, rotten and aching teeth. Dental quacks were everywhere, selling painless cures. One, advertised his  “Universal Dentifrice which makes black teeth as ivory, and is a sure and speedy remedy for the worst teeth-aches from such as be hollow and rotten. Be they never so raging or long contained, this remedy will presently cure it by Killing the Worm in it.”  Yes, they believed that toothache was caused by a worm in the tooth. I have no doubt that this “cure” took away the toothache and any other pain they had. It was laced with laudanum.  There were more than 50 capital crimes during the Restoration, so it wasn’t unusual for a woman to be sentenced to hang. While surfing the web, looking at Criminal Justice sites for Restoration England, I came across this bit of information. If a woman was with child, she would almost surely be granted a pardon from the death sentence. At Newgate Prison, on death row, women grouped together in a cavernous ward on the top floor. Their goal was to find men to impregnate them, so they could ‘plead their belly”.  I tried this cake for Christmas last year. My guests liked the idea that they were “eating history” though it was not so sweet as we're used to. Restoration Spice Cake 3 oz. butter 1 lb. flour 12 oz. currents 2 oz sugar ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp ground ginger ¼ tsp grated nutmeg ½ pint cream ½ oz. dried yeast mixed with 1 tsp sugar and ¼ pt. warm water For Glazing:  1 tbl sugar 1 tbl rosewater (I just used water since I couldn’t find rosewater or how to make it) Rub the butter into the flour, add the remainder of the dry ingredients, and mix in the cream and yeast to form a soft dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour, when it will double in size. Knead and place in a greased 8inch cake tin. Let sit for 20 minutes, then bake at 425 degrees F for 20 mins, then for 1 hour at 375 degrees F. Melt the sugar in the (rose)water over a low heat and brush this glaze over the cake immediately after removing from the oven. (Original recipe from The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May, modernized by Peter Brears in his book Food and Cooking in 17th Century Britain) Charles II, the sexy English king who appears in all three of my Restoration romance novels was afraid to sleep in the dark.  He always demanded and got a candle/nightlight wherever he was.  This was the man whose father was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell and wandered, often penniless across Europe for a decade.  When he regained his throne he had Cromwell's body dug up from his grave and hung from London Bridge.  No wonder he had demons inhabiting his sleep. Copyright © 2005-06 Jeane Westin. Website design by Web Crafters.