Mary Hart asked Jennifer Ashley:

I'm currently reading Death Below Stairs...I was a bit thrown when Kat cooks her first meal and uses Tomatoes and Lettuce in the spring. Did she have her salad stuff from Hot houses? I found "Hot Beds: How to Grow Early Crops Using an Age-Old Technique" by Jack First which cured my cynicism! I really like your room descriptions...does your miniature house hobby help you visualise them?

Jennifer Ashley Yes, a number of crops were available to the Victorian kitchen we wouldn't think would be. I use Victorian cookbooks for Kat's meals and kitchen supplies and use their lists for what is seasonal (as well as my own knowledge of cooking and vegetable farming). They had access to foods that we have a hard time finding now! I love interiors. I have been putting together miniature houses for decades, which means researching interiors of many periods, though what I build now are modern settings with "antiques." So, yes, I'd say my miniatures hobby has helped me visualize the living spaces of the Victorian (and Regency and American Colonial and 18th century French) eras. I do pull on research I've done for many years.

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