I write romances set in Dark Age Scotland or in ancient Greece. These time periods just happen to be my favorite settings. Occasionally I come across reader comments””they say they can’t read historical romance because they can’t get over the stink factor in any time period before running water. I hope to enlighten some of these ill-informed people.

Sure, there were some really smelly people back then, but there are some really smelly people now. Not everyone has the same level of hygiene even in these modern times with easy access to clean water and soap. In the Late Middle Ages when cities became overcrowded and the rivers polluted with sewage, I agree that things got considerably malodorous all around. But even in the truly stinky times there had to be some people that were fastidious about keeping themselves clean.

One thing modern people tend to overlook is that before electricity people were around fires all day and all night. They smelled like smoke and smoke is a natural deodorizer that absorbs sweat in clothes. In areas where there was plenty of water people enjoyed bathing in water scented with rose petals, heather, lavender or any other native herb that added a pleasant fragrance. The ancient Celts invented soap (a mixture of ashes and animal fat) so people bathed with soap and water. In areas where water was scarce people bathed with scented oils. Egypt was one place where people used fragrant oils. There were also ways to brush teeth””with green hazel twigs, or by chewing on mint or parsley.

And when all else fails, I have a ploy for making sure my two main characters smell nice before they engage in any romantic activities. My female characters have a need for cleanliness. Today this is known as a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This behavior makes my heroines a bit quirky, but at least they smell nice and they make sure their mates smell nice too.

Here’s something to think about when reading or deciding to read a historical romance””ancient/medieval people didn’t necessarily stink, they just smelled different than modern people””with a hint of smoke, herbs or fragrant oils. And they might be compulsive about bathing””at least in my books.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating…Sensual…Otherworldly

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A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse”¦

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

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