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No Longer a Bumpy Ride! The 1762 Westminster Paving Act…
In doing research for my newest release, THE MYSTERIIOUS DEATH OF MR. DARCY, which is set in Dorset, I came across the Purbek marble, a fossiliferous limestone found on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula...
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George Dance the Younger, Georgian Architect and Founding Member of the Royal...
George Dance the Younger RA (1 April 1741 – 14 January 1825) was an English architect and surveyor and a portraitist. The fifth and youngest son of the architect George Dance the Elder, he came from a...
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If the Shoe Fits… a Guest Post from Best-Selling Author, Lucinda Brant
Today I welcome LUCINDA BRANT is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Georgian historical romances and mysteries to my blog. Her novels have been described as from ‘the Golden Age of...
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Georgian Era Thief Taker General, Jonathan Wild
Between 1674 and 1829, a British citizen witnessing a crime was legally obliged to apprehend the perpetrator if possible. At a minimum, one was expected to report the crime to a magistrate or other law...
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Georgian Era Commerce
Before the later part of the Georgian Period in England few buildings/structures specifically designed for trade and commerce existed. One need only to look at the timber wharfs of the Port of London...
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The Death of Princess Charlotte, Signaling the End of the Hanoverian Line of...
Signaling the End of the Hanoverian Line: The Death of Princess Charlotte [Image: Engraving of Princess Caroline from La Belle Assemblée (1806)] Much to the surprise and relief of George III’s England,...
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Who Were The “Ton” and the “Beau Monde”?
Le bon ton is a French phrase meaning “the good style” or “good form.” One could be said to have good ton–meaning good style. So one could be part of the Ton, if one had the style for it–which is why...
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Jane Austen’s Love of the British Navy
Battle of Trafalgar – British Royal Navy: Nelson: Napoleonic Wars http://www.napolun.com In referring to the cult-like following of those who extolled all things involving Admiral Horatio Nelson, Jane...
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Life Below Stairs – Part 7 – The Expense of Keeping Servants
The landed aristocrats were VERY slow to give up the expenses of an extensive household staff. We saw that “plot” being used in the final season of Downton Abbey. It is said that the sixth Duke of...
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Medical Advancements Leading to Real Progress in the 18th Century
Early on, the civilize world saw the study of nature as essential to the welfare of all mankind. The 16th Century saw great strides. Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer...
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History of Shifts, Chemises, and Corsets Through the Regency Era
Shifts or chemises were a woman’s undergarment. It was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils. They were made of cotton, but women who could afford the cost...
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Life Below Stairs, Part 9 – The Valet
The Servant Hierarchy | countryhousereader.wordpress. com Footmen as we learned the last time often thought to join the upper servants in the role of valet or butler. (We saw the character of Thomas...
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19th Century Childbirth Before and After Princess Charlotte’s Death
(This post originally appeared on Geri Walton’s Unique Histories of the 18th and 19th Century blog.) Clockwise from top: Woman’s stool (birthing chair); fetus in uterus, head down, marked “This is the...
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Life Below Stairs, Part 10 – The ‘Pugs’ Procession of Precedence
A sense of status above stairs was to be expected among the aristocracy, but it was no less observed below stairs. For example, the lower servants often spoke poorly of the “Pug’s” Procession, which...
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Mensa et Thoro? How it Differs from Divorce…
If you are a regular follower of this blog, you should be aware that in the Regency Period, divorce was a VERY messy affair – VERY public – VERY expensive – and almost impossible to achieve. It,...
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James Smith, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and Congressional...
James Smith was born in northern Ireland, in the Province of Ulster as the second son of a well-to-do farmer, John Smith in or around 1716 – 1719. He emigrated to Cheshire County Pennsylvania with his...
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Admiral Croft’s Gout in Austen’s “Persuasion” and How to Cure It…
In Chapter 18 of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Mary Musgrove writes to her sister Anne Elliot of their father’s tenants, the Crofts. “I have this moment heard that the Crofts are going to Bath almost...
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Life Below Stairs: Servants as a Status Symbol
Book of Snobs A trend we incur during the Victorian era was the obsession to have more servants than one’s neighbors or comparable members of one’s social circles. It was “Keeping up with the Joneses”...
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Press Gangs in the Regency Era
HMS Acasta: August 2013 http://www.hmsacasta.com A Gentleman’s guide to staying out of His Majesty’s Royal Navy. Press gangs operated in England from medieval times, but during the war years the...
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Militia Officers in Jane Austen “Pride and Prejudice”
What was the difference between the militia officers found in Regency-based novels such as Mr. Wickham in Pride and Prejudice and the Regulars, such as Colonel Fitzwilliam, in the same book? At the...
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