With all the changes over the last two centuries, it is easy to forget that during Jane Austen’s day marriage was an essential social structure. Marriage provided the key to a strong, stable society. Society identified individuals by their connections, the ones they were born with and the ones acquired through marriage. Marriage and inheritance laws …
Throughout her works, Austen presents us with characters who marry for a wide variety or reasons. Those who marry for love, like Elizabeth and Darcy or Jane and Bingley, are arguably the ones who most appeal to modern readers. But characters who marry (or attempt to marry) for less noble reasons abound: Wickham’s marriage to …
Though the holiday season is ending, I’d love to send it of with one final hurrah. So, Jan 5-6, A spot of Sweet Tea is FREE on amazon. Who can resist a holiday party? In the Regency era, the party of the year would generally be held on Twelfth Night, the culmination to the …
The season in Regency England was not just balls and Almacks. The theatre in Regency times was an important place for those who spent the season in London, and those who ventured to the theatre did not attend to simply watch a play. They dressed to the nines and sat in long carriage lines to …
Did you know that in as late as Victorian times water was considered dangerous? In fact, one of the main causes of death in children was tainted water. Adults avoided a similar fate by mixing wine with their water—nothing like a little alcohol to kill the germs! So, if you eliminate plain water, what was …
What if we suppose Jane Austen made her fortune from the publication of Pride and Prejudice, and she wanted to build a house of the latest architectural style? What would she build? It is a simple and yet rather complicated question when you look at it from a historical perspective. Jane Austen lived during the …
Most Regency authors have, at the very least, referenced or mentioned a lady’s maid in a story, even if we haven’t made her a confidant or important servant in our heroine’s life. She is often a useful character, who can be used to impart information about the household gossip, mend gowns in a trice, and …
For those of you who are fans of Emma, you might remember Mr. Knightly’s mention of Astley’s where Harriet Smith finally thrown back into the company of Robert Martin, which leads to his proposal and of course, her acceptance, however, Mr. Knightley never mentions what on earth Astley’s is! “It is a very simple story. …
Balls and assemblies form a regular feature of Georgian and Regency era historical novels. Often heroes and heroines meet, flirt, fight, and even fall in love on the ballroom floor. But what was it really like to attend a ball? Recently I got to find out first hand. In previous installments, I shared about the …
Balls and assemblies form a regular feature of Georgian and Regency era historical novels. Often heroes and heroines meet, flirt, fight, and even fall in love on the ballroom floor. But what was it really like to attend a ball? Recently I got to find out first hand. In the previous installment, I shared about …
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