The situation of Lady Hamilton makes a brief appearance in my forthcoming novel, Mansfield Parsonage! The day after Sir Thomas’s homecoming dawn clear and mild, an ideal situation for a long walk, of which Mary and Henry took advantage. Soon after breakfast the siblings departed on their ramble, this time heading away from the River… Read more A Little More About Lady Hamilton
The state funeral of Admiral Horatio Nelson was held on 9 January, 1806 and frankly there were Roman Emperors who were mourned with less gravitas and pomp than the Hero of Trafalgar was lamented by the English. The funeral was lavish to say the least. Nelson’s body, inside of a lead coffin that was in… Read more Lady Hamilton’s Lover in Cardinal Wolsey’s Sarcophagus
I have often thought it was regrettable that the modern push for sales has moved all the emphasis of the Season to before the actual day rather than leaving that time for proper Advent and making the real Christmastide – the Twelve Days of Christmas – the time of celebrations and fun. By the time… Read more Regency Twelfth Night
When a the Jordan Lead Codices hit the news in March of 2011 there was a flurry of hyperbole, hysteria, and then dismissal. First it was claimed that the codices dated from the “1st century AD … and that they might predate the writings of St. Paul and that “leading academics” believed they might be… Read more The Jordan Lead Codices
New Year’s Day actually began at sundown on 31 December for people in Medieval times because days were counted as starting then rather than at midnight back in then. That’s also why we do our primary partying (at least when we are younger and stronger than my middle-aged butt is now) on New Year’s Eve… Read more Happy New Year’s!
The holiday season in the Georgian era was as much like the Yuletide of the Tudor time period as it was like our modern Christmas. Regency holiday traditions sprang from the same combination of Roman and Pagan midwinter rituals as the Medieval ones. Even Oliver Cromwell couldn’t eradicate this festive ideology from the zeitgeist when he… Read more Merry Christmas!
Public popularity is a fickle, fickle thing. In fact, one of the things that will turn the public against you is becoming “too” popular. Worse, there was nothing so loathed in Regency England (and to some extent, today) as an underdog that seemed to be winning; support was on your side only as long as… Read more The Tide Turns Against Caroline of Brunswick
Violent crime — especially violent crimes perpetrated on innocent, law-abiding members of the middle-class – have long had a hold over the public imagination. There is fascination in the macabre and the horrific that compels us to examine it even as it repels us. We are like monkeys peeking at a snake under our tree;… Read more The Ratcliffe Highway Murders
The end of last week was a busy, busy time for the Kramers. First, our things finally arrived from the USA! Although they took months longer to get her than I expected, 99.9% of my things were unbroken and undamaged … which is excellent considering the miles behind them. Basically, my tea trolley will need… Read more Our First Christmas Panto!
The Regency Era is named for the decade between June 1811 and January 1820 when the mentally ill King George III’s eldest son ruled in his place as Prince Regent before becoming King George IV, but the name also describes the historically distinctive period of art, literature, fashion, and popular culture between 1795 and 1837.… Read more Austen’s Regency