In my novel, Mansfield Parsonage, my heroine, Mary Crawford, loves Indian food. How, you may ask, is this possible in 1812? Its not like there were Indian restaurants in London that early in the 19th century! Well, there’s were you are going to be surprised. The first Indian restaurant in London was the Hindoostane Coffee House,… Read more Indian Food in Regency London
Dear Bloggess, First, it feels a little weird to address you as The Bloggess when your name is really Jenny Lawson, but I cannot call you Jenny because that is too familiar for a gal from Kentucky and I cannot call you Ms. Lawson because that is too formal a way to talk to someone… Read more An Open Letter to The Bloggess About Mental illness
William Blake was born on 28 November 1757 in London, the third child of a working class hosier. He would remain an obscure artist and poet while he lived, but would be posthumously recognized as one of the leading artistic figures of the Romantic Age. When he was 11 years old Blake’s parents paid £52.10… Read more In Praise of William Blake
On 27 November 1810 on of the Regency era’s most famous ‘practical jokes’ occurred — the Berners Street Hoax. Although it is almost wholly forgotten now, it created a huge sensation at the time, reported in all the papers and a “fervent hue and cry” to find the person responsible. Like 99.9% of practical jokes,… Read more The Berners Street Hoax
Beyond doubt, Jane Austen enjoyed reading Gothic novels. She must have read several books in this genre, particularly the ‘female Gothic’ tales of Ann Radcliffe, to parody them so knowledgeably Northanger Abbey, and multiple readings strongly indicates she read them because she liked them. Yes, she mocked the hell out of Gothic conventions, but she… Read more Schauerroman v/s Gothik
Anglophone authors and Jane Austen fans tend to think of the culture and style of the Regency era as uniquely British. While having the Prince Regent was certainly for the UK alone, the larger sociocultural trends of the Regency were European, part of a dynamic give and take of ideas that flourished in spite of… Read more Frauenroman: Deriding Women’s Romances For Centuries
(Today I am lucky enough to have a guest blog post by Mary Anne Yarde, the fabulous author of the fabulous Du Lac Chronicles. The books are set in the Dark Ages Britain, when politics was still a matter of combat and moistened tarts lobbing swords at you from overly-large ponds, and are great reads!… Read more Guest Post: Henry Tudor and the King Arthur Claim by Mary Anne Yarde
Thanks to everyone who participated in the comments! It’s never too late to put in your 2 cents worth … feel free to comment if you must have your share of the conversation! Day 1 ~ Just Jane 1813 Day 2 ~ Diary of An Eccentric Day 3 ~ Savvy Verse and Wit Day 4… Read more Fanny Price vs. Mary Crawford – The Debate Rages On!
English poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist Thomas Love Peacock was born on 18 October 1785 in Weymouth, Dorset, into a lower-middle class family. From there he rose to become both an admired writer and wealthy, “a rare instance of a man improved by prosperity.” While working as a clerk with Ludlow Fraser Company in London,… Read more The Laughing Philosopher, Thomas Love Peacock
I’ve been reading Sharon Bennett Connolly’s blog, History … the Interesting Bits!, for a while now and always enjoyed her posts. Thus, when she published her debut history book, Heroines of the Medieval World, I bought it, and boy howdy am I glad I did. These are the stories of women, famous, infamous and unknown,… Read more Heroines of the Medieval World by Sharon Bennett Connolly