Category: customs and traditions
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“What nobody ever told me” OR “Tell her to give me a ring”
I’d been married to an Englishman for maybe five years when I first toured the US with a British symphony orchestra. Which felt a bit backwards. While I was touring, my husband called most days, and on one occasion he needed my advice urgently (the fridge-freezer? Can’t remember.) At any rate, he requested the hotel…
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Giving Thanks with Austen
With Thanksgiving just past–and passed with family–I revisit the holiday and examine the extent of the formal giving of thanks in Jane Austen’s work. The November U.S. holiday has spread to most of the Americas. The English have a more general harvest-related tradition of providing bread and other food to the poor, often through the…
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Harvest Feastings Were Not to be Missed
As the holidays are upon us, thoughts naturally turn to family, friends, and food. These special traditions have lasted centuries. Harvests are always celebrated, regardless of culture. In the Regency era, novels mention balls, harvests, and parties particularly anticipated and enjoyed during the autumnal season. September 24th was associated with the harvest, though the harvesting…
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Fresh Thoughts on the 2024 AGM
It is ever so difficult to characterize an annual general meeting (AGM) of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). There are so many different elements—local tours, specialty events, sometimes a major evening event, the plenary speeches open to all attendees. Multiple breakout sessions go simultaneously for two days so that no one person…
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Regency Thrills and Chills
My two favorite holidays are Thanksgiving, for family and American-style football, and Halloween. The first has never caused another to even blink in surprise; the latter has caused more than one arched brow of consternation, given that I’m a wuss of the highest order. While none can convince me that IT is not waiting for…
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Housemaids and Early Hours in Edinburgh
Recently I was reading about Regency housemaids and their chores and salary. I’ve looked up details about servants before, but this time I stumbled across an article with the National Trust for Scotland that chronicled the actual schedule and budget of a Regency/Georgian era family in Edinburgh. It was fascinating. The housemaid for the Lamont…
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Absolutely Scent-sational!
Continuing the stillroom theme, I decided to dig more into making scented waters. I wanted to know how likely it was that households of moderate means could make these wonders. It turns out that it was not only possible but likely, for they were made from three essential ingredients: I discovered that it was not…
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Let’s Get Social: Morning Calls and Calling Cards in Austen’s Day
An exploration of the etiquette of leaving your calling card and receiving morning visitors. Spoiler: Don’t serve tea.
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North and South at Times Wanders Off Course
Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South is often described as an “industrial” Pride and Prejudice. Written a half-century after Jane Austen’s novel, Gaskell’s book features an intelligent, independent woman and a self-made man so confident he makes Darcy look indecisive. The protagonists clash every time they meet but are also attracted to the intellect and spirit…
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A Stillroom’s Tools of the Trade
One room that fascinates me most for a Georgian household is the stillroom. Though a genteel lady was considered poor if she could cook, for it was considered a servant’s work, ladies were encouraged to spend their days working in the stillroom. I discovered that the stillroom reflected the mistress as much as any other…