Category: Regency era
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Apples Here, There, and Everywhere!
While the harvest season has those on tenant farms working to bring in crops, it has those in London enjoying fresh produce and an opportunity for seasonal dishes. From pumpkin or squash soup to roasted corn, the imagination might take a cook anywhere with such bounty. Fruits included pears, grapes, nuts, strawberries, cherries, melons, green…
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An Interrupted Proposal Cover Reveal
Wow! It has been a long time coming, and you have been soooo patient! First, I am really excited to get this book out in print. There have been a few challenges as my life erupted in the past couple months, which has caused some delays, but we are finally coming down to the wire!…
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Another Stroll Through Bath’s Pleasure Gardens
In the middle of the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, many places in England—and especially Bath—have been awash in celebrations. I was unable to attend, but the busyness of the town, as related by residents and tourists, caused me to revisit and re-enjoy my own travels there a few years back.…
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The Weight Your Calling Card Holds
One tradition that has been kept, and for the better, is the calling card, though it is now the business card. As I was designing one, I wondered more about the calling cards of the Regency. One fun fact is that the lady’s card was actually a little larger than a man’s. There were so…
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The Politics of Regency Neoclassicism
We tend to perceive the fine neoclassical residences of Regency grandees as a neutral backdrop to the unfolding dramas. However, the design of these great houses had been shaped by rather dramatic forces as well. It started with the resurgent interest in classical antiquity – Rome and, to a lesser extent, Greece (although Alexander Pope’s…
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Thaddeus Ever Valiant
There’s always the hope that there might remain a brilliant female writer from the 1700s or early 1800s who has been lost to obscurity. That’s why, over the years, I go back once in a while to read someone new to me. One of these is Jane Porter, who along with her sister Maria became…
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What if everything we know about the practice of dowry is wrong?
The dowry system, historically viewed as a transaction treating women as property, served deeper economic and social purposes across cultures. It provided women financial security through marriage settlements, reflecting societal norms and gender inequality. While its significance diminished in the 19th century with legal reforms, its legacy continues to influence contemporary discussions on women’s independence…
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When Mercury was a Cure-all
Everyone who reads my books knows that I have the Miss Bennets, particularly Mary, and, at times, Charlotte Lucas to be extraordinarily capable alchemists in the stillroom. Rarely is it without a later purpose, from scented waters that may be included in travel kits to medicinals that Miss Kitty needs to ease her cough to…
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All Dressed Up with Somewhere to Go: The Cost of a Ball Gown in Regency England
If you’re anything like me you’ve probably spent a ridiculous amount of time imagining what Elizabeth Bennet wore the night she danced with Mr. Darcy at Netherfield. Was it muslin? Silk? Did it swish dramatically when she turned away from him in elegant disdain? And the all important question: what did it cost Mr. Bennet?…
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What Did Jane Austen Have to Say About Her Own Novels?
Take a peek into Austen’s letters to find out what she thought about her works and about herself as an author.