Category: Regency era
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Freud and Writing Austenesque Fiction
Consider the Canon. Jane Austen is frequently thin on details and does not offer much data about the Regency’s social environment. She rarely addresses the great questions of the day, except for suggesting that Tom Bertram’s time in the West Indies left him scarred and damaged. The same holds for settings. She does not expend…
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Sailing with Style and Salt Pork: A Look at Regency Packet Ships
In a Jane Austen novel, sea travel usually happens offstage. A letter arrives, Tom Bertram returns, Captain Wentworth is promoted to captain—that sort of thing. But if you lived in Austen’s world and needed to get to the Continent (or the West Indies, or the Cape of Good Hope), you would likely have found yourself…
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Dear Grandmamma
Hello! I am taking a break from editing to give you an update and share a little bit I wrote in order to fill a hole. By the time you read this, An Interrupted Proposal should be on its way to the editor. (Next month, I’ll share the cover.) Before it can go, I have…
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Did Austen Speak Posh?
In our last blog, we heard how Shakespeare’s English much more resembled the accents of the provinces than the “proper” English favored today by actors and newscasters, the latter being an accent called “Received Pronunciation” or “RP.” Jane Austen had knowledge of and appreciation for Shakespeare. There are parallels between her social comedies and his, Willoughby reads…
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Some Days are Hard
Today’s blog analyzes Jane Austen’s exploration of gender-based violence and oppression in her novels, emphasizing how societal norms silenced women’s voices during her time. Austen’s nuanced portrayals reveal the limitations imposed on women, illustrating themes of coercion, economic pressure, and the struggle for autonomy while critiquing cultural attitudes towards female agency and victim-blaming.
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Tart Treats
In summer months, fruit desserts are always colorful and delicious, and one of my favorites is the tart, making me ponder its history and how available they were during the Regency. They were often found on the table for special days and included among the desserts, though I did not find them listed in the…
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The Author Travels: The Origins of a Tale
As I write this, I’m sitting in a lounge at the airport, waiting for my flight. My husband has a conference on the other side of the country, one which happens every year. Last year it was in Montreal. I am probably the only person alive who hates Montreal, but there you have it, and…
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Unusual Regency Hobbies
Shoe making, graveyard picnics, and anthropomorphic taxidermy…just a day in the life of the Regency and Victorian upper class.
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What Genre Should Be the Home for Pride and Prejudice Variations?
In doing research for this article, I found information on Regency Romance and Regency Historical Romance, and the difference between the two is rather interesting. Regency Romances are actually a subgenre of Romance novels and are set in or near the British Regency (1811-1820) at the end of which time the Prince of Wales (Prinny)…
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Drinking like a Regency Buck
What if you were praised for drinking lots of alcohol? In Regency England, you could be! Well… if you were a wealthy man. Nowadays, we think that immoderate drinking is a sign of weakness. However, back in the 1800s, it was often considered to be something between a neutral trait and, in some circles, a…