A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Over the years, I have read many Regency novels set in Scotland, or which included Scottish characters. And yet, I have not found any mention of cairngorms in the pages of those novels, despite the fact that they are the very rock of Scotland itself. What happened to the cairngorms?
The stony story of the cairngorms of Scotland …
The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas can easily be considered the "food season." So many parties and brunches and dinners! There is no doubt that food is an important part of this time of year. In today’s article, award-winning Regency romance author, Ann Lethbridge, shares the details on preparing cardons. This was a vegetable which was popular during the Regency, though it is nearly unknown today.
If you could find them, would you prepare cardons for your holiday feast?
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
A number of you may be familiar with the many delightful Regencies by best-selling author Emily Hendrickson. However, you may not be aware that she has also written an engaging and enlightening reference on Regency social and cultural history, entitled A Regency Handbook. Whether you are new to that special decade when the Prince of Wales ruled as Regent of England, or if you have been reading Regencies for years, you will find a vast array of new and interesting historical nuggets in this handbook for Regency devotees.
A brief overview of A Regency Handbook …
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Though it is seldom, if ever, done today, there was a time when grand rooms in fine homes were designed so that the carpet on the floor mirrored the design painted or carved on the ceiling. This practice had begun in Europe by the mid-seventeenth century, but it reached its peak in England in the late eighteenth century. However, the practice did continue during the Regency, which is, of course, why it finds mention here.
The whys and hows of matching ceilings and carpets …
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
How many of us would notice the proportions of any room we might walk into today? Even if the room shouted out its dimensions as we crossed the threshold? If it did, would we care? Yet, many people in the Regency, especially those among the beau monde, would have been well-aware of the proportions of a certain type of room, typically found only in the grand town houses and the great houses on country estates.
The axioms and arithmetic of cube rooms …
Continue reading “Cube and Double Cube Rooms: Harmonics and Agreeables”
The whole point of a romance novel is the happily-ever-after, which, of course, culminates in the marriage of the hero and the heroine. Today, Regina Scott, Regency romance author and Beau Monde past President, tells us about some of the churches in London which would have been available during the Regency for that joyous ceremony.
Continue reading “Get Thee to the Church on Time by Regina Scott”
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Perhaps abandoned is a more appropriate description of the fate of this live-saving practice by the medical community in the early years of the Regency.
Surely I must be mistaken, as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, that which the English call mouth-to-mouth ventilation, was not known until the mid-twentieth century? Sadly, there is no mistake. How this happened …
October. The month for scary things. A haunted house fits right in. Today, Angelyn Schmid tells us about some frightening and unexplained things which occurred in the most haunted house in London, which was situated in prestigious Berkeley Square. A word of advice, don’t read this story alone, or in the dark!
Continue reading “The Most Haunted House in London by Angelyn Schmid”
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Yet again, I have come across another unique and fascinating book while browsing at my local library. A book which I think many authors of Regency novels will find quite informative. This book is about exactly what the title says it is, how to wear the costumes of days gone by. The author’s stated purpose in writing the book was to provide information for actors in movies and plays, and for readers of historical novels, to help them imagine how the characters in the book they are reading would move, based on the constraints of the clothing of the time period in which the story is set. It would seem to me that this book would also be of use to writers of historical novels, as well as to those who enjoy re-enacting historical events.
Some of the more intriguing aspects of the wearing of clothing in England in times past …
Many of you may remember the Good Ton web site, though some of you may have known it as The Nonesuch. This site was a rich resource offering details on hundreds of traditional Regencies, including blurbs and reviews. It also offered an extensive Regency lexicon in both dictionary and thesaurus formats, as well as a number of links for further information on the Regency. Sadly, just over a year ago, the Good Ton winked out and disappeared from the web. There were many who were very sorry to see it go.
Recently, I learned that a gentleman who highly values the extensive resources which were available at the Good Ton web site has restored it to the Internet and it is once again available to all who found it so useful. In addition to maintaining the site, he is also planning to continue to add new traditional Regency titles to the listings. This is very good news for all of us who love traditional Regencies. If you have any suggestions for Chris, the new proprietor of the Good Ton web site, you can find his email address at the bottom of the home page.
For those of you who many not be familiar with the many facets of the Good Ton web site, a couple of years ago, I posted a review of it at my blog. I am re-posting it here for your edification.
My last doggy post for a while, I promise.
OK here we go. Dogs as Pets
It is my sense that despite the last post which indicated some working dogs were not treated well, given the number of times dogs show up in family portrait, the Englishman and woman with leisure, have always loved their dogs.
One of the most famous breeds are King Charles Spaniels, which were favorites of that monarch and pictured here with his children.
By the Regency these dogs had much shorter muzzles and a more domed head than is pictured here, so much more like the King Charles we know today. I did like this Royal picture though.
Pugs
The truth of how the Pug came into existence is shrouded in mystery, but he has been true to his breed down through the ages since before 400 B.C. Authorities agree that he is of Oriental origin with some basic similarities to the Pekingese. China is the earliest known source for the breed, where he was the pet of the Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. The breed next appeared in Japan and then in Europe, where it became the favorite for various royal courts.
The Pug became the official dog of the House of Orange after one of the breed saved the life of William, Prince of Orange, by giving alarm at the approach of the Spaniards at Hermingny in 1572. What a great story!!!
This picture is from 1808: Although today’s Pug is distinguished by an almost flat face, the Pug of 1800 had a distinct muzzle, and in this case cropped ears.
Italian Greyhounds
This smallest member of the Greyhound family is of very ancient lineage, for its history dates back at least two thousand years. Although its name suggests that the breed originated in Italy, cynologists believe this charming little dog originated in Egypt. Eventually, the breed was taken by Roman soldiers from Egypt to Mediterranean areas, where they soon became the favorite companions of Greek and Roman ladies. By the Middle Ages, the breed had spread throughout southern Europe when they became known as Italian Greyhounds.
It has never been used for work of any kind, it is a natural sight hound. Throughout the centuries Italian Greyhounds have been favored as pets by royalty: Catherine the Great of Russia, Mary Queen of Scots, James I and Charles I of England, Frederick the Great of Prussia and Queen Victoria were a few royal owners of the breed.
And of course this picture is the one I just had to pick, because in the picture of the greyhound is a Maltese. It is hard to see the little dog, he looks more like a pillow, but he is there. And so my little dog’s breed was also around in the Regency. One of these days, one of his ancestors is going to star in one of my novels. Until Next time. Happy Rambles.
© 2007 – 2013 Ann Lethbridge
Originally posted at Regency Ramble
Posted at The Beau Monde by permission of the author.
Do dogs have table manners? Well it might be the sort of requirement one would ask of a dog in the Regency. Mine certainly doesn’t. Which is what generated me thinking about posting on dogs again. My sweetie-pie demonstrated his lack of table manners on Thanksgiving at my in laws. After we left the table and were sitting outside on the patio, my brother-in-law leaped from his seat, pointed in through the window. "Is that your dog?"
"Monk" was not his real name, it was a nickname he acquired in the last years of the eighteenth century, after the success of his one and only book. But it was quite a book. In today’s article, Angelyn Schmid gives us an overview of the author’s life and a taste of the thoroughly terrifying novel which quite literally made this young man’s name.
Continue reading “Monk Lewis: "thy skull discern a deeper hell" by Angelyn Schmid”
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
The fraction was 5/16 of an inch, the lives saved were those of bees, honey bees. Literally millions and millions of bees were saved by this little space, which came to be known as "bee space." The value of this small space was not finally understood until the second year of the young Queen Victoria’s reign, by a beekeeper in Poland. But there were many humane thinkers across Europe, from the late eighteenth century right though the Regency, who actively sought some means by which to prevent the killing of so many honey bees at the end of every summer.
The story of the space that kept the bees buzzing …
Continue reading “How a Tiny Fraction of an Inch Saved Millions of Lives”
Today, Susanna Ives, author of Rakes and Radishes, shares the research she did on the British mail delivery system while writing that book. She includes excerpts from several historical works on the subject, as well as some from books published during the period known as the "long Regency." Do you need to know the price of postage for a letter delivered within the British Isles? Or, is you fictional missive to be sent abroad for delivery in a foreign land? Susanna provides postage tables in her article for convenient reference. In her article, you will also find details on which coaches served which cities and the business hours of the London Post Office, among other details of the British postal system.
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
Over the years, I have read dozens of Regency romances which include a scene in the bath. The hero may or may not be present while the heroine bathes, but one thing which is always close at hand is a bar of soap. Yet during the Regency, bar soap was extremely expensive, used only by the affluent classes. Bar soap, something so ubiquitous today we take it for granted. Yet, it was only in the last decade of the eighteenth century that a French chemist patented a method of making bar soap which should have helped to reduce the cost, making it available to more people. Before that time, those of modest means were more likely to use the less expensive soft soap.
A brief history of how soap lathered its way to the Regency …
The Regency had places where one could go to see wild and exotic animals. One of the most famous was the Royal Menagerie at the Exeter Exchange. But this London amusement had very little in common with the scientifically-managed zoological parks of modern times. Today, Regency romance author, and Beau Monde past President, Regina Scott, provides us with some details of the Menagerie at the Exeter ‘Change. Do you think you would have enjoyed a visit to the Royal Menagerie?
Continue reading “Amusements in London: Exeter ‘Change by Regina Scott”
The Working on the Web section of the Beau Monde forum this month features an article which will be of special interest to Regency authors, in particular, those who want to know the value of something during the Regency. This article provides an overview of a very powerful online currency conversion calculator which has been developed by a team of economists. This conversion calculator makes it possible to determine the purchasing power of the British pound, and a few other currencies, from the early thirteenth century right up to the present day.
Those who are currently blogging, or are planning to start a blog, will be especially interested in next month’s Working on the web article. It will cover the reasons why including a blog roll on your blog is valuable both for you and for your blog readers.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:
All you health-conscious readers are probably shuddering at the very idea, but in actual fact, butter did help to protect the health of many people in England during the Regency, just as it had for several centuries before the nineteenth. At different times in its history, butter alternated between being considered a luxury food or fit only to be consumed the very poor. By the Regency it was a relatively expensive commodity, but it was widely available. And, it was no longer restricted to any particular social class by custom, though there was some restriction based on its cost. Regardless of social status, butter protected many of the leftover meals from the tables of all classes, when used correctly.
How butter churned it way through history …
Today, Cheryl Bolen reviews the private correspondence of the man who made many Regency women swoon over his remarkable good looks. And he was a man who took advantage of his personal assets, enjoying affairs with a number of women. He also served his country in several embassy postings over the course of his successful diplomatic career. But of more importance to us, he regularly corresponded with one of his lovers, right through the decade of the Regency. Many of his letters survive, and have been published. Cheryl Bolen shares her insights regarding his lengthy and informative correspondence.
Continue reading “A Review of the Private Correspondence of Granville Leveson Gower by Cheryl Bolen”