Presentation at Court
Marriages between the upper echelon families of England were transacted much as mergers and acquisitions are in today's business environment. Each Season, the latest crop of prospects were introduced to the marriage market, with their respective inducements, and the negotiations began. Presentation at Court Young Regency women entering society were not presented at court en masse, as seen in the highly-organized débutante rituals of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. When the 1800s began, it was customary for girls had their 'come-out' when their mothers decided they were of marriageable age, usually at 17-18 years. Families [...]
The Regency Calendar
With servants' wages due on the quarter days, hiring fairs at Michaelmas, and the family gallivanting to London for the Season then planning the Harvest Home at their country seats, the Regency housekeeper had to keep a close eye on the calendar. The Regency Calendar In England and Wales, the Regency calendar was divided by four 'quarter days' corresponding roughly to the seasons. These are the quarter days referred to in most Regency-set novels. In Scotland and some areas of Northern England, the Celtic calendar was used, with the quarter days: Candlemas, Whitsunday, Lammas, and [...]
The Prince Regent
The Prince Regent "Like most of society, Aunt Stirling had a better opinion of night soil than of the Prince Regent." Alverstone by Beatrice Knight The Prince Regent was viewed with nearly unanimous contempt by his contemporaries, and much like today's entitled ruling elite, he was self-obsessed, thin-skinned, tone-deaf, and claimed victimhood if anyone had the nerve to criticize his conduct. Admittedly, he was a royal 260 years ago, when self-scrutiny was not a thing. It probably didn't help that he spent his entire life surrounded by fawning courtiers who agreed with everything he said. Born [...]
Other Interesting Posts
Outsiders Within – Romani in the Regency
By the time 'Gypsies' appeared on the pages of Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott and Maria Edgeworth, Romani people had been in England for centuries. Sidebar: Believing the copper-skinned migrants to hail from Egypt, the Europeans had coined the term "Gypsies" for these migrants. Some consider [...]
