Rachel Knowles's Blog, page 3

A Regency History guide to the British Army in 1815

The Battle of Waterloo from The wars of Wellington, a narrative poem
by Dr Syntax, illustrated by W Heath & JC Stadler (1819)Such carnage I never before beheld. The firing of guns etc was so great that the man next to me could not hear my orders.

Captain Joseph Logan, 2nd Battalion 95th Foot, writing from Paris a month after the Battle of Waterloo.1

Captain Logan was one of the thousands of British soldiers on the battlefield that June day in 1815.

Every one of those thousands of soldiers could...

Visiting cards in the Regency

Facsimile Regency visiting cards
(Rachel Knowles's experimental history 2022)
Visiting cards

Visiting cards or calling cards were small rectangular pieces of card similar to a business card today. They were inscribed with a person’s name and often but not always with their address. An important part of Regency etiquette, visiting cards could be used for initiating contact with a stranger, as well as letting someone know you had called.

What did a Regency visiting card look like?

They varied in si...

Morning calls in the Regency - a Regency History guide

Morning dress on a visit
 La Belle Assemblée (Sept 1810)
What was a morning call?

Morning calls were short visits of ceremony paid to your acquaintances. There were rules of etiquette surrounding these visits—when they should be made, how long and how often, and suitable topics of conversation.

What was the purpose of a morning call?

In her book, Domestic Duties or Instructions to young married ladies on the management of their households (1825), Mrs Parkes explained that these calls were necessa...

When could a marriage be annulled in the Regency?

The Wedding from The Dance of Death by T Rowlandson (1816)
Wellcome Collection used under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 4.0)I was recently asked whether non-consummation was the only reason a marriage could be annulled in the Regency era. It is a misunderstanding I have come across before.

A valid marriage could not be annulled just because it had not been consummated.

Impotency was grounds for annulment, but this was rarely claimed. Scroll down to the end of the post to see why.

In this post...

How do you address a baronet or knight?

Sir Walter Elliot, Bt, walking with 
Colonel Wallis by H Thomson (1897)
From Persuasion by Jane Austen (1897 edition)
Jane Austen rarely wrote about peers of the realm, but her books do contain a fair smattering of baronets and knights—the subject of this post.

In this post I answer the following questions:

Are baronets and knights peers?

Are the titles hereditary?

How do you address a baronet or a knight?

How do you address a baronet’s wife or a knight’s wife?

How do you address a baronet’s wid...

Book review: Rescuing Lord Inglewood by Sally Britton

Esther Fox has never felt she belonged. She always feels on the outside and other people are always making decisions for her. With her brother Isaac at war, she is forced to live in London with her step-brother. When her quick actions save the life of her brother’s best friend, Silas Riley, Lord Inglewood, in a somewhat compromising manner, the cold earl decides he must marry her to save her reputation. Esther has no say in the matter.

With such an unpromising start to their marriage, can a sha...

Tea drinking in the Regency

Morning dress from Ackermann's Repository (1822)

Which do you prefer, tea or coffee? It’s an easy choice for me as I don’t like coffee, but I love tea – black tea or what is sometimes called English breakfast tea. I like it weak with milk and no sugar, and I drink it all day long, from breakfast to bedtime.

But what about during the Regency? Did people drink tea or coffee? And when did they drink these beverages?

Hester Thrale's Meissen tea service
on display at Dr Johnson's House Museum (2015)
A ...

Book review: The Captain's Confidant by Ashtyn Newbold

Bridget Northcott has loved her brother’s best friend, Colin Foster, ever since she was a girl. He was the one who comforted her during her mother’s illness and death. The one who encouraged her to be kind and gave her good advice. At last Captain Foster returns from his life in the navy but the long-awaited reunion is not what Bridget had hoped for. Colin has changed. He has become hard. Distant. Unavailable.

A powerful story of love and duty, jealousy and forgiveness

I loved this story of how ...

Book review: Pursuing Miss Hall by Karen Thornell

A charming friends-to-lovers romance where worth and affection triumph

The scenario

After Margaret Hall misses her first season due to severe illness, her mother decides to hold a house party to introduce her to several eligible bachelors, notably the Viscount Hatfield.

Her childhood friend Nathaniel Blake is also invited, but Lady Hall does not consider him of sufficient standing to be included amongst the potential suitors for Meg’s hand.

Which is a pity, because Nathan is the one who makes...

How to inherit a dukedom

A duke from A book explaining
the ranks and dignitaries of British Society
by C Lamb (1809)
Who inherits a peerage?

There are five ranks of the British peerage: duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron.

These are all hereditary titles and, with a few exceptions, pass down from father to son in the male line.1

How do you inherit a dukedom?

To inherit a dukedom, you would need:

To be a direct male descendant of a previous holder of the title.For all those with a greater claim to the title (if ...