Rachel Knowles's Blog, page 6

Duels - a Regency History guide

A duel by Robert Cruikshank from The English Spy by B Blackmantle (1825)
What was a duel?

A duel was a planned combat between two gentlemen using lethal weapons in the presence of witnesses. Duels were often referred to as affairs of honour because a gentleman fought to ‘remove the stain which he conceives attaches to his honour.’1

In his 1821 book on ‘ordeals’, Gilchrist described a duel:

The term 'Duel' signifies a single combat originating in a feeling of personal offence, and followed by a r...

Thomas Hope – art collector and author of Anastasius (1769-1831)

Thomas Hope by Sir William Beechey (1)
Who was Thomas Hope?

Thomas Hope (30 August 1769 – 2 February 1831) was both an art collector and an interior designer with enough money to indulge his passions for both. He is best known as the author of the acclaimed but racy novel Anastasius, originally thought to be the work of Lord Byron.

Family background

Thomas Hope was born in Amsterdam on 30 August 1769, the eldest son of John Hope and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven. John Hope was from a wealthy...

Thomas Hope – art collector and author of Anastasius

Thomas Hope by Sir William Beechey (1)
Who was Thomas Hope?

Thomas Hope (30 August 1769 – 2 February 1831) was both an art collector and an interior designer with enough money to indulge his passions for both. He is best known as the author of the acclaimed but racy novel Anastasius, originally thought to be the work of Lord Byron.

Family background

Thomas Hope was born in Amsterdam on 30 August 1769, the eldest son of John Hope and Philippina Barbara van der Hoeven. John Hope was from a wealthy...

Regency introductions - a Regency History guide

Sir William presents Elizabeth Bennet to Mr Darcy as a desirable partner
by C E Brock (1895) From Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1895 edition)
If you have read a Regency romance or watched one of the many Austen adaptations on television or film, you are probably familiar with the concept of an introduction. The hero might go to a ball and ask a common acquaintance to introduce him to the heroine. But a Regency introduction meant more than just learning someone’s name. What is an introducti...

Marriage of minors in Regency England

Detail from Merton College, Oxford: a marriage ceremony
 in the chapelby J Bluck (1813) after AC Pugin
Wellcome Collection used under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY 4.0)
If a young lady or gentleman wanted to get married in Regency England while they were a minor, that is before they came ‘of age’, they needed the permission of their parent or guardian.
When did a Regency person come ‘of age’?
The age of majority during the Regency was 21 years old. It was only reduced to the age of 18 relatively r...

How would you treat sprains and bruises in the Regency?

Winter Amusements - A Scene in France (1803)
Published by Laurie & Whittle © The Trustees of the British Museum
Used under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)   How would a Regency lady treat a sprained ankle?

There is a skating scene in Georgiana* where my heroines sister Eliza falls and badly sprains her ankle. I researched what would have been done and how long such an injury would keep her out of action. I wanted to know whether it would be reasonable for her accident to...

Fanny Boscawen, bluestocking hostess (1719-1805)

Fanny Boscawen by Allan Ramsay (1749)
© Croome Park NT/Lionel MatthewsFanny Boscawen (23 July 1719 26 February 1805) was a bluestocking hostess and writer. Her husband Edward commissioned Robert Adam to design the interiors for their home, Hatchlands Park, Surrey.
Early years
Frances Evelyn Glanville was born on 23 July 1719 at St Clere, near Wrotham, Kent. Frances, known as Fanny, was the only daughter of William Evelyn and his wife Frances Glanville, a great niece of the diarist John Evelyn....

Could a Regency widower marry his wife's sister?

A fashionable wedding at St George's Hanover Square
in 1841 from Life In Regency and Early 
Victorian Times by EB Chancellor (1926) I started investigating this question because I came across a blog post saying it was illegal for a man to marry his dead wifes sister. Yet I knew from my research for What Regency Women Did For Us that Maria Edgeworths father had married his wifes sister after his wife had died. Had the marriage been illegal or was I missing something?
The short answer
During...

Drury Lane Theatre burns down 24 February 1809

Drury lane Theatre on fire from Shakspere to Sheridan - a book about 
the theatre of yesterday and today by A Thaler (1922)Fire was a constant threat to Georgian buildings, especially theatres. Covent Garden theatre burnt down on 20 September 1808 and less than six months later, its rival, Drury Lane Theatre, suffered the same fate.
When did Drury Lane Theatre burn down?
Feltham’s The Picture of London for 1818 said:

On the twenty-fourth of February [1809], about eleven o'clock at night, the...

Frederica, Duchess of York (1767-1820)

Frederica, Duchess of York from A Biographical
Memoir of Frederick, Duke of York and Albany
by John Watkins (1827)Who was Frederica, Duchess of York?
Frederica, Duchess of York (7 May 1767 – 6 August 1820), was a Prussian princess who married Frederick, Duke of York, George IV’s brother. She was known for her love of animals and for the large number of dogs she kept at Oatlands, the Duke of York’s residence in Weybridge, Surrey.
Family background
Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Catherina, Princess...