Mansfield Park

Brighton, By George!

One of the most interesting things about the Regency Era, to me, if how universally loathed the Prince Regent was, and how much he set the fashion for the Glittering Throng nonetheless. One of the things the future George IV brought into style was going to Brighton for a bit of time by (and in)… Read more Brighton, By George!

Mt. Tambora Makes an Earth-Shattering Kaboom

On 10 April 1815 the Indonesian volcano Tambora (literally) blew its top in the only confirmed VEI-7 eruption since the Lake Taupo’s eruption circa AD 180. The volcano’s initial blast could be heard as far away as Sumatra, which was more than 1200 miles distant from ground zero. Approximately 11,000 people were killed by the… Read more Mt. Tambora Makes an Earth-Shattering Kaboom

The Tragic Death of King Louis XVII and the Effect on Jane Austen’s Work

The future King Louis VXII was born on 27 March 1785, the second son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette, and named Louis-Charles. When his older brother, Louis Joseph, died of tuberculosis on 4 June 1789 when he was only seven years old, the four year old Louis Charles became the… Read more The Tragic Death of King Louis XVII and the Effect on Jane Austen’s Work

William Cowper, Beloved of Jane Austen

William Cowper, one of the Georgian era’s most loved poets, was born on 26 November 1731 (Old Style date was 15 November), in Hertfordshire, the son of a vicar. Although his fame has declined over the decades, his name and works remain familiar for any fan of Jane Austen. Another vicar’s child like Cowper, Austen… Read more William Cowper, Beloved of Jane Austen

Green Sickness and the Cultural Construction of Women’s Health

For millennia, Western medicine was in thrall to the humoral theory of ancient Greece. It wasn’t until the scientific revolution of the Victorian era that germs were understood to cause illness, but even then medical ideas about a woman’s body had more in common with those espoused by Helenic doctors than modern ones. Germs there… Read more Green Sickness and the Cultural Construction of Women’s Health

Georgiana Cavendish, an Amazing Woman

Happy Birthday to Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, the 5th Duchess of Devonshire! She was born on 7 June 1757, the eldest child of John Spencer (who would later become 1st Earl Spencer) and Georgiana Poyntz. As a girl she was affectionately called “Little Gee” by her family, and she was an indirect ancestress of Lady Diana Spencer’s. During their… Read more Georgiana Cavendish, an Amazing Woman