On 9 May 1726, five men were hanged at Tyburn for the crime of having committed homosexual sex acts, which became punishable by death in Henry VIII’s reign (under the Buggery Act 1533) and would remain a capital offence until 1828. The men had been some of the 40 individuals arrested during a raid on Mother… Read more Murdering Mollies
Want to avoid bringing debts into your new marriage? Well, there was a way to shift them away … During the 18th and 19th centuries many people in the UK thought (without any legal basis whatsoever) that if a woman got married in her shift (or smock) rather than a gown then any premarital debts… Read more The Shift Marriage
Eliza Hancock was Jane Austen’s cousin and future sister-in-law, and many speculate she was also the model for some of Austen’s most vivacious characters, including my perpetual favorite — Mary Crawford. If so, it seems to indicate that Austen loved her cousin … yet was nonetheless jealous of the attention the sparkling Eliza could command… Read more Was Eliza Hancock the Model for Mary Crawford?
The future Christian IX of Demark was born on 8 April 1818, the fourth son of Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck and Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse. Although he was not really in line for any throne, the newborn was related six ways to Sunday to the crowned heads of Europe. Among other connections, his… Read more Happy Birthday to Christian IX of Demark, Direct Ancestor of BOTH Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
The beloved Georgina era author, poet, and editor Anna Laetitia Aikin Barbauld passed away on 9 March 1825, and she was largely forgotten until feminists dragged her work back out into the spotlight and made the literati admit that the woman was immensely talented. Her most controversial work was her epic poem Eighteen-Hundred and Eleven.… Read more Remembering Regency Poet Anna Barbauld
One of the essential plot points of Jane Austen’s revered novel Pride and Prejudice is that the opportunistic Mr. Wickham tried to elope with the 15 year old Georgiana Darcy in order to secure her dowry. It is strongly implied that this would have been a disaster, for as soon as Wickham had wedded and… Read more What Could Mr. Darcy Have Done?
Long before Bernie Sanders shook the foundations of the Left-wing American party, Georgian Britain had to contend with Charles James Fox and the Foxite Whigs. Charles Fox was born in London on 24 January 1749, the second surviving son of Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland and Lady Caroline Lennox. The new newborn Fox was of royal blood, since his… Read more The Foxiest of the Foxite Whigs
Thanks to everyone who participated in the comments! It’s never too late to put in your 2 cents worth … feel free to comment if you must have your share of the conversation! Day 1 ~ Just Jane 1813 Day 2 ~ Diary of An Eccentric Day 3 ~ Savvy Verse and Wit Day 4… Read more Fanny Price vs. Mary Crawford – The Debate Rages On!
English poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist Thomas Love Peacock was born on 18 October 1785 in Weymouth, Dorset, into a lower-middle class family. From there he rose to become both an admired writer and wealthy, “a rare instance of a man improved by prosperity.” While working as a clerk with Ludlow Fraser Company in London,… Read more The Laughing Philosopher, Thomas Love Peacock
First, let me just say I love the name Mungo. I’ve loved it forever. I first loved it when I found the name St Mungo in a book of Scottish folk tales and saints that I read in high school. I loved it when it popped up in the Harry Potter series as St Mungo’s… Read more Mungo Park, I presume?