William Wilberforce, the spearhead and focal point of the English abolitionists, as well as one of my favorite historical personages, was born in Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on 24 August 1759. He was the only son of Robert Wilberforce, whose family had become wealthy thanks to maritime trade with Baltic countries,… Read more William Wilberforce, a Truly Great Man
The worst thing about Jane Austen dying on 18 July 1817, when she was only 41 and should have had decades of writing ahead of her, is that those of us – and we are legion – who love her work must be content with the few novels and scattered essays she left us. We… Read more For the Love of Jane Austen, Peeress of Prose
Jane Austen tragically died at the young age of 41 on 18 July 1817, leaving behind a grieving family and an astonishing literary legacy. Her family was grateful that she did not suffer, or become disoriented, even at the very end of her life. Her brother Henry reported that she, “retained her faculties, her memory,… Read more The Last Thing Austen Ever Wrote
Jane Austen actively detested the Prince Regent, as many people did. In her case it was particularly acute, because she not only found him lacking in moral rectitude or any worthy quality she admired, he was a decided political thorn in the side of the Tory party, which the Austen family strongly favored over the… Read more Jane Austen and the Prince Regent
The climax of Jane Austen’s third novel, Mansfield Park, revolves around Easter. First, the heroine, Fanny Price, suffers because of the holiday. She cannot return “home” to Mansfield Park and her loved ones among the Bertrams until her Uncle Bertram says so, and she was told that he wouldn’t send for her until after Easter… Read more Easter in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park
William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck was born on 14 April 1738, the eldest son and heir of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland and Margaret Cavendish-Harley. The newborn had an illustrious future ahead of him. Not only would he be the 3rd Duke of Portland, he would hold every title of British nobility – Duke, Marquess,… Read more Happy Birthday to the Queen’s Ancestor, Regency Era Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck
One of the longer-lasting effects of Henry VIII split from Rome, Elizabeth I’s reign, and the Jacobite Rebellion two centuries after, was that laws codifying discrimination against Catholics became seemingly set in stone. The only people who regarded this as slightly unfair was the Catholics, most Whigs (the de facto left wing by the Regency… Read more Catholic Emancipation and the Regency Whigs
On 11 April 1814 representatives for France’s Emperor Napoleon I and those from the Sixth Coalition member states of Austrian Empire, Russia, and Prussia met and signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Once it was ratified on 13 April Napoleon’s reign was officially over, and he would be sent into exile on the island of Elba.… Read more Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba
James Mill, considered one of the best philosophical minds of the Regency era, was born on 6 April 1773. He was one of the founders and most ardent proponents of philosophic radicalism and was one of the key writers that helped steer Regency liberal politicians towards fighting to guarantee the freedom of the press and… Read more James Mill: Liberal Philosopher and Racist Asshat
It is nearly impossible to overstate the influence of Napoleon Bonaparte on European and British politics and culture during the Regency period. The British upper-class, terrified after the French Revolution and by the onslaught of attempted democracies, had stirred up the average Briton against the ‘forces of Godless anarchy’ and had been at war off… Read more Napoleon’s First Abdication on 4 April 1814