The purple-blue blossoms of the wisteria delight the eye, and their sweet fragrance enchants the soul. Today, this beautiful plant adorns gardens, cottages and manor houses across Britain. The popular Regency-era series Bridgerton shows Bridgerton House with wisteria in full bloom climbing up the facade. But is this historically accurate? Did wisterias bloom in gardens during the Regency period? And would Jane Austen have enjoyed the blossoms, too? Let’s find out.
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Fans are so much more than fashionable accessories: They are useful for flirting, can cool heated cheeks or hide an unladylike emotion. In the wake of the Napoleonic War, their usefulness was boosted beyond the known limit when fans were made for spying, i.e. discretely observing the surrounding or other persons. I found some examples of these extraordinary devices when I visited the exhibition “Waterloo: Life & Times” of the Fan Museum in Greenwich, UK.
Coffee was a popular hot beverage in 18th century Britain. Coffee houses spread across cities, and grocers sold both coffee beans and ground coffee to private consumers. As demand rose, coffee became the subject of fraudulent practices. How could customers be protected from adulterated products? And what other crimes were related to coffee?
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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a Janeite devoted to the celebrated authoress must be in want of new books! Luckily, it’s Jane Austen’s 250th Birthday in 2025. A wealth of new non-fiction books about the authoress will be published this year. Check out the list here.
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The first steps towards the mechanisation of shoemaking were taken during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1810, engineer Marc Isambard Brunel developed a machinery that could mass-produce nailed boots for the soldiers of the British Army.
How well did he succeed?
In 1805, Britain stands under constant threat of a French invasion. Napoleon has assembled his invasion force – Armée d’Angleterre – at Boulogne-sur-Mer in Northern France, ready to strike. Additionally, the French and Spanish fleets combine to take control of the English Channel. In Britain, about 252,000 men are part of the regular and voluntary military forces. The numbers employed by the Royal Navy expands from 36,000 in 1793 to 120,000 in 1805. After a flurry of British diplomatic missions Austria and Russia join Britain against France. The victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October gives Britain fresh hope, though the country loses its greatest naval hero. What can you read to distract the mind in a period of tension and uncertainty?
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Dolls have always been around. As a marketable toy for children, they became more and more elaborate in the 18th century. Dolls for the wealthy were elegantly dressed, including ruffles, panniers, rich lace and tiny shoes with buckles. True ambassadors of fashion were the so-called Pandora dolls, early mini-mannequins used by dressmakers to send their designs to customers.
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Are you a historian, author, or student interested in an 18th-century project? The transcript of a diary chronicling a sea voyage from Copenhagen to Tranquebar (Tharangambadi) in 1777 might be just the project for you. The trancsript is written in German, and available for free. For more information, application and further procedure, please read on.
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Amelia Jane Murray (1800-1896) was an amateur watercolourist. Between 1820 and 1829, she painted fairies as tiny female figures dressed in neoclassical garments, sitting among flowers or riding on insects. Her watercolours, though never exhibited during her lifetime, have enchanted millions since they were published in 1985. The reasons behind Amelia’s fascination with fairies remain speculative. In this post, I offer a new interpretation of the influences on Amelia’s art based on the socio-cultural circumstances of her childhood and youth.
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From August to October, dahlias turn gardens into a sea of vivid colours. The Victorians loved the exuberant plant. But how was the flower perceived in the Regency period? Was it commonly found in the gardens of ordinary people, or was it only a favourite of botanists?
In a Regency novel by Georgette Heyer, we find the following humorous lines:
“(Venetia) directed an aged and obstinate gardener to tie up the dahlias. It seemed improbable that he would do so, for he regarded them as upstarts and intruders, which in his young days had never been heard of, and always became distressingly deaf whenever Venetia mentioned them.”
These lines always make me smile. Yet, how much historical correctness do they contain? Let’s find out.
