Making a Gown for a Jane Austen Ball

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reticule and fan 2The Museum of Creativity proudly presents “An Empire-Style Ball Gown Based on 21th Century Clothes”.

“I cannot determine what to do about my new Gown”, Jane Austen once wrote to her sister Cassandra. This is a feeling many of us can sympathize with. If you are going to attend a ball set in the Regency period, figuring out what to wear, where to get it or how to do it yourself is no easy task.

I am going to go a Jane-Austen-Ball at the end of this month. As I can’t sew, I tried to make the ball gown from everyday clothes I had found in my cupboard. But halfway through roughing out a concept for a modest white cotton gown, I stumbled upon a dazzling beautiful red lace in an oriental drapery. Though I knew perfectly well that I haven’t the sewing skills to handle the lace, I bought it. Continue reading →

Temptations for Regency Gentlemen: The Most Dashing Sports Vehicle

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Cockingcart1

A dashing vehicle for the sportive gentleman: the Cocking Cart (click to enlarge)

A notable whip and hero of a Regency Novel inevitably drives a Phaeton – or does he have more choices for selecting his racy vehicle? A couple of weeks ago, a vehicle caught my eye at a historical hunting and carriage gala: it was slim, light and high-perched.

Being drawn by three horses and featuring two wheels, it had an air of sportiness and elegance as it drove across the park. Next to the conservative carriages like Britzkas and Victorias, it looked decidedly dashing. I spoke to the owner and learned that the striking vehicle was a Cocking Cart. – A what? I had never heard of it before.

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A Writer’s Travel Guide to London’s Bookbinding Trade

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bookIn the Georgian age, the book trade flourished in London. Reading was a popular pastime. Books were often read to friends and family for entertainment. Until the end of the 18th century, newly published books were sold without a binding. A person who bought a book received only the printed paper with temporary sewing, a so-called “board”. He/she would go on to engage a bookbinder to have it bound to match his/her personal library.

A bookbinding of high quality would find admirers in highest ranks. Wealthy aristocrats and gentry were affluent enough to order specially designed books for their libraries. Their books collections were made to impress, and so the books had to be bound befittingly. Many quality bookbinding workshops were located in Westminster, in the vicinity of the tailors. Thus, a gentleman could conveniently order a new coat and a binding for a new book in one afternoon.
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The Castle of Atraños (A 5-Minute Novel)

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In this post:
The storyline of The Castle of Atraños
8 historical facts that bred plot bunnies

Author’s Note

This is my first 5-Minute Novel. Inspiration hit me when I was doing research for my introductory text to the new exhibition about letterpress printing at the Museum of Creativity. I found a most useful book about printing at the university library: Michael Twyman’s “Printing 1770 – 1970, an illustrated history of its developments and uses in England”. It provides helpful information about the printing business in the Regency period and new techniques. While I read it, plot bunnies started hopping all around me. Read here the story they carried with them, and find out which historical facts inspired them.

A Writer of a Gothic Novel

It is the City of London in June of the year 1808. The Honourable Thomas Morrington is the second son of a squire. He is 20 years old and fond of novels and writing. It is his dream to write a great gothic novel and become as famous as Ann Radcliffe.

Some time ago, Thomas finished writing his novel “The Castle of Atraños”, an eerie tale about an alchemist practising magic in the dungeons of his castle, which his perched above the village of Atraños in the Spanish Pyrenees. Mysterious ingredients are required for the magic, including the locks of blond virgins. A lady in distress has to be rescued by the hero of Thomas’s novel, whose looks bear a striking resemblance with Thomas’s, but owns a great fortune (whereas Thomas’ allowance is meagre). Continue reading →

Inspired by History: The 5-Minute Novel

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Regency Explorer starts a new series of posts combining entertainment and facts about the Regency: the 5-Minute Novel.

When researching history, you come across historical facts that turn into plot bunnies just by themselves. A plot bunny is an idea for a scene or a story. So you read something about history and immediately get an idea for using it in a story. You think some more about it and see a whole novel developing.

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What Would Have Been Your Role at the Congress of Vienna 1814/1815?

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Vienna, 1814. 271,000 people live in the capital of the Austrian Empire. The city is going to host one of the major political events of the early 19th century: The Congress of Vienna. The heads of the five reigning dynasties, representatives from 216 noble families and their entourage travel to Vienna. 16.000 visitors are already arriving in September. More are to follow: plenipotentiaries, ministers, noblemen, servants, musicians, artists, merchants, fortune-hunters and card sharps.

Have a glimpse behind the scenes

Organising the Congress is a huge task. Regency Explorer takes you behind the scenes as either the Head of the Police Ministry or the Master of Ceremonies and tells you more about the history of the Congress and the tasks that had to be fulfilled.

First, find out in which role you would have fitted best at the Congress by answering the three questions below. Count your points to get a proper result, and then read on to learn more about the challenges the real historical persons of Baron Hager, Head of the Police Ministry, and Count Trauttmansdorff, Master of Ceremonies, had to face.

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Writer’s Travel Guide: Anna-Maria Hunt and the Rescue of Lanhydrock House

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In this post:

Lanhydrock House is located 3 miles from Bodmin, Cornwall. Today, the house is presented mainly on the basis of the events and owners of the Victorian age. But Lanhydrock House is well rooted in the Regency period and can tell you the story of Anna-Maria Hunt (1771-1861) and her arduous inheritance.

An Arduous Inheritance

Anna-Maria had always been considered the heir of Lanhydrock House, at that time owned by her uncle, George Hunt. In the eyes of the fine society, she was a lucky heiress, the aim of every fortune-hunter. But when her uncle died in 1798, she was confronted with a tricky testament and the strange humour of Uncle George:  He left her Lanhydrock, but also the shocking amount of £68,000 (£2.2m in today’s money) in debts. Uncle George’s money, his shares in mines, arrears from tin, copper and timber dues and even the furniture of Lanhydrock went to some distant cousins. Anna-Maria found herself with £100 with which to run the estate and only three people in service living in Lanhydrock: an aged housekeeper, her daughter and the gardener. Continue reading →

Napoleon’s Taste in Shoes and other Delightful Trivia

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Truely imperial luxury: stairs leading up to Napoleon's bed

Truly imperial luxury: stairs leading up to Napoleon’s bed

Napoleon – hero and ogre in one person. I travelled to France this spring to learn more about one of the most famed and famous men in history. I found many treasures and many quirks. Watch my short photo-film “Napoleon – Treasures at Fontainebleau Palace” to learn

  • was Napoleon shortsighted?
  • what was his taste in shoes?
  • did he take snuff?

and to enjoy the beautiful objects.

Click here to go to the video.