In 1804, Britain is uneasy. The short peace of Amiens ended the previous year, and now war is escalating in Europe again. Napoleon keeps a large army at the Northern coast of France. The British government builds small defensive forts to protect the coasts of south east England and Ireland against the threat of a French invasion. In December, Spain will again declare war on Britain. What can you read to distract the mind in these difficult times?
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Eight years after the Napoleonic Wars, the economy gets back on track. Science and technology advance significantly. Politicians are discussing reforms, and some repressive laws have already been repealed. All the while, high society sticks to the ‘old’ ideas and rules.
The book market is a mirror of this situation: the fiction genre mainly celebrates the familiar authors, but at the same time it starts to open towards more ‘radical’ topics.
In non-fiction, new publications highlight the path to the future, or look back to the ‘good old times’ of everyone’s favourite enemy: Napoleon.
Check out my list of popular fiction and non-fiction releases. I have added links to online versions of each book, so you can actually read like its 1823!
In Europe, duels were common from the Renaissance on among aristocrats and military men. While duels were usually fought with swords in the first part of the 18th century, pistols became popular in Britain from around the 1770ies, superseding swords as a weapon. Duelling was illegal, and killing a man in duel was considered murder. Nevertheless, duelling was commonly associated with notions of chivalry and a code of honour.
A code of honour defined rules for issuing a challenge as well as rules of engagement on the duelling ground. It regulated the conduct of seconds, and also specified which conduct would be considered dishonourable. Which rules guided duellist in the late 18th century and early 19th century? Continue reading
1822 is a good year for readers! Many great authors are back with their latest novels. Even better: juicy scandals add extra spice to some publishing days.
Check out my list of popular fiction and non-fiction releases. I have added links to online versions of each book, so you can actually read like its 1822! Continue reading
If you were a time traveller in 1821 longing for a good read, what would be your options?
Check out my list of popular fiction and non-fiction releases. I have added links to online versions of each book, so you can actually read like its 1821!
Bonus feature: Suggestions for further reading on each topic from today’s experts on the 18th century.
I am happy to welcome back Alexander Nerá to Regency Explorer. He is the author of “Lord Mayford and the Expedition to Egypt“, a travel adventure and comedy set in 1810.
The novella started out some years ago as a fictive diary on my blog. It has now been published in both English and German. As I am interested in all things Regency and enjoy the story’s P.G. Wodehouse-style humour, I asked Alexander for an interview. Learn more about the historical context, the set of characters, and a famous 19th-century author as a source of inspiration.
If you were a time traveller in 1820 longing for a good read, what would be your options?
Check out the list of popular fiction releases, and the latest findings from science, travel, and philosophy on the non-fiction book shelf!
I have added links to online versions of each book, so you can actually read like its 1820:
The American engineer George Clymer invented the Columbian printing press in 1813. It was one of the first iron printing presses, and it was in part inspired by the Stanhope press.
The Columbian printing press cost $400, more than twice the price of a conventional wooden press – and too much for the American market. So Clymer moved to London in 1817. Here, he made a success of his press-manufacturing business. Continue reading
I am delighted to have James Hobson, author and former history teacher, as guest writer at Regency Explorer. In his book, “Dark Days of Georgian Britain. Rethinking the Regency”, James explores the lives of the powerless and the challenges they faced. He writes about corruption in government and elections, “bread or blood” rioting, the political discontent felt and the revolutionaries involved. It’s a treat for me to present James’s work about a little discussed field of research:
If you write a book with the expression “Dark Days” in the title, then it might be a good idea to reassure people that the book is not as bleak as it sounds. Well, I am afraid I can’t.
People seem to have forgotten, or do not know, that the period around the Napoleonic wars was one of the most appalling in British history. When there is a “worst year in British history competition”, 1816 is the latest year to be mentioned, and all the other competitors – like 1648 or 1347- are periods of epidemic disease or fratricidal civil war.
At first it made me angry that nobody had written very much about this aspect of the Regency and then it made me very happy. Continue reading
It is an unforeseen blow for Lady Linfield when her nephew Robert Rothleigh, the black sheep of the family, inherits the title of Lord Cavenham. Robert is infamous for having caused anything from gossip to scandal, and Lady Linfield had always wished him as far away as possible.
Immediate action is required to save the family’s standing and clear Robert’s reputation when he becomes the head of the family:
All this Lady Linfield will take care of. But what if the chosen bride, Georgina Standon, has different ideas about her future? And will Robert comply for the first time in his life?
Soon, Georgina and Robert are embroiled in a swirl of incidents and misconception. The theft of a valuable necklace and an abduction put additional obstructions in their way towards a happy ending.
„Von tadellosem Ruf“ is available in major Online-Shops in print and as e-book (ISBN: 9783744854313). The novel is written in German.
