Monthly Archives: January 2019

Testing the Money: The Trial of Pyx

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

The Trial of Pyx is a near-800 year old ceremony to test Britain’s coinage. The Trial of the Pyx dates as far back as 1249. The Queen’s Remembrancer oversees the ceremony. Until the 19th century this duty was undertaken at the … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, commerce, customs and tradiitons, Living in the UK | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

January 25, Burns Suppers Celebrated Worldwide: A Salute to the Scottish Poet, Robert Burns

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

  A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), the author of many Scots poems. The suppers are normally held on or near the poet’s birthday, 25 January, occasionally known … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, food and drink, legends and myths, poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Did Smith Brothers Cough Drops Get Its Name?

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

William (Trade) and Andrew (Mark) were the sons of James Smith, who moved his family from St. Armand, Quebec, to Poughkeepsie, New York in 1847. A carpenter by trade, Smith meant to open a restaurant, Smith’s Dining Saloon, in his … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, business, medicine, science | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Oh, What Tangled Webs We Weave: The Complicated Banbury Peerage Case

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

In writing historicals set in England in the early 1800s, it is necessary for me to possess more than a working knowledge of primogeniture, which is both the custom and the law of inheritance in practice at that time. In … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, marriage, primogenture, titles of aristocracy | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jane Austen Adaptations: Film, TV, Web, and Stage

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

Realizing that many of my readers are unfamiliar with how the media has seen fit to adapt Jane Austen’s many novels, below you will find a list of the majority of them. We who write Austen adaptations know that our … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen actors, Austen Authors, contemporary romance, film adaptations, holidays, JASNA, Mansfield Park, Persuasion, playwrights, Pride and Prejudice, romance, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Beginning of the Turnpike Roads in Georgian England

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

 The roads leading into London were placed under the control of individual turnpike trusts during the first 30 years of the 1700s in England. My mid century, cross-routes were added to the list under turnpike trusts. The roads, especially those … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, commerce, Georgian England, Industrial Revolution, Living in the UK, Scotland, travel | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Marrying During the Regency

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Regina Jeffers

For most of Western history, marriage was a private contract between two families. Until the 16th-century, Christian churches accepted the validity of a marriage on the basis of a couple’s declarations. If two people claimed that they had exchanged marital … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, Georgian England, Living in the Regency, marriage, marriage customs, marriage licenses | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments