Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Brides, the Grooms, and the Weddings in Jane Austen Novels, a Guest Post from Eliza Shearer

This post originally appeared on the Austen Authors Blog on April 30, 2019.  The wedding season is well and truly upon us. I have three weddings this year, two of them in the next few weeks, which has got me … Continue reading

Posted in Austen Authors, Church of England, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Post, marriage, marriage customs, Pride and Prejudice, Regency era, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sailing the Seas on a Family Ship, a Guest Post from Collins Hemingway

This post originally appeared on Austen Authors in February 2019. Enjoy. Last week, we saw how Jane Austen’s family used connections to help promote the careers of her two sailor brothers, Frank and Charles. When we left them, the Napoleonic … Continue reading

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, British Navy, family, Georgian Era, Guest Post, Jane Austen, Napoleonic Wars, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sailing the Seas on a Family Ship, a Guest Post from Collins Hemingway

Networking in the Age of Sail, a Guest Post from Collins Hemingway

This post originally appeared on the Austen Authors’ blog on January 24, 2019. Enjoy!  Unlike Army officers, members of the Royal Navy could obtain commissions without purchasing them. This difference created opportunities for the penurious sons of gentlemen like Jane … Continue reading

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, British Navy, family, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Mansfield Park, military, Persuasion, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Common Practice of Primogeniture in Regency England

Of late, I have been studying the laws and statutes that comprised the practice of primogeniture in Regency England. In truth, I can only work on the project for a few hours each day for some of the material is … Continue reading

Posted in Act of Parliament, Anglo-Saxons, British history, business, commerce, Georgian England, history, Living in the Regency, marriage customs, primogenture, Scotland, titles of aristocracy, Wales | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Special Licences in Regency Era

In 1753, the Hardwick Marriage Act passed, and Georgian couples in England and Wales could choose among three ways to marry: with the reading of the banns, by a common (sometimes referred to as an “ordinary”) licence, and by special … Continue reading

Posted in British history, Church of England, George IV, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Jane Austen, Levirate marriage, Living in the Regency, marriage, marriage customs, marriage licenses, Regency era, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Foils of Jane Austen, Part 1, a Guest Post from C. D. Gerard

The post originally appeared on the Austen Authors’ blog on January 26, 2019. Enjoy!    The question of why we love Jane Austen so much has been pondered by many a scholar and reader over the past 200 years.  But … Continue reading

Posted in Austen Authors, books, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Guest Post, historical fiction, Industry News/Publishing, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Mansfield Park, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Foils of Jane Austen, Part 1, a Guest Post from C. D. Gerard

The Effects of Primogeniture on Family Dynamics

 As a writer of historical fiction set in England during the Regency era, I am constantly dealing with the ramifications of the practice and the law of primogeniture. In primogeniture, the first born legitimate son is the sole inheritor of … Continue reading

Posted in British history, eBooks, Great Britain, history, Living in the UK, primogenture | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Age of Consent to Marry in the Regency Period

During the Regency, despite what some authors may include within the story line, the age of consent for females was twenty-one, not twenty-five as some would lead the reader to believe. Although I do not know from where the idea … Continue reading

Posted in British history, Gretna Green, Living in the Regency, marriage licenses, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Using Austen as a Historical Resource, a Guest Post from Don Jacobson

This post originally appeared on Austen Authors on January 30, 2019. Enjoy!  One of my favorite books is Natalie Zemon Davis’ The Return of Martin Guerre (1983) which heralded the advent of a new historical school: that of subaltern history—essentially the history of sergeants … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Austen Authors, book excerpts, British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, history, Industrial Revolution, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, peerage, political stance, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, research, Vagary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Using Austen as a Historical Resource, a Guest Post from Don Jacobson