Monthly Archives: April 2023

‘Kinder- un Hausmärchen’ + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of their collected fairy tales in 1812 under the title Kinder- und Hausmärchen. By 1822, the brothers had published three volumes containing 170 tales total with subsequent editions bringing that number to over 200. Continue reading →

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Cecil Sharp’s Influence on “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

As with many folk songs, the author and date of origin of “Hush, Little Baby” remain an unknown. The English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected and notated a version of this song found in Endicott, Franklin County, Virginia in 1918, but such simply means the song had been around much longer, passed down from generation to generation, with little changes in it depending on whether one’s ancestors were from Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, or Northwest Europe. Sharp, himself, found a different version with complete lyrics in Micaville, North Carolina. A version recorded by James Madison Carpenter on a wax cylinder in the early 1930s in Durham, North Carolina, can be heard online at the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Naturally, that date is well past the time of my story, but Cecil Sharp discovered such songs over and over again. If you have never heard of Sharp, you will be surprised by all he accomplished. Continue reading →

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Could Longbourn Be Lost to Mortgage Debt? + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Only registered debts like mortgages and those on which the stamps and fees had been paid were legally enforceable. The law of the time said an heir was only liable for debts to the sum of the assets he inherited. Most mortgages could be continued, just by paying the interest. Continue reading →

Posted in aristocracy, book excerpts, book release, British history, eBooks, estates, finance, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, history, Inheritance, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, primogenture, publishing, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 24, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

However, for this story, I chose Love’s Labour’s Lost. The reason for my choice deals something with the theme(s) of Shakespeare’s tale. First, we have the wise reluctance of women in believing in love at first sight, which likely makes sense for most of you who are reading this post. The second is the immaturity of men. Continue reading →

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The Origin of “Humpty Dumpty” + the Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

The most common version is Humpty Dumpty is a representation of King Richard III of England, who was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The “egg” shape refers to King Richard supposedly being a “humpback,” as is portrayed in Shakespeare’s play. “Shakespeare called Richard III a ‘hunchback’, which means that he was hunching forward while walking. Richard III’s skeleton actually shows a sideways displacement of the spine, a heavy scoliosis, which made the king walk obliquely. So there is a certain match between the two: something unusual about the body.” (British Council) The “wall” falling is the loss of his reign as king. The king’s horses and men are the army who failed to defeat their enemy Continue reading →

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Marriage by Proxy, Possible or Myth? + The Release of “Amending the Shades of Pemberley” + a Giveaway

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

When the Hardwick Act for the Prevention of Clandestine Marriages went into effect in March of 1754, the rules for marrying in England changed dramatically. Prior to that time, all the couple had to do was to pronounce their vows before a clergyman of the Church of England. Heck, it did not even have to be one’s local clergyman or even one’s local church. In fact, the Fleet Street prison saw quite a few marriages in those days Continue reading →

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Have You Ever Heard of a “Bachelor Tax”?

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

In the late 1600s (1695, to be more exact), the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax, which imposed a tax on births, marriages, burials, childless widowers, and bachelors over the age of 25. The tax’s purpose was to rase revenue for the war with France. It was also to ensure proper records were kept by an Anglican church officials. The tax was found ineffective and abolished by 1706.  Continue reading →

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“Nothing is Certain but Death and Taxes” . . . Death Fits the Bill, Yet What of Taxes?

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

There were hundreds of taxes and so a variety of dates on which they would be due. Some were pay as you go, so to speak. For others, the tax man came along and counted the number of windows in the person’s residence and looked at the number of footmen employed and counted the crested carriages owned and other four-wheeled vehicles, etc., and made his demand. A person then had “x” number of days to pay the tax. Some taxes were due in quarter days and some on cross quarter days. Continue reading →

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Greater and Lesser Tithes and Who Received Them

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

A church living was accepted to be a respectable occupation among the gentry and the aristocracy. It was a “job” which came with an income, house, and, often, farmland Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, Emma, Georgian Era, history, Jane Austen, laws of the land, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, Regency era, religion, research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jane Austen and Women’s History for Financial Independence, a Guest Post from E.M. Storm-Smith

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

A Celebration for Women’s History Month and Some Thoughts on Women’s Financial Independence As a place to start, I’d like to ask how many people saw the twitter account Gender Pay Gap Bot (@PayGapApp) on International Women’s Day? Epic, right!? … Continue reading →

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