Category Archives: British history

Plough Monday and Molly Dancing: British Traditions

The Oxford Dictionary of English Folk Lore describes a plough jag as, “One of the three main types of mumming play, found only in the East Midlands, and first reported in the 1820s. Performances were concentrated on Plough Monday,  but could … Continue reading

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Would You Recognize a Hunky Punk?

“Hunky Punk” is a West Country (UK) word for grotesque carvings on the side of English buildings, especially churches. The word originated in Somerset and is ascribed to the Old English word “hunkers,” which means haunches and “punchy,” which means … Continue reading

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Do You Speak Jane Austen? (Part 3)

The last third of the alphabet was a bit of a challenge. The letters “x” and “z” were less than cooperative. I searched Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Parkfor the letters, but was, generally, unsuccessful. “X” was impossible to … Continue reading

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Jane Austen and Feminism

In 1968, the Women’s Liberation Movement staged a demonstration at the annual Miss America Beauty pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They protested the idea that the most important thing about a woman is how she looks. Women’s liberation attacked … Continue reading

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Do You Speak Jane Austen? (Part 2)

  Do You Speak Jane Austen? Part 2 A laugh, a fist pounding on a desk top, a raised eyebrow – these are all signals to punctuation of the spoken word, but what of the written word? We start with … Continue reading

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Do Your Speak Jane Austen? (Part 1)

Part I: Do You Speak Jane Austen? When my son was about three years of age, he shocked several onlookers at the mall by saying, “I have a splendid idea, if you would acquiesce.” You see, his mother is an … Continue reading

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Jane Austen and the Concept of Accepting a Marriage of Convenience

Settling for the Compromise Marriage What hope was there for the dowerless daughters of the middle class during Jane Austen’s lifetime? Such is a topic Austen explored repeatedly in her novels. Elizabeth and Jane Bennet sought men of a like … Continue reading

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Winner of Hearts Through History Blog Hop

I am happy to announce the winner of my part of the Hearts Through History Blog Hop is Diane Sallans. Diana will receive an autographed copy of my February release of His: Two Regency Novellas. 

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Eccentrics of the Regency Period Series: Maria Fagniani

The mistresses of the Prince Regent and his brothers were as well known as the men. The Duke of Clarence, for example, sired ten children with Mrs Jordan, and the Duke of York’s relationship with Mary Anne Clarke caused a … Continue reading

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Eccentrics of the Regency Period Series: Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore

  For today, we’ll take an look at another of the Prince Regent’s inner circle, a man known by one and all as “Hellgate,” Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore. Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore (14 August 1769 – 6 … Continue reading

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