Category Archives: real life tales

Richard Bertie’s Attempt to Become Lord Willoughby d’Eresby ~ Part I

Posted on September 3, 2018 by

Like Barry Lyndon (see post on November 27, 2017), Richard Bertie was born of humble origins, but aspired to claim a peerage through marriage. Bertie (ca. 1517 – 9 April 1582) made an astounding marriage to the widowed Duchess of … Continue reading →

Posted in Act of Parliament, British history, Elizabeth I, family, history, Inheritance, marriage, peerage, primogenture, real life tales | Tagged , , , ,

“Heartsease, or The Brother’s Wife,” the Victorian Retelling of Austen’s “Mansfield Park”

Posted on August 29, 2018 by

Are you aware of the Victorian tale Heartsease, or the Brother’s Wife by Charlotte Mary Yonge? June Sturrock, editor of the Broadview Texts, gives us this summary of the story. “A very young, timid, but highly principled and religious girl from … Continue reading →

Posted in Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , ,

The Village of Ewelme and Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk

Posted on July 13, 2018 by

In the wooded village of Ewelme in Oxfordshire, we discover an elaborate church monument incorporating a cadaver tomb at St Mary’s Church. An alabaster tomb, remaining essentially undamaged by time, is the resting place of Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of Geoffrey … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, British history, buildings and structures, Chaucer, kings and queens, legacy, medieval, military, real life tales, war | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Very “Real” Estate: Axminster

Posted on June 11, 2018 by

Axminster is a market town and civil parish of about 6,000 on the eastern border of Devon. The town is built upon a hill and overlooks the River Axe. The town dates back to around 300 BC. There was once … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, commerce, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Industrial Revolution, real life tales | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nigel Lewis’s “The Cover Plan Conspiracy,” a Deception Created by the Allied Forces in WWII

Posted on June 8, 2018 by

On June 6 of this week, I posted an article on Exercise Tiger, which was a tragic rehearsal for D-Day. That article brought me to the notice of Nigel Lewis, who has written extensively on the subject. Therefore, I asked him … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, book excerpts, British history, excerpt, Guest Post, history, legacy, military, real life tales, research, war, world history, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Derbyshire and Well Dressings

Posted on June 4, 2018 by

The origin of the practice of what is known as “well dressings” is a bit of a mystery. Most believe the celebration dates back to the Celts, but few places, other than Derbyshire and Staffordshire, England, have kept the tradition. … Continue reading →

Posted in Austen Authors, British history, buildings and structures, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, publishing, real life tales, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Characterization of Elinor Dashwood in Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”

Posted on June 1, 2018 by

Austen began writing Elinor and Marianne as an epistolary novel in 1795. It was published as Sense and Sensibility in 1811. The novel set the tone for many of Austen’s titles: defiance of the social and economic barriers to marriage and … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments