Category Archives: real life tales

Regency Happenings: The Year Without Summer

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Year Without a Summer (also known as the Poverty Year, Year There Was No Summer, and Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death) was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities resulted in major food shortages. Much of the cause … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, mystery, Napoleonic Wars, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Legend Behind Sir Walter Scott’s “The Bonnets o’ Bonnie Dundee”

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Legend Behind Sir Walter Scott’s “The Bonnets o’ Bonnie Dundee” by Regina Jeffers I am currently researching anything and everything Scottish. Being of Scottish descent, this is important to me, but I am also looking for those special “gems” … Continue reading →

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Regency Happenings: The Ratcliff Highway Murders ~ WhoDunIt???

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Ratcliff Highway murders (sometimes Ratcliffe Highway murders) were two vicious attacks on two separate families that resulted in seven fatalities. The two attacks occurred within twelve days in December 1811, in homes half a mile apart near Wapping in … Continue reading →

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William Henry Fox Talbot, British Inventor and Photography Pioneer

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

William Henry Fox Talbot (11 February 1800 – 17 September 1877) was a British inventor and photography pioneer who invented the calotype process, a precursor to photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. Talbot was also a noted photographer … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Living in the UK, real life tales, Victorian era | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

British Thoroughbred Racing History

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

With the onset of the Triple Crown in America, I thought we might take a look at the British thoroughbred racing history. I have used “horses” and “racing” several times as part of story lines, most recently in the novellas … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the UK, real life tales | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Maria Kinnaird, Mid-Victorian Socialite and Hostess

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Maria Kinnaird (1810–1891) was born on St. Vincent, but was orphaned by a volcanic eruption and she was adopted by the politician “Conversation Sharp.” (See my March 29 post on Sharp.) Sharp was once considered possibly to be the most … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, political stance, real life tales, Victorian era | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

King of Clubs, Whig Conversation Club of the Early Regency Period

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The King of Clubs was a famous Whig conversation club, founded in 1798. In contrast to its mainly Tory forerunner The Club (established by Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and Sir Joshua Reynolds), it was a predominantly Whig fraternity of some … Continue reading →

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“Conversation” Sharp – Victorian, Richard Sharp, Doyen of the Conversationalists

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Richard Sharp, FRS, FSA (1759 – 30 March 1835), also known as “Conversation” Sharp, was a hat-maker, banker, merchant, poet, critic, British politician, but above all – doyen of the conversationalists. Family Background Sharp was born in Newfoundland. His father, … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, language choices, political stance, real life tales, Uncategorized, Victorian era | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Princess Royal’s Not So Happy Life

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

The Princess Royal’s Not So Happy Life As we watched Kate Middleton marry into the Royal Family, people kept saying things that made the life of a princess seem “ideal,” but we who have studied the Regency Period can name … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, George IV, Georgian Era, Great Britain, Living in the Regency, political stance, real life tales, Regency era | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Victorian Astronomer, Francis Baily

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Regina Jeffers

Francis Baily (28 April 1774 – 30 August 1844) was an English astronomer, most famous for his observations of ‘Baily’s beads’ during an eclipse of the Sun. Life Baily was born at Newbury in Berkshire in 1774 to Richard Baily. … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Great Britain, Living in the UK, real life tales, science, Victorian era | Tagged , , | 2 Comments