Category Archives: tradtions

Sadie Hawkins’ Day, not a Leap Year Event, But Fun, Nevertheless

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Regina Jeffers

(Image from Sadie Hawkins’ cards at http://www.postcards.org) When I was a teen girl, I enjoyed the school-sponsored Sadie Hawkins’ dances. We didn’t exactly go for the girl asking the boy to the dance (like a date). But we did follow some … Continue reading →

Posted in America, American History, Appalachia, Austen Authors, customs and tradiitons, dancing, film, giveaway, history, holidays, legends and myths, marriage, marriage customs, Pop Culture, romance, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Trompe L’oeil & Grisaille in Historic Houses + an Excerpt from “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman” and a Giveaway!

Posted on November 10, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

To write “Mr. Darcy and the Designing Woman,” I had to learn the “technical” architectural terms for many architectural effects I enjoy viewing in historic houses and buildings. Two such terms are “trompe L’oeil,” and the other is “grisaille.” Trompe-l’œil (French for … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, art, book excerpts, book release, British history, buildings and structures, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Reader Question: What Were the Choices of Carriages for a Lady in the Regency to Simply Travel About Her Husband’s Estate to Sketch and Paint?

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

CARRIAGE CHOICES: New Question from a Familiar Follower: I have a character in the book I am writing who prefers to keep her distance from horses, but she enjoys painting and walking quite long distances to sketch outdoors. Her husband … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, history, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Pride and Prejudice, reading, Regency era, research, tradtions, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Appalachia, ballads, book excerpts, book release, British history, customs and tradiitons, eBooks, excerpt, Georgian England, Georgian Era, giveaway, historical fiction, Ireland, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Regency Etiquette for Men and Women

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

I have never found an etiquette book publish during the Regency. The book named Regency Etiquette is not an etiquette book as we might think of it. The closest I once came was an etiquette book published in 1827. The … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, customs and tradiitons, dancing, Georgian England, Georgian Era, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, marriage customs, peerage, Pride and Prejudice, real life tales, Regency romance, research, romance, tradtions, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Honorific Titles and Honourables

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

Ornament from the Bookman Ornaments collection from American Type Founders – Public Domain After last week’s post on a “gentleman’s honor” and my brief mention of honorific titles, I had a reader ask exactly what such titles entailed and how … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, British history, customs and tradiitons, peerage, titles of aristocracy, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Derbyshire and Well Dressings and the ReRelease of “Darcy Temptation” + a Giveaway

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

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 book release, British history, buildings and structures, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, Georgian England, Georgian Era, heroines, historical fiction, Jane Austen, Living in the Regency, marriage, Pride and Prejudice, publishing, reading habits, real life tales, Regency era, Regency romance, research, tradtions, Vagary, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The “Churching” of Women After Childbirth

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Regina Jeffers

 Although it has largely fallen out of favor with Western religion, the concept of “churching” in the Church of England can be traced well into the 20th Century. (Margaret Houlbrooke. Rite out of Time: a Study of the Ancient Rite of … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, England, Great Britain, history, Living in the UK, marriage, marriage customs, medicine, religion, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The “Churching” of Women After Childbirth

Breaking an Engagement in the Regency Era (Round 2)

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

After my last post in August on the issue of a breach of promise in the Regency, I have received several more questions on the subject. I hope some of what I am sharing below will clear up those concerns. … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, family, Georgian, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, marriage, marriage customs, real life tales, Regency era, research, tradtions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Death of Princess Charlotte, Signaling the End of the Hanoverian Line of Succession Was on the Horizon

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Regina Jeffers

[Image: Engraving of Princess Caroline from La Belle Assemblée (1806)] Much to the surprise and relief of George III’s England, his son George, Prince of Wales, fulfilled his duty by marrying Princess Caroline of Brunswick on 8 April 1795. Although they were … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, Church of England, customs and tradiitons, Elizabethan drama, George IV, Georgian England, Georgian Era, Great Britain, history, Living in the Regency, Living in the UK, marriage customs, real life tales, Regency personalities, royalty, tradtions, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Death of Princess Charlotte, Signaling the End of the Hanoverian Line of Succession Was on the Horizon