Showing posts with label regency england. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regency england. Show all posts

04 July, 2011

Regency Facts

1811
George IV begins nine-year tenure as Prince Regent. This sub-period of the Georgian era begins the formal Regency. The Duke of Wellington holds off the French at Fuentes d’Onoro and Albuhera in the Peninsular War. The Prince Regent holds a fete at nine p.m. June 19, 1811 at Carlton House in celebration of his assumption of the Regency. Luddite uprisings. Glasgow weavers riot.
1812
Spencer Perceval assassinated in the House of Commons. Final shipment of the Elgin Marbles arrives in England. Sarah Siddons retires from the stage. Shipping and territory disputes start the War of 1812 between England and the United States. The British are victorious over Spain at the Battle of Salamanca. The waltz is introduced from Europe into England. Gas company (Gas Light and Coke Company) founded.
1813
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is published. William Hedley’s Puffing Billy, the first steam locomotive, runs on smooth rails. Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry starts her ministry at Newgate Prison. Robert Southey becomes Poet Laureate.
1814
Invasion of France by allies leads to the Treaty of Paris, ending the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. The Duke of Wellington is honored at Burlington House in London. British soldiers burn the White House. Last River Thames Frost Fair is held, which was the last time the river froze. Gas lighting introduced in London streets.
1815
Napoleon I of France defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena. The English Corn Laws restrict corn imports. Sir Humphry Davy patents the miners’ safety lamp. John Macadam’s road construction method adopted.
1816
Income tax abolished. A “year without a summer” follows a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein. William Cobbett publishes his newspaper as a pamphlet. The British return Indonesia to the Dutch. Regent’s Canal, London, phase one of construction.
1817
Antonin CarĂªme creates a spectacular feast for the Prince Regent at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The death of Princess Charlotte from complications of childbirth changes obstetrical practices. Beau Brummell escapes his creditors by fleeing to France. Elgin Marbles shown at the British Museum. Captain Bligh dies.
1818
Queen Charlotte dies at Kew. Manchester cotton spinners’ strike. Riot in Stanhope between lead miners and the Bishop of Durham’s men over Weardale gaming rights. Piccadilly Circus constructed in London.
1819
Peterloo Massacre. Princess Victoria (Future Queen Victoria) is christened in Kensington Palace. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott is published. Sir Stamford Raffles, a British administrator, founds Singapore. First steam-propelled vessel (The Savannah) crosses the Atlantic and arrives in Liverpool from Savannah, Georgia.
1820
Death of George III. Accession of George IV. The House of Commons and House of Lords pass a bill to grant George IV a divorce from Queen Caroline, but due to public pressure the bill is dropped, John Constable begins work on The Hay Wain. Cato Street Conspiracy fails. Royal Astronomical Society founded. Venus de Milo discovered.

13 May, 2011

Pride & Prejudice Reading

"You are mistaken Mr. Darcy.."

I always had an affinity for our Mr. Darcy, what woman doesn't have it in her heart that she wants this kind of man?

I do question it at times because we slowly get to know him as we continue on our journey from Longbourn to Netherfield Park, and to Pemberly.

I love the way Miss Austen pens this novel, always from the feminine that you never truly know or understand why Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is so arrogant and seemingly prejudice and full of pride.

Yes, both of our main characters are a little of both in my humble opinion...both full of preconceived notions and to much pride to confront the other in any other way than to vex or hurt the other intentionally in the beginning.

As these two lovers begin to see more of each other, they start to grow on the other in my opinion, and everything falls into place as they start to understand that what they feel for one another is actually a growing love.

My heart goes out to Mr. Darcy as he admits his feeling only to have them thrown back in his face...you have to admit that he went about it in the wrong way, saying things that he shouldn't have said for the sake of justifying why he was allowing these things.

To see him admit to denying the social customs of rank for his time was, even in the modern era not something a woman truly wants to hear. Not exactly romantic if you ask me.

Yet he redeems himself as he explains his dislike of Wickam and the circumstances surrounding him.

Elizabeth is a great character. She is energetic, intelligent and loving...though a bit gullible when it comes to Wickam, willing to believe his tale of woa because he is truly like able, this is, in my opinion, Elizabeth's version of prejudice. Is a man bad because he isn't very social around strangers? And is Mr. Wickam good because he is so outgoing and charming?

I love this book because our Authoress gives such love in writing this tale of two people learning to grow into love.

In modern romance stories, I have seen many follow this format of writing in various ways, many publishing companies and how-to books call this form of conflict great for the readers and fun to write in many instances. It is the formula for a lot of amazing modern romance writers from Historical, to Regency to Contemporary. Writing of two people who are so misinformed and misjudging of the other that they have to overcome this by ways of throwing them together in various scenarios.

I could read Pride & Prejudice a million times and it never gets old and always gives me new things to think about and new things to learn and want to learn. I never tire of it!

I love the movies associated with the books and what each director gives and sees in the making of their versions. I will talk about them soon!

10 May, 2011

Welcome





















"It is a truth generally acknowledged that everyone is longing to escape..." ~Amanda Price, Lost In Austen

Welcome!

As much as I hate to admit, that Amanda's words in Lost In Austen are more true than most.

This obsession of Jane began with watching the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice, but at the time I was not as interested as I should have been. I had seen Emma with Gweneth Paltrow but still didn't take much notice, until....

Then a few years ago I watched Lost In Austen and my true obsession began.

I was consumed. I got the 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth and my heart was on its journey into Pemberly and the world of Jane Austen.

At Christmas, I received the best gift a girl could want-a volume of Jane's novels. I was beside myself with joy because I had owned various copies of some of the books, but was not truly interested in reading til now. I had lost them all, and to receive this gift gave me great pleasure.

After a few months of fondling the book and finally reading Pride & Prejudice, I pondered what I wanted to do. I did research and looked up everything I could from Jane online to the Regency online as well.

I decided that I am going to go on a journey through Jane's world and novels, using them to inspire me in my own writing. So this is my journey...

I will blog about the books, Jane herself, the Regency world, and generally anything I wish as it pertains to myself and how I can be more like Jane or any of her characters, including movies, fan fiction and authors who write sequels, pre-quels and re-writes.

Since I am a writer myself, I may decide to write my own novel of this period.

May you enjoy this journey of escape with me, and read with me!