Blog
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The Rules of the Ballroom
Watching Bridgerton, and ultimately reading a LOT of Regency romances recently, has had me fascinated even more by the ritual of attending balls: and of course, balls in the eighteenth and nineteenth century were governed by strict rules. Here are some of them below: Firstly, you should never attend a private ball without an invitation, read more
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Introducing debutantes at Queen Charlotte’s Ball
Thomas Gainsborough, Queen Charlotte, Met Museum. You may have noticed, if you have immersed yourself in the Regency fantasy world of Bridgerton recently, that each series begins with the presentation of society’s debutantes to Queen Charlotte. Young ladies queue up in white dresses, escorted to the Queen, where they curtsey and are examined by the read more
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Attending Almack’s in Regency London
Print made by James Caldwall, The Cotillion Dance, 1771, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, B1977.14.11242. If you were part of high society in late eighteenth or early nineteenth century London, a key social location of the season was Almack’s. Located on King Street behind St James’s Square, Almack’s put on balls and read more
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Visiting Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens
One of my favourite things to read about in eighteenth and nineteenth century history is how, and where, people spent their free time. The eighteenth century saw a real change in the development of leisure and pleasure, especially for the elite, which meant the arrival of more cultural institutions and places to satisfy these needs. read more
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New Podcast | HistoryExtra, “Everything you wanted to know about the Grand Tour”
Giovanni Paolo Panini, Modern Rome, 1757. Met Museum. I am so excited to share that the latest BBC HistoryExtra podcast had me answering lots of different questions about, and sharing highly entertaining stories from, the Grand Tour. It’s a topic I’m fascinated by, so I am so grateful to have been a part of the read more
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The first major British artist outside of London: Joseph Wright of Derby
Self-Portrait, c.1780. Yale Center for British Art. I think we often think that, with the growth of culture and leisure in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, that the be-all and end-all is London (or, perhaps Bath). But, of course, this was not true. For starters, I want to share with you the first major British read more
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Madame Clicquot, the Grand Dame of Champagne
This weekend sees the release of Widow Clicquot, a film celebrating the life and achievements of the Grande Dame of Champagne, who became the first female owner of a champagne house and an incredibly astute businesswoman. Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was born in 1777 into a wealthy family, with a father who was also a businessman. He read more
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The Tragic Story of the Wiltshire Heiress
We talk a lot about rich men during the Regency period, but what about the heiresses of the day? One of the richest heiresses in the early nineteenth century was Catherine Tylney-Long, heiress to Wanstead Park in Essex, as well as lands in Hampshire and Wiltshire, who actually had quite a tragic story. It did read more
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Adapting Jane Austen | My Top 10 “Pride and Prejudice” Adaptations
It’s 207 years today since Jane Austen passed away, so, in her honour, it’s time to talk about the best adaptations of her work: specifically, my favourite of all her novels, Pride and Prejudice. I don’t want to ignite the Darcy debate, but I have to list some of my favourite – and some of read more
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Attending a Ball in Regency England
If you could time travel to Regency England, what better way to spend a Saturday night than at a ball? (My dream, really!) If you were attending, you would arrive late in the evening: if you think we head out dancing late now, that has always been the case, with the earliest arrivals coming at read more
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Dr. Lizzie Rogers 