Category Archives: Regency Life

Providing for young ladies’ future in Jane Austen’s World

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How did dowries provide for a young woman’s future? A Woman’s Dowry Though Pride and Prejudice’s (1995, movie version) Mr. Bennet referred to dowries as “bribes to worthless young men to marry his daughters,” dowries were more commonly considered a means by which a responsible family compensated a husband for their daughter’s lifelong upkeep. How’s that for a romantic notion? Dowries (or more commonly the interest earned off a dowry) were used to provide a … Continue reading →

Marriage and Coverture in Jane Austen’s World

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It’s hard to believe how different women’s lives were in Austen’s day. Marriage and coverture, a legal concept, effectively took away her personhood. The Concept of Coverture In 1765, William Blackstone presented a common man’s language interpretation of English law. He explained the law’s approach to women’s legal existence and rights in marriage which remained largely unchanged until the Married Women’s Property Act of 1884. Blackstone said: By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the … Continue reading →

A Touch of Consumption

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I’d like to welcome Kyra Kramer today as she shares a fascinating article on consumption–known today as tuberculosis–during the regency era. Medical anthropology is the study of how culture frames health, illness, and medicine. Since cultures change over time, you can also look at medical anthropology from a historical perspective. For example, the way British people during the Regency era conceptualized consumption – AKA tuberculosis – was very different from the way people in the … Continue reading →

By the Book: Mr. Collins’ Proposal

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Was Mr. Collins’ proposal as outrageous as modern readers believe? Once a gentleman survived the rigors of a courtship and wished to propose—and it was only the gentleman who could extend an offer of marriage—he had the dubious advantage of having very clear procedures to follow. He did have some choices, though. He could offer a proposal in person or more formally, in the form of a letter. Making an offer of Marriage In Emma, Robert Martin used … Continue reading →

Christmas fun: Old Fashioned Parlor Games

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What to do with company that comes for Christmas? What about some old fashioned parlor games? I love the holiday season, especially because it means I can have friends and family over. Occasionally, boredom can strike though and I find myself scrambling for something fun to do. With long winter nights with only candlelight to see by and fireplaces for warmth, those who lived in the regency era confronted the boredom issue regularly. No wonder … Continue reading →