Dinner at Longbourn - Random Bits of Fascination
 
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Dinner at Longbourn — 9 Comments

  1. In Georgian times and even into the Regency, tobacco use in England was more likely to be snuff or clay pipes rather than cigars. English gentlemen were slow to adopt the cigar which was more popular in Spain and France (and even the United States). British officers first encountered cigars during the Peninsula Wars and cigars were first seen in London in about 1814, brought back by officers. Conservative country gentlemen, such as Mr Bennet and his friends, would probably not have taken up this new fad.

  2. In your penultimate paragraph there is a word missing. “…and maybe even a little…” – but a little what?

    Inquiring minds want to know!

    • Sorry about that, Catherine. It should (and now does) read ‘a little dancing). That’s what I get for trying to finish up a post with my 2 year old grandson in my lap!

  3. Thanks for this insight into Regency dining. I had no idea that most “dinners” would be served in the afternoon; I just assumed that candles would be used. I suppose that the truly rich would hold dinner parties after dark as a sign of their wealth and status; they could afford all the candles they wanted and flaunted the fact. 😉

    Plus, I’m sure that the dishes were chosen by what was available at the time of year as far as fruits and vegetables. Unless preserved, one wouldn’t be expecting pears in spring (unless one’s greenhouse was particularly well cared for, or preserves were served). It wasn’t at all like today when we can get fruits and vegetables year round, thanks to growers in the southern hemisphere and in warmer spots in the US. England, with its shorter growing season being so far north, must have definitely been limited by seasonal availability. We certainly are spoiled now! 🙂

    Thanks for a fun and informative post, Maria!! And thank you for the books you sent!! 😀

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    • One of the things that I found interesting in researching this was the expense and availability of artificial light and how very much that would affect. We take the light bulb and electricity so for granted that we never even notice the dark until we’re in a power outage. Then we see what gets turned upside down and restricted by the availability of light. Regency era candle were expensive, so unless one could afford them, one planned everything by the availability of sunlight.

  4. I too was surprised at the time of dinner being so early in the afternoon. I guess I’m seeing Lady Catherine [Dame Judi Dench] talking to Elizabeth [Keira Knightley] in that dark dining room with all those candles. This was a fascinating post.

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