Games of Jane Austen’s World: Bilboquet
Family letters and remembrances tell us that Jane Austen played a variety of games with her young nieces an nephews, and was quite good at many of them, including bilboquet.
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Home Theatricals and Preserving the Distinction of Rank
Like so much of Georgian England, home theatricals were about the preservation of rank.
Continue reading →The Itch for Acting-Amateur Theater in England
Britain has a long theater tradition, including both public and private, professional and amateur efforts. In the 10th century, dramas appeared in church services. By the 12th century British Crusaders brought back traditions from other cultures which led to religious drama being performed outside of the church. Secular groups and guilds gradually took control over these presentations. By the end of the medieval period, secular dramas became more prevalent than religious ones, with schools and … Continue reading →
Games of Jane Austen’s World: Battledore and Shuttlecock
What did the gentlemen and ladies of the Regency Era do for fun? With the leisure time the gentry class enjoyed, pleasant pastimes were necessary–so without cable tv or streaming media, what did they do? Often they played games. Card games are well documented, but outdoor games were enjoyed as well, among them, battledore and shuttlecock, a predecessor of modern badminton. Played with two rackets and a feathered ‘bird’, this game has been traced back … Continue reading →
Games of Jane Austen’s World: Pall Mall
What did the gentlemen and ladies of the Regency Era do for fun? Often they played games, among them, Pall Mall, a game thought to be an ancestor to modern croquet.
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