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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Public Schools in Jane Austen’s Day
Most gentlemen were sent to public boarding schools to prepare them for university. These schools bore little resemblance to public schools today. Public schools were public in the sense that boys were taught in groups outside of their private homes, not in the sense that these institutions were funded by public funds. A number of public schools existed, but the landed elite in particular chose to send their sons to a select number of these … Continue reading →
A Gentleman’s Education: the early years
A gentleman’s education set him apart from lesser men, even in his early life. What did that education look like? In all well-regulated states, the two principal points in view in the education of youth, ought to be, first, to make them good men, good members of the universal society of mankind; and in the next place to frame their minds in such a manner, as to make them most useful to that society to … Continue reading →
Dangerous, even deadly: Teething in Jane Austen’s World
!8th century French physician Jean Baumes (1783) wrote “All experience teaches that dentition is to be dreaded.” Why the dread?
Continue reading →A Little Colorful Language: All about Children
One of the things that fascinates me most about slang is its very changeable nature. Words can change meaning at the drop of a hat. New words come into lay and may be gone in an instant, or they may stay around for a very long time. I found some very familiar terms in this offering of Regency era language pertaining to children. Infants Bantling Brat Chit Lullaby Cheat Boys Young shaver Kid Little Breeches Girls … Continue reading →