In Jane Austen’s writing we encounter many military men: Colonel Brandon, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Captain and General Tilney, Lieutenants Wickham and Denny. In her tales we often read of how these men purchased their commissions, but what was the motivation for doing so and how did the process work? Being an officer made you a gentleman In the Regency era, social status was closely related to career and wealth. An Army officer or Navy officer … Continue reading →
In Jane Austen’s writing we encounter a number of characters like Edward Ferrars and Edmund Bertram who are planning on taking orders. Her readers understood what that meant, but the concept is a little foreign to us, so here’s a quick rundown on what ‘taking orders’ meant. The English laws or primogenitor, intended to preserve the integrity of large landed estates, made it a challenge for younger sons of the landed gentry to establish themselves … Continue reading →
I must confess, trying to understand the Regency clergy just about drove me over the edge. References didn’t answer my questions, then they would contradict one another. I thought I’d pull my hair out. Nancy Mayer at Nancy Mayer-Regency Researcher came to my rescue and straightened out so much of my confusion. Thank you, Nancy! Please, take time and check out her wonderful site. The three different types of clergy populated the parish church: the … Continue reading →
I learned one writing lesson very quickly. Do the historical research and get the details right. I don’t know why I hadn’t realized how important this was at the start, but suffice to say the point was well made and I got to work. I immediately realized I needed to understand the social classes of the Regency era, particularly, what a gentleman was in the first place. The simple answer is that a gentleman is … Continue reading →
