National Son’s Day: Younger Sons in Civil Service
Regency era younger sons might preserve their status as gentlemen by a life in civil service.
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A Gentleman’s Income
A true gentleman of the regency did not ‘work’ for his living. So how did he come by his income?
Continue reading →Joining the Gentry
What makes a gentleman?
If one wanted to marry a gentleman, one must identify said elusive creature first. So how exactly could one pick out a gentleman from the rest? The nuances of social class and what makes a gentleman a gentleman remains a perennial source of confusion for Austenesque and Regency readers. The pages of Austen’s stories are littered with gentlemen, but offer absolutely no explanation of what that title actually meant. Of course, her readers knew exactly … Continue reading →
A Country Parson’s Life
I’d like to welcome Brenda Cox today as she shares a fascinating article on a country parson’s life during the regency era. Country clergymen appear in each of Jane Austen’s novels. Some are satirized, like Mr. Collins of Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Elton of Emma. Others are men of integrity, like Edmund Bertram of Mansfield Park and Edward Ferrars of Sense and Sensibility. Austen’s father, two of her brothers, and many of her friends were clergymen, … Continue reading →