Undress, Half Dress or Full Dress. What’s the difference and why did it matter? This month the focus is all about the Netherfield Ball. And what are a young lady’s first thoughts about when invited to a ball? What to wear of course! Not surprisingly, the sort of ball being held would determine appropriate dress for the evening. An event like the Meryton Assembly, a public ball, might only call for ‘half dress’, nice by … Continue reading →
What made circulating libraries so important to not just Jane Austen, but Georgian era women in general and what was the role of the humble Regency era novel in the whole affair? James Fordyce, in his Sermons to Young Women, counsels strongly against novels, the very sort of books offered by local and easily accessible circulating libraries. (Despite the face he had not read them, of course. But I digress…) He declared: What shall we … Continue reading →
Libraries as a social space Libraries were first and foremost a business, not a public service as we think of them today. Generally, they required a town with a population of at least two thousand to be profitable. Consequently, they were almost exclusively found in larger towns and resorts. Libraries could exist in smaller areas, but in those places, they were more of a sideline, added to an existing business. “In 1791, William Lane, famed … Continue reading →
Out, out damned spot! Ashes, tallow and turpentine to the rescue for all your cleaning needs! Keeping clothes clean has always been a challenge. Today, we can simply go to the store and buy a specialized product according stain that needs cleaning, but this wasn’t the case in Jane Austen’s day. In centuries past, the mistress of the house needed to be well versed on what home preparations could be used to keep her household … Continue reading →
With all our modern conveniences, it is easy to forget how arduous everyday tasks were for our ancestors. Wash day in particular is one for which we take our modern appliances for granted. Today, we gather the laundry and sort it, more or less, less if you’re one of my teen-aged sons. If it is a good day, we check for stains, pretreat the stains, then throw it all in the machine. Later we wander … Continue reading →