Category: Regency

The Georgian Bawdyhouse

Updated on August 1, 2013 by Myretta

A friend just returned from a holiday in England and, knowing what kind of girl I am (a writer), she brought me The Georgian Bawdyhouse by Emily Brand. This is one of the excellent Shire Library books found in many of the UK National Trust gift shops. I’m not sure where Laurel got this one. I’ll have to ask her.

Since we’re all interested in bawdyhouses, I thought I’d share some of it with you. The book addresses the long 18th century, but does concentrate largely on the 17th and early 18th. In fact, the illustration at the top of the table of contents is of a Regency era Prince of Wales disporting himself at a bordello.

A young Prinny relaxing in a bawdyhouse

Brand tells us that bawdyhouses were not under the exclusive direction of women. Men (called panders) ran some of the houses and, in some cases, a husband and wife team were in charge. Regardless of who was running it, a brothel could be highly lucrative. In 1743, the Gentleman’s Magazine speculated that Mother Hayward (owner of a bawdyhouse), was worth £10,000 at her death.

Bawdyhouses ran the gamut from poverty-stricken garrets to elegant (or at least expensive) townhouses. Indeed, The Folly was a floating brothel on the Thames.

Prostitution was not illegal, but bawdyhouses could be punished for disturbing the peace. So, apparently, maintaining a respectable appearance was an important factor in running a successful house of ill repute.

Frontispiece 1794 Harris’s List

Brand gives us a selection of terms for prostitutes: drazil-drozzle from Hampshire, dolly-tripe in Warwickshire. The lowest of these were the bunters and hedge-whores. The loftier were squirrels and demi-reps. Their average age was 16 to 24. Between 1757 and 1795, Harris’s List of Covent Garden Ladies, rather a prostitute directory, provided descriptions of working women, including their age.

The Georgian Bawdyhouse also includes a chapter on the men who frequented these establishment. These ranged from sailors and visiting country squires to The Dukes of Wellington and Queensberry. Of course, the types of houses these men would attend would vary widely, from the tawdry to the palatial.

Early 19th C condom made of sheep gut

Although most of these men gave no thought to impregnating their partners, disease was not uncommon and various types of “cures” (taking the waters, mercury, a remedy served in hot chocolate) and preventive measures existed. Early condoms were made of linen, silk or leather. By the early 19th century, sheep gut soaked in water and tied with a ribbon was the usual. Other inventive measures were taken. Apparently, Casanova once persuaded a lover to use half a lemon rind as a cervical cap.

There is a lot of information in this small book and it’s full of illustrations. Gillray is amply represented. It’s well worth a look if you’re interested in the seamier side of life in the Georgian city. Thanks for the souvenier, Laurel.

Posted in Regency, Research | 3 Replies

The Beau Monde

Updated on July 22, 2013 by Diane Gaston

I’m back from RWA, all bone-weary and brain-dead, but also rejuvenated and ready to conquer everything about the Romance writing world. I did have a lovely time.

Before the RWA conference, though, there was the Beau Monde conference. The Beau Monde is the Regency chapter of Romance Writers of America and they had a one day conference before the big conference. It is a great time to reconnect with writing friends who love the Regency as much as I do.

Big thanks to Isobel Carr who made the Beau Monde published authors little pins of their latest bookcovers. I wore mine proudly the whole week–until I lost it the last day (sniff!!).

Every one of the workshops I attended at the Beau Monde conference was terrific.

The first was by our very own Risky Susanna Fraser who spoke on Your Hero’s Military History: Beyond Trafalgar and Waterloo. Susanna’s love of the Napoleonic War and its heroes equals (or maybe even exceeds) mine and she did a beautiful job of making a huge topic understandable and useful. Plus in her handouts she provided a fabulous set of timelines.

The next workshop I attended was A Quack or Dr. House by Sharon Lathan, RN, which made the different professions in Regency Medicine much clearer. Now I know the difference between a physician, a surgeon, an accoucheur (midwife) and an apothecary.

The afternoon began with Louisa Cornell, who is such a loyal friend of Risky Regencies. Louisa’s topic was A Great Proficient, about the performance of music in the Regency, especially what a proper lady or gentleman might do. One of the fascinating things about her topic was how similar music became popular then as it does in modern times. One heard music performed, say at Vauxhall Gardens, then ran to the lending library or music shop to get the broadsheet so it could be played at home. The real delight of this workshop, though, was getting to hear Louisa sing. I’ve known for years that she was once a professional opera singer who performed all over Europe, but I’d never before heard her sing!

Last workshop I attended was by our very own Risky, Janet, who talked about The Jewish and Black Communities of Georgian London. I won’t say too much about this one in case Janet wants to expand upon the topic for the blog, but she showed the stereotypes portrayed and some of the ways these groups were assimilated and accepted beyond stereotypic expectations. I will say that Janet was her usual very entertaining self and just listening to her was a pleasure!

The workshops I didn’t get to see were Regina Scott‘s What is So Grand About A Grand Tour, Historical Accuracy: When To Worry And When To Fudge with Anne Cleeland, Jade Lee, and Elizabeth Hoyt, and Ashlyn Macnamara‘s How To Play Whist. But I have the conference tapes so I can catch up on those later!

Later that evening we had the Beau Monde Soiree with Regency dancing. I love this part of the conference because so many of the members dress in Regency dress. I didn’t this year, but wore a long “Regency-esque” dress. One lovely part of the Soiree is that the Mills and Boon editors from the UK (Amanda’s and my editors) always attend. It just seems fitting that they should!

Of course I have NO PHOTOS. I’m terrible at remembering to take pictures until it is too late!

For more on the RWA conference-according-to-Diane, see my blog on Thursday.

If you attended the Beau Monde conference, what was your favorite part. If not, which of these workshop titles most appeals to you?

Posted in Regency, Research, Writing | 4 Replies

Travel Time

Updated on July 15, 2013 by Diane Gaston

This week several of the Riskies and I will be traveling to Atlanta to the Romance Writers of America annual conference and the Beau Monde, RWA Regency Chapter, mini-conference. Our Janet will be presenting a workshop at Beau Monde, Jewish and Black Communities of Georgian London. Janet and I will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Wet Noodle Posse, the Golden Heart finalists of 2003.

But I’m not thinking of that today. Today I’m packing my pink fabric suitcase. Of course if this were Regency times, I’d be packing a trunk.

But I’d also need a cosmetic case-I have a matching pink tote that I use for all my cosmetics, but in the Regency, I might have a French Necessaire, like this one at auction here.

On Tuesday I’ll be taking an airplane, the fastest way to travel to Atlanta. In the Regency, I’d travel by stage coach, the era’s equivalent.

Now…what would be the Regency equivalent of a Romance Writers conference?

I hope to see some of our Risky commenters at RWA. Please come up to us and say hi!

At the Literacy booksigning, I’ll be participating in a Romance Trading Cards giveaway, along with several other authors. I’ll have albums and romance trading cards for A Reputation for Notoriety and Born To Scandal.

Posted in Regency, Risky Regencies | 4 Replies

Kensington Gardens

Updated on July 12, 2013 by Myretta

I’m revising my current WIP and have come across the scene where my heroine out for a drive with the hero in an open carriage. They have just passed the entrance to Hyde Park and, being new to London, she wonders where they’re going.

They’re headed for a picnic in Kensington Gardens.

When I first worked on this scene, I did a little research on Kensington Gardens and shared it on my personal blog. Since I am quite convinced that my blog has about two followers (including me), I thought I’d share it here as well.

Kensington Gardens is west of and contiguous with Hyde Park. It was carved out of Hyde Park and made what it is today by Queen Caroline, wife of George II. Queen Caroline had The Long Water and The Serpentine (in Hyde Park) created from the Westbourne Stream and separated Kensington Gardens (which was a private park throughout most of the 18th century) from Hyde Park with a ha-ha.

Here is a plan of the gardens from 1754.

Plan of Kensington Gardens 1754

Once the hero and heroine arrive at the gardens, they will get out of the carriage and take a stroll – and who knows what else might happen? Well, I do, but I’m not telling just yet.

Kensington Gardens 1798

I think that, were they to be transported to the present day (which they won’t be), they might recognize a lot of the gardens in which they are strolling.

Kensington Gardens

There are many things, however, that they would not recognize, including the Albert Memorial (Queen Victoria made several additions to the gardens) and the bronze statue of Peter Pan, now a destination for visitors to the park.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

I had fun finding out what I could do in Kensington Gardens. I hope that Anne and Simon have fun while they’re there and that perhaps one day you can join them.

Prints are from The British Library Online Gallery

Posted in Regency, Research, Writing | 3 Replies

Life in the Georgian City

Updated on July 5, 2013 by Myretta

Today, I’m turning to my library again. I’ve pulled out Life in the Georgian City by Dan Cruickshank and Neil Burton. This is a wonderfully detailed book, covering city streets and their buildings, including construction and maintenance, people and services. Naturally, it doesn’t have everything you would need to know. But it’s a darned good place to start. It also has tons of great illustrations.

Cheapside 1823

As an example, Chapter One starts out with “The Image of the City,” invoking how the architecture (particularly the newly constructed and prolifically built terrace house) “not only determined the way in which life was organized inside the home but also had a profound influence on the way the city was perceived.” The book quotes Louis Simond, the American who visited London in 1810, as typical of the way visitors saw the smoky Georgian city. Another visitor called the city “an enormous murky lump of brick.”

The book then goes on to discuss the coal fires that gave the city its murky quality, followed by a discussion of street paving, cleansing and lighting.

But the book does not focus solely on the city’s architecture and streets, it also takes a look at the lives of the people who lived there. There’s a wonderful illustration of workmen, procuring breakfast from a street vendor. Something that is so like something we would see today in almost any largish city. Discussion includes daily life, work, entertainment, meals, street hazards, transportation, before moving on to the town houses themselves.

The “Common House” chapter of the book includes floor plans and descriptions of each floor in a typical London town house as well as the services needed to keep in running. including fuel, water supply, and drainage. There is a chapter on Construction and Speculation, detailed descriptions and pictures of details of the house, including dados, architraves, skirtings, mouldings, and paint colors.

In 1700 few small town houses had anything but paved yards. The fourth chapter covers the growth of town gardens with probably less attention to detail than that given to the city and houses. This is likely because there was not as much written on the subject during the period. We have section of Richard Horwood’s map showing the large number of London town gardens in the late 18th century, apparently given early manifestation on the Grosvenor Estate in Maryfair, behind the fashionable houses that were built in the 1720s and 1730s, intended for the more well-to-do who would also have a country estate. There is also discussion of poorer, upper floor residents trying some container gardening with pots on their windowsills.