Forgive me if I start this post out on something totally Off Topic (as I often do!), but I had to share the link to these Pirates of the Caribbean dolls which someone sent me this week! They are so wonderfully funny and–weird. I’d like to at least have the Orlando doll to keep on my desk, but what I would really love is to have a whole set. Then I could act out scenes from the movie. Maybe the next time I have a few hundred dollars to spare…

And now onto the topic of the week!

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been doing some volunteer work at a political campaign office, getting ready for the Super Tuesday primary on February 5. It’s mostly answering phones, stuffing envelopes, handing out bumper stickers and yard signs–not hugely glamorous. But it’s made me think about Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her Whig friends in the 18th century. And about how political campaigns have–and haven’t–changed in 200+ years.

“Ladies who interest themselves so much in the case of elections, are perhaps too ignorant to know that they meddle with what does not concern them” –The Morning Post, March 1784.

Georgiana first met Charles James Fox in 1777, when he visited Chatsworth. At 28, he was already marked out as the future leader of the Whigs. Until then his political career had veered between success and failure, and Georgiana spent her time flitting around, partying and racking up debts. But they both wanted, and were capable, of much more. They spent that visit discussing ideas. Fox instilled in Georgiana a devotion to the Whigs, who by the 1770s stood for opposition to the King, mistrust of powers of the crown, and vigilance over civil liberties.

“One day last week, her Grace the Duchess of Devonshire appeared on the hustings at Covent Garden. She immediately saluted her favorite candidate, the Hon. Charles James Fox” –The Morning Post, September 25, 1780

Georgiana began following the debates in Parliament and perfecting her skills as a political hostess. She became the leader of an elite group of political females that included her sister Harriet Ponsonby, the Duchess of Portland, Lady Jersey, Lady Carlisle, Mrs. Bouverie, and the Waldegraves, yet none ever outshown her, or came in for the extent of criticism she did.

In 1780, Richard Brinsley Sheridan (playwright, politician, and lover of Georgiana’s sister Harriet) asked for Georgiana’s help. She arranged for him to stand in the Spencer-dominated borough of Stafford (he was elected, natch). A week later, on Sept. 25, Fox asked her to accompany him as he contested the borough of Westminster. In this case, she only stood on the platform for a few minutes, but the press was Shocked.

“The Duchess of Devonshire’s attendance at Covent Garden, perhaps, will not secure Mr. Fox’s election; but it will at least establish her pre-eminence above all other beauties of that place, and make her a standing toast in all the ale-houses and gin-shops of Westminster” –Morning Post, April 8, 1784

In 1782, the Whigs came to power with Fox as Foreign Secretary. Under Parliamentary rules, MPs selected for office had to re-offer themselves to their constituents, and Fox again asked Georgiana to help him out. He wanted her to lead a women’s delegation, and on April 3 she performed her first official duty for the party. She and the other ladies, wearing Whig colors of buff and blue, spoke under large banners reading ‘Freedom and Independence’ and ‘The Man of the People.’ She was a sensation. Fans bearing her portrait sold in the hundreds.

Her involvement in politics only grew after the birth of her first child (Little G) in 1784. The Duc de Chartres and his French delegation treated her as their official hostess; her influence with the Prince of Wales was well-known. But also in 1784, the Whigs were low in public opinion as they formed a Coalition against Prime Minister Pitt and the King. In March, Pitt called a general election, setting off a storm of campaigning.

On March 17, Georgiana appeared at the opera, to much cheering–and booing and hissing. The Duchess of Rutland, a Tory hostess, stood up in her box and shouted, “Damn Fox!” In reply, Lady Maria Waldegrave leaped up and retorted, “Damn Pitt!” This must have been highly entertaining! The most noise I’ve ever heard at the opera was once when the guy sitting behind me fell asleep and started snoring.

“The Duchess made no scruple of visiting some of the humblest of electors, dazzling and enchanting them by the fascination of her manner, the power of her beauty, and the influence of her high rank” –Horace Walpole

But Georgiana also suffered threats and abuse as she went about her campaigning. By the end of her first week, she was exhausted and hoarse, with blistered feet. Fox was still behind in the polls. Georgiana wrote to her mother Lady Spencer, “I gave the Election quite up, and must lament all that has happened.” The Pittite papers, like the Morning Herald, reported that she exchanged kisses for votes, and scurrilous cartoons appeared. (She sent deputies out to buy up the most offensive of them as soon as they appeared!). Fox did eventually score a victory, and Carlton House saw nights of celebratory balls and dinners.

Until the next election…

Have you ever done any work in politics? And where can I get one of those blue suits Keira Knightley has on in the film still? I LOVE that costume!

I have virtually nothing to say today, so I opened one of my (newly rebound)Annual Registers and found this account from June 27, 1811, about what happened when the Prince Regent opened Carlton House to the public to tour the interior. I’m abridging it greatly!

Yesterday being the last day that the public were permitted to view the interior of Carlton-House, the crowd from an early hour in the morning was immense; and as the day advanced, the scene excited additional interest….The gates were only opened at certain intervals and when this was the case, the torrent was to rapid, that many people were taken off their feet, some with their backs toward the entrance, screaming to get out….Lord Yarmouth and the Duke of Gloucester appeared, and announced to the public, that the gates would not be again opened…this, however, had not the desired effect….Those behind irresitstibly pushed on those before, and of the number of delicate and helpless females who were present, some were thrown down, and shocking to relate, literally trod on by those behind without the possibility of being extricated. When at last the crowd got inside of Carlton-House gates, four females were found in a state of insensibility, lying on their backs on the ground, with their clothes almost completely torn off. One young lady, elegantly attired, or rather who had been so, presented a shocking spectacle; she had been trodden on until her face was quite black from strangulation, and every part of her body bruised to such a degree, as to leave little hopes of her recovery: surgical assistance was immediately had, but her life was not expected to be saved. An elderly lady had her leg broken, and was carried away in a chair; and two others were also seriously hurt, but on being bled, were restored to animation….The situation of almost all the ladies who were involved in this terrible rush was truly deplorable; very few of them could leave Carlton-House until furnished with a fresh supply of clothes; they were to be seen all round the gardens, most of them without shoes or gowns; and many almost completely undressed, and their hair hanging about their shoulders….

Can you imagine it?

Now there’s an exciting scene for one of our books.

Have you ever been in such a crowd where you feared being trampled? I’ve been at exhibits that were so crowded you couldn’t see what you came to see, but this Carlton-House visit was literally a crush!

Hope you all have a splendid week and that no one trods on you.

So, in the news this week–the Oscar nominations! The nods for Best Costume Design are:

Atonement

La Vie en Rose

Across the Universe

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Sweeney Todd
The only one that really surprised me was Across the Universe. I might have guessed Becoming Jane or maybe Pirates of the Caribbean 3. My personal pick might be Elizabeth, but my crystal ball says Sweeney Todd. As for the other noms–too close to call. 🙂

In entertainment news in 1790, there was the premier of Mozart’s Cos fan tutte.

According to Henry W. Simon’s book Festival of Opera, CFT “has been sung under more names than any other opera in history.” For example, the Metropolitan has called it Women Are Like That (the translation I’ve heard the most often). In England, it was once called Tit for Tat. In Denmark, Flight From the Convent, in France The Chinese Laborer (funny–I don’t recall convents or Chinese laborers in the story at all!). And in Germany, lots of different things, such as The Girls’ Revenge and The Guerillas.

Under whatever name, it had its premier at Vienna’s Burgtheater January 26, 1790, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and music by Mozart (the two had also collaborated on Le nozze di Figaro, my personal favorite Mozart opera, and on Don Giovanni.) The source of the story is not known, though there is a (probably apocryphal) tale that it was suggested by Emperor Joseph II based on a high society scandal of the day. Whatever the inspiration, the Emperor did commission the work, requesting a comedy. Mozart was paid 450 guldens for it, and it was nearly his last opera (only La clemenza di Tito and Magic Flute, both 1791, are later).

During the 19th century, the plot was considered rather risque and the opera was rarely performed. It’s an ostensibly lighthearted look at the twists and turns of romantic love. It begins in a Naples cafe, where two young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, argue with Don Alfonso that their fiancees, the sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligi, would never betray them. Aided by Despina, the sisters’ saucy maid, the men hatch an elaborate plot to test the womens’ loyalty. They disguise themselves as Turkish soldiers and woo each other’s girlfriends, eventually winning over the at-first reluctant sisters. In the end, the disguises are revealed, and all is forgiven–though just how happy such marriages can be is anyone’s guess.

At the premier, Adriana Ferrarese and Luisa Villeneuve played the sisters; Francesco Bennuci and Vincenzo Calvesi their lovers; Dorotea Bussani was Despina; and Francesco Bussani Don Alfonso.

So, we have News in Entertainment 2008 and 1790! Which movie do you call for Best Costumes (or any other nominee)? Do you have a favorite opera? And Happy Saturday! (I always do love Saturday…)

As the lovely and talented Keira pointed out yesterday, it was Byron’s birthday on Tuesday. (I always remember Byron’s birthday because it’s my father’s birthday too–he just turned 97! Younger than Byron, but not by much.)

So happy birthday, Byron, the ultimate bad boy– mad bad and dangerous to know as the equally mad bad and dangerous Lady Caroline Lamb, defined him. But heck, the man was HAWWWT.

I blogged a little while ago about this excellent book by Jude Morgan about Byron, Shelley, et al, and I urge you to read it–it’s fabulous. (And I’ve just read Symphony by Jude Morgan, about Berlioz and Harriet Smithson, an amazing book. But I’m saving that for another time .) So I thought we’d celebrate Byron’s birthday with some of his quotations–many of which I found at this excellent site, not that there’s a shortage of sites about Byron. And throw in a few more pics of him.

I awoke one morning and found myself famous.

I have great hopes that we shall love each other all our lives as much as if we had never married at all.

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.

What men call gallantry, and gods adultery,
Is much more common where the climate’s sultry.

The reading or non-reading a book will never keep down a single petticoat.

A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad and Champagne, the only true feminine & becoming viands.

I am about to be married, and am of course in all the misery of a man in pursuit of happiness.

For the sword outwears its sheath,
And the soul wears out the breast,
And the heart must pause for breath,
And love itself have rest.

So share your favorite Byron quote, poem, or anecdote. Or tell us how long it would have taken you to enter into a scandalous and public liaison with him (me: ten minutes).

Learn the latest shocking scandal involving Lord B—- every month via the Riskies newsletter; send an email with NEWSLETTER in the header to riskies@yahoo.com. All contests all the time–enter to win a signed copy of Jane Lockwood’s Forbidden Shores in a contest sponsored by Pam Rosenthal ; and you only have a week left to read an alternate ending to The Rules of Gentility and enter to win a prize at janetmullany.com.

I don’t watch many reality TV shows. I’ve never gotten sucked into Survivor or American Idol or The Bachelor, but when I do find one I like I tend to get a wee bit obsessed. And the two I love are Dancing With the Stars (sadly not on right now!) and Project Runway. Last week’s episode was wondrously fabulous! It involved making prom dresses for picky 17 year olds! Woo hoo!

I didn’t agree with the winner or the loser of that challenge, but that was beside the point (though I have to say, honestly Christian, what were you thinking??). The point was designing a beautiful dress that was also age-appropriate, and also pleasing and flattering to the client (even if the client was a bit of a looney). It made me think of my own prom dress, and the terrible angst involved in shopping for it, and finding the right shoes and jewelry and hairdo. And the great joy of talking it over with all my friends every day for a month before the Big Night! (The talking and shopping were actually more fun than the actual prom itself, but that’s another story…)

It made me wonder what was out there for today’s Prom Girl, so I did a Google search for ‘prom dresses.’ Here are a few I found, along with various historical figures who might have worn them.

Catherine the Great

Emma Hamilton

Isabella of Spain

Marie Antoinette

Caroline Lamb

Elizabeth I

This one I’m not sure about–who do you think would wear it?

What was your prom like? Did you get your dream dress/date? What would you wear if you were going to prom now???