Vanessa Riley’s Regency Reflections

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• A Story in Pictures
  THIS coat. He was out walking. That’s all. A little moody and sad because his favorite uncle died about a year ago and left him dukedom and loads of money. But never mind that. It’s cold and he’s out walking. … Continue reading →
• Audley End – From Jacobean Splendor to Taxidermied Birds
  “The rooms are high and hung with beautiful tapestries […] [and] the staircases are built with peculiar comfort: after every five steps there is a landing so that one can rest and does not get out of breath.” Johann Ernst … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-07-21 06:21:38.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Regency shop windows
  The above caricature shows a printseller/publisher’s shop window with what mostly appears to be books on display. Windows with lots of small panes were popular in Regency storefronts for at least two reasons (maybe more—I’m not sure how good the … Continue reading →
• Visiting Sotterley Plantation, MD
  I went on a field trip yesterday with a bunch of museum/history geeks to Sotterley Plantation, in Hollywood. (No, not that Hollywood. The one in Maryland.) It’s on the Patuxent River and is the only tidewater plantation open to the … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-07-07 06:23:00.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Morning Gowns and Walking Costumes
  One of the topics under recent discussion was all the different types of gowns a Regency lady would have worn and how people could possibly have told the difference. Morning Gown, Domestic Costume, Walking Dress, Promenade Costume, Carriage Dress, all … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-06-23 06:20:10.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Head Down Revising and Something Odd About Names
  I’ve been busy on the last revisions of Surrender to Ruin before I send it to a trusted reader. The hero of this book owns a gaming hell and some brothels which he continues to operate despite having inherited a … Continue reading →
• Registration Is Open for 2016 Annual General Meeting
  JASNA is now accepting registrations for its 2016 Annual General Meeting in Washington DC.
  The conference theme is “Emma at 200: ‘No One But Herself.'”

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Originally posted 2016-06-16 06:21:26.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• So you want to review books? (The 1816 edition)
  Are you a reader with a most impressive number of reviews on Goodreads? Do you run a book blog or write for a review site? Do you LOVE talking about books? But do you worry what would happen if you … Continue reading →
• On My Bookshelf: My first Jane Austen novels
  A local historical society will be hosting a book sale this weekend to raise funds. I am finally ready to part with a substantial number of some of my most beloved books (art, art history, English literature, nature books, etc). The first three Jane Austen novels I purchased sat forgotten on the top shelf – […]

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Originally posted 2016-06-09 06:20:10.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Regency material culture, part 2
  Hey y’all! Gambled Away, my anthology with Molly O’Keefe, Jeannie Lin, Isabel Cooper and Joanna Bourne, releases in just a few days. So I thought I’d do another installment on nifty items I came across during the research for it! … Continue reading →
• Terriers in the 18th & 19th Centuries
  Recollect that the Almighty, who gave the dog to be companion of our pleasures and our toils, hath invested him with a nature noble and incapable of deceit.”- Sir Walter Scott, 1825 My beloved Cody died in my arms this week.  He was put to sleep to relieve his pain from cancer and pancreatitis. He’s […]

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Originally posted 2016-06-02 06:21:11.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Drawers and Pantalettes, Oh My!
  One of the questions that seems to come up a lot when I ask what people want me to blog about is underpants. Did they? Didn’t they? Didn’t they feel naked without them? When I asked on FaceBook what topics … Continue reading →
• Simplify*
  For many readers I suspect that one of the most appealing aspects of Regency life is its simplicity. In fact the day-to-day life of the well born may have been annoyingly busy but, in the fantasy world that most of … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-05-26 06:20:06.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Hells
  Recently, I got to the point in the WIP (Surrender to Ruin, Sinclair Sisters Series, Book 3) where I really did have to research gaming hells since the hero of that book owns several and made an independent fortune in … Continue reading →
• On Tea and Good Intentions
  I had planned a lovely post for you today. Really. But I’m hosting another Facebook party this weekend (well, actually Sunday and Monday, it lasts 32 hours!) –a “virtual Tea Party” –and I’m also running a “real” Tea Party on … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-05-19 06:20:52.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• The Lives of a Roman Fort
  As I have surely already mentioned in an earlier post, one of the settings of my upcoming Roman romance EAGLE’S HONOR: RAVISHED is based on a real fort at the Upper German-Raetian limes: the Saalburg, which today is a renowned … Continue reading →
• Oh to be in England Now that Spring is here Oh to be in England drinking English beer –English Drinking Song By the time you read this, I will be in England (or on a plane getting ready to land … Continue reading →

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Originally posted 2016-05-12 06:20:10.

Looks What’s Brewing in the Regency

• Servitude: a Poem written by a Footman
  Robert Dodsley was popularly known as the footman poet! Wikipedia explains: In 1729 Dodsley published his first work, Servitude: a Poem written by a Footman…and a collection of short poems, A Muse in Livery, or the Footman’s Miscellany, was published … Continue reading →
• Diane Rehm Interviews “Eligible” Author, Curtis Sittenfeld
  In 2011, The Austen Project approached best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld to write a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, which she entitled Eligible (out in bookstores now). On Thursday, April 21, 2016, Diane Rehm, one of my favorite radio hosts, interviewed Sittenfeld regarding her new novel. As the interview wore on it became obvious to […]

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Originally posted 2016-05-05 06:21:36.