Lord Byron had four pet geese that he brought everywhere with him, even to social gatherings. Byron, though considered one of the most dashing and attractive men of his time, was overweight and had a club foot.
What was the first form of vaccination?
Until recent years, people living in remote areas of Afghanistan and Ethiopia were immunized against smallpox by having dried powdered scabs from victims of the disease blown up their noses. This treatment was invented by a Chinese Buddhist nun in the eleventh century. It is the oldest known form of vaccination.
Was Halley’s comet 1066 appearance a good omen?
In 1066, Halley’s comet appeared shortly before William the Conqueror invaded England. The Norman king took it as a good omen; his battle cry became “A new star, a new king.”
As the Duke of Stirkton, Max was well accustomed to being watched. Young pups copied his dress style. Toad-eaters mimicked his behavior in futile attempts to ingratiate themselves into his life. Conservative groups applauded his somber public behavior, while cartoonists ridiculed his straight-laced demeanor and suggested he take a mistress. Or two.
Whichever way people viewed him, no one had dared ridicule him to his face. Until this evening. The Countess had side-stepped his butler and marched into his drawing room as if an unannounced call upon an unmarried duke was something she did regularly. Max had informed her, in great detail, of the extensive search he and his cousin had undertaken to locate her and the other women. She’d huffed and rolled her eyes.
Normally, his month-about- mistresses gleefully accepted his proposal because sharing a duke’s bed for a month would set them up for the rest of their lives. Apart from the financial benefits, he was a generous lover. One benefit of his abnormal upbringing had been an early and full education into what women wanted in a bed partner. Until the Countess had laughed at him, he’d never had reason to doubt his sexual prowess. In the brief time she’d been in his house, she’d challenged several of his beliefs.
“It’s the ideal solution.” And something he needed. “I will help you search my grandfather’s boxes by day and, in exchange, you’ll make yourself available to me in the evenings.” Max waited, unsure what to expect. An odd situation for a man who prided himself on reading adversaries as easily as he tallied the accounts. books2read.com/suziloveFTAV
Max needs to make amends to countess for his late grandfather’s wrongs, but will exposing past evils put countess in more danger? #Mystery #RegencyRomance #ReadARegency #EroticRomance books2read.com/suziloveFTAV
1850 ca. Beaded Crochet Reticule, or Coin Purse. This purse may have held coins, or was possibly not used at all and been purely ornamental. Reticules evolved in the eighteenth century as fashions became slender and pockets could no longer be hidden in the folds of skirts. Often made of luxurious fabrics like velvet and silk and embellished with ribbons and tassels, reticules were small and elegant. via MUSEUM OF NEW ZEALAND TE PAPA TONGAREWA
What sort of pianos did Jane Austen and the Bridgerton family play? Pianos, pianofortes etc in 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries. Music Piano. History Notes Book 7 By Suzi Love. Pianos, pianofortes, harpsichord, organs in 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries, as used by Jane Austen and her family. books2read.com/suziloveMusicPiano
‘Musical knowledge is now so widespread that musical instruments are an essential part of furniture and none more frequently used than the piano. Invented only in the last half century, so we can merely decorate the instruments by Gothic ornaments calculated to assist the sound and fulfill the intent of the instrument. Stool is of the same 15th Century character. The name piano -forte is compounded of two Italian words which signify soft and loud so this instrument can be played in either manner and therefore differs from the harpsichord, which is not capable of that variation. ‘ via Rudolph Ackermann’s ‘The Repository of Arts’, London, U.K.
What sort of pianos did Jane Austen and the Bridgertons play? Pianos, pianofortes etc in 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries. #Bridgerton #music #JaneAusten #RegencyEra books2read.com/suziloveMusicPiano
1780 ca. Gold Silk Banyan, British. For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban. “This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.” via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org Credit: Catharine Breyer Van Bomel Foundation Fund, 1978 Accession Number:1978.135.1
From the Curator: ‘For at-home wear, a gentleman had a dressing gown, often with a matching waistcoat, and an undress cap or turban.As for breeches, they were not designed especially for this casual ensemble, but rather borrowed from other suits.The dressing gown was cut like a man’s loose coat and usually hung to the floor, though there were also versions that stopped below the knees. Since there were no fastenings, the wearer overlapped the dressing gown in front when he walked so that the sides did not billow out behind him.The sleeves were originally rolled back to form cuffs, but later dressing gowns display the fashionable cuff of their period.In England these dressing gowns were called “banyans” or “Indian nightgowns” because of their kimono-like form and Eastern origin. Banyans were made in a variety of fabrics, including silk brocades, damasks, and printed cottons. By the 1780s, gentlemen ventured out of doors in this comfortable and stylish costume. According to Town and Country Magazine in 1785: “Banyans are worn in every part of the town from Wapping to Westminster, and if a sword is occasionally put on it sticks out of the middle of the slit behind. This however is the fashion, the ton, and what can a man do? He must wear a banyan.”This yellow damask banyan with its bold Chinese Chippendale – inspired pattern would have been an imposing sight on the streets or in the drawing rooms of London.’ via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Looking for a HOT Regency Era read? Love revealed at a courtesan’s ball. Brenton, Lord Mallory, attends his first courtesan’s ball in ten years to appease his concerned friends, though he’d rather stay home and read to his motherless daughters. Leaning in, Lord Mallory whispered in Lady Lillian’s ear. “Well, well. I certainly didn’t expect to find you in attendance at a courtesan’s ball.” books2read.com/suzilovePHB
‘The upper rooms? Are you mad? A lady cannot go prowling around the bedrooms. There will be couples in those bedrooms having…”
“I’m a widow, not a spinster. I do know what happens.”
Looking for a HOT Regency Era read? Lord Mallory attends his first courtesan’s ball in ten years to appease his concerned friends. #RegencyRomance #HistoricalRomance #ReadARegency books2read.com/suzilovePHB
19th Century Early Chemise or Shift, American. White linen and embroidery. via Metropolitan Museum New York City, U.S.A. metmuseum.org
Definition Chemise Or Shift: Sleeveless, mid-calf length garment of white cotton or muslin was worn next to the skin under stays or corset. Called ‘Shift’ from early Georgian (1700-1750) until Late Georgian (1750-1790) to replace ‘Smock’. By 1800, name replaced by ‘Chemise’.
1810-1815 ca. Salmon Pink Empire Style Dress, Norway. Typical Regency high-waisted dress. Long sleeves with puckered sleeve cap. Deep neckline with short shirred bodice. Long full skirt. via Digital Museum, Norway. digitalmuseum.no Regency fashion at its prettiest. The style of Empire style, or high-waisted, dress worn by Jane Austen and her contemporaries and the ladies in the Bridgerton family.
The Empire waist gown defined women’s fashion during the Regency Era. ‘Empire’ is the name given in France to the period when Napoleon built his French Empire. High-waisted, loose gowns were adopted by the aristocracy as a symbol of turning away from the fussy, elaborate and expensive clothing worn in the 1700s. Jean-Jaques Rousseau advocated copying peasants and returning to a simpler life and more natural fashions. Unrestricting clothing was part of the new Democracy in France and these simpler and flowing fashions were adopted all over Europe, including Britain and despite the continual wars being fought against France during the early 1800s. Not even war stopped fashions from being copied everywhere.
This book looks at what was fashionable for women in Jane Austen’s or the Bridgerton family’s times, or the early 1800s, or the Regency Era in Britain. Wars were being fought around the globe so women’s fashion adopted a military look in support of soldiers. Fashions, like the lifestyle, became progressively more extravagant and accessories went from colorful to over-the-top.
1803 Jane Austen Style Dress Bodice and Five Trimmed Hats. Low-cut bodice, puffed sleeves, scarf, four variations of trimmed hats. Fashion Plate via Journal des Dames et des Modes, or Costume Parisien. https://books2read.com/SuziLoveFashionWomen1801-1804
Hats: Early 1800s: Lightweight caps or muslin, linen, lace or net were worn as morning caps, night caps, or under other hats. Jane Austen and her family and female friends would have worn caps like these, sometimes during the morning at home, to bed to keep their long hair from becoming knotted, or under a bonnet to hold a hairstyle in place. But for outdoor ventures, hats were more substantial and for the evening a lot more individual and elaborate. The ties of a bonnet that were secured under the chin vary from the very simple to the quite fanciful.
