Britain 1700-1900 with an emphasis on the radical
Rather like today – arguably – the elite Regency drug of choice went up the nose. When the Georgian ruling classes craved tobacco, they reached for their snuffbox, very possibly from a pouch specially designed for that purpose in their waistcoat. Snuff taking was a refined activity, a marker of social status, and a way
First, a disclaimer. Pornography was not a word that was used in the Georgian era; the first reference in any Victorian newspaper seems to be the Hereford Times of 1858, when it is used in its absolute literal sense of writings about prostitutes in Roman Pompeii. It gathered its modern meaning in the 1880s, but
About1816 @jameshobson.bsky.social My new book is a biography of one man and a review of the Georgian ruling class in the period 1770–1820. It covers their institutions, their mentality, their modus operandi, and how they maintained their position as the ruling establishment. The story of Georgian Britain’s top ten thousand is told through one of
Hi there! In the past you have subscribed to my Georgian history website. Just in case the Victorians interest you too, could I offer my book, cheap (99p) on kindle in the UK at the moment ?
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On Tuesday died, of a dropsy, Miss Sarah Hinves, eldest daughter of Mr. Hinves, plumber, aged 26, after three years affliction, and a sixteenth operation, which she bore with much patience and calm resignation to the divine will. Hampshire Chronicle 29 April 1811 Poor Sarah died of one of the more dreaded of the Georgian diseases-dropsy,
An extract from my book which features more Victorian Radicals like Anna In a freezing February in 1888, a vicar’s wife lay dying at the tragically early age of forty-one. Her husband was the vicar at Atcham, Shrewsbury, but her deathbed scene unfolded at their rented flat at 15, Wynnstay Gardens Kensington, a newly-built mansion
Hutton was born in Derby on 30 September 1723 and like most children before or since, his first thoughts were about his mother. Unlike most children today, his memories of his mother were to be limited, as Ann was to survive a mere nine more years after his birth, and for most of the time
This blogpost is inspired by the online diaries of Fanny Chapman. How did middle-ranking gentlewomen of Georgian England fill their waking hours? Were they mostly bored senseless? It seems that the tentative answer is no except that this conclusion only applies to woman who were prepared to put the effort in, and obey the social
What could Jane Austen and similar unmarried gentlewomen of the Regency Age, look forward to? There were certainly a host of activities that could fill and kill time, but what could be anticipated with some pleasure? One of the few prospects was the Ball or the Assembly. Roughly, the former would be held in the