tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86917452577614850172024-03-15T01:31:51.473-07:00The Regency Looking Glass . . . where the past is mirrored in the presentMaureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-24810964106737842162023-04-04T17:09:00.000-07:002023-04-04T17:09:40.713-07:00It's a Blog Revival<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm00OGnrjONQrx_oOJVRnuBIPQtJXBzKXGJUJabzMzp2ujHtgMYn3Km8rGdInpIagYn_mi8_alE9XWu62KBo341o9isQqQSCj1EsmFQv1NkA53skieN9rgHh0ZGN0fxsXzXUOY_gQjqAReDTR6F9boVr1NqndLwGnFnK9JD7nuUSt96K1_UgSOA5Gunw/s438/Dancing-Vintage-Beauty-Background-Lady-Mirror-1499547%20(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="438" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm00OGnrjONQrx_oOJVRnuBIPQtJXBzKXGJUJabzMzp2ujHtgMYn3Km8rGdInpIagYn_mi8_alE9XWu62KBo341o9isQqQSCj1EsmFQv1NkA53skieN9rgHh0ZGN0fxsXzXUOY_gQjqAReDTR6F9boVr1NqndLwGnFnK9JD7nuUSt96K1_UgSOA5Gunw/s320/Dancing-Vintage-Beauty-Background-Lady-Mirror-1499547%20(3).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Regency Looking Glass is back!</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I have some good news - I'm happy to announce that The Regency Looking Glass (which I started in 2013) is back, following a several-month hiatus.</div><div><br /></div><div>My blog will now be published in connection with the <a href="https://thebeaumonde.com/main/blog/" target="_blank">Quizzing Glass</a> - the official blog of the Regency Fiction Writers. And I'm delighted to report that I'll be sharing Quizzing Glass posting duties with Regency romance author <a href="https://www.carolinewarfield.com/" target="_blank">Caroline Warfield</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Together Caroline and I will bring you educational resources, research and fun facts relevant to writing and reading stories set during the Regency. You'll also get to meet some of the people who are creating and publishing today's Regencies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though no longer affiliated with the Romance Writers of America, RFW is an outgrowth of a former RWA chapter, the Beau Monde. The RFW is a great organization for writers of all types of Regency-set fiction, not just romance. Currently we have more than 470 members.</div><div><br /></div><div>The RFW defines the Regency period as spanning 1780 to 1840, so it gives us a lot of history to use for settings and inspiration, which I absolutely love. </div><div><br /></div><div>Next week, I'll dive into the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. It turns out there are a few similarities - and some big differences - between Charles and Camilla's ceremony in 2023 and the Prince Regent's coronation as King George IV in 1821. <div><br /></div><div> Here's an image from Prinny's over-the-top after-party, with more details to come:<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkt_2qWcOTkZAJibhRBb-hY4MZ7lI0mLo8P8SmA5tDf7sGwsH0MTjpKdvTSO3sOZz1W0lOTcN_kpcdHNORATVNlZGXf7CnHxd6OgWhAe_xm9cJd0KS_2DtrMZBdsY8mjDANQd0vYo51qFbI7QTSkIOEbJ_YfJQMjUcGYb78FP6bi3g0pjGtJRPRIsXQ/s640/640px-The_Third_and_Last_Challenge_by_the_Champion_during_King_George_IV%27s_Coronation_Banquet_in_Westminster_Hall.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="640" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkt_2qWcOTkZAJibhRBb-hY4MZ7lI0mLo8P8SmA5tDf7sGwsH0MTjpKdvTSO3sOZz1W0lOTcN_kpcdHNORATVNlZGXf7CnHxd6OgWhAe_xm9cJd0KS_2DtrMZBdsY8mjDANQd0vYo51qFbI7QTSkIOEbJ_YfJQMjUcGYb78FP6bi3g0pjGtJRPRIsXQ/w400-h309/640px-The_Third_and_Last_Challenge_by_the_Champion_during_King_George_IV's_Coronation_Banquet_in_Westminster_Hall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Yes, those are horses in the banqueting hall. That gives you an idea of Prinny's extravagant style.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Quizzing Glass blog is open to the public, and you can access it <a href="https://thebeaumonde.com/main/blog/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>See you next week!<br />
</div></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-69907998768016000632022-09-18T16:32:00.000-07:002022-09-18T16:32:30.260-07:00A Tale of Two Elizabeths<br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-MobuyvtPb7fReFw1xSeZNJU3FUCdE6JozZO9XPgV-F-RtvEmreLfmTHW9-SFLjAdsOU-NZIcvLJgot1F0ZLc8jTrXDFrzE3gt1d5FZzMhwSeE3hAvHsLAch9YvP2z48051obbSr4OhjgAsj-QV4zR18_ZCOhbE_UGWMGOwAIhsW1A_NMBe0fnRW0A/s1170/Darnley_stage_3.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-MobuyvtPb7fReFw1xSeZNJU3FUCdE6JozZO9XPgV-F-RtvEmreLfmTHW9-SFLjAdsOU-NZIcvLJgot1F0ZLc8jTrXDFrzE3gt1d5FZzMhwSeE3hAvHsLAch9YvP2z48051obbSr4OhjgAsj-QV4zR18_ZCOhbE_UGWMGOwAIhsW1A_NMBe0fnRW0A/w219-h320/Darnley_stage_3.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmbaMDwPTeAQ9bVW-RDsSjQasmUAj9QIrMXZFXaTdG-702jFWu6YR9gvIx8F68RPg57lh8ggGd9Yu9bdc3kaUv7ZP4C0VXM2VrTwUB_mCdajgkPVyZ5PH3JjTJ4KEAUCYIwc1E6Ac1a2wgOzSLc3u5DtXvvbZWWMj7XbPqOF9b_DhUpAfgxWoyrCR-Q/s932/Queen_Elizabeth_II_official_portrait_for_1959_tour_(retouched)_(cropped)_(3-to-4_aspect_ratio).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="730" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmbaMDwPTeAQ9bVW-RDsSjQasmUAj9QIrMXZFXaTdG-702jFWu6YR9gvIx8F68RPg57lh8ggGd9Yu9bdc3kaUv7ZP4C0VXM2VrTwUB_mCdajgkPVyZ5PH3JjTJ4KEAUCYIwc1E6Ac1a2wgOzSLc3u5DtXvvbZWWMj7XbPqOF9b_DhUpAfgxWoyrCR-Q/w251-h320/Queen_Elizabeth_II_official_portrait_for_1959_tour_(retouched)_(cropped)_(3-to-4_aspect_ratio).jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>With the death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday, (September 8, 2022) the second Elizabethan Age came to a close. Elizabeth and her incredible seven-decade reign now belong to history. </div><div><p></p><p>While the world mourns the passing of this remarkable queen, I'd like to take a brief look back through the centuries at her predecessor, Elizabeth I, to compare and contrast the lives of these female monarchs who shared a name.</p><p><b>Age at accession</b></p><p>Both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II were 25 years old when they became queens. A major difference is that Elizabeth II had been married for over 5 years at her coronation in 1953 and was the mother of two children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. Elizabeth I famously never married, which earned her the nickname "The Virgin Queen." </p><p><b>Age at death</b></p><p>Elizabeth I died in 1603 at age 69. Elizabeth II made it to 96 - a number that's the exact inverse of 69.</p><p>Though at first glance it would seem that Elizabeth II lived much longer than Elizabeth I, the picture changes when you factor life expectancies for their time. In 16th to 18th century Britain, the average life expectancy for women was 33 years old, and only 34 years old for men. By that measure, Elizabeth I lived to an amazing old age, just like Elizabeth II did in our modern time. </p><p><b><br />Family troubles</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZp7YwunmJ_jiC4lYqbDPZ48B2kONAD2G82Rv1Z93wykZevWng55alTT-4zxcTWjF29PoVOv6iiieFPdB3pgjiGHRSM60MbKXTvikMs7IO-1IjZZ3jiISE-8GlCpFA-pIWkYSZg_m50PgBgkHscdwmIST8_yN_88rlMc3O-rlOqWC8dfYsKVStfWzuWw/s480/Princess_Diana_1985.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZp7YwunmJ_jiC4lYqbDPZ48B2kONAD2G82Rv1Z93wykZevWng55alTT-4zxcTWjF29PoVOv6iiieFPdB3pgjiGHRSM60MbKXTvikMs7IO-1IjZZ3jiISE-8GlCpFA-pIWkYSZg_m50PgBgkHscdwmIST8_yN_88rlMc3O-rlOqWC8dfYsKVStfWzuWw/w213-h320/Princess_Diana_1985.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhiPeL_DKtMSOhMKtLDUVBf8Y_t5CCkxJ7gdTD7p7NE1v-i3kD9KiWWNKTCiHDd6EYgSRke7yOeW8EQyKFdS_dDyx4Amab1N1orC9ARvAKkBVqyztF7CsvzwF9V6CoFEz_otokDMrA06qXNImltabCUVFtGME8y-514uAaLsFrzivbrlxAChzR_fHYg/s284/Mary_Queen_of_Scots_portrait.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="284" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHhiPeL_DKtMSOhMKtLDUVBf8Y_t5CCkxJ7gdTD7p7NE1v-i3kD9KiWWNKTCiHDd6EYgSRke7yOeW8EQyKFdS_dDyx4Amab1N1orC9ARvAKkBVqyztF7CsvzwF9V6CoFEz_otokDMrA06qXNImltabCUVFtGME8y-514uAaLsFrzivbrlxAChzR_fHYg/w248-h320/Mary_Queen_of_Scots_portrait.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>One of the greatest threats to Elizabeth's monarchy was posed by her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, who was considered by many influential English Catholics to be the true Queen of England. Mary was suspected of being involved in plots to assassinate Elizabeth and take her crown, and the Scottish queen was popular enough that she just might have succeeded. </p><p>The threat Mary posed ended with her imprisonment and beheading in 1587, an execution ordered by Queen Elizabeth. </p><p>I suppose that's one way to settle a family feud. </p><p>In the 1990s another popular royal relative, this time the Queen's daughter-in-law, caused consternation in royal circles. Princess Diana's sudden, untimely death in 1997 became a problem for the reigning queen when the general public went into a massive nationwide mourning. </p><p>The depth of the people's grief was underestimated by the Queen and the royal family, who stayed mainly silent and secluded in Scotland while the public grieved. This seeming indifference to the death of a beloved princess was met with anger and hostility by the grieving nation, very nearly creating a crisis for the monarchy. </p><p>This crisis was averted when Queen Elizabeth made a widely televised speech five days after Diana's death, paying tribute to the late princess, calling her an "exceptional and gifted human being" who inspired others with her "warmth and kindness" and admitted to admiring Diana for her "energy and commitment to others." </p><p>In this speech the Queen tuned in to the overwhelming loss and grief her people were experiencing, and the Queen's well-chosen words went a long way towards defusing the volatile situation.</p><p> No beheadings were necessary!</p><p><b>Defining Quotes</b></p><p>Both Queens were dedicated to their jobs. Even before she became Queen Elizabeth II made her priorities in life clear in this speech she made in 1947 on her 21st birthday, during her first overseas tour:</p><p>"I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong." </p><p>That was a promise she would remain unfailingly committed to throughout her reign.</p><p>Queen Elizabeth I had her defining moment as well, in the summer of 1588 when England was threatened by an invasion by Spain. She stood before her troops as they prepared to defend their country. Wearing a white velvet dress adorned by a silver breastplate, Elizabeth inspired them with these words: </p><p>"My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people . . . I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm."</p><p>"Weak and feeble woman"? I don't think so. She was more like a Warrior Queen, a prototype for Xena, Warrior Princess. </p><p>The Armada never stood a chance. </p><p><b>Length of Reign</b></p><p>Queen Elizabeth I reigned for 44 years, a record that stood until Queen Victoria's 63-year reign. On the other hand, Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne for an astonishing 70 years, a record that's not likely to be broken any time soon.</p><p><b>Signatures</b></p><p>The first Queen Elizabeth had a more ornate style. You can see that not only in her heavily decorated clothing, but in her signature as well. Just look at the flourishes and curlicues she adds to her name:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOdWjAq5bUByQIUpLX_8PuQIl7bjITTMH2SN_Exx1CvrWPSeeq9bPznCTz3LwiJd0dofbZj_lxKjrD2k2uIQIWja05w-m06Bd1rtdWqUp8Vo9iBSnmEyoqIkEb3-ZZPJLdcdVLsVH9ZVbz5yrMnX-58xREc3ziN2Dv-X4EGakg35G20Lhh-H2HEeG6w/s1920/Autograph_of_Elizabeth_I_of_England.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="1920" height="109" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOdWjAq5bUByQIUpLX_8PuQIl7bjITTMH2SN_Exx1CvrWPSeeq9bPznCTz3LwiJd0dofbZj_lxKjrD2k2uIQIWja05w-m06Bd1rtdWqUp8Vo9iBSnmEyoqIkEb3-ZZPJLdcdVLsVH9ZVbz5yrMnX-58xREc3ziN2Dv-X4EGakg35G20Lhh-H2HEeG6w/s320/Autograph_of_Elizabeth_I_of_England.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>If her signature is anything to go by, Elizabeth II was much more straightforward and down to earth.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnji3ex3wt2ZueGOm_aDiprtpNG6G7T-3bFCu7CRZOVI7LZrOOQ4mewQDT5ikfYXC66fSCbR4BbaCKGAjfUj-0dc9Abm042k_1wYM0uHRSE-BD91GuJtIQ_HLm7v_YGVxRNp-9Juf2bBsIYFb-Rns7qvjuls2Ey6LdsPgOowPA_oehJjeBwuI8onmlQ/s1920/1920px-Elizabeth_II_signature_1952.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1920" height="103" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnji3ex3wt2ZueGOm_aDiprtpNG6G7T-3bFCu7CRZOVI7LZrOOQ4mewQDT5ikfYXC66fSCbR4BbaCKGAjfUj-0dc9Abm042k_1wYM0uHRSE-BD91GuJtIQ_HLm7v_YGVxRNp-9Juf2bBsIYFb-Rns7qvjuls2Ey6LdsPgOowPA_oehJjeBwuI8onmlQ/s320/1920px-Elizabeth_II_signature_1952.svg.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><p>Now, I've written about Queen Elizabeth II many times in this blog, including posts about her Coronation (<a href="https://www.regencylookingglass.com/2016/12/the-crown-then-and-now.html" target="_blank">The Crown - Then and Now</a>) and her and Prince Philip's 70th wedding anniversary (<a href="https://www.regencylookingglass.com/2017/11/happy-anniversary-to-queen-and-her.html" target="_blank">Happy Anniversary to the Queen and Her Prince</a>). </p><p>I find it incredibly sad to be writing about her now in the past tense. She, and her reign, wasn't perfect - but then nothing is. However, throughout her long life she worked quietly and steadily to fulfill the vow she made as a young woman to dedicate herself to the service of her people, in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Her life was never about her; it was always about them. </p><p>And now, Queen Elizabeth II has earned her final rest and a place in history as one of England's greatest queens. </p><p>I believe Queen Elizabeth I would be proud of her namesake. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxBIs6WErnI0d_mDMAAaOLdR6Xumm6iHY4BEsxsP1URiBLJIkI4yxu7VbynArcgfA7unsRlgO1CWb5VTVgFE_pFqdjfXdU0uCU_mGHlxup-8dqbvp61aNG-Wf0rvm2tVqqm-jVEjW0tG1tNkysYZndKGdxen3WpUyXz10D8yV8TfZjxRM1Nl-WSon0g/s667/Imperial_State_Crown.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxBIs6WErnI0d_mDMAAaOLdR6Xumm6iHY4BEsxsP1URiBLJIkI4yxu7VbynArcgfA7unsRlgO1CWb5VTVgFE_pFqdjfXdU0uCU_mGHlxup-8dqbvp61aNG-Wf0rvm2tVqqm-jVEjW0tG1tNkysYZndKGdxen3WpUyXz10D8yV8TfZjxRM1Nl-WSon0g/s320/Imperial_State_Crown.png" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-31788498208234187532022-01-24T08:51:00.000-08:002022-01-24T08:51:36.635-08:00Robbie Burns Day and Jane Austen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrpV_X1De_7mNUHEbPu6prXtKj-X7AXw1bM66CwGUpwaS3Ory7NlFD-rpOHRh574pnrbz2kTB9atvoSc5kMZB_7fpuOiEZbEEUzV99vBEd3HPU7e9S2uXRGBdx94TlVmdwn0BezUKmOWVUDN7cb1bqA2BbYE_KbFANu8pVyMZFf25Quyx-2CggrAhgfQ=s980" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="980" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrpV_X1De_7mNUHEbPu6prXtKj-X7AXw1bM66CwGUpwaS3Ory7NlFD-rpOHRh574pnrbz2kTB9atvoSc5kMZB_7fpuOiEZbEEUzV99vBEd3HPU7e9S2uXRGBdx94TlVmdwn0BezUKmOWVUDN7cb1bqA2BbYE_KbFANu8pVyMZFf25Quyx-2CggrAhgfQ=w326-h400" width="326" /></a></div><br /><p>January 25 is a day of celebration for Scottish people around the world. Robbie Burns Day, as it's affectionately known, marks the birthday of 18th century poet and lyricist Robert Burns, born 263 years ago in Ayrshire, Scotland. </p><p>An early pioneer of the Romantic movement, Burns is famous for writing poetry that inspired other Romantic poets after him, including Regency poets such as William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. </p><p>Sympathetic to the American and French revolutions, Burns also wrote political commentary that inspired social reformers. </p><p>The Scottish poet was a well-known and beloved figure during the Regency. In fact, his friends started gathering to commemorate his birthday a mere six years after his death in 1796.</p><p>So, you have to wonder what another prominent Regency figure, Jane Austen, thought about her fellow writer. We know she was aware of him and his work.</p><p>In one of her novels, she mentions him by name and indicates she appreciated his poetic skills. However, if we read further, it seems as though Austen's general opinion of Burns is based on her understanding of his moral character. </p><p>But before getting into that, let's take a closer look at Burns' life and legacy.</p><p><b>Robert Burns</b></p><p>Burns was born in 1759 to a tenant farmer, the eldest of seven children. Burns spent his youth doing hard physical labor, which affected his health throughout his life. </p><p>He himself became a tenant farmer in Ayrshire. But as a young teen he began to write romantic poetry, possibly inspired by a girl who was his first love. </p><p>While working primarily as a farm laborer, Burns received a rather haphazard education, initially by his father who taught him the basic reading and writing at home, and later in schools under the tutelage of John Murdoch, who instructed him in Latin, French, grammar and mathematics. </p><p>But in the 1786 Burns life began to change after he submitted some of his work for publication. <i>Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect</i> was an immediate hit, and soon he was famous throughout his homeland. He'd originally intended to use the money from the publication to buy passage to Jamaica, but his success encouraged him to stay in Scotland and keep writing. At the time of his death ten years later in 1796, he was still writing and working as an excise officer at Dumfries. </p><p>Burns was a romantic through and through, and is credited with being a pioneer of Romanticism, an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that blossomed during the 19th century. Burn's poetry is lush and sentimental (“My luve is like a red red rose/That's newly sprung in June”), spontaneous and sincere. And he was apparently just as romantic and ardent in his personal life. </p><p>He married Jean Armour in 1788 after she had already become pregnant with his twins a few years earlier. As his wife, she went on to bear him seven more children. Burns also had several love affairs, bringing the total number of children he fathered to 12. Only five of these twelve survived to adulthood, but they have reportedly produced 900 descendants.</p><p>In addition, to his writing, Burns was interested in Scottish folklore, and he collected and preserved Scottish folk songs, sometimes revising them in the process. One example is the New Year's favorite, "Auld Lang Syne." In addition to romantic themes, Burn's poetry also expressed themes of egalitarianism and other republican ideals. His poem "A Man's a Man for A' That," was especially popular. </p><p><b>Burns Legacy</b></p><p>Today Robert Burns is one of the most celebrated poets in the world. He's become a symbol of a national pride that unites Scots who've emigrated to countries far from their homeland.</p><p>The influence of Burns on art and literature is widespread, acknowledged by writers like J.D. Salinger and John Steinbeck (his book <i>Of Mice and Men</i> takes its title from a line written by Burns) and musicians like Bob Dylan, who said that Burn's composition "To A Red, Red Rose" was one of his greatest inspirations. </p><p>There are Burns' clubs all over the world, and over 60 memorials and monuments to honor him have been built across the United Kingdom, including Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the United States, and even in Estonia. </p><p>A replica of the cottage he was born in was constructed in Atlanta, Georgia. A crater on the Mercury was named after Burns. </p><p>Though the UK has issued several commemorative postage stamps honoring Burns over the years, the former USSR was the first country to do so. In 1959 the Soviet Union created a stamp to mark the 200th anniversary of the poet's birth. </p><p>Burns was admired in Russia in the early 19th century for his writings supporting the working classes. Following the Russian revolution, Burns was even known as the people's poet of Russia, where he is still popular.</p><p>And as late as 2009, Robert Burns (aka the National Bard and the Ploughman Poet) was voted the “Greatest Scot of All Time” (he even got more votes than William Wallace!) in a poll taken by a Scottish television channel.</p><p><b>Jane Austen</b></p><p>Now let's take a brief look at Jane Austen, Burns' contemporary.</p><p>Though the two writers never met, the lives of Jane Austen and Robert Burns did overlap chronologically. When Jane Austen was born in December 1775 at the Steventon Rectory in Hampshire, England, Burns was already a robust lad of 16, working hard, falling in love and putting his feelings in eloquent verse.</p><p>And when Burns died prematurely at the age of only 37 on July 21 in 1796, Jane was 21 years old, working on what would become her best known novel, <i>Pride and Prejudice.</i> having recently enjoyed an exhilarating flirtation that would unfortunately go nowhere with Tom Lefroy.</p><p>Coincidentally, she would also die far too young at the age of 41 on a July day 19 years later in 1817.</p><p>Unlike Burns, who was married and had several love affairs both before and during his marriage, Jane remained resolutely single and close to her sister Cassandra until the end of her life.</p><p>Though Austen was never proclaimed a national hero, her legacy is solid. Not as successful as Burns during her lifetime, Austen nevertheless achieved great literary renown in the centuries that followed. </p><p>Since her death Austen's six novels have rarely been out of print. She has fans and festivals worldwide. Her novels and other writings have been the subject of countless scholarly studies and inspired equally countless literary spin-offs, popular fiction and cinematic adaptations. And in 2017 she replaced Charles Darwin as the face on England's ten-pound note. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgGbDEUv7OfBnz_2ZpgKuboFe1ne6uh10C7_HYZnwH1WrE3-2BoPy38WYnnEjdzTa4OrWdm0OiHo8RLwdDPwlgzNFF1xwzYeBINhXzIOVGy4Z82vOQVD_CHYKMEzJ-2GYEQb7u2qvG6TvWcoA1qntnf0fh-8so8ywIUhPeG9aPfCO4GiC-WAAiFNusKw=s437" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="437" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgGbDEUv7OfBnz_2ZpgKuboFe1ne6uh10C7_HYZnwH1WrE3-2BoPy38WYnnEjdzTa4OrWdm0OiHo8RLwdDPwlgzNFF1xwzYeBINhXzIOVGy4Z82vOQVD_CHYKMEzJ-2GYEQb7u2qvG6TvWcoA1qntnf0fh-8so8ywIUhPeG9aPfCO4GiC-WAAiFNusKw=w400-h209" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><b>Austen's opinion of Burns</b></p><p>In contrast to Burn's romanticism, Austen's literary work is known for its realism, sharp wit, and irony. Unlike him she never married (though she came close once) and the basis for the marriages in her stories were often more pragmatic than romantic. </p><p>So, what did Jane, a contemporary of Burns, think of him? We get a clue from a comment by one of her fictional characters. </p><p>In Austen's unfinished novel <i>Sanditon</i>, Charlotte Heywood, a single woman in her early 20s, says this:</p><p></p><blockquote><i>“I have read several of Burns’ Poems with great delight”, said Charlotte, as soon as she had time to speak, “but I am not poetic enough to separate a Man’s Poetry entirely from his Character; — & poor Burns’s known Irregularities greatly interrupt my enjoyment of his Lines. — I have difficulty in depending on the Truth of his Feelings as a Lover. I have not faith in the sincerity of the affections of a Man of his Description. He felt & he wrote & he forgot.”</i></blockquote><p> "He felt & he wrote & he forgot.” Ouch. </p><p><b>Burns Night</b></p><p>But Jane Austen's criticism cannot dent the ardor of the admiration accorded to Robert Burns. Burns' birthday has become an unofficial holiday in Scotland. And for many, the best way to observe the occasion is by attending a Burns Night supper.</p><p>The first supper to commemorate Burns on his birthday was held on January 25, 1803. (Although a few of Burn's friends gathered the year before to honor him on January 29, thinking that was the date of his birth, they corrected their mistake the following year.) </p><p>Burns Night suppers have been held on January 25 ever since. Traditionally, Scottish dishes such as cock-a-leekie soup, haggis, neeps and tatties are served, often with a whiskey sauce. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwQS_uxUejsL7wqO13B5QjfU4zTlRM9b1coPoFZGvzz6ZfSizGrro5GOOwP8ij1rcwtA-r1C7HwCKvruZ5tLl6l-lsw8v-jQbAJ67R28Kh-BZj2PK-GLivbX8vV-CbvsT6U-k1tz5WCdM6LC_jOVEsBN-pPFsfiKaAFf8n4d3-EVE3o_pv2uNvpc-6Ag=s2265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="2265" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhwQS_uxUejsL7wqO13B5QjfU4zTlRM9b1coPoFZGvzz6ZfSizGrro5GOOwP8ij1rcwtA-r1C7HwCKvruZ5tLl6l-lsw8v-jQbAJ67R28Kh-BZj2PK-GLivbX8vV-CbvsT6U-k1tz5WCdM6LC_jOVEsBN-pPFsfiKaAFf8n4d3-EVE3o_pv2uNvpc-6Ag=w400-h205" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Slicing a haggis at a Burns Night supper</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />To those unfamiliar with Scottish cuisine, "cock-a-leekie" soup is made with chicken and leeks, "neeps" are mashed turnips, "tatties" are mashed potatoes, and haggis, a dish only a true Scot could love, is made out of the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep, mixed with oatmeal and spices, and cooked in the sheep's stomach (although nowadays the stomach may be replaced by an artificial sausage casing).<p></p><p>Modern Burns Night suppers in Scotland are enlivened with events such as poetry readings (Burns poetry, of course) along with singing and dancing. Whiskey and the wearing of tartans are other popular features of Burns Night celebrations. </p><p><b>Gung Haggis Fat Choy</b></p><p>But perhaps the most unusual and festive Burn’s night celebration takes place in Canada, where the traditional Burns night supper has become a rollicking event known as Gung Haggis Fat Choy. </p><p>The origins of this event go back almost 30 years, when Todd Wong, a student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, saw that the 1993 Chinese Lunar New Year would be celebrated that year just a couple of days after Robert Burns’ birthday. Wong, who is Scottish and Chinese, decided to combine the two events to honor his own multicultural heritage. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilvzrn0-H2Je7IizGhO-V5dysZ60Y-9Bik61EBy9jAeXFEfSOXuvdaSEeEzWznaq77DBZMTSZXhewwc623OKDBTK23_V1fhGxWbi_zfKh7lX-CxCU3EBAcJ7uTDlnbL3aVYZ_IItgi8uoGRVQw5TqlLoe3DGHO_XN3lxe0NXtkvSzhP9ZBwJCzFWdoaA=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEilvzrn0-H2Je7IizGhO-V5dysZ60Y-9Bik61EBy9jAeXFEfSOXuvdaSEeEzWznaq77DBZMTSZXhewwc623OKDBTK23_V1fhGxWbi_zfKh7lX-CxCU3EBAcJ7uTDlnbL3aVYZ_IItgi8uoGRVQw5TqlLoe3DGHO_XN3lxe0NXtkvSzhP9ZBwJCzFWdoaA=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dragon streetlight in Vancouver BC's Chinatown</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Thus, his “Toddish McWong” persona was born. Wong hosted his first Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner in 1998 as a private party for 16 friends. The event is now a public event involving hundreds of people, drawn into a joyous celebration that combines Scottish and Chinese music, Burns’ poetry, singalongs. and live performances. </p><p>The festivities culminate in a banquet featuring haggis and turnips, of course, along with Chinese dishes like Mongolian beef and spicy jelly fish. </p><p>This year’s Gung Haggis Fat Choy celebration is on January 30 in Vancouver, B.C.’s Chinatown. Because of pandemic restrictions, instead of attending a banquet, participants can purchase a box dinner and watch a Livestream event at home.</p><p>Here’s a clip of a past celebration:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J-kiNYT2e1k" width="320" youtube-src-id="J-kiNYT2e1k"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Bagpipes and dragons – a creative fusion I think an artist like Burns would appreciate And I'm pretty sure Jane Austen, who often wrote about the excitement of attending balls, would have appreciated the dancing at all types of Burns Nights.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLlv1TORuG4t-PsrKRHIIzfg6yJcJUHktFWJeSdCroDkBPd5Ch3JwFKe0d1GbBeMLak5aMOM8AcS5rytP6NA4WE_3iO3d0EON6E6iG5C7EeyTHlo8OQAwqCvXWwHHr1qUDYd08UvxorDCmNX-tnU--mqyshpaZq61L7Dwoi961NoZjxvn3wYETKdROrA=s1150" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="1150" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjLlv1TORuG4t-PsrKRHIIzfg6yJcJUHktFWJeSdCroDkBPd5Ch3JwFKe0d1GbBeMLak5aMOM8AcS5rytP6NA4WE_3iO3d0EON6E6iG5C7EeyTHlo8OQAwqCvXWwHHr1qUDYd08UvxorDCmNX-tnU--mqyshpaZq61L7Dwoi961NoZjxvn3wYETKdROrA=w510-h116" width="510" /></a></div><br /><p>So, on behalf of Robbie Burns, admirers of poetry, song, and Scotland, and Toddish McWong, Happy Burns Night, and Gung Haggis Fat Choy!</p><p>~~~~</p><p><b><i> Sources for this post include:</i></b></p><p>"Robert Burns, 1759-1796," <a href="https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/learning/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-a-z/burns-robert" target="_blank">National Records of Scotland</a></p><p>"Robert Burns, Poet of the Russian People," <a href="https://broughtonales.co.uk/robert-burns-poet-of-the-russian-people/" target="_blank">Broughton Ales</a>, July 31, 2020</p><p>"Burns Night 2022: Date of Burns Night 2022, what Burns Night is and how it is celebrated in Scotland" by Liv McMahon, <a href="Burns Night 2022: Date of Burns Night 2022, what Burns Night is and how it is celebrated in Scotland" target="_blank">The Scotsman</a>, January 18, 2022.</p><p>"Bob Dylan: Robert Burns is my biggest inspiration," by Sean Michaels, October 6, 2008, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/oct/06/bob.dylan.robert.burns.inspiration" target="_blank">The Guardian </a></p><p>"Robert Burns is Crowned the Greatest Scot," by Tom Hamilton, December 1, 2009, <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/robert-burns-is-crowned-the-greatest-scot-1043680" target="_blank">The Daily Record</a>.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.burness.ca/index.htm" target="_blank">Burness Genealogy and Family History</a>," compiled by John Burness and updated on January 6, 2022</p><p> <a href="https://www.gunghaggis.com/" target="_blank">Toddish McWong's Adventures in Multiculturalism</a>, Gung Haggis Fat Choy 2022 </p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><b><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</i></b></p><p><br /></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-18483699180551670172022-01-10T11:19:00.001-08:002022-01-11T14:13:34.130-08:00Captain Cook and three fateful Januarys<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGSeDLJZ0MMyr0wUlhrH0l1R1Il2d5UdVORT7aSForGoS2k8gY8YeTEvDWTUmJtGTMObwwTgoqqgveBRJL6927g4lZXD_msQczHQgvot5yuXEHdNVUwgVG4mEx2NPvK-1mEnrl9cs5ZoWWphJVKEYn74uFrgS7nqov20DpWpr5JH_9UML_F0gv4DLLzw=s2500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1770" data-original-width="2500" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGSeDLJZ0MMyr0wUlhrH0l1R1Il2d5UdVORT7aSForGoS2k8gY8YeTEvDWTUmJtGTMObwwTgoqqgveBRJL6927g4lZXD_msQczHQgvot5yuXEHdNVUwgVG4mEx2NPvK-1mEnrl9cs5ZoWWphJVKEYn74uFrgS7nqov20DpWpr5JH_9UML_F0gv4DLLzw=w400-h284" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The <i>Resolution </i>and <i>Adventure </i>in Tahiti, painted by William Hodges <br />in 1776 during Cook's second voyage of exploration</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>It’s raining steadily in the Pacific Northwest this month, following a late December snowstorm. During this kind of weather, I like to think about tropical islands. Hawaii and Tahiti are two that come to mind.</p><p>But the history of those Pacific gems is inextricably linked to one man: Captain James Cook, the 18-century British navy captain, cartographer, explorer and navigator par excellence whose scientific discoveries and explorations reshaped the world as he and his contemporaries knew it. </p><p>It's appropriate to think of Cook during the dreary month of January, because it was on January 17, 1773, that the HMS <i>Resolution</i> under Cook’s command became the first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle. It was January of 1778 that Cook first set foot on the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. And it was another fateful January, in 1779, that he made his second and final visit to Hawaii, a trip that would prove fatal.</p><p><b>Cook's voyages</b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1VzR0yy2V6c4DFlrIPQcyFg3kjHQtKQ1TcJNuD3N1ZAyJl4rYmCzYmU1KYWD9Og5uyI0-ns5SQqGTBrUkv5C4q6km9cUeS3n0SM6Pxyo9axx2Ups7dtys74db9MzxnnmixbJiX_fr1oRaUN9tJDlJRP_lA_McDsR3fxVc6LX8ZBgsIdlxVLvPtvA1Vw=s923" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1VzR0yy2V6c4DFlrIPQcyFg3kjHQtKQ1TcJNuD3N1ZAyJl4rYmCzYmU1KYWD9Og5uyI0-ns5SQqGTBrUkv5C4q6km9cUeS3n0SM6Pxyo9axx2Ups7dtys74db9MzxnnmixbJiX_fr1oRaUN9tJDlJRP_lA_McDsR3fxVc6LX8ZBgsIdlxVLvPtvA1Vw=w277-h320" width="277" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cook, as painted by William Hodges</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Cook started his career in the Royal Navy as a surveyor. As a lieutenant in command of the HMS <i>Endeavour</i>, in 1768 he led his first voyage (1768-1771), taking a group of scientists to Tahiti to chart the course of the planet Venus. </p><p>On this trip he charted New Zealand's coastline and explored the coast of Australia, making contact with indigenous Australian tribes including the Maori and Aborigines. </p><p>A year later Cook was at the helm of the HMS <i>Resolution, </i>this time as a commander<i>,</i> as he made another voyage to the South Pacific region (1772-1775). His companion ship was the HMS <i>Adventure</i>, commanded by Tobias Furneaux.</p><p>It was during this expedition that Cook made history by crossing the Antarctic Circle in 1773 and circumnavigating the globe at its southernmost latitude.</p><p>Three years later Cook made his third and final voyage (1776-1779), once again in command of the <i>Resolution</i>. He was accompanied by another ship, the HMS <i>Discovery</i>, commanded by Captain Charles Clerke.</p><p>In January of 1778 Cook discovered the Hawaiian island group, naming them the Sandwich Islands to honor a patron of his, John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich. Cook and his companions were the first Europeans to initiate formal contact with the Hawaiian islanders.</p><p><b>Cook's death</b></p><p>On his first visit to Hawaii, Cook was welcomed by the Hawaiians, and he traded the ship's metal for supplies. Then his ships left the islands to search, in vain, for the western end of a northwest passage that would link the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjp55ZB4QBN82XvmYzpZEBuzlJ81g0o-a1OPT5NGTgirS0Aa-FYSrufjaeDis1dWvRFIlyKC17SqGiN--fodOGwd4HSS7m5BZOma77vBs1rJzj0M8hZRYAe23lFN8yTj6zo-fUyvvWWZctbKTuFRsVXP6N0SY32DTl-0CBvmWH7rk4LaGB3Dry-j8xxCg=s800" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjp55ZB4QBN82XvmYzpZEBuzlJ81g0o-a1OPT5NGTgirS0Aa-FYSrufjaeDis1dWvRFIlyKC17SqGiN--fodOGwd4HSS7m5BZOma77vBs1rJzj0M8hZRYAe23lFN8yTj6zo-fUyvvWWZctbKTuFRsVXP6N0SY32DTl-0CBvmWH7rk4LaGB3Dry-j8xxCg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Plaque on the shoreline of Kealakekua Bay,<br />near the spot Cook was killed</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>A year later, in January of 1779, Cook returned to Hawaii and found safe harbor in Kealakekua Bay. When Cook and his men arrived, the Hawaiians were having a religious festival. </p><p></p><p>The Hawaiians again welcomed the sailors and treated them as gods, a circumstance Cook and his crew took advantage of for about a month. </p><p>However, a crewman died, and the Hawaiians were disillusioned to see that the men were mortal after all. That's when things started to get ugly. The ships tried to leave the bay, but rough seas forced them to return. The Hawaiians threw rocks at the ships when they sailed back. </p><p>Then some of the natives stole a small boat, a cutter vessel, from one of the ships. Cook and some of his men went ashore to negotiate with the ruling chief to get the boat back. Cook even attempted to kidnap and ransom the King of Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, as a negotiating tactic. </p><p>As Cook was leading the king away, an angry mob formed at the shore. Cook was hit on the head and then stabbed to death in the surf. His body was taken away and buried on the island with great ceremony by the Hawaiians, according to their rituals.</p><p>In addition to Cook, four marines were killed, and two others were wounded. </p><p> A few days later the crews on the two ships out in the bay fired cannons and muskets at the shore, killing about 30 Hawaiians. Then the ships left and went back to England. </p><p><b>Cook's accomplishments</b></p><p>The scientific legacy of Cook's three voyages is enormous. He and his men were among the first Europeans to survey the continents and islands of the South Pacific. They charted and recorded coastlines, islands and other geographical features, putting them on European maps for the first time. He also charted Australia's Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand, while disproving the imagined existence of a continent south of Australia - the mythical Terra Australis. </p><p>Cook is also known for his pioneering care of his crew. He made sure their quarters were kept clean and well-ventilated, and that their diet was healthy, including foods rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C), like orange extract, watercress and sauerkraut. As a result, none of his men died of scurvy, an all-too-common ailment among sailors, caused by vitamin C deficiency.</p><p>Cook took scientists with him on his voyages, including botanists who collected over 3,000 plant species, and their observations added significantly to the knowledge of places like Tahiti, Easter Island and Australia. He also brought along artists, who were able to capture on canvas the beauty of the lands they visited.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkNYnRHmad4Debt0AdCmnjmM8Oeuem0xXVHRd7y2_nXwZR6xhXTJLoatpgFP7gL0fmQQyzNPL4Vnw2YiIaiMMGAwyynct-LCSXnFiHSS9oieWkeixlqw0FdoLLLRT2eHiPZBzFH2OROwd3lrZvht4JkS46_sHbShJlVRPcRC6siWw8Y5VowZDKqv00KA=s800" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkNYnRHmad4Debt0AdCmnjmM8Oeuem0xXVHRd7y2_nXwZR6xhXTJLoatpgFP7gL0fmQQyzNPL4Vnw2YiIaiMMGAwyynct-LCSXnFiHSS9oieWkeixlqw0FdoLLLRT2eHiPZBzFH2OROwd3lrZvht4JkS46_sHbShJlVRPcRC6siWw8Y5VowZDKqv00KA=w400-h200" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Map of Cook's voyages - the red line is the first, <br /> the second is green and the final voyage is blue.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>Cook's legacy</b></p><p>Despite his untimely death, Cook's scientific geographic discoveries were a major influence on those who came after him, and memorials have been erected to Cook around the world. </p><div>However, there are those who claim that Cook's explorations led to European colonial expansion and the exploitation of the indigenous peoples they encountered. In his documents and charts, Cook renamed areas that already had names, ignoring the history and traditions of the tribes who lived there. </div><div><br /></div><div>Did Cook do more harm than good with his three expeditions? That's an ongoing debate and controversy that probably won't be resolved anytime soon. But, according to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Cook" target="_blank">Encyclopedia Britannica</a>, as a result of his skills in navigation and cartography, along with his many encounters both with native peoples, Cook "peacefully changed the map of the world more than any other single man in history."</div><p>Here is a short video, created by the British Library, describing Cook's voyages:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UqSREQY-7sE" width="320" youtube-src-id="UqSREQY-7sE"></iframe></div><br /><p>For more information, see: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>This Day in History, February 14, 1779, "<a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/captain-cook-killed-in-hawaii" target="_blank">Captain Cook killed in Hawaii</a>."</li><li> <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cook_captain_james.shtml" target="_blank">BBC-History, Captain James Cook, 1728-1729</a></li><li>Encyclopedia Britannica, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Cook" target="_blank">James Cook, British Naval Officer</a></li></ul><p></p><p>For a Hawaiian perspective, see: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://hawaiialive.org/death-of-captain-cook/" target="_blank">Death of Captain Cook</a>- Hawaii Alive, Bishop Museum</li><li><br /></li></ul><div><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</i></div><p></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-58110709843395415592021-12-16T11:39:00.000-08:002021-12-16T11:39:32.852-08:00Charles Dickens, the Man Behind our Modern Christmas Celebrations<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwy3hNOotDwpjabR0KAetpgXPcWGrPJqTD95lGK4JMDoOMQKDW45Jaoq4d0zOwNmLkItsBJVOI_Vn6Z5ViNU78J-E0j6OLcz03bYxp3NDFSLx-WHKsJ8dFu3lHoqqte8ZfEd-wN3GgE9c9zhl_o7iGwL8mjqQn5_NUc3xgcaV0tdXdZwoht7iPZLovfQ=s775" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="639" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwy3hNOotDwpjabR0KAetpgXPcWGrPJqTD95lGK4JMDoOMQKDW45Jaoq4d0zOwNmLkItsBJVOI_Vn6Z5ViNU78J-E0j6OLcz03bYxp3NDFSLx-WHKsJ8dFu3lHoqqte8ZfEd-wN3GgE9c9zhl_o7iGwL8mjqQn5_NUc3xgcaV0tdXdZwoht7iPZLovfQ=w330-h400" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Charles Dickens in 1842, a year before <br />the publication of <i>A Christmas Carol</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm always impressed by how one book can make a tremendous impact on the world, extending far beyond the writer’s lifetime. This certainly happened to Charles Dickens, born just a year after George, Prince of Wales was appointed Prince Regent. Dickens' book,<i> A Christmas Carol</i>, not only affected the way Victorians celebrated Christmas but is still a major influence on the Christmas values and traditions we cherish today. <p></p><p><b>Christmas in Jane Austen’s time</b></p><p>If we could travel back in time a couple of hundred years, we'd see that Christmas prior to the Victorian era bore little resemblance to our modern Christmas celebrations. </p><p>In medieval times Christmas celebrations were the highlight of the year, with feasting, pantomimes, dancing, singing, games, gifts, and other fun. But the Puritans of the 16th and 17th centuries frowned on celebrations in general, and forbade any frivolity at Christmas. </p><p>This Puritan influence lingered, and during the 18th century and the Regency era, Christmas was low-key. Games, gifts and raucous merry-making were out. A toned-down observance of the holiday centering on a religious service was in. </p><p>In <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> Jane Austen mentions Christmas exactly six times, and the references are brief. For example, Darcy says his sister will stay at Pemberley till Christmas, and Mrs. Bennet’s brother and sister-in-law are mentioned as having come as usual to spend “the Christmas at Longbourn.” </p><p>That's not to say that Christmas wasn't observed at all. Regency homes were often decorated with greenery such as holly or laurel. People went to church on Christmas Day, and then home to a dinner that included plum pudding and mince pie. Lucky servants or tradesmen might get "Christmas Boxes" - small gifts of money - but it wasn't the custom to lavish gifts on family and friends the way we often do today.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA_hYUx-EiZrDbJUcS4jNcyGzrvKYHcvXuMp-WUH3q-jhTXc3sAkyd1olid5RQXVgopfjd6JuEjC9AyhHpF8ie-2wys_G1I-M58UPIDh_jdkqdou289cf2Xo58x0M_JjZJouscr04kKeqc5diWsZDc2Eblp9LMTzve7ra61anaBpBzWi498D-b153quA=s1067" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgA_hYUx-EiZrDbJUcS4jNcyGzrvKYHcvXuMp-WUH3q-jhTXc3sAkyd1olid5RQXVgopfjd6JuEjC9AyhHpF8ie-2wys_G1I-M58UPIDh_jdkqdou289cf2Xo58x0M_JjZJouscr04kKeqc5diWsZDc2Eblp9LMTzve7ra61anaBpBzWi498D-b153quA=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A traditional bag-boiled plum pudding - <br />the kind Jane Austen may have eaten </span></td></tr></tbody></table>And there's evidence of at least some festivities linked to Christmas season during the Regency. We know this because of a letter Caroline Bingley, sister of the eligible bachelor Mr. Bingley, sends Jane Bennet in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. </p><p>Caroline, hoping to convince Jane that her brother was no longer interested in her, writes:</p><div><p></p><p>“I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings, and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.” </p><p>"Gaieties" sounds nice, even if the intent of Caroline's letter was mean.</p></div><p></p><div><p>Christmas observances in England started to change when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, and Albert introduced the German custom of having a decorated Christmas tree to his family in the late 1840s. This royal example inspired English families to get their own Christmas trees.</p><p>But Christmas really started to evolve into the merry holiday we're familiar with after <i>A Christmas Carol</i> was published in 1843 and became a smash hit with the British public.</p><p><b>Enter Charles Dickens</b></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiY2igLtLLxdXqNnr6vR9ZwrHBvZesRI2_bejmqCediOWJ9nK_NIWTxd7LFg-EuFJtbRPjKZPyZRSgBJk1EdkIEJFKrsyTZ_XSrrFVRUYA9hMu5WLEHGDCAX0BWCs4OqjSMJXV0OwIekbtzU0aYSBOb8w0RD1q2G74NsbcjTHwi59J7IRxVA0gg57up3w=s1286" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiY2igLtLLxdXqNnr6vR9ZwrHBvZesRI2_bejmqCediOWJ9nK_NIWTxd7LFg-EuFJtbRPjKZPyZRSgBJk1EdkIEJFKrsyTZ_XSrrFVRUYA9hMu5WLEHGDCAX0BWCs4OqjSMJXV0OwIekbtzU0aYSBOb8w0RD1q2G74NsbcjTHwi59J7IRxVA0gg57up3w=s320" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Scrooge gets a visit from the <br />Ghost of Christmas Present <br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>On February 7, 1812, while Jane Austen was writing her famous novels and living in Chawton House in Hampshire, Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England. <div><br /></div><div>His childhood was marred by his family's financial instability. When Dickens was only 12, his father was thrown into debtor's prison. Young Charles had to leave school and work in a factory for three years. He was able to return to school, and later began his literary career as a journalist, editing a weekly publication for 20 years while writing his stories. </div><div><div><p>Throughout his life, Dickens authored 15 novels and five novellas, plus nonfiction articles and hundreds of short stories. He often wrote about the plight of the poor and the need to reform living and working conditions. </p><p>His literary works include <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>, <i>Oliver Twist</i> and <i>David Copperfield</i>, all of which were popular during his lifetime and still are. But it's <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, the little book Dickens had to pay Chapman and Hall to publish because they didn't think it would sell, that may be Dickens' greatest legacy.</p><p><b>Adaptations of <i>A Christmas Carol</i></b></p><p></p><i>A Christmas Carol</i> has been adapted too many times to count, in every medium imaginable (books, film, cartoons, stage, public readings, television, radio) with new versions appearing every year. <p></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdFsseJCWKnoqh_Ubqhx9JJZMAdpm85QJDxW-_GusPojLum2RLN25FYngJnkkuOaMfUPEULjA4-vL29212duD5mEcX7dHzGiZw27Oc8L7Tui28Yn6RDI0-xJXD7f3_PkQsKZEc2VH-X2Uu1jmmrhc37N65rU4lWWY1wJOVoC2AtrA86-QUh0bMg2fmfQ=s300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdFsseJCWKnoqh_Ubqhx9JJZMAdpm85QJDxW-_GusPojLum2RLN25FYngJnkkuOaMfUPEULjA4-vL29212duD5mEcX7dHzGiZw27Oc8L7Tui28Yn6RDI0-xJXD7f3_PkQsKZEc2VH-X2Uu1jmmrhc37N65rU4lWWY1wJOVoC2AtrA86-QUh0bMg2fmfQ" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit </span></td></tr></tbody></table>Scrooge himself has been immortalized and re-interpreted by actors in an array of movies, including the critically acclaimed 1951 film with Alastair Sim and the popular <i>Muppet Christmas Carol</i> starring Michael Caine in 1992. Even Bill Murray had a go in 1988 with <i>Scrooged</i>.</p><p>A sentimental favorite of mine is <i>Mickey’s Christmas Carol </i>(1983) that I watched with my children. Scrooge McDuck made a great Ebenezer Scrooge!</p><p>The very first film adaptation as far as anyone knows was a 1901 British silent film, titled<i> Scrooge, or Marley's Ghost. </i>The special effects are primitive compared to current cinema, but I'm sure the film was scary for its turn-of-the-century audience. </p><p>If you're curious, you can watch a 3-minute clip of this black-and-white silent on YouTube:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O9Mk-B7MKP8" width="320" youtube-src-id="O9Mk-B7MKP8"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><p><b><i>The Man Who Invented Christmas</i></b></p><p>More recently, <i>The Man Who Invented Christmas</i>, starring Dan Stevens and Christopher Plummer, hit the theaters in 2017. It’s in libraries today, and currently available to stream on Hulu or rent/buy from Amazon and Prime Video. The film is based on the book of the same name by Les Standiford. </p><p>This adaptation is a new take on the classic story; here the focus is on Dickens himself. I found the film fascinating because it speculates on the people and events in Dickens' life that may have inspired him to write his timeless tale. I especially enjoyed the scenes where his characters come to life and help him write their story. </p><p>Here is a trailer for the movie:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UxcnYR3mcPU" width="320" youtube-src-id="UxcnYR3mcPU"></iframe></div><br /><div><b>The lasting impact of <i>A Christmas Carol</i> </b></div><div><br /></div><div>It's undeniable that Dickens' story, written almost two centuries ago, inspired many of the Christmas traditions that are so dear to our hearts today. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scrooge's transformation from an unloved miser to a beloved philanthropist has helped Christmas evolve into much more than an important religious holiday. It's also become an occasion to show appreciation for friends and family through joyful celebrations and gifts. Dickens reminded his readers to use Christmas as a time to express gratitude for what they have and give generously to those in need. And, of course, to have fun, too!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, this season, the Christmas parties you attend, charitable donations you make, carols you sing and feasts enjoy may be an indirect result of the tremendous influence this classic tale of redemption has had on our culture. And it's all thanks to the imagination of Charles Dickens.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is my last post for 2021. To borrow Scrooge's words at the end of <i>A Christmas Carol</i>: </div><div><br /></div><div>"A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg72n5dXQ4SY7BAcoSNq_zzJJ9J8otqO0dw_pn8yuXSXZyB-c062qNmPd1RTJ_Z4mlJu156xq-sjbGH7PiNKGywaG1ottR8Cw8IVhU_Qf0Skl-RKRPsDTGH5QrI4gurrgCbL9zUMlyZHrhbM32_57Y2xeYllRiM3ttfymxEuZKhXp6CJ_nmvU2Gm8KX-A=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="640" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg72n5dXQ4SY7BAcoSNq_zzJJ9J8otqO0dw_pn8yuXSXZyB-c062qNmPd1RTJ_Z4mlJu156xq-sjbGH7PiNKGywaG1ottR8Cw8IVhU_Qf0Skl-RKRPsDTGH5QrI4gurrgCbL9zUMlyZHrhbM32_57Y2xeYllRiM3ttfymxEuZKhXp6CJ_nmvU2Gm8KX-A=w400-h229" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sources for this post include:</b></div><div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Inventing Scrooge</i>, by Carlo DeVito, Cedar Mill Press Book Publishers, Kennebunkport, Maine, 2014</li><li><i>The Man Who Invented Christmas</i>, by Les Standiford, Crown Publishing Group, Inc., New York, New York, 2008</li><li><i>Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England</i>, by Roy and Lesley Adkins, Abacus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, London, England, 2013</li><li><i>A Christmas Carol</i> by Charles Dickens, first published in December, 1843, in London, England, by Chapman and Hall.</li></ul><div><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<br /><br /></i></div></div></div></div></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-89577300357282017692021-11-24T16:26:00.000-08:002021-11-24T16:26:36.489-08:00A Day to Give Thanks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Dtu6JjmJvXQNhc30NRoOXZQBm1X5Pyi5vfhND5M0Q9t1xZuT62dY1MDG8ia133H84l6rSc6u8fzuGKK6xlPQ7TQsmLZ-6HJIXpumPeDA56-bWLtqQVqITAuGX4aslA-NDh2HTY2yIUtI/s640/woman-g4ce005f7d_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Dtu6JjmJvXQNhc30NRoOXZQBm1X5Pyi5vfhND5M0Q9t1xZuT62dY1MDG8ia133H84l6rSc6u8fzuGKK6xlPQ7TQsmLZ-6HJIXpumPeDA56-bWLtqQVqITAuGX4aslA-NDh2HTY2yIUtI/w400-h266/woman-g4ce005f7d_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>November 25 is Thanksgiving Day in America this year, but the United States isn’t the only country that sets aside a day for thanks and blessings for the harvest. There are similar national Thanksgiving holidays and observances in countries around the globe, including Canada, Brazil, and Australia, to name only a few. </p><p>In the U.S. our Thanksgiving observation is linked to the experiences of the first English pilgrims who came to North America in 1619. Those settlers endured a rough winter and many hardships, and tradition has it they celebrated their first harvest by sharing a meal with the Native Americans who helped them survive. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KVbscRsyDhP_QaoQVdr4yGAG1w2rFp-kcveWtp0ongZWRVTaD16akmJ_bKPjSYOF7-xAp7UrzI6AvSqCEunfd9Oz3SAak458iJSPb7Pi7TBCiLr7Z7bnamqe8mmJme4oswzHbb5vf8Dq/s640/thanksgiving-gf182ec361_640.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="640" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KVbscRsyDhP_QaoQVdr4yGAG1w2rFp-kcveWtp0ongZWRVTaD16akmJ_bKPjSYOF7-xAp7UrzI6AvSqCEunfd9Oz3SAak458iJSPb7Pi7TBCiLr7Z7bnamqe8mmJme4oswzHbb5vf8Dq/w400-h255/thanksgiving-gf182ec361_640.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>American colonists held Thanksgiving feasts throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, and in 1789 President George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration on November 26.</p><p>Thanksgiving in the U.S. continued as a fall harvest tradition, though the dates varied from state to state. In 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, to be held on the last Thursday in November. Because the Civil War was being fought at the time, the nationwide holiday wasn't actually celebrated till the 1870s, after Reconstruction ended.</p><p>The next president to weigh in on Thanksgiving was Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), who signed a proclamation fixing the date for the national holiday on the next to last Thursday in November. </p><p>Then on December 26, 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution, again signed by FDR, moving the national Thanksgiving holiday to the fourth Thursday in November, where it's been ever since.</p><p>History buffs might recall that only a few weeks before the resolution passed, the U.S. entered World War II, following Japan's December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor. You'd think that Thanksgiving would be the last thing on congressional minds in late December that year.</p><p>But I think there's a lesson in that 1941 proclamation, with its focus on gratitude even in the midst of a terrible war. It's important to take time to reflect on what to be thankful for rather than what's wrong, no matter how bad things seem.</p><p>In searching for quotes about Thanksgiving, I came across this one from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi: “Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”</p><p>I think that sums up the spirit of the holiday nicely. </p><p>Happy Thanksgiving!</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7ex2MzIy0_wZMtbOflPj0pWr229eUVaz3QdiNf88ffmRywhyPPlsBIvW_ylMlr-57Hgpz2wMRCXQDFnKfkyXdBr60YPpJa806VUfUxUguwsT4zuyin05aXfFk83fujjqe5abM1tANqgr/s640/thanksgiving-g9d68df47f_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw7ex2MzIy0_wZMtbOflPj0pWr229eUVaz3QdiNf88ffmRywhyPPlsBIvW_ylMlr-57Hgpz2wMRCXQDFnKfkyXdBr60YPpJa806VUfUxUguwsT4zuyin05aXfFk83fujjqe5abM1tANqgr/w400-h225/thanksgiving-g9d68df47f_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Images courtesy of Pixabay</div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-89091005785207755352021-11-17T11:42:00.000-08:002021-11-17T11:42:32.713-08:00Corn Dollies: Reviving an Ancient Craft<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtzg22ascY9LVxDCrqXQS_ZZ11RpYGAJkqOmqoc6JNJ7qYh6QcLIzPedExLWWmRlP6bjDETgxNQzbmTR_JBxd8ZaZ4_IctsGcwFMGqPNN_jXcqhPHMM6pvk97T9XZ0mz9F_z8hmXR_Paz/s1218/William_Oliver_-_Harvest_Time.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBtzg22ascY9LVxDCrqXQS_ZZ11RpYGAJkqOmqoc6JNJ7qYh6QcLIzPedExLWWmRlP6bjDETgxNQzbmTR_JBxd8ZaZ4_IctsGcwFMGqPNN_jXcqhPHMM6pvk97T9XZ0mz9F_z8hmXR_Paz/w263-h400/William_Oliver_-_Harvest_Time.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>An ancient tradition, closely tied to gathering the harvest in centuries past, is enjoying a revival in our modern era of mechanized farming. </p><p>I’m talking about corn dollies, which usually aren't made of corn and don't necessarily resemble dolls.</p><p>I can explain!</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStad3aCkjNiknLBMh0QJ0UBAB2YoVMmo3DUdwe_Ntw1oVEqzs67DY7OP4LtMfR5bXUnLwmUj7AkT3sRb3rVtezW8FbABT_FElImw5QvhUJwpoerbPqjf1vnLyW3yk4n8tEr653rjJJH5z/s1024/HerefordLantern.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStad3aCkjNiknLBMh0QJ0UBAB2YoVMmo3DUdwe_Ntw1oVEqzs67DY7OP4LtMfR5bXUnLwmUj7AkT3sRb3rVtezW8FbABT_FElImw5QvhUJwpoerbPqjf1vnLyW3yk4n8tEr653rjJJH5z/w150-h200/HerefordLantern.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hereford Lantern</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Corn dolly history</b></p>To begin with, in Britain "corn" was traditionally used to describe any type of grain. A straw figurine or "corn dolly" was constructed out of the remains of the last few sheaves of grain harvested. However, a corn dolly can be made of wheat, barley, oats, rye, or even reeds. In Ireland rush was used; in France, palm leaves.<p></p><p>Corn dollies were made in ancient Greece, and also found tucked into the tombs of ancient Egypt. They were seen throughout Europe, and even in Africa.</p><p>Corn dollies were also a staple in Pagan ceremonies, and still are. According to the Pagan blog<a href="https://www.sabbatbox.com/blogs/sabbat-box-blog/39173505-the-corn-dolly-the-spirit-of-the-grain" target="_blank"> Sabbat Box</a>, the term "dolly" may be slang for "idol", and the figurines were believed to contain actual spirits, specifically the "spirit of the grain." </p><p><b> Corn dollies as a harvest tradition</b></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKgtyHbcqO_MoyJs9LFX89m9k3mGHH0Sh7YaTiR4ku4MCVTxJV13rasYyWotmY-vY4mldrijrGMKkB02iX58vxwhIOYrxk5gA2Z7eFiKFzw3ogQpxCs0RVQ7D0Y9Nu_P_8hIrPxZ0edL8/s800/800px-Stafford_Knot_corn_dolly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDKgtyHbcqO_MoyJs9LFX89m9k3mGHH0Sh7YaTiR4ku4MCVTxJV13rasYyWotmY-vY4mldrijrGMKkB02iX58vxwhIOYrxk5gA2Z7eFiKFzw3ogQpxCs0RVQ7D0Y9Nu_P_8hIrPxZ0edL8/w200-h150/800px-Stafford_Knot_corn_dolly.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Staffordshire Knot</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Ancient peoples believed the corn dollies they made protected the harvest spirits throughout the winter. In the spring these figurines were returned to the fields, to ensure a bountiful growing season in the following year. </p><p>According to the British organization <a href="https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/corn-dolly-making/" target="_blank">Heritage Crafts</a>, the making of straw figurines to represent an Earth goddess, spirits, or even a “sheaf maiden” goes back to the 16th century and probably even earlier.</p><p>However, these end-of-harvest straw figures only became more popularly known as “dollies” in the 20th century. Before that they were known as harvest “tokens,” “trophies” or by some other name used by farmers in a particular region. </p><p>Specific areas of Britain had their own signature styles of straw figures. For example, there's the Hereford Lantern, Cambridgeshire Handbell, Suffolk Horseshoe, Essex Terret, Stafford Knot, and Yorkshire Spiral. </p><p><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXB-5xdxlqmFce6epOjofYJasvJfu9oQ6hl7dmfSqkxpx7mVjDdjXMPvRp5eoISxPin0RMGsWjfIICDKifNSz1X5FF9nmq0kX-Bj2WE4eyM147J1ecV00Y0o_SaaHjujwFTEk__YDi6XBc/s1024/EssexTerret+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXB-5xdxlqmFce6epOjofYJasvJfu9oQ6hl7dmfSqkxpx7mVjDdjXMPvRp5eoISxPin0RMGsWjfIICDKifNSz1X5FF9nmq0kX-Bj2WE4eyM147J1ecV00Y0o_SaaHjujwFTEk__YDi6XBc/w150-h200/EssexTerret+%25281%2529.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Essex Terret</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Corn dollies during the Regency era</b></p><p>During the 17th and 18th centuries, however, these figures became more closely associated with completing the harvest. </p><p>Jane Austen, who grew up in the Hampshire countryside, was no doubt familiar with these straw tokens. Perhaps she and her sisters even tried their hands at making them.</p>Agricultural methods became more industrialized during the 19th century, and the tradition of creating straw figures to celebrate the end of the harvest started to die. <div><br /></div><div>However, since the mid-20th century interest in reviving this ancient skill has grown.<p></p><p><b>Corn dollies in the 21st century</b></p><p>What was once an endangered heritage craft is now a popular decorative art form. </p><p>Today corn dollies are considered good luck tokens and fertility symbols, and still used as harvest symbols. These straw creations come in a variety of shapes and may be decorated with bits of ribbons, lace, or other small ornaments. They've become sought-after gifts, house décor items, and tourist souvenirs.</p><p>Interested in trying to make a corn dolly of your own? This video by Sally Pointer makes the ancient craft look almost easy:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YYpcfzd4ov0" width="320" youtube-src-id="YYpcfzd4ov0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div>For some lovely examples of corn dollies and their uses check out the pieces created by Elaine Lindsay on her website, <a href="https://www.somethingcorny.co.uk/" target="_blank">Something Corny</a>. I also touched on the subject of corn dollies in this <a href="https://www.regencylookingglass.com/search?q=corn+dolly" target="_blank">Regency Looking Glass post</a> from several years ago.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBFnvUy9eDu9x6Bb059I2_7XonPXdH6IcstskSxho-yYw7nTSJJJjVtH6LcRe8BNGV9IOFwIkcNQwe73HmsJ41b5X1pFNLRVIsWZ1zC91WXuCfrV1q8qDNZFzaXdxQ5o2_ber3uS8OVyB/s800/800px-Countryman%2527sFavours.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBFnvUy9eDu9x6Bb059I2_7XonPXdH6IcstskSxho-yYw7nTSJJJjVtH6LcRe8BNGV9IOFwIkcNQwe73HmsJ41b5X1pFNLRVIsWZ1zC91WXuCfrV1q8qDNZFzaXdxQ5o2_ber3uS8OVyB/w400-h300/800px-Countryman%2527sFavours.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Countryman's Favours</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I think no matter what their significance, historical or otherwise, corn dollies are beautiful. If they also bring you good luck, that's a bonus!</div><div><br /><div><p> ***</p><p><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons </i></p></div></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-25954971142570103212021-11-04T10:11:00.002-07:002021-11-04T14:08:12.751-07:00Drowning in Beer: The Ghost of a Young Barmaid<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzOPjLhvIGEuAir4z-F9YI9LpJOgpJ6J43V43NTzlatQ1tM2vHuEGj-MBUR7C9QzQfbVOV0Dzew3cSyqagjaArwmocnI2W3LFEiyU9l-V6ls40UtT8AyNmGUuUQb6BMHlXtJVSnbw1q1H/s800/800px-Horseshoe_Brewery%252C_London%252C_c._1800.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="800" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHzOPjLhvIGEuAir4z-F9YI9LpJOgpJ6J43V43NTzlatQ1tM2vHuEGj-MBUR7C9QzQfbVOV0Dzew3cSyqagjaArwmocnI2W3LFEiyU9l-V6ls40UtT8AyNmGUuUQb6BMHlXtJVSnbw1q1H/w400-h294/800px-Horseshoe_Brewery%252C_London%252C_c._1800.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Horse Shoe Brewery - site of the London Beer Flood in 1814</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Last month I wrote two posts on England's haunted theaters - one post on the <a href="https://www.regencylookingglass.com/2021/10/the-grey-lady-ghost-of-bath.html" target="_blank">Grey Lady</a> that haunts Bath's Theatre Royal and the other post on a few of London's notorious <a href="https://www.regencylookingglass.com/2021/10/britains-haunted-theaters-pt-2.html" target="_blank">theater ghosts</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Recently I learned about another haunted theater in London. This haunting resulted from a tragedy that occurred during the Regency era, a fatal disaster known as the London Beer Flood. </div><div><br /><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2z5DA8juqkfhp8Z63o7TuW7PCGopjQdAtFZXo69gFiWtIAt8Eo7_SDLIrpZEaJOd_q7zAL4A1piEjPalwKnyErt_k10jgbuddBezIF19ZmdyhVKRKdMLnp3hot-Z7-GVpHmyU0OBQzRIF/s219/220px-P926_Dominion_Theatre.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="219" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2z5DA8juqkfhp8Z63o7TuW7PCGopjQdAtFZXo69gFiWtIAt8Eo7_SDLIrpZEaJOd_q7zAL4A1piEjPalwKnyErt_k10jgbuddBezIF19ZmdyhVKRKdMLnp3hot-Z7-GVpHmyU0OBQzRIF/w320-h241/220px-P926_Dominion_Theatre.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Dominion Theater</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div>On October 17, 1814, an industrial accident occurred at Meux & Co. Horse Shoe Brewery in London's West End. An iron ring on a 22-ft tall wooden vat of porter snapped, which caused the vat to rupture about an hour later. </div><div><br /></div><div>The pressure caused by the fermenting ale as it burst damaged the valve of another vat, which also ruptured and in turn destroyed several large barrels.</div><div><br /></div><div>This led to a catastrophic failure: 154,000 to 388,000 U.S. gallons of rushing hot liquid (or about 580,000 to 1,470,000 liters) created a wave that swept through the brewery. </div><div><br /></div><div>This wave broke through the building's back wall and crashed into the surrounding slum housing, in an area called the St. Giles rookery. </div><div><br /></div><div>At least eight people in the surrounding area died, women and children ranging in age from 3 to 65. No brewery workers were killed, though a few had to be plucked from the rubble. </div><div><br /></div><div>One victim was 14-year-old Eleanor Cooper, a barmaid at the Tavistock Arms public house next to the brewery. She got caught by the brewery's collapsing wall while working in the pub yard washing pots.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two days after the incident a coroner's inquest was held. Jurors inspected the scene of the disaster. Evidence was collected, witnesses and survivors interviewed. A verdict was recorded: the official cause of the accident was "an act of God." </div><div><br /></div><div>For more details on the deadly disaster, read British beer historian Martyn Cornell's account of the London <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/friday-zak-ebrahim-stolen-cabin-sphinx-unearthed-and-more-1.2902846/a-real-beer-tsunami-remembering-the-big-british-beer-flood-of-october-1814-with-brewing-historian-martyn-cornell-1.2902838" target="_blank">"beer tsunami"</a>, and hear an audio clip of an interview he gave to CBC Radio on the subject.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fast forward a hundred years. The old brewery is torn down, and in 1928 the Dominion Theater was constructed on its site. And ever since it opened, the theater has reportedly been haunted by the ghost of the teenage barmaid who was killed by the flood.</div><div><br /></div><div>This You Tube clip talks about the Dominion Theatre ghost. It also delves into the stories of the ghosts at other London theaters. The video is a little cheesy, but it still gave me chills.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B4EaDMQPgGA" width="320" youtube-src-id="B4EaDMQPgGA"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>You may never feel the same way about beer again!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>***</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-582460151783806452021-10-27T17:39:00.000-07:002021-10-27T17:39:58.419-07:00Britain's Haunted Theaters - Pt. 2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XmexaiYstpFzaRWnQ-kFjEpFV0Szwx6EcP_w9pqBguhA5htEI_elR-BcUyI6HVaz-4cmfIj030BrTwp17CPmAvNNHAn-5ZthSIQ6bCoTKP_sA8NAm83fYwwaKFmlh4W5G2F4wzU59zn8/s640/skull-g63ff9be4e_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="470" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XmexaiYstpFzaRWnQ-kFjEpFV0Szwx6EcP_w9pqBguhA5htEI_elR-BcUyI6HVaz-4cmfIj030BrTwp17CPmAvNNHAn-5ZthSIQ6bCoTKP_sA8NAm83fYwwaKFmlh4W5G2F4wzU59zn8/w294-h400/skull-g63ff9be4e_640.jpg" width="294" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191b26; margin: initial; padding: initial; white-space: nowrap;">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/creatifrankenstein-2311745/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4248008" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">creatifrankenstein</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4248008" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">Pixabay</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>My last post covered Bath’s infamous haunted theater, the Theatre Royal. Today, with Halloween just a few days away, I’m going to recount more stories about ghosts who like to haunt theaters, especially other Theatre Royals. So, grab a cup of hot apple cider, light a candle and settle in for some chilling tales of ghostly apparitions! </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvHKk5r1hVJFZ__8_ma9FqOwKlncNBttEwzDvJ2BSX___PqB-hyfuX2Qifql3xyprzcPoaVWFMSk2JE2_vDHHhW9I0-7cpS2Oobjqsru2H-YBBTfFYjXUo0A-CyTNe2E5B7dyl2ZxThRq/s640/Bernhardt_as_Cleopatra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="466" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvHKk5r1hVJFZ__8_ma9FqOwKlncNBttEwzDvJ2BSX___PqB-hyfuX2Qifql3xyprzcPoaVWFMSk2JE2_vDHHhW9I0-7cpS2Oobjqsru2H-YBBTfFYjXUo0A-CyTNe2E5B7dyl2ZxThRq/s320/Bernhardt_as_Cleopatra.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra in 1900</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Theatre Royal, Brighton</b></p><p>This theater reportedly boasts not one but four ghosts, according to one newspaper account. There’s a Grey Lady, naturally, which is apparently a must-have apparition for old theaters in Britain.</p><p>This particular Grey Lady is assumed to be the ghost of Mrs. Nye Chart, who ran the theater for 22 years from 1876 to 1892. Actors, stage technicians and crew claim to have seen her. </p><p>The ghosts of a man and two children are also apparently roaming around the halls. </p><p>But the most famous ghost associated with the Theatre Royal, Brighton, is that of Sarah Bernhardt. </p><p>The legendary French actress damaged her knee during a performance at the theater in 1894, an injury which may have led to the amputation of her leg in 1915. </p><p>That sounds like a good reason for her to haunt the place!</p><p><b>York Theatre Royal</b></p><p>The York Theatre Royal has the distinction of being built on the site of a medieval hospital that was run by an order of nuns, so naturally one would it expect nuns to haunt the theater as well. </p><p>And apparently that's the case. Actors and others have seen a ghostly apparition in a soft grey habit with a white veil in the auditorium. </p><p>This Lady in Grey has a reputation as a benevolent spirit, however. Seeing her appear in the dress circle on the night of a performance is a good sign; it means the show will be a success.</p><p><b>Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and Theatre Royal Haymarket</b></p><p>Now we come to a couple of London's haunted Theatre Royals, including one that has been described as the most haunted theater on Earth — the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. </p><p>At over 350 years old, this theater has witnessed thousands of performances, which translates to lots of opportunities for ghost legends to develop. Since 1663, the theater has been rebuilt four times on the same site, with the “modern” building standing today erected in 1812.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IUDCKSV51fa_AZyhjGuppZS1_fx4t1c_sEx-SaBjc9hQy7cSrANjzy6nn8g2NOfcj05LEX3mlfvZ5JzRflsGb1VLaNQpz7enZGgK4kdacW3YIvD9uPBddd0XeU-zpy9nV0V1j2rA8x0u/s832/Joseph_Grimaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="832" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3IUDCKSV51fa_AZyhjGuppZS1_fx4t1c_sEx-SaBjc9hQy7cSrANjzy6nn8g2NOfcj05LEX3mlfvZ5JzRflsGb1VLaNQpz7enZGgK4kdacW3YIvD9uPBddd0XeU-zpy9nV0V1j2rA8x0u/s320/Joseph_Grimaldi.jpg" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Joseph Grimaldi</span></td></tr></tbody></table>One ghost, known as the Man in Grey, wears the 18th century garb of a cloak (grey of course), a wig, and a tricorne hat. Witnesses say they’ve seen him walking around the theater’s upper circle before vanishing into a wall. </p><p>No one knows for sure who the Man in Grey might have been, but some think he’s associated with the skeleton that was found in a secret room at the theater that was discovered by builders in the 1870s.</p><p>The ghost of Joseph Grimaldi, famous comedian and pantomime clown during the Regency period, also haunts the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, while over at the Haymarket the 19th century actor, theater manager and playwright John Baldwin Buckstone appears.</p><p>The shades of Grimaldi and Buckstone are joined by the many other restless spirits who have accumulated in the haunted theaters over the centuries.</p><p>Performers and crew who have worked at London's two Theatre Royals have many stories about witnessing ghost sightings and other paranormal events. For example, actors Patrick Stewart and Judi Dench, along with a long list of others, claim to have seen Buckstone’s ghost at the Haymarket. </p><p><b>Other London theater ghosts</b></p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSmwWmYH__ZK8hEYvEMrSO0nTUOCMpc8hB0Zpw6qe2RqiW_aSNdrlQR0-Xap4_EjnucE2XW5YuipERRKqEtA-FVi2zwtnTtBDr6Lom2B13TtHOGmndVaNTqOFbzc76x_zmyr5_gF8Pcq9/s1136/800px-William_Terriss_Murder_1897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVSmwWmYH__ZK8hEYvEMrSO0nTUOCMpc8hB0Zpw6qe2RqiW_aSNdrlQR0-Xap4_EjnucE2XW5YuipERRKqEtA-FVi2zwtnTtBDr6Lom2B13TtHOGmndVaNTqOFbzc76x_zmyr5_gF8Pcq9/s320/800px-William_Terriss_Murder_1897.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The murder of William Terriss</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Of course, these two Theatre Royals aren't the only haunted theaters in London. </p><p>There is the terrifying severed head that appears at the Lyceum Theatre. A story goes that in the 1880s some theater patrons watching a performance from the balcony looked down over the auditorium below and saw the head sitting on a woman's lap. </p><p>I don't know if the woman whose lap was being haunted was aware of the grisly apparition. I imagine she would have put up quite a fuss if she had seen it.</p><p>Over at the Adelphi Theatre, 19th century actor William Terriss is blamed for all sorts of poltergeist activity. Terriss was stabbed to death by an extra at the theater's stage door in 1897, which would be enough to make anyone carry a grudge into the afterlife. </p><p>Besides haunting the Adelphi, Terriss has also been seen at the London Underground's Covent Garden station, which was built after his death. Perhaps he just wants a bigger audience for his ghostly appearances.</p><p>Finally, there's Arthur Bourchier, an actor who died in 1927 and has reportedly stuck around ever since as a ghost. A popular actor especially noted for his Shakespeare roles, for many years he also managed the Garrick Theater. Now he haunts it.</p><p>Sudden door slamming, electrical faults, knocking, unexplained television channel changes, floral scents associated with long-dead performers wafting through the air – these are examples of the paranormal events reported at the theaters.</p><p>Not too scary, perhaps, but enough to make most people reluctant to be in an old London theater alone at night. </p><p>So maybe this Halloween it would be wise to avoid wandering by yourself through the dark passages and empty rows of seats at any Theatre Royal in England. Unless, of course, you’re looking for a good scare!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9-meI4Mwv6nwNLe2reW6M6AwDkr9Xk45-Ut08swpiMlz0nHUeuujOW1P231V1JZSPBD5cpZsUOkC90XsbThLTQA-g4fv2aJfNDx5QSrIbpdpA7HkWJKWUT1HWKLidfTPCZ9wKAez3MKn/s640/spider-gfeb4a9b90_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy9-meI4Mwv6nwNLe2reW6M6AwDkr9Xk45-Ut08swpiMlz0nHUeuujOW1P231V1JZSPBD5cpZsUOkC90XsbThLTQA-g4fv2aJfNDx5QSrIbpdpA7HkWJKWUT1HWKLidfTPCZ9wKAez3MKn/w400-h400/spider-gfeb4a9b90_640.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #191b26; margin: initial; padding: initial; white-space: nowrap;">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/7089643-7089643/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5583713" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5583713" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">Pixabay</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p><i> Sources for this post include:</i></p><p>"<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/oct/29/most-haunted-theatre-ghosts-superstitions-theatre-royal-drury-lane" target="_blank">Inside the world's most haunted theatre,</a>" by Andrew Dickson, The Guardian, October 29, 2015</p><p>"<a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/nostalgia/chilling-stories-5-most-haunted-19709969" target="_blank">The chilling stories of the 5 most haunted theatres in London</a>," by Andrew Walker, January 30, 2021, My London.</p><p>"<a href="https://suzannehinton.uk/?s=la+divine+sarah" target="_blank">La divine Sarah</a>," by Suzanne Hinton, French Brighton blog, March 25, 2018</p><p>"Ghosts," The Argus, February 2007</p><p>"<a href="https://www.yorkghostmerchants.com/" target="_blank">Grey Lady</a>," The York Ghost Merchants</p><p>**</p><p><i>Images provided by Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-84104358731173309632021-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:002021-10-12T13:23:27.602-07:00 The Grey Lady Ghost of Bath<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv7VsO-od9SAXXxnko-W3FYZDYadnzLFH-Q8hRG86dAzI7ia_E-Ef3fh1_C3q_x6wEimcW3YXmvwAnNwHtDVp7dEUIMiBUnlf65scTJgjnPFue8_3mNoOhQpqtms-DfNx8BqOYgwP9LN3/s640/ghost-g1acd66143_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv7VsO-od9SAXXxnko-W3FYZDYadnzLFH-Q8hRG86dAzI7ia_E-Ef3fh1_C3q_x6wEimcW3YXmvwAnNwHtDVp7dEUIMiBUnlf65scTJgjnPFue8_3mNoOhQpqtms-DfNx8BqOYgwP9LN3/w400-h266/ghost-g1acd66143_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>What is it about ghosts and theatres? There seems to be something about the excitement and intense emotions of a show that encourages spirits to hang around, like afterlife groupies hoping to get invited backstage.</p><p>Theatres in England are rife with ghosts and psychic phenomena. And a lot of these ghosts are known individually as the “Grey Lady,” which I think shows a distressing lack of originality among the deceased thespian community! </p><p>There are “Grey Lady” ghosts in the Theatre Royal of York, the Theatre Royal of Brighton, and the Theatre Royal in Bath. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMT6nSRzMGJdTx272U5Fxx0yfi_1zErZDnwWVPki2jNHeBdIht8zuKeW9joqAafFHOnzHGN6ihrVrdWQvWv3vudqM8Rm7GiYsOkDeSLQIwFCSfVbcwS_qpMv61oPsd2-ceUw3CY9EVk7K9/s800/TRB_Entrance_August_2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMT6nSRzMGJdTx272U5Fxx0yfi_1zErZDnwWVPki2jNHeBdIht8zuKeW9joqAafFHOnzHGN6ihrVrdWQvWv3vudqM8Rm7GiYsOkDeSLQIwFCSfVbcwS_qpMv61oPsd2-ceUw3CY9EVk7K9/s320/TRB_Entrance_August_2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bath's Theatre Royal</span></td></tr></tbody></table>For this post, let's look at the Theatre Royal in Bath. From what I can tell, the whole place is crawling with ghosts and poltergeists.</p><p>This theater's “Grey Lady” smells of jasmine and appears in 18th century gowns, her hair adorned with feathers. The story goes that she committed suicide, though there are three different accounts as to why.</p><p>In one account she killed herself after her lover died in a duel. Another story has it that she was in love with an actor, and she would sit in one of the top boxes to watch him perform. When he didn’t return her love, she killed herself. </p><p>The third version also involves unrequited love between an actor and a theatergoer, except the lady was the actor and it was the theatergoer who spurned her. </p><p>Consistent in all three accounts is the suicide. In most versions the lady hangs herself behind a door. However, at least one variation has the lady jumping to her death from a high window </p><p>Bath's "Grey Lady" manifests itself as a smoky apparition, either solid or wispy, and is sometimes seen in the corridor of the theater’s Dress Circle. However, the ghost's usual haunt is the top left box, facing the stage. She doesn’t seem to bother anybody, but people who have seen her report feeling depressed and miserable, as if she somehow transferred her despair to them.</p><p>But that’s not all the spooky stuff going on in the Theatre Royal. There’s the Phantom Doorman lurking by the entrance, believed to be the ghost of a man who once worked at the theater. Only cast members have seen him.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMY-rr5BoggrCuKJ-rQIaYTq62_j_x3YLbptW9v4gGk7F2nWDvDGLROxqnd4a2JvCwPQfZVJZ1giZ_plrow-0C19dXI-W0cKsW85eHFkVWffKWYwLUP4F9ezo6NnkrLAoFbs6-wR6fVSB/s600/TheatreRoyalAudit1865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMY-rr5BoggrCuKJ-rQIaYTq62_j_x3YLbptW9v4gGk7F2nWDvDGLROxqnd4a2JvCwPQfZVJZ1giZ_plrow-0C19dXI-W0cKsW85eHFkVWffKWYwLUP4F9ezo6NnkrLAoFbs6-wR6fVSB/s320/TheatreRoyalAudit1865.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Inside the Theatre Royal in 1864</span></td></tr></tbody></table>And the Garrick’s Head public house, adjacent to the theater, has its share of strange phenomenon, too. </p><p>The pub is in the building that was once the grand home of Richard "Beau" Nash, a famous dandy in Georgian England. </p><p>Nash is best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies and undisputed social leader of Bath when the spa town was a fashionable destination in the 18th century. </p><p>Like the Theatre Royal, the Garrick’s Head is also haunted by the Grey Lady. There is other paranormal activity there as well. Every year a blood stain mysteriously appears in the exact same spot on the pub's floor. And once, in the 1990s, a cash register was violently hurled several feet across the bar by an unseen force.</p><p>But there’s one more ghost in the Theatre Royal that deserves a mention. In 1948, a dead tortoiseshell butterfly was found on stage while the company was preparing to mount a children’s pantomime. Shortly after the dead butterfly was discovered, the show’s manager and producer, Reg Maddox, dropped dead of a heart attack on stage while lighting a scene. </p><p>You might think there would be a scary ghost story to follow. But apparently Maddox haunts the theater in the form of a benevolent butterfly. Seeing the winged insect fluttering in the rafters before a pantomime means the performance will be a hit. And tortoiseshell butterflies seem to show up out of nowhere, to greet visiting stars or encourage performers. In fact, every time Reg the butterfly ghost makes an appearance it’s greeted with affection. </p><p>I wish all ghosts were so nice!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim336M2uCYq61MCb-BLjSxyJEBbtcIgLKqVBe6GJzmkh6yIUGRa3548WXWh3M0Z_D7DFOffD2_t8z9c5w8A4rGwVQvD51LXFfmVkIExP5Y5zu0gZoC-Tw-p5ODoM4DasxP-80u4kw-L3IA/s960/small-tortoiseshell-6584040_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim336M2uCYq61MCb-BLjSxyJEBbtcIgLKqVBe6GJzmkh6yIUGRa3548WXWh3M0Z_D7DFOffD2_t8z9c5w8A4rGwVQvD51LXFfmVkIExP5Y5zu0gZoC-Tw-p5ODoM4DasxP-80u4kw-L3IA/w400-h266/small-tortoiseshell-6584040_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Next time: More tales of hauntings, just in time for Halloween!</p><p>**</p><p>Sources for this post include:</p><p>"<a href="https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMWKPN_The_Butterfly_Grey_Lady_and_other_Ghosts_The_Theatre_Royal_Bath_Somerset" target="_blank">The Butterfly, Grey Lady and other Ghosts...</a> - The Theatre Royal - Bath, Somerset," Waymarking.com</p><p>"<a href="http://www.ghost-story.co.uk/index.php/haunted-buildings/haunted-pubs/148-the-garrick-s-head-inn-bath-england" target="_blank">The Garrick's Head Inn, Bath, England</a>," Ghost-Story.co.uk</p><p><i>**</i></p><p>Ghost i<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #191b26; margin: initial; padding: initial; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;">mage by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ariadne-a-mazed-6385478/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3586813" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">ariadne-a-mazed</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3586813" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: initial; outline: none !important; padding: initial;">Pixabay</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Other images</i></span><i> courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><br /></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-35407938984205035722021-09-28T13:45:00.000-07:002021-09-28T13:45:36.784-07:00Michaelmas Day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1esScnAWSwytrHLncjyyjTOtgipunoYd1ZFDL-eQCwmTKZcqaOQIWwaQRIZhYY5YplVL2Yvv9STTrZ3-h0r5OE_aEZwq2UCFveR0M1MMG6pRRdExTxtGgPYzkQGcBqRv_9UTOfGG-kzs/s2048/Fa_Presto_-_St._Michael_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1507" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1esScnAWSwytrHLncjyyjTOtgipunoYd1ZFDL-eQCwmTKZcqaOQIWwaQRIZhYY5YplVL2Yvv9STTrZ3-h0r5OE_aEZwq2UCFveR0M1MMG6pRRdExTxtGgPYzkQGcBqRv_9UTOfGG-kzs/w294-h400/Fa_Presto_-_St._Michael_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>St Michael in action - defeating Lucifer</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Mark your calendars -- September 29 is Michaelmas Day, a day rich in religious and secular traditions in British culture.</p><p>A holy day since medieval times, Michaelmas is also one of Britain’s four “quarter days,” a way to divide up the year. Traditionally, quarter days were when law courts and universities began their terms, magistrates were elected, rents were due, and servants were hired.</p><p>Quarter days not only represent holy days on the Catholic/Anglican liturgical calendar, but are closely associated with the change of seasons as well. They are:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Lady Day</b>, March 25 (Feast of the Assumption) just after the Spring Equinox</li><li><b>Midsummer Day</b>, June 24 (Feast of St. John the Baptist) just after the Summer Solstice</li><li><b>Michaelmas Day,</b> September 29, (Feast of St. Michael and All Angels), just after the Autumn Equinox</li><li><b>Christmas Day</b>, December 25 (Feast of the Nativity) just after the Winter Solstice</li></ul><p></p><p>The Michaelmas quarter day was especially important because it marked the successful completion of the harvest and signaled the start of a productive new farming cycle. </p><p>Like her contemporaries, Jane Austen would have been familiar with quarter days, especially Michaelmas – after all, her father was not only a clergyman but a farmer as well. </p><p>Austen mentions Michaelmas in the opening pages of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, when Mrs. Bennet gossips about her new neighbor, Mr. Bingley:</p><p><i>“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”</i></p><p>In religious tradition, St. Michael the Archangel battled Lucifer and his fallen angels, so as a mighty warrior he's a good choice to protect mankind against the encroaching darkness, and potentially evil forces, of the autumn and winter. (We all know what kind of evil spirits Halloween can unleash!)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeXw0yMpIRjcTHcINaIMEEBiQX8GWz2EvOwGNwkdhxGSTPQZ0DQYvJmZRXpiQR7BBsCzSzIl8l1QtKAuEHfULhhwxmKbohwR1S0T29g6BdCZIFz6KR5epe61fyAaoxhjH_X6nh7B0qqC_/s453/roast-goose-1826465__340.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="453" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeXw0yMpIRjcTHcINaIMEEBiQX8GWz2EvOwGNwkdhxGSTPQZ0DQYvJmZRXpiQR7BBsCzSzIl8l1QtKAuEHfULhhwxmKbohwR1S0T29g6BdCZIFz6KR5epe61fyAaoxhjH_X6nh7B0qqC_/w200-h150/roast-goose-1826465__340.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>A traditional Michaelmas feast includes a roast goose, along with whatever remains of the just-completed harvest. <p></p><p>Why a goose? Well, as the saying goes: <i>“eat a goose on Michaelmas Day, want not for money all the year.” </i></p><p>Another bit of folklore says you shouldn’t eat blackberries after Michaelmas Day. The reason? Because they were cursed by the devil.</p><p>The story goes that when St. Michael threw Lucifer out of heaven, the devil landed on a thorny blackberry bush. In retribution, Satan, not known for his even temper, did all sorts of things to the berries – stomped them, scorched them with his fiery breath, even relieved himself on them – to make the the fruit dry, sour and just plain inedible. </p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeXC7WQvVCx8Vy-JKQDWmXY8s7ypSr_4A7CB76E0SuoOm9CbRTlehcm_Wdfve_50iLMhAg4N5ao8iCM7deja8KbTMzWhpq5uXRWsIMYitmw_iWbez7qQrRnNnhMntX-t3o1zZpHaEykEx/s960/cake-802188_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeXC7WQvVCx8Vy-JKQDWmXY8s7ypSr_4A7CB76E0SuoOm9CbRTlehcm_Wdfve_50iLMhAg4N5ao8iCM7deja8KbTMzWhpq5uXRWsIMYitmw_iWbez7qQrRnNnhMntX-t3o1zZpHaEykEx/w200-h150/cake-802188_960_720.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>So, along with the goose, a blackberry pie is traditionally baked, to use up all the berries before Michaelmas Day. <p></p><p>Finally, Michaelmas Day is often represented by the Michaelmas daisy. This pretty flower provides a burst of color in autumn that outlasts most other blooms as winter approaches. </p><i>“The Michaelmas Daisies, among dede weeds,<br />Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds.<br />And seems the last of flowers that stood,<br />Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.”</i><p>(The Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude is on October 28.)</p><p>It makes sense that a Michaelmas daisy, the last flower of the year, is seen as a symbol of farewell. So, this Wednesday, I’ll get a jump start on New Year’s Day by saying farewell to 2021. (Frankly, it wasn’t that much of an improvement on 2020!) and look forward to a happier and more productive 2022. </p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjca0RLs2Y0CgWAKUp0W0On_oVCHnst3_EJp7qPGIiHRqzWSkQWbwP7oZzHvFxYX3UJPGL32EJOlnqdQ4Nz2sjAYM2l_Q-iHHa9GEMyvxl9lM8ySoiFQ1a1qEQdFS2VY9yyilPOwOQgtt4M/s960/michaelmas-daisy-3673869_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjca0RLs2Y0CgWAKUp0W0On_oVCHnst3_EJp7qPGIiHRqzWSkQWbwP7oZzHvFxYX3UJPGL32EJOlnqdQ4Nz2sjAYM2l_Q-iHHa9GEMyvxl9lM8ySoiFQ1a1qEQdFS2VY9yyilPOwOQgtt4M/s320/michaelmas-daisy-3673869_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Sources for this post include:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"What is it About . . . Michaelmas," British Heritage Travel Magazine, September - October 2021</li><li>"Michaelmas," by Ben Johnson, <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Michaelmas/" target="_blank">Historic UK</a></li></ul><div><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay</i></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-71275128890422861322021-09-25T09:17:00.000-07:002021-09-25T09:17:09.952-07:00At First Sight Saturday<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGgywBV_rr4aoVB7IApXp4L2kYJX3yAWQTGcZ-_zUcHNrdMVwsr22gf3Y-4dRfweT0R7A3N49CZnzzAVdyehLlPTlYHzOFEuoYOTloe65p5aaC2ue90s9jolTtALCGbnES8ysAwrVjwy2/s500/Amazon+cover+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="354" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGgywBV_rr4aoVB7IApXp4L2kYJX3yAWQTGcZ-_zUcHNrdMVwsr22gf3Y-4dRfweT0R7A3N49CZnzzAVdyehLlPTlYHzOFEuoYOTloe65p5aaC2ue90s9jolTtALCGbnES8ysAwrVjwy2/s320/Amazon+cover+art.jpg" width="227" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">I hope you
are enjoying cooler weather and glorious fall color, brought by the Autumn Equinox. After an especially
hot summer bedeviled by wildfires here in the Pacific Northwest, I am more than happy to welcome fall and the rain it brings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">I also very happy
to announce that I am a guest today on <a href="https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/" target="_blank">At First Sight Saturday</a>, a blog by author Rue
Allyn. In her post for this Saturday, Rue is kindly featuring my Regency romance,<i><b> Lord Peter’s Page</b></i>, which is
now available for purchase on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09C7XDXBB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank">Amazon Books</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To give you an
idea of what my book is about, here is a short blurb:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The match
between Baron Finbury’s daughter Charlotte and Lord Satterly seems ideal to
everyone but Charlotte. She longs for Cyril, the older brother of a friend. Desperate
to escape the arranged marriage, Charlotte runs away from her parent’s Mayfair
home on the night of a grand soirée to announce her engagement.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><i>Disguised as
a boy, she stows away in a carriage bound for Bath, where her sympathetic aunt
lives. At the reins is Lord Peter Randolph, son of the Duke of Wickersham, and
his friend Geordie. Hidden in the carriage, Charlotte hopes to get to Bath
undetected by the men, but a carriage accident and an unplanned night at an inn
makes that plan go awry. <o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><i>Lord Peter
soon sees through her disguise, but not before “the boy” proves to be a
hopeless assistant, unable to polish a boot or tie a cravat. When Lord Peter
discovers his clumsy page is a young miss, he goes to extraordinary lengths to
protect her reputation, even bringing home to his family’s estate where she is
accused of stealing the family rubies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><i>As Charlotte
struggles to clear her name, she realizes the naïve affection she felt for
Cyril is nothing compared to the passion she develops for Lord Peter. But is it
too late for Lord Peter’s “page” to win his heart?"</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">***</div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For an
excerpt from my story and more info, please visit Rue's blog, <a href="https://www.rueallyn.com/blog/" target="_blank">At First Saturday with Maureen Mackey.</a> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy reading!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-7yZLaUBXv0G3OvRS_aOMtYbqM1gUGpPr1hAwXLD30tyh1tF25ndrX0r0i9KY0MdXlMM980nJ6ajcaeWJ4khOfno9bxyFpYbd7X2H9yYpqozvqaG8dqQTDmq6N_fEjHHP-Z4uwWOYvIp/s640/tea-1698288_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="640" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-7yZLaUBXv0G3OvRS_aOMtYbqM1gUGpPr1hAwXLD30tyh1tF25ndrX0r0i9KY0MdXlMM980nJ6ajcaeWJ4khOfno9bxyFpYbd7X2H9yYpqozvqaG8dqQTDmq6N_fEjHHP-Z4uwWOYvIp/w400-h216/tea-1698288_640.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span><p></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-52389364016083374922021-08-23T16:05:00.000-07:002021-08-23T16:05:34.276-07:00 Cats in art and history<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnMds1diYr15EzsONmMtcVjk48w60gahqkq30azILhKlRb5RYHYWuvxMIGMXGVfziqWlLL4csAuj-mjy8igNeXDrIqM_c3fRdReBD0EYB7QDdL7FgN8_l-d-pFKLpWbzc15jxlW_1VZAs/s1015/800px-The_Cat%2527s_Lunch.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgnMds1diYr15EzsONmMtcVjk48w60gahqkq30azILhKlRb5RYHYWuvxMIGMXGVfziqWlLL4csAuj-mjy8igNeXDrIqM_c3fRdReBD0EYB7QDdL7FgN8_l-d-pFKLpWbzc15jxlW_1VZAs/w315-h400/800px-The_Cat%2527s_Lunch.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"The Cat's Lunch," by Marguerite Gérard, circa 1800</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Following my recent post about the “dog days of summer”, with its focus on dogs in the Regency, I couldn’t let cats be ignored.</p><p>My tabby Zelda would never forgive me.</p><p>And, as it turns out, historically artists seem to have liked capturing a cat on canvas as much they enjoyed creating a good dog portrait. </p><p>That's not surprising. Cats were every bit as appreciated by our ancestors as dogs.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyz3842koPXJz_lWZb26BWXNE3Hep5YGmoc3rA_XD4M8Z3KT5SsMqvOeYf6Hopx2ZLZY4tb0qoi35BXk3u2ERmOcEUHCmffG9ns4cGcNacNgMFdA830KcQzSumhPOR3T05bPB80R_TlH2/s800/800px-HappyBarnCat.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyz3842koPXJz_lWZb26BWXNE3Hep5YGmoc3rA_XD4M8Z3KT5SsMqvOeYf6Hopx2ZLZY4tb0qoi35BXk3u2ERmOcEUHCmffG9ns4cGcNacNgMFdA830KcQzSumhPOR3T05bPB80R_TlH2/s320/800px-HappyBarnCat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Barn cat on a break from work (Montanabw, CC BY-SA 3.0)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />For thousands of years cats have been valued for the efficient way they control the pests that eat and/or contaminate crops. No self-respecting farmer would be caught without cats in the barn to protect the grain stored there. <p></p><p>When it comes to small animals, cats are like furry little hitmen, hunting and killing mice and rats with deadly precision. Plus, their feline pheromones prevent more rodents from moving in to fill the population gap. This efficiency is why there's archaeological evidence that cats were domesticated as early as 7500 BC for agricultural purposes. </p><p>But what about other uses for a cat? Did people during the Regency and beyond keep cats as pets?</p><p>Apparently, they did, and proof of the cat-human bond still exists. Just as they did with their dogs, people in centuries past paid artists to immortalize their cats in oils. </p><p>Here are a few examples:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe73xjJiqpF6_cydxI_0zY4Gso7-zVxlZoWdP7Tt-7GrdtAeFQh9RbwvM4wxbn-9UIc916rqq71hx66_RkGRdTJjnIIrx1scnuEUr1Ft8dBOIRoOv3gySdQSRSXr1dya6IA1KIsuVt4Uk/s964/800px-Wriothesley_southampton.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="964" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCe73xjJiqpF6_cydxI_0zY4Gso7-zVxlZoWdP7Tt-7GrdtAeFQh9RbwvM4wxbn-9UIc916rqq71hx66_RkGRdTJjnIIrx1scnuEUr1Ft8dBOIRoOv3gySdQSRSXr1dya6IA1KIsuVt4Uk/w333-h400/800px-Wriothesley_southampton.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>This is Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, with a cat in the Tower of London in 1603. Southampton led a colorful life; he was a patron of the arts, a solider, a courtier, a brawler and was even briefly imprisoned for his role in the Essex Rebellion of 1601. He was also charming and celebrated for his good looks; scholars think that Southampton was the "Fair Youth" mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnets. </p><p>Still, the haughty tuxedo cat behind him is clearly unimpressed by the handsome earl and with a penetrating glare tries to upstage Southampton in the portrait. </p><p>Eighteenth-century artists like Jean-Baptiste Perronneau painted aristocratic women with their pet cats:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qHGIWPN-Z3xmWWmAoNXS8GDzgisPfwOeuziQuZ3Tt1c6OuyILFu5dNRl4wsPQHy3ID_b5C4p7XuYKC1bhYy2ZvxV_knW0LK4zKxZce1w5zUuvbwDFXy5mRn7mce7TrLHGqo4x4jKS36q/s788/640px-Jean-Baptiste_Perronneau_-_Madmoiselle_Huquier_-_WGA17215.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qHGIWPN-Z3xmWWmAoNXS8GDzgisPfwOeuziQuZ3Tt1c6OuyILFu5dNRl4wsPQHy3ID_b5C4p7XuYKC1bhYy2ZvxV_knW0LK4zKxZce1w5zUuvbwDFXy5mRn7mce7TrLHGqo4x4jKS36q/w325-h400/640px-Jean-Baptiste_Perronneau_-_Madmoiselle_Huquier_-_WGA17215.jpg" width="325" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>And little girls with their kittens:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FyuVHjXtiolCNXvAi3WdquEslyQfU2WwhsQe1LfzmPwInCyi6FlNjKGP27jspbwBvcVUcbC3MFgESRfpNs-NYg8igYpC32oBD6Md7OhefwLH7HQVw01UTomH4Hs4fnb9jbRqCEFo_h3D/s772/640px-Jean-Baptiste_Perronneau_-_A_Girl_with_a_Kitten_-_WGA17212.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="772" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FyuVHjXtiolCNXvAi3WdquEslyQfU2WwhsQe1LfzmPwInCyi6FlNjKGP27jspbwBvcVUcbC3MFgESRfpNs-NYg8igYpC32oBD6Md7OhefwLH7HQVw01UTomH4Hs4fnb9jbRqCEFo_h3D/w331-h400/640px-Jean-Baptiste_Perronneau_-_A_Girl_with_a_Kitten_-_WGA17212.jpg" width="331" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Even in the 18th century, before the advent of pet stores selling outfits for cats and dogs, people loved to dress up their cats and take a picture or in this case, an oil painting. And just like now, cats weren't thrilled about it.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkqUQuQMwf4CnQ19wthVTToGrm0PuHAqj1_crjoIYYJJUe9VuOo_RyAtRGtyoiYAeiGfsaR5L23A47ujofzWn7Ui2Wpp-FbUO0TlEFQZDbk5gMK0pxVO6wdlLS-o0Zzs9ultLVihZ-K60/s742/640px-Perronneau_Magdaleine_Pinceloup_de_la_Grange_p1000571.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkqUQuQMwf4CnQ19wthVTToGrm0PuHAqj1_crjoIYYJJUe9VuOo_RyAtRGtyoiYAeiGfsaR5L23A47ujofzWn7Ui2Wpp-FbUO0TlEFQZDbk5gMK0pxVO6wdlLS-o0Zzs9ultLVihZ-K60/w345-h400/640px-Perronneau_Magdaleine_Pinceloup_de_la_Grange_p1000571.jpg" width="345" /></a></div><br /><p>Wearing a collar with bells (oh! the inhumanity!) this disgruntled cat looks ready to rebel and jump out of its mistress's arms. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHuR5I5QUsGcUe37eZcTsOH50UkXpoEf4ooPzdU4hzQiIh0TDyy7pAuzzKt5Xs_4IIBThR4_rVqwU8F5vQpg2pjZy-CopuRN5srdWIuAg8Vg4ITGgwLkLLgbLwmvdrhbhyGbVlFmqJWbR/s1057/800px-HenriettaChildNeeKnight.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHuR5I5QUsGcUe37eZcTsOH50UkXpoEf4ooPzdU4hzQiIh0TDyy7pAuzzKt5Xs_4IIBThR4_rVqwU8F5vQpg2pjZy-CopuRN5srdWIuAg8Vg4ITGgwLkLLgbLwmvdrhbhyGbVlFmqJWbR/w303-h400/800px-HenriettaChildNeeKnight.jpg" width="303" /></a></div><p>This kitty looks more resigned to wearing a fluffy bow around its neck, but if I were this cat's mistress I'd sleep with one eye open. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">As for the Regency period itself, we don’t know if Jane Austen was ever tempted by the feel of soft fur or the sound of a contented purr to keep a cat as a pet. However, I like to think Jane was fond of cats; after all, they are the perfect writer's companion.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">And we do have proof that Austen was not immune to feline charms. In one of her letters describing her family’s move to a residence in Bath circa 1799, she gives favorable mention to “a little black kitten [that] runs about the Staircase” of her new lodgings.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcK9zglxvYfsiEpvexAT-yT1-aBdb8x-8inug9JAZyCL4iBAkQw253flCHrqWTOoqqZfRaoB05JI_KlU1liDg1aRUOH0Zps2-CU7iVgBaZmzgOd5Njfrw-_279WzNH7QcGRf28pGTb8Se/s960/cat-907749_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjcK9zglxvYfsiEpvexAT-yT1-aBdb8x-8inug9JAZyCL4iBAkQw253flCHrqWTOoqqZfRaoB05JI_KlU1liDg1aRUOH0Zps2-CU7iVgBaZmzgOd5Njfrw-_279WzNH7QcGRf28pGTb8Se/w400-h266/cat-907749_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Cats during the Regency or beyond could be hard-working farm hands or a rich woman's pampered darling. Then, as now, they could be sweet, scary, affectionate, or indifferent - and all on the same day. But as any cat owner will tell you, it's extremely easy to get attached to a cat, and once that happens, there's no letting go. That was as true for the Earl of Southampton in 1603 as it is today.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the renowned Regency poet and cat lover Percy Bysshe Shelley said: </div><div><br /></div><div>"When my cats aren’t happy, I’m not happy. Not because I care about their mood but because I know they’re just sitting there thinking up ways to get even."</div><div><br /></div><div>Well said, Percy!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>***</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Images courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></div><div><br /></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-15380356398097048322021-08-10T14:40:00.000-07:002021-08-10T14:40:38.688-07:00The Dog Days of Summer<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP_CsPtKXd1v_6zeq03sg6Z6-X9H26URF2hGltju5n367KC3T9WBK1Yj2N2HBj_V3ENSOgqxALi5qemeFbbSOJxg6-Ujg3TYo3WlXnWVEbcVJx-lE6jVU2taPaV0Gzp-7g9bNCSpRbQO8/s960/dogs-1136142_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="960" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaP_CsPtKXd1v_6zeq03sg6Z6-X9H26URF2hGltju5n367KC3T9WBK1Yj2N2HBj_V3ENSOgqxALi5qemeFbbSOJxg6-Ujg3TYo3WlXnWVEbcVJx-lE6jVU2taPaV0Gzp-7g9bNCSpRbQO8/w400-h221/dogs-1136142_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">We’re almost at the end of the “dog days of summer” here in the States, which runs from the beginning of July through August 11. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the cute photo above, the dog days of summer has nothing to do with canines. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This time of the year gets its name from the stars. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At this point in the summer, the Sun is in the same part of the sky as Sirius the Dog Star, part of the constellation Canis Major (“Big Dog”). Sirius is t</span>he brightest star that can be seen from Earth, and it <span style="font-family: inherit;">rises and sets with the Sun during the dog days of summer.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dog days of summer are also traditionally the hottest days of the season, a sultry, sleepy and slow time of the year, especially before the days of widespread air conditioning. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But I think the dog days are also a good time to celebrate the bond between humans and their pets, a bond that has existed since cave men allowed dogs to lay down by their fires.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-family: inherit;">Regency dog portraits</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just like today, people in the Regency loved their dogs. And one of the chief ways we know this is by the </span>portraits<span style="font-family: inherit;"> they left </span>behind<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l3uaRcXImpO6z_kU0zFazY8WFDpTS6dBMdnMc9olsQ9Iuh6y46u6CiJCZQasN2U7zZ72pUVljNWhw8bC2pRN_9O4Q7XvsCfNYj8-uOA_hYzUOGZ7m_lAbjTi25kbmfdlm1rAzEk8Qb8M/s200/Portrait_of_a_dog%252C_seated_on_a_red_cushion%252C_by_Henri_van_Assche%252C_1801+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="165" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2l3uaRcXImpO6z_kU0zFazY8WFDpTS6dBMdnMc9olsQ9Iuh6y46u6CiJCZQasN2U7zZ72pUVljNWhw8bC2pRN_9O4Q7XvsCfNYj8-uOA_hYzUOGZ7m_lAbjTi25kbmfdlm1rAzEk8Qb8M/w330-h400/Portrait_of_a_dog%252C_seated_on_a_red_cushion%252C_by_Henri_van_Assche%252C_1801+%25281%2529.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a </span>painting <span style="font-family: inherit;">of a dog, clearly someone's beloved pet (you can tell by the fancy cushion) from </span><span style="text-align: center;">1801. It was rare in the early 19th century for someone to pay for a pet portrait, and it must have been expensive, too. But all that mattered to this dog's owner was creating a permanent keepsake of his best friend.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">And here's a 1795 portrait by<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Spanish artist Francisco de Goya of a young woman and her dog. You can tell this little white dog was special to her - she's taken care to tie a red bow around its tail that matches the red bow on her white dress. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Talk</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"> about </span><span style="text-align: center;">coordinating</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"> your dog to your ensemble!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsu4OzNQw5P-9tEhZVoZOCHrNIoXA2tjbRBOR9IHNk_XgjMIFTcEG_GuUkBPX04v8Ux9GivG3UJzo8CaQs6ceHlBBPLqfo-BcemaEkQ6C-lQbLvVrAwzSJWu6iUypuv65ygpL9a6jCHzB3/s1219/800px-Goya_Alba1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1219" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsu4OzNQw5P-9tEhZVoZOCHrNIoXA2tjbRBOR9IHNk_XgjMIFTcEG_GuUkBPX04v8Ux9GivG3UJzo8CaQs6ceHlBBPLqfo-BcemaEkQ6C-lQbLvVrAwzSJWu6iUypuv65ygpL9a6jCHzB3/w263-h400/800px-Goya_Alba1.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Royal pups</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dogs are often favored by royalty. I think it could be because dogs seldom seek political favors, they're loyal, faithful and know how to keep secrets. (I wish I could say the same about my cat.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a portrait of a young Princess Victoria a few years before she became Queen, with her beloved spaniel, Dash:</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOQ5KUWYedjx7GxXPFZdeGY4fOy8NUKW_4ds1ujSOPrg9J6RUSDubFOX6xcnKNJT3sFlAthyU_0_ivQY4nsOdZcLdkFqXreBJettYJjjiqUYwXyRpPFY-uEtezkPxc7aXDQNZlcJa3gwk/s327/220px-Princess_Victoria_and_Dash_by_George_Hayter.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOQ5KUWYedjx7GxXPFZdeGY4fOy8NUKW_4ds1ujSOPrg9J6RUSDubFOX6xcnKNJT3sFlAthyU_0_ivQY4nsOdZcLdkFqXreBJettYJjjiqUYwXyRpPFY-uEtezkPxc7aXDQNZlcJa3gwk/w269-h400/220px-Princess_Victoria_and_Dash_by_George_Hayter.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Britain's current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is well known for her life-long love of dogs, and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi breed in particular. I have to admit, the Queen's favorite is pretty adorable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9o2bMigcfCGPXLvZxFHDHvFJwEal9bcleDx6njFFZEoZSiqy7zq9kAoii3V96rkm1-4M9AjOx0kMGaAO_DF0JMlMCq3IBhfMizG2ggk9kQ0UFlX0UIMhLYOVoTYb3QX8JyFMQkDBn1Dq/s960/welschcorgi-3593486_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9o2bMigcfCGPXLvZxFHDHvFJwEal9bcleDx6njFFZEoZSiqy7zq9kAoii3V96rkm1-4M9AjOx0kMGaAO_DF0JMlMCq3IBhfMizG2ggk9kQ0UFlX0UIMhLYOVoTYb3QX8JyFMQkDBn1Dq/w400-h225/welschcorgi-3593486_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Pembroke Welsh Corgi</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b>Jane Austen's dogs</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Though there's no evidence that Jane Austen herself ever had a canine companion, she must have been very aware of them. Dogs abound in her novels. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">Lady Bertram in <i>Mansfield Park </i>has a companion dog, Pug, which we know is female because Lady Bertram offers Fanny a puppy from Pug's next litter. </p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8cti58LZEKy8QgeiyDmCRK8Za4gYNrP9tFekqu7dfN8sSeJdJopKAhx8SOr7PB2W3O1iP3NEB2NGKP5t45WPWNpl6aRFwgaUcfgQsVaciyVQi1ky27tiN9Z0p2oouEsQhZK-mjs6ryco/s600/Mp-Brock-03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="397" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8cti58LZEKy8QgeiyDmCRK8Za4gYNrP9tFekqu7dfN8sSeJdJopKAhx8SOr7PB2W3O1iP3NEB2NGKP5t45WPWNpl6aRFwgaUcfgQsVaciyVQi1ky27tiN9Z0p2oouEsQhZK-mjs6ryco/w265-h400/Mp-Brock-03.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Illustration from 1903 edition of <br /><i>Mansfield Park, </i>showing Lady Bertram with<br /> a Pug on her lap and Fanny at her side</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jane's choice of dog for her book was probably an easy one. Pugs were a popular companion breed during the Regency.</p><p class="MsoNormal">For example, here's a young Regency miss who must have insisted her portrait include her faithful friend, which she is clearly cuddling. I wonder how long the dog stayed still for the artist?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9zZQFiGG0LUENI3s2g3zwRv_XO_FyHneaieQgfFQOKHa21VqcRzO0fZocoyVg4FiEr-v2zMkiyonrhhxTZ3aY5T_Wy0BNozM-NidG_Vx-UmgmqXyFFcQzKWfsx5XQ4mb7t5fgFs6Y-Q5/s1100/800px-Fran%25C3%25A7ois_van_der_Donckt_-_Portrait_of_Sylvie_de_la_Rue_-_WGA06589.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9zZQFiGG0LUENI3s2g3zwRv_XO_FyHneaieQgfFQOKHa21VqcRzO0fZocoyVg4FiEr-v2zMkiyonrhhxTZ3aY5T_Wy0BNozM-NidG_Vx-UmgmqXyFFcQzKWfsx5XQ4mb7t5fgFs6Y-Q5/w291-h400/800px-Fran%25C3%25A7ois_van_der_Donckt_-_Portrait_of_Sylvie_de_la_Rue_-_WGA06589.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In<i> Sense and Sensibility</i>, Marianne's crush, John Willoughby, has two Pointers, no doubt for hunting. And in <i>Northanger Abbey</i>, Austen mentions that Henry Tilney has a Newfoundland puppy and several terriers. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWi3NgIf1NV-SN-3Xz5J4BQ30cGVv5MKrMeJy1HGv1TbzWX2JkcrSDlQfo8zqN3Z1u3lXkcN1fuHsYHwCYINxbHVASfWcv6a7YTYlNHBBIrJeXZTGKZb8fFe1aG_vWBP8iiWXet-gejWH/s800/Two_Pointers_in_a_Landscape.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="663" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWi3NgIf1NV-SN-3Xz5J4BQ30cGVv5MKrMeJy1HGv1TbzWX2JkcrSDlQfo8zqN3Z1u3lXkcN1fuHsYHwCYINxbHVASfWcv6a7YTYlNHBBIrJeXZTGKZb8fFe1aG_vWBP8iiWXet-gejWH/w320-h265/Two_Pointers_in_a_Landscape.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Two Pointers in a landscape, 1805. This pair could have<br />belonged to Tilney!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Whimsical dogs</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">Finally, a piece on dogs in portraits can't ignore the "dogs playing poker" paintings, which date back to 1894, nearly 130 years ago. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Now these poker-playing dogs are clearly Victorian, but who's to say that dogs during the Regency didn't play popular Regency card games like whist or loo? When no one was looking, of course. </p><p class="MsoNormal">This famous series of oil paintings was done by a New Yorker, Cassius Marcellus Coolidge. Unfortunately for Coolidge, many art critics think these paintings are the epitome of tacky. I doubt they will ever be exhibited in the Louvre. </p><p class="MsoNormal">But don't bet against these dogs just yet, or their enduring appeal. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Though you may think these paintings are too kitschy to be taken seriously by an art collector, consider this: One of Coolidge's original works sold for a cool $658,000 at a Sotheby's auction in 2015. </p><p class="MsoNormal">That gives these canines the last laugh, and enough money to buy a lot of poker chips for their next game.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAJ-JiaNIKBuMle9DfkdTgdEP9RZvfvS-IvQwOi0psfZc9AXymIC5aLXYT41UnStSddd3zJI4n8AUEqrK8tE-PG1lBIx-MZ6OnsZ-7wPJ5V-hnyN5kGGELFk11RzVcKfMXooeYXv89WfH/s722/722px-Cassius_Marcellus_Coolidge_-_Poker_Game_%25281894%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="722" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAJ-JiaNIKBuMle9DfkdTgdEP9RZvfvS-IvQwOi0psfZc9AXymIC5aLXYT41UnStSddd3zJI4n8AUEqrK8tE-PG1lBIx-MZ6OnsZ-7wPJ5V-hnyN5kGGELFk11RzVcKfMXooeYXv89WfH/w400-h331/722px-Cassius_Marcellus_Coolidge_-_Poker_Game_%25281894%2529.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, as Autumn beckons and Summer comes to a close, you don't have to say goodbye to the dog days of summer. When you allow a dog to enter your life and touch your heart, every day is a dog day. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOM5Whomn-jWspiMV_Ay3Sd9puo8WXWhj5OL_33sodW9hVTdDL-js0PiBWh-0DZlg0cvQJcT3250VCaxkVzYWhiDG_nunjoVOyCub-dDETGKelMdjML8G2TyeBWm-KEs9p73LFevbzS4bh/s720/vintage-1501585_960_720.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="518" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOM5Whomn-jWspiMV_Ay3Sd9puo8WXWhj5OL_33sodW9hVTdDL-js0PiBWh-0DZlg0cvQJcT3250VCaxkVzYWhiDG_nunjoVOyCub-dDETGKelMdjML8G2TyeBWm-KEs9p73LFevbzS4bh/w288-h400/vintage-1501585_960_720.png" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay</i></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-53105085019569592852021-07-27T14:12:00.000-07:002021-07-27T14:12:47.935-07:00The Year Without a Summer, Part 2 : Consequences<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8wzwc0oUDwB-FEcu1f7X0Xxm4whF7w8hEKoY_xVmZmT1VWbNZAqHIwoUcaevMvvPQmFBn5LljyCgORm6IlP29s-4lLd097SGBhnvgRDivbNXswLeMmBGfhLFKAbXkWxmHuMcKnxYpIfc/s800/800px-Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Two_Men_by_the_Sea_-_WGA8249.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="800" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8wzwc0oUDwB-FEcu1f7X0Xxm4whF7w8hEKoY_xVmZmT1VWbNZAqHIwoUcaevMvvPQmFBn5LljyCgORm6IlP29s-4lLd097SGBhnvgRDivbNXswLeMmBGfhLFKAbXkWxmHuMcKnxYpIfc/w400-h295/800px-Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Two_Men_by_the_Sea_-_WGA8249.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Two Men by the Sea," by Caspar David Friedrich. Painted in 1817,<br /> it shows how much the Mt. Tambora eruption darkened the European sky.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>The effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption in 1815 weren't felt in Europe and North America until 1816 and lasted for a number of years. At the time, no one understood that the change in weather patterns was due to a volcanic eruption in the Dutch East Indies, almost 10,000 miles away. It wasn't until the last half of the 20th century that scientists conclusively demonstrated the global cooling effects of volcanic eruptions. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeXdlRw2V0SgaY7oUDeuSbEgY2TzrXdcUEYxNqPn5UJ1aK8J_vADdOvKkA9OPzeLUzBzZycvf-BrkA1bL2bwWZ9gZjeESqSdBICzXgxW5r_fclsASW1MY7vWwtUr_WYHmkj1M0UCvpNzN/s1024/1024px-Caspar_David_Friedrich_027.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="1024" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKeXdlRw2V0SgaY7oUDeuSbEgY2TzrXdcUEYxNqPn5UJ1aK8J_vADdOvKkA9OPzeLUzBzZycvf-BrkA1bL2bwWZ9gZjeESqSdBICzXgxW5r_fclsASW1MY7vWwtUr_WYHmkj1M0UCvpNzN/w400-h278/1024px-Caspar_David_Friedrich_027.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Landscape with Rainbow," also by Caspar David Friedrich. Painted in 1810,<br /> this picture shows how clear the skies were before the volcanic event. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div><b>Immediate effects of the 1815 eruption</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The earliest indication that the weather patterns were changing came in December of 1815, with the changes becoming obvious by the time spring and summer arrived. Though Asia experienced an abnormal monsoon season and there was a famine in China, the most dramatic effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption were observed in the U.K., Western Europe, the Atlantic regions of Canada, and New England. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><b><i>Europe </i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>July of 1816 was the coldest on record in England, and the year itself was the 11th coldest, with the third coldest summer, since 1659. These temperatures contributed to August frosts in England and Europe, and the flooding of major rivers, including the Rhine, due to abnormal storms and unusually heavy rain.</div><div><br /></div><div>In December of 1815, red and yellow snow fell in record amounts near the Adriatic coast. Fearing that event was an ominous sign from God, the residents held a religious procession. That winter also saw unusual amounts of snow and freezing rain in the Abruzzo region. Intense blizzards blanketed Hungary, and because of the ash in the atmosphere, the snow that fell was brown.</div><div><br /></div><div>People were already experiencing food shortages across Europe in the aftermath of the long Napoleonic Wars. But the lowered temperatures and heavy rainfall resulting from the Mt. Tambora blast caused the oat, wheat and potato harvests to fail, resulting in famine across Britain and Ireland. In Germany, the lack of food was especially acute. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJNyb9olWhVUyBh5KAoC301opvr6FfB1Ah1laSmApQV7Am_CLynyPRPMqcTFyxP8yJoJMTHiFu8Rlc3V2xf4mbafqa_gZjlbjESzxaae5JXI4qIW_flOI7GBRIPG2rmhSKv4NU-bjApE/s2048/Jane_Austen%252C_from_A_Memoir_of_Jane_Austen_%25281871%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fJNyb9olWhVUyBh5KAoC301opvr6FfB1Ah1laSmApQV7Am_CLynyPRPMqcTFyxP8yJoJMTHiFu8Rlc3V2xf4mbafqa_gZjlbjESzxaae5JXI4qIW_flOI7GBRIPG2rmhSKv4NU-bjApE/s320/Jane_Austen%252C_from_A_Memoir_of_Jane_Austen_%25281871%2529.jpg" /></a></div><br />For Jane Austen, the summer of 1816 was rainy and miserable. Writing to her nephew about the weather that summer, she said “It is really too bad, & has been for a long time, much worse than anybody can bear, & I begin to think it will never be fine again.” She also recounted a conversation with a neighbor where she noted “of its’ being bad weather for the Hay – & he returned me the comfort of its’ being much worse for the Wheat.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Across Europe food prices skyrocketed, and not knowing the cause of the spike, the hungry protested in front of bakeries and grain markets. Riots followed, with arson and looting. Though riots during times of food scarcity weren’t uncommon, the food riots of 1816-17 were some of the most violent since the French Revolution. </div><div><br /></div><div>And that wasn’t the end of the miseries. Famine and malnourishment breed disease, and between 1816 and 1819 major typhus epidemics broke out across Europe, especially in Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, and Ireland. As the disease spread throughout Great Britain and Ireland it killed more than 65,000 people. </div><div> </div><div><b><i>North America</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Abnormal weather afflicted the newly minted United States of America as well. A “dry fog” hung over the eastern states in the spring and summer of 1816. It reddened the sky and darkened the sun, and neither wind nor rain could disperse it. But the real problem was the summer cold and drought that damaged and killed crops, especially corn, causing widespread food shortages.</div><div><br /></div><div>Frost, snow and ice made an unseasonable appearance that summer in the U.S. Similar to Italy and Hungary, Maryland’s snow was discolored – brown, bluish and yellow. In Lebanon, New York, the temperature dipped below freezing nearly every day during May, and in early June the ground froze. In Pennsylvania, there was ice in the rivers and lakes during July and August, and Virginia saw frost in August. Across the new country, the unusual cold was accompanied by lack of rain.</div><div><br /></div><div>“We have had the most extraordinary year of drought and cold ever known in the history of America,” Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend. “The summer, too, has been as cold as a moderate winter.” </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Long-term effects </b></div><div><br /></div><div>The summer of 1816 made a deep impression on those who lived through it, and led to the development of scientific and technological innovations, cultural movements and the birth of a new literary genre. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few examples of how that year affected society in lasting ways::</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Science</i></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS7zpbxypbwFK4Z7PTEluOXHg3Qy3dNfb2OJsstNkZvck_sd867GMHAMe-oQw26SIh4i8FrqPOrwMLcYJUwiQsPKpn0OZl0ZlluEDmC9HyZP5aLuNkktd2D0IPA1-m2B0ns3D_G3envnt/s235/220px-Young-Justus-Liebig.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixS7zpbxypbwFK4Z7PTEluOXHg3Qy3dNfb2OJsstNkZvck_sd867GMHAMe-oQw26SIh4i8FrqPOrwMLcYJUwiQsPKpn0OZl0ZlluEDmC9HyZP5aLuNkktd2D0IPA1-m2B0ns3D_G3envnt/w187-h200/220px-Young-Justus-Liebig.jpg" width="187" /></a></div><br />Justus von Liebig was only 13 years old and living in Darmstadt during the summer of 1816. He saw first-hand the famine-caused suffering, especially severe in Germany. The starvation he must have witnessed as a child surely influenced his life and inspired his work in agriculture to prevent future famines. </div><div><br /></div><div> As an adult, Liebig became a scientist, studying biological and agricultural chemistry, and today he is considered one of the founders of organic chemistry. Because of Liebig's innovations in plant nutrition and mineral fertilizers, the famine of 1816 was described as the "last great subsistence crisis in the Western world" by John Dexter Post in <a href="https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9780801818509">his 1977 book</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another German, prolific inventor Baron Karl von Drais, observed the crop failures caused by the disrupted weather patterns of 1816 and pondered their effect on the horse-based transportation system of the time. Due to scarcity, the price of oats climbed, and since oats were needed to feed horses, the cost of travel increased as well.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWohN9QJ1t6HA23Lk-bUcCROWhqDM68fdJQ03vBMNjCnPiDuSkfRNOqnHzrq3fduZZNBOntH9Up7ZJxW491-f-9qZBHIUUtBSr41rsmHdx3X67Pj44atogfdhpptltRo7z8Nrb_TnxT16/s220/220px-KarlVonDrais.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="220" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWohN9QJ1t6HA23Lk-bUcCROWhqDM68fdJQ03vBMNjCnPiDuSkfRNOqnHzrq3fduZZNBOntH9Up7ZJxW491-f-9qZBHIUUtBSr41rsmHdx3X67Pj44atogfdhpptltRo7z8Nrb_TnxT16/w400-h324/220px-KarlVonDrais.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Karl Drais on his invention in 1819</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, Drais went to work and invented his “Laufmaschine,” (also called a velocipede, draisine, hobby horse or dandy horse), a simple two-wheeled machine that has evolved into today's bicycles and motorcycles. </div><div><br /></div><div>Von Drais' machine didn't have pedals but it was one of the first examples of mechanized personal transport. His first ride, on Baden’s best road in June of 1817, covered a distance of 4.3 miles and took a little more than an hour. Nevertheless, that ride was a major milestone in the development of horseless transportation. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>The settlement of the American West</b></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Some Americans fleeing the dire consequences of the unpredictable summer of 1816 (including crop failures, famine, forest fires, flooding, drought, frost and snow) left their New England homes and migrated to the Northwest Territory. As a result of this population influx, Indiana became a state in 1816 and Illinois followed two years later. Looking for a better life, these farm families were the beginning of the settlement of the American West, and helped establish what became known as America's Heartland. </div><div><br /></div><div>One such family, led by Joseph Smith, left Vermont for Palmyra in Western New York, setting off a chain of events that eventually led to the <i>Book of Mormon</i> being published and the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Literature</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybRKRKU3gibE3I66vS0BlNHTUuYi78ZAXLTGfkZfGELKeErNDH9uB9ASHkv97FIm5I43RPn1JOnHZYxs3isEqA8QD8zX7TvwXvUXDM5bKZdrt4ebPO3snJU5CJFK0h-U6FKSDE4fG5XPK/s1033/Frontispiece_to_Frankenstein_1831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1033" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybRKRKU3gibE3I66vS0BlNHTUuYi78ZAXLTGfkZfGELKeErNDH9uB9ASHkv97FIm5I43RPn1JOnHZYxs3isEqA8QD8zX7TvwXvUXDM5bKZdrt4ebPO3snJU5CJFK0h-U6FKSDE4fG5XPK/s320/Frontispiece_to_Frankenstein_1831.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image from the 1831 edition of<br /><i>Frankenstein</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Lord Byron and his friend John William Polidori, who was Byron's personal physician and also a writer, passed the summer of 1816 in Switzerland at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva. In June they were visited by the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley with his 18-year-old wife Mary, and Claire Clairmont, Mary's step-sister and Byron's mistress.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kept indoors by the incessant rain, the group decided to hold a contest to see who could create the best scary story. </div><div><br /></div><div>Mary's story became the first draft of the horror classic,<i> Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, </i>which she published in 1818<i>.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Byron told a story about a vampire, which prompted Polidori to write <i>The Vampyre </i>in 1819. Polidori's novella has since inspired countless vampire romance stories, including <i>The Twilight Saga </i>by Stephenie Meyer, creating a new sub-genre of gothic fantasy fiction - the romantic vampire.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also that during that cold and rainy summer, Byron wrote a poem titled "Darkness." It is perhaps the most evocative contemporary account of what that summer must have felt like to the people who lived through it: </div><div><br /></div><div><i>The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars</i></div><div><i>Did wander darkling in the eternal space,</i></div><div><i>Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth</i></div><div><i>Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;</i></div><div><i>Morn came and went—and came, and brought no day,</i></div><div><i>And men forgot their passions in the dread </i></div><div><i>Of this their desolation . . .</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The poem goes on to great detail describing global devastation, including forest fires, famine, and widespread death resulting from this darkness, ending with these lines:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air,</i></div><div><i>And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need</i></div><div><i>Of aid from them—She was the Universe.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>The aerosol veil that covered the earth after the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 eventually dissipated, letting the sun's rays once again shine through the earth's atmosphere. However, today our heavy use of fossil-burning fuels, which started with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and has been intensifying ever since, is creating its own climate change with potentially catastrophic consequences. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike 1816's volcano-caused aerosol veil, today's climate changes won't go away by themselves.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ITQTMTUUT0CaOwNsJDdZjJGuwRJTZEuvSyKBJdSqGxmJy2K5TwVycr3oi1GEmhU-r8s5H46fEOf0NudB8WrRn3ifQY1iHAyPwofGktfRNKaey1XEam7IRuf0Fx4oJH3IqQXluAim98ka/s960/industrial-plant-1149888_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ITQTMTUUT0CaOwNsJDdZjJGuwRJTZEuvSyKBJdSqGxmJy2K5TwVycr3oi1GEmhU-r8s5H46fEOf0NudB8WrRn3ifQY1iHAyPwofGktfRNKaey1XEam7IRuf0Fx4oJH3IqQXluAim98ka/w400-h266/industrial-plant-1149888_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Can we reverse the effects of our man-made climate change? I believe if we come together as inhabitants of Planet Earth, putting aside our superficial differences and employing our human determination, resourcefulness and intelligence, we can solve this problem for ourselves and the benefit of future generations. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have to. We can't afford to fail.</div><div><br /></div><div>**</div><div><br /></div><p><b><i>Sources for this post include:</i></b></p><p></p><ul><li><b>The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History</b>, by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013</li><li><b>The Regency Years, During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love and Britain Becomes Modern</b>, by Robert Morrison, W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, 2019 </li><li>"Mount Tambora and the Year Without a Summer," <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/mount-tambora-and-year-without-summer" target="_blank">UCAR Center for Science Education</a></li></ul><p></p><p></p><p><b><i>Images courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></b></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-4284357355878399172021-07-20T08:42:00.000-07:002021-07-20T08:42:54.888-07:00"The Year Without a Summer, Part 1: Cause of a Major Regency Climate Change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo9Ox3unHcfAPLQ_d-DiFRgg2xVCCHHE7fulueh26gGB3LYA3xmr8v7hWcrBnthVvNOmi_e6Vjv2lel2GtNxzVn9Qh4KnjedgpNqkQqoNOIfDllItQcjmeX_DJzpITdHPB8UZ-ZBPpoqs/s960/landscape-4129533_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDo9Ox3unHcfAPLQ_d-DiFRgg2xVCCHHE7fulueh26gGB3LYA3xmr8v7hWcrBnthVvNOmi_e6Vjv2lel2GtNxzVn9Qh4KnjedgpNqkQqoNOIfDllItQcjmeX_DJzpITdHPB8UZ-ZBPpoqs/w400-h266/landscape-4129533_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Who doesn’t love warm summer weather? Summer is the perfect time for walking barefoot in the grass, outdoor picnics and going to the beach. </p><p>Where I live in the Pacific Northwest, summer has turned from a friend to a foe. Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, reached an unbelievable 116 degrees in June, and at least 200 people and about a billion marine animals died in the Pacific Northwest during our historic heat wave.</p><p>And across the U.S. this summer, wildfires are raging and heat records are shattering. </p><p>Climate change, due to the “greenhouse effect” caused by burning fossil fuels, is the most likely culprit for these climate abnormalities. </p><p>But climate change can have other causes and effects. For example, one year during the Regency people suffered when the sun wouldn’t shine and temperatures plummeted. The sky was dark and the world was cold. </p><p>It was 1816, known as the year without a summer.</p><p><b>The Eruption of Mt. Tambora</b></p><p>The reason for the “year without a summer” was another climate disaster – a massive volcanic eruption. And this disaster had lasting repercussions. </p><p>Sumbawa, a small island in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies during the Regency) is approximately 10,000 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, and almost 8,000 miles distant from London, England. I’d guess that most people living in the United States and the United Kingdom at that time were scarcely aware of the island's existence. </p><p>But on April 5, 1815, a volcano on Sumbawa, Mt. Tambora, erupted violently with a series of blasts. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the Lt. Governor of Java, was at his post 800 miles away when he heard what he thought was a volley of cannon fire. </p><p>Sailors onboard ships at sea heard the blasts, and believed a battle was taking place. Fields composed of pumice, some as large as three miles wide, covered the South Indian Ocean like icebergs.</p><p>Then, five days later Mt. Tambora erupted again, and this time the blast was even worse. Three huge columns of fire rose in the air, coming together at the top, spewing ash, debris and molten rock while lava streamed down the mountainside. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0FYcE-WLU1rwtbzigZQxHP7aNP35QXDppmMte0B2JRjNl0Jxp8jbeesLJXp4ZTBgM21G6cghQ2iu3phmdhcvidDlFfq7fiDyXkmeBO6HS2OxA1Xix1Zzv7-Qtbw7_cchWvR-wIvxM05J/s1200/1815_tambora_explosion.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="1200" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0FYcE-WLU1rwtbzigZQxHP7aNP35QXDppmMte0B2JRjNl0Jxp8jbeesLJXp4ZTBgM21G6cghQ2iu3phmdhcvidDlFfq7fiDyXkmeBO6HS2OxA1Xix1Zzv7-Qtbw7_cchWvR-wIvxM05J/w400-h179/1815_tambora_explosion.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Estimated radius of volcanic ashfall in 1815 from Mt. Tambora <br />(Taken from a NASA image, CC BY-SA 3.0)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>About 12,000 people lived close to the mountain, and almost all were dead within 24 hours. Twenty miles away from the blast site, villages were covered in ash that was 40 inches thick. Hundreds of miles away, layers of dust ruined crops, killed cattle, fish and other wildlife, and poisoned water. </p><p>Famine and disease came next, causing even more destruction, until the death toll in Indonesia reached at least 90,000 people. </p><p>All told, the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 killed hundreds of thousands of people, either directly or indirectly. It is still the largest volcanic eruption ever witnessed or recorded, ten times more violent than the eruption of Mt. Krakatoa in 1883. The Mt. Tambora eruption released a burst of volcanic energy equal to exploding 33 gigatons of TNT. </p><p><b>Climate Effects</b></p><p>When Mt. Tambora blew, about three to four thousand feet blasted right off the top of the mountain. Ash and tephra (fragments of magma and other minerals) from the eruption shot into the earth’s stratosphere and were dispersed by winds around the globe, forming an almost invisible aerosol veil that scattered sunlight, effectively blocking the sun’s rays and lowering temperatures around the world. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8X1-AIRu-Phixy1YIkI5D3pd9C_0C-GVMGMT6lpBn4Gma5t-37vuWodJodO2vOzyfT1yJjpwe-r83sT132WzywoqfLVWUbQtpgboeMCYvTEVtH3Hx2C5-wmBreYO3EZUfbKPQr3Qp9dO/s800/800px-1816_summer.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="800" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8X1-AIRu-Phixy1YIkI5D3pd9C_0C-GVMGMT6lpBn4Gma5t-37vuWodJodO2vOzyfT1yJjpwe-r83sT132WzywoqfLVWUbQtpgboeMCYvTEVtH3Hx2C5-wmBreYO3EZUfbKPQr3Qp9dO/w400-h296/800px-1816_summer.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Map showing European temperature abnormalities during the summer<br /> of 1816, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration <br />(authored by Giorgiogp2, CC BY_SA 3.0)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Although the aerosol veil reflected only about one-half to one percent of the incoming energy of the sun, that percentage was enough to cool temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit. And that 3-degree reduction was enough to change weather patterns and wreak agricultural destruction on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. </p><p>But the effects of the Mt. Tambora eruption were not felt in Europe and North America for many months. It wasn’t until the spring and summer of 1816 that the change in climate began to become quite noticeable. </p><p><b>Popular beliefs </b></p><p>Persistent rain, flooding, frost and snowfall during the summer months in Europe and North America were some of the climate abnormalities caused by the volcanic blast. </p><p>Other effects included drought and raging forest fires, crop failures and famine. To people living in the Northern Hemisphere in 1816, the world must have seemed as though it were turned upside down. </p><p>Unaware of what was causing these climate abnormalities, some people, especially in New England, saw it as the work of witchcraft, or a punishment from God, or at the very least, signs of a coming apocalypse. </p><p>And these beliefs, along with the frightening change in climate, set off a chain of events and innovations that still affect our lives today.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Come back next week for Part 2: The long-lasting effects that “the year without a summer” had on science, literature, and the settling of the American West.</b></p><p><b><i><br /></i></b></p><p><b><i>Sources for this post include:</i></b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History</b>, by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013</li><li><b>The Regency Years, During Which Jane Austen Writes, Napoleon Fights, Byron Makes Love and Britain Becomes Modern</b>, by Robert Morrison, W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London, 2019 </li><li>"Mount Tambora and the Year Without a Summer," <a href="https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-climate-works/mount-tambora-and-year-without-summer" target="_blank">UCAR Center for Science Education</a></li></ul><p></p><p></p><p><b><i>Images courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></b></p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-64331208678284603562021-06-07T09:13:00.000-07:002021-06-07T09:13:36.634-07:00Jenner's Legacy: Part 3 of Edward Jenner and the First Vaccine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ228vvng2sUvJXtXfmlSMCaSc783vo8cwM-KdRQvDhcwUi_JPxWhzC7jjMuB7W1CNRM0arIUUGCeJlp9woQPDLNe3hKcHI8DRVDxNWC2kKCMHcaDKJDH15A_0SppenwHff-H7rghniE2/s2048/_Edward_Jenner_advising_a_farmer_to_vaccinate_his_family_._O_Wellcome_V0018221.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1530" data-original-width="2048" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOZ228vvng2sUvJXtXfmlSMCaSc783vo8cwM-KdRQvDhcwUi_JPxWhzC7jjMuB7W1CNRM0arIUUGCeJlp9woQPDLNe3hKcHI8DRVDxNWC2kKCMHcaDKJDH15A_0SppenwHff-H7rghniE2/w400-h299/_Edward_Jenner_advising_a_farmer_to_vaccinate_his_family_._O_Wellcome_V0018221.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jenner advising a farmer to vaccinate his family</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jenner’s development of a vaccine in the 1790s was only the beginning, not the end of the story of the fight against smallpox. It took the work of many other scientists to test and create a smallpox vaccine that was uncontaminated, stable and could be safely transported to countries around the world.<p></p><p>In 1853 Parliament made smallpox vaccinations mandatory for infants in Great Britain. By the 1860s two-thirds of all British babies had been vaccinated and there was a resulting drop in the number of infant deaths caused by the disease. </p><p>However, vaccination remained controversial and anti-vaccination leagues formed in Britain and the United States. Fortunately, vaccinations continued and the disease’s grip on mankind weakened.</p><p></p><p><b>Success at last</b></p><p>Following a series of global vaccination campaigns in the 19th and 20th centuries, success came at last. In 1979, the World Health Organization declared smallpox officially eradicated. </p><p>Smallpox is still the only human disease that has been exterminated by vaccination.</p><p>It took 180 years, but Jenner’s dream of wiping smallpox off the face of the earth finally became a reality.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E1P4qHgvuXKHbH0UlmAHLgQ_H1MVJnw8KqfC9SOXVr5hPLfA0-9Zs0msaRPH7fzuFD_zIiuTE9fzkkQWNUoj1ogeyxwZyttCN4j3SZBOCaYpvQVhSa45ay6BiJFuJ11vjvjc2qSKtZQu/s295/Picture7.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="295" data-original-width="191" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E1P4qHgvuXKHbH0UlmAHLgQ_H1MVJnw8KqfC9SOXVr5hPLfA0-9Zs0msaRPH7fzuFD_zIiuTE9fzkkQWNUoj1ogeyxwZyttCN4j3SZBOCaYpvQVhSa45ay6BiJFuJ11vjvjc2qSKtZQu/w207-h320/Picture7.jpg" width="207" /></a></b></div><b><br />Jenner’s Legacy</b><p></p><p>Edward Jenner died in 1823. A humble man, he was considered a hero in his lifetime and still is today.</p><p>While he may not have been the first to realize that cowpox could lead to immunity against smallpox, his work made smallpox inoculations popular. </p><p>Jenner's efforts also laid the groundwork for the widespread vaccinations that eventually defeated the disease.</p><p>In addition, his scientific inquiries became the basis of the modern science of immunology. </p><p>Jenner’s work put him ahead of his time – so much so that it took almost another century before French chemist Louis Pasteur developed the next vaccines, for rabies and anthrax, in the 1880s.</p><p><b>Vaccines today</b></p><p>But why is that we call all inoculations “vaccines”? Jenner’s name for his discovery came from the Latin word for cow, “vacca.” So, technically, it should apply only to his cowpox vaccine. </p><p>But Pasteur wanted to pay homage to Jenner’s creation of the first vaccine by naming all inoculations, including the ones he developed, “vaccinations” even though cows had nothing to do with them.</p><p>Pasteur’s tribute to Jenner caught on and that’s why now we have “vaccines” for influenza, tetanus, shingles, pneumonia and many other potentially deadly diseases.</p><p>And now we can add COVID-19 to the list of diseases that can be prevented by vaccination. The vaccines, whether manufactured by Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson, can be traced to Jenner’s pioneering work over 200 years ago.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGlznVxuS_LDNCChXBIffKvbMU0TG2_iQJ08ofq6cTBj74fgxU1q79441XsSnUYfilgEnWjxE6b-GiZrhoyCE6lLE2t5s_R9bqXvGPKV0Z9jAx1QNCHagTwHyWaUZ9olSVHxGRGLRPQ92/s1024/1024px-Smallpox_vaccine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1024" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGlznVxuS_LDNCChXBIffKvbMU0TG2_iQJ08ofq6cTBj74fgxU1q79441XsSnUYfilgEnWjxE6b-GiZrhoyCE6lLE2t5s_R9bqXvGPKV0Z9jAx1QNCHagTwHyWaUZ9olSVHxGRGLRPQ92/w400-h265/1024px-Smallpox_vaccine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>Additional information</b></p><p>For more information on this topic see this article, “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination,” available from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/?log$=activity" target="_blank">National Institutes of Health</a>.</p><p>Also, read this article on smallpox vaccines by the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/smallpox-vaccines" target="_blank">World Health Organization</a>. (It’s a relief to know that despite the disappearance of smallpox there are still stockpiles of vaccine in existence.)</p>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-43527583400309146482021-06-01T10:50:00.000-07:002021-06-01T10:50:54.828-07:00The Genius of Jenner: Part 2 of Edward Jenner and the First Vaccine<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_-PeaCJflVcLSlvwNc22vA1Pyc2oMtSPCu43cIc1x7QWmER4bahLL-Vye5xAcErG9eQ1RddafeBdedeaIdhym_U5ph99bU6WKayyxTBGqNqoKuwNFET935ZDQG8JIa7R1K7fGuQ-ytAk/s468/Picture2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="468" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo_-PeaCJflVcLSlvwNc22vA1Pyc2oMtSPCu43cIc1x7QWmER4bahLL-Vye5xAcErG9eQ1RddafeBdedeaIdhym_U5ph99bU6WKayyxTBGqNqoKuwNFET935ZDQG8JIa7R1K7fGuQ-ytAk/w400-h288/Picture2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jenner performing his first vaccination, in 1796,on James Phipps</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The solution to safer smallpox inoculations came from English physician Edward Jenner. And surprisingly, he got help from a cow.</p><p><b>Jenner’s early life</b></p><p>Edward Jenner was born into a big family (he was one of nine children) in 1749 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Because his father was a clergyman, young Edward and his siblings got a good basic education. But getting variolated as a teenager had an even greater impact on his life.</p><p>Jenner was grateful that he avoided smallpox by his variolation at a young age. But he was also aware of the risks of the procedure. Variolation carried potentially dire consequences. The patient could die from the procedure, or contract a mild form of the disease which could then spread and cause an epidemic. </p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OIUUmA-8mrh1xT20_eCKoGfb0I_xFMJDslJB2FpVoCjx1bpO3GfC4GSMEIRrkJPJZRBEWEvsTsl4F4kExD5t0nlz0odjAlpFG50zG1_jaYEgEeSmdoOQ8LcJsJ60Ypk7NsUBwFp1rE_l/s274/220px-Octavius_of_Great_Britain_-_West_1783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OIUUmA-8mrh1xT20_eCKoGfb0I_xFMJDslJB2FpVoCjx1bpO3GfC4GSMEIRrkJPJZRBEWEvsTsl4F4kExD5t0nlz0odjAlpFG50zG1_jaYEgEeSmdoOQ8LcJsJ60Ypk7NsUBwFp1rE_l/s16000/220px-Octavius_of_Great_Britain_-_West_1783.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Prince Octavius in 1783</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Victims of variolation could be found at all levels of society. Even King George III endured a loss due to the procedure; one of his sons, Octavius, died of smallpox at age 4 in 1783 after being inoculated with the virus. His sister Sophia, just a few years older, was variolated at the same time as her brother and recovered fully with no problems.</p><p>As it turned out, little Prince Octavius was the last British royal to die of smallpox.</p><p><b>Cowpox</b></p><p>As he grew older, Jenner studied both zoology and human biology. That’s how he learned of a possible link between an animal disease and the dreaded smallpox that could be the key to safer inoculations.</p><p>The disease was cowpox. And it’s no wonder it attracted attention. Cowpox was a much milder disease than smallpox, and it didn’t cause as much scarring and death in the humans who contracted it. In fact, cowpox fatalities were less than one percent.</p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAKDpdWUZFlkQ_CsjMZhHFqjxqHQ3OeZTP0g-dQ4LkpLASO0dyhyphenhyphen0KiAuqqD9QtFFl1uwq0lbmFx5x1PG-bjlwY7x-mn75oTTDJtWGy3BC52M1SqH7Q_Mc1wkQhIzNoGGZXbWAU2MtCgt/s960/england-3814107_960_720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAKDpdWUZFlkQ_CsjMZhHFqjxqHQ3OeZTP0g-dQ4LkpLASO0dyhyphenhyphen0KiAuqqD9QtFFl1uwq0lbmFx5x1PG-bjlwY7x-mn75oTTDJtWGy3BC52M1SqH7Q_Mc1wkQhIzNoGGZXbWAU2MtCgt/w400-h266/england-3814107_960_720.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">By the time Jenner began his career in the 1770s, there was growing evidence through observations by other doctors and even farmers that getting cowpox could be a way to avoid getting smallpox. </span></p><p>But these observations lacked solid proof. So when Jenner noted that dairymaids who worked with infected cows rarely got smallpox, he began to study the phenomenon in a disciplined and scientific way. He hypothesized that not only did contracting cowpox result in immunity to the disease, but also that a method could be developed to transmit this immunity. </p><p>To test his hypothesis, he found a cowpox-stricken dairymaid and used her infected blisters to inoculate 8-year-old James Phipps. Phipps fell briefly ill but recovered. And when Jenner then exposed Phipps to smallpox and the boy didn’t contract the disease, Jenner concluded his experiment worked. </p><p><b>The Inquiry</b></p><p>Jenner tested his newly developed vaccine on many people, including his own son, before publishing his findings. When he did self-publish his <i>Inquiry</i> in 1798 (its full title is <i>An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae, a Disease Discovered in Some of the Western Counties of England, Particularly Gloucestershire, and Known by the name of the Cow Pox</i>) it was an immediate hit and he quickly became famous. Other scientists validated his observations, and by 1799 more than a thousand people had been vaccinated.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaDOxolclZlHTk_Y0WDMTJ8q_lMWB4DeCTPqgL885zwM9xEGUGx9vVjsi5UWVQHoAL8mLsNzrD_3BGGz0C1aCeRb9xgdUILWOE0eIStK1IgHtlJLIjZMA2PAFCoN1nESspwhLVsj0each/s726/Picture6.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaDOxolclZlHTk_Y0WDMTJ8q_lMWB4DeCTPqgL885zwM9xEGUGx9vVjsi5UWVQHoAL8mLsNzrD_3BGGz0C1aCeRb9xgdUILWOE0eIStK1IgHtlJLIjZMA2PAFCoN1nESspwhLVsj0each/w259-h320/Picture6.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jane Austen</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Such was his fame that even Jane Austen knew about Jenner. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, she describes a dinner party where guests took turns reading from “Dr. Jenner’s pamphlet.”<p></p><p>Napoleon was another fan. Despite waging war against the British, Napoleon had Jenner vaccinate his troops and awarded him a medal, calling him one of the “greatest benefactors of mankind.” </p><p>And in 1821 Jenner was named “physician extraordinary” to the newly crowned King George IV, the monarch formerly known as the Prince Regent or Prinny.</p><p><b>Regency Anti-Vaxxers</b></p><p>So, at last there was an effective way to prevent the deadly disease of smallpox. But not everyone was enthusiastic about Jenner's new vaccine. Just as there are anti-vaxxers today, there were those in Jenner’s time who strongly opposed vaccination. </p><p> Religious leaders objected both because the vaccine was derived from an animal and was therefore "unchristian," and also on the grounds that by preventing the disease and its death toll the vaccine thwarted God’s will. </p><p>Then there were those who didn't trust the science behind the vaccine. They were afraid of side effects, didn't believe the vaccine would work, and feared it was too risky. Others protested that vaccination was an attack on their freedom of choice. (That argument intensified in subsequent years when vaccinations, especially for children and infants, became mandatory.)</p><p>Anti-vaccine sentiment wasn't confined to Jenner's time and place. In Colonial America, Puritan minister Cotton Mather became a target of outrage in the 1720s for his outspoken support of smallpox inoculation via variolation. One protestor even lobbed a bomb through a window of the minister's Boston home in an effort to stop Mather publicizing his pro-inoculation arguments.</p><p>With this much resistance, the battle against smallpox was far from over.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2SiC8I8ryQfyyaBFU1NPYMJtnwEfHn2Rv7Y_adw4bOT0UUPtSIjkROow8DqfsI26T2sJWQrkpCNsRI5BkE4RfCpsmvRtPk1_3tA33B34xBBGypf_KdZf1djLYITA7sexjDzyvLWS3x6H/s1950/Picture5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1950" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2SiC8I8ryQfyyaBFU1NPYMJtnwEfHn2Rv7Y_adw4bOT0UUPtSIjkROow8DqfsI26T2sJWQrkpCNsRI5BkE4RfCpsmvRtPk1_3tA33B34xBBGypf_KdZf1djLYITA7sexjDzyvLWS3x6H/w400-h286/Picture5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1802 James Gillray caricature illustrating fears concerning Jenner's <br />cowpox vaccine. Note the cow-like appendages erupting<br />all over the bodies of those receiving the shot! </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>What happened to this dreaded disease? See <b>Jenner’s Legacy,</b> Part 3 of <b>Edward Jenner and the First Vaccine</b>, for the answer.</p><p><br /></p><p>**</p><p>Sources for this post include:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> "The History of Anti-Vaccination Movements," <a href="https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-anti-vaccination-movements" target="_blank">The History of Vaccines</a> an Educational Resource by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, updated January 10, 2018</li><li>"History Shows Americans Have Always Been Wary of Vaccines," by Alicia Ault, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/history-shows-americans-have-always-been-wary-vaccines-180976828/" target="_blank">The Smithsonian Magazine</a>, January 26, 2021</li><li>"Smallpox: A Great and Terrible Scourge," <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/smallpox/sp_variolation.html" target="_blank">U.S. National Library of Medicine</a>, USA.gov, article last updated July 30, 2013</li></ul><p></p><div><i>Images courtesy of Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons</i></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-80304317021225970132021-05-25T11:08:00.000-07:002021-05-25T11:08:32.691-07:00Edward Jenner and the First Vaccine - Part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Kh6WjU_G1ji_7SHJDNZlBxV-gPYOurW8-X9oyqGje_Y3i5kiOQwnChXwKr2BrIxIZcgV5RDAhqP4g2zW61fEJPbVKArN_9_yS1-we4yzfrLVW0-Yfmk66zND-VjncKWymsM1wL4CFBo2/s1012/800px-Edward_Jenner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Kh6WjU_G1ji_7SHJDNZlBxV-gPYOurW8-X9oyqGje_Y3i5kiOQwnChXwKr2BrIxIZcgV5RDAhqP4g2zW61fEJPbVKArN_9_yS1-we4yzfrLVW0-Yfmk66zND-VjncKWymsM1wL4CFBo2/w316-h400/800px-Edward_Jenner.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edward Jenner<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>As I write this, much of the world is beginning to emerge from the quarantines and restrictions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic. And that's because for the past several months vaccines have been available and distributed widely. As a result, COVID-19 cases and deaths are sharply declining.</p><p>But this isn’t the first vaccine success story. During the Regency era, an English scientist and physician named Edward Jenner pioneered the development of the world's first vaccine, the smallpox vaccine. </p><p>This three-part series tells Jenner's story, which is still inspiring and relevant today.</p><p><b>The Scourge of Smallpox</b></p><p>Jenner's tale begins with the disease itself. It's impossible to overestimate the horrors of smallpox. For over a millennium it was rightly feared for the way it killed, disabled and disfigured people on a massive scale. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFa7Rwpzb4685wlMVksMZKQiFNZQ8m5wZy2SXanWc6J2QXpa_ogPx_u6s0kJFWW1HzfIprDezU7ErvBiXc6Htu62uwGS-T0XT4pb8eOCW0JnsGOJ_TO3khXameZvKw39nnIXstlqrS6Iai/s300/300px-Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="196" data-original-width="300" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFa7Rwpzb4685wlMVksMZKQiFNZQ8m5wZy2SXanWc6J2QXpa_ogPx_u6s0kJFWW1HzfIprDezU7ErvBiXc6Htu62uwGS-T0XT4pb8eOCW0JnsGOJ_TO3khXameZvKw39nnIXstlqrS6Iai/w320-h209/300px-Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ploughing in Ancient Egypt, circa 1200 BC</span></td></tr></tbody></table>No one knows exactly when smallpox first appeared to plague mankind, but there's evidence it was around as early as 10,000 B.C., in African agricultural settlements. <div><br /></div><div>It wasn't long before the disease showed up in Egypt, India and China. Throughout the Middle Ages there were intermittent, and devastating, smallpox epidemics.<p></p><p>By 18th century Europe, smallpox killed about 400,000 people every year, and blinded one-third of its survivors. The number of infected people who died from smallpox (case fatality rate) ranged from 20 to 60 percent. </p><p>The disease was especially brutal to children. According to data collected in Glasgow, a city famed for its careful record-keeping, from about 1783 to 1800 approximately half of all children who were born died before they reached the age of 10, and smallpox was responsible for 40 percent of those deaths.</p><p>Other statistics show that during the same time period the mortality rate among infants who contracted smallpox was nearly 80 percent in London and 98 percent in Berlin.</p><p>Imagine those figures – absolutely heart-breaking!</p><p>The disease did other damage, too. Survivors were usually left with disfiguring facial scars. Plus, before the vaccination era, smallpox was the chief cause of blindness throughout Europe.</p><p><b>The First Inoculations</b></p><p>Also by the 18th century it was common knowledge that if you could survive smallpox you’d be immune to it. In fact, we know that as early as 436 B.C. smallpox survivors were the ones who took care of those suffering from the disease.</p><p>Armed with this knowledge, some people decided to tackle smallpox head-on by deliberately exposing themselves to it. They developed a process called variolation, from the Latin word variola that was used at the time for smallpox.</p><p>Variolation was done by piercing the skin of an arm or leg, usually with a sharp lancet dripping with fluid from an active smallpox blister. Another method involved rubbing a piece of fluid-soaked cloth over a scratch on the skin.</p><p>This practice was used widely in Asia and the Middle East, and while it sounded barbaric to Western ears it often worked – the rate and the severity of smallpox infections dropped significantly when variolation was performed.</p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcLMvc6cxqWv9j9uedpfmBmMuRvpmdSU8l4gCNBQWsbsuOhPxGSmMF7BgXQjmBAFNvB94STu_YCgSkz25YoJ8QbATGoV65ruIDt7a2e9LJrO-itJd1zmzunVirjgdxE8ACzPUWBWG-tAq/s794/Liotard_Lady_Montagu.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="794" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcLMvc6cxqWv9j9uedpfmBmMuRvpmdSU8l4gCNBQWsbsuOhPxGSmMF7BgXQjmBAFNvB94STu_YCgSkz25YoJ8QbATGoV65ruIDt7a2e9LJrO-itJd1zmzunVirjgdxE8ACzPUWBWG-tAq/w320-h268/Liotard_Lady_Montagu.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lady Mary in Turkish dress, 1756</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Variolation Goes West</b></p><p>Variolation came to England in the early 18th century. It happened soon after Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, saw the procedure performed in Istanbul.</p><p>If anyone had a reason to hate smallpox, it was Lady Mary. Not only had her brother died from it, but a bout with smallpox in 1715 left her, once a celebrated beauty, with a badly scarred face.</p><p> While living In Turkey, Lady Mary had her 5-year-old son variolated by embassy surgeon Charles Maitland. But when she got back home, she discovered English doctors opposed this foreign practice.</p><p>That didn’t stop her. When a smallpox epidemic loomed in 1721, she insisted her 4-year-old daughter be variolated. Once again Dr. Maitland performed the procedure, but this time Lady Mary made sure royal physicians saw him do it. When Maitland also successfully variolated two daughters of the Princess of Wales in 1722, variolation became acceptable in English society. </p><p>But variolation had its downsides. The biggest drawback was the risk of the procedure going spectacularly wrong. If that happened, variolation could give someone smallpox or make them a carrier of the disease.</p><p>The concept of inoculating someone against smallpox by introducing a small amount of it into their bodies seemed to work. But how could this procedure be made not only be safer, but easier to administer to lots of people?</p><p>The answer to that question is in my next post, <b>The Genius of Jenner, Part 2 of Edward Jenner and the First Vaccine</b></p><p><b>**</b></p><div>Sources for this post include:</div><div><br /></div><div>"<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1200696/" target="_blank">Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination</a>," by Stefan Riedel, MD, PhD, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, January 2005</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</i></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-62361528771798731152021-05-16T09:55:00.012-07:002021-05-22T16:19:18.426-07:00Regency Fashion on Film: How Does Bridgerton Rate?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGunPdiFBcDmCXK1WUdyFq-XeJPW3PGZyzoUlm5F9Iyx78uEqCoiFB6tcgw6AQCSFSg2NMPSBN_stnal2o7gZlea7KJ5_v7Kdh-WYFyIYSJQBYcxjgS3ZohtBgeuN14Pxq8khidhMcIwj/s268/MV5BYjIxMzZhMTMtNDQ1Mi00OTMwLTk2M2ItYzA0YmNjNDFlOTdhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ%2540%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="182" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGunPdiFBcDmCXK1WUdyFq-XeJPW3PGZyzoUlm5F9Iyx78uEqCoiFB6tcgw6AQCSFSg2NMPSBN_stnal2o7gZlea7KJ5_v7Kdh-WYFyIYSJQBYcxjgS3ZohtBgeuN14Pxq8khidhMcIwj/w218-h320/MV5BYjIxMzZhMTMtNDQ1Mi00OTMwLTk2M2ItYzA0YmNjNDFlOTdhXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ%2540%2540._V1_UX182_CR0%252C0%252C182%252C268_AL_.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><br /><p>Last Christmas<i> Bridgerton</i>, the Netflix series based on the best-selling Regency romances of Julia Quinn, took the viewing public by storm. It’s quickly become the most popular show ever streamed on Netflix with a record-breaking 82 million households watching it. Season 2 is now in production, and the streaming service has renewed the series for Seasons 3 and 4. </p><p>Like many who love the Regency Era, I have mixed feelings about the show’s success. This is no gentle comedy of manners. The steamy sex scenes go far beyond anything Jane Austen ever wrote about in her novels. What's even more problematic, the show contains many anachronisms.</p><p><span><b>Fashion anachronisms</b></span></p><p><span>E</span>ver since <i>Bridgerton's</i> debut, there's been debate about the costumes, focusing on how accurately they do or do not reflect the period. </p><p>From what I can tell, fashion historians can forgive most of the show's anachronisms, such as women going about town without proper headgear, or wearing clothes dyed in vivid colors that simply weren’t available during the early 19th century (think Penelope Featherington’s vibrant yellow gowns). </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKsQUu5dmaGc6x6PKFug-JK5zvmteDnYA1VKrzcVL3c2GUfsZ2kG9g-KiYgFSt-Wa0L44SHCaw4u7GgeR1bGIuEoVgBDE1PVSLvu4_o9-mCwm9Y_PQCRW7GEq7oWKAE2nKMVyf7a1Qtj8/s875/ma-47155-WEB.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKsQUu5dmaGc6x6PKFug-JK5zvmteDnYA1VKrzcVL3c2GUfsZ2kG9g-KiYgFSt-Wa0L44SHCaw4u7GgeR1bGIuEoVgBDE1PVSLvu4_o9-mCwm9Y_PQCRW7GEq7oWKAE2nKMVyf7a1Qtj8/w256-h400/ma-47155-WEB.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>However, corsets as shown in the series are another matter. <div><br /></div><div><b>Corsets</b><br /><p></p><p>To begin with, <i>Bridgerton</i>'s actors don't wear chemises under their corsets to protect their skin, like corset-wearing women in the past have always done.</p><p>But a real sticking point for many fashion historians is how these Regency women are portrayed wearing tightly laced corsets - corsets that look suspiciously Victorian.</p><p>That's a problem, because Regency fashions mostly didn't require boned undergarments.</p><p>During the this period, especially the years<i> Bridgerton </i>is set, fashionable women wore loosely fitted gowns, tied under the bust. </p><p>This Neoclassical style was inspired by a revival of interest in ancient Greco-Roman art, and prompted by statues depicting women wearing unstructured, draped tunics. Empress Josephine, a big fashion influencer of her time, made this style all the rage. </p><p>Interestingly, the urge to dress like the ancient Greeks didn’t affect men – you don’t see fashionable Regency bucks wearing togas! </p><p><b>Tight-lacing</b></p><p>It's not just the appearance of corsets that seems wrong in <i>Bridgerton. </i>What raises the hackles of fashion historians are<i> </i>corsets shown being laced tightly to create small waists.</p><p>Regency gowns in 1813 didn’t show the waist, so despite what we see in the series<i> </i>there was no need for a tight, waist-cinching corset. </p><p>The scene where Prudence Featherington is laced to the point of pain into her corset prior to being presented at court makes no sense as soon as Prudence dons her elegant high-waisted gown. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8FDM1q8k4JQjMQJNq5fR1Lq61-2keqrV5qR8LApVZACnm7HGI2eA9qcxlX3nCsy_CDPDWH2eo8bYbiCbW1Qb_ESD5YtIhw6avlwlYR_YTJuYSBejTcIHjhH7yxYbxVqTqGUw0DLjHJZ3/s1146/default.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="729" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8FDM1q8k4JQjMQJNq5fR1Lq61-2keqrV5qR8LApVZACnm7HGI2eA9qcxlX3nCsy_CDPDWH2eo8bYbiCbW1Qb_ESD5YtIhw6avlwlYR_YTJuYSBejTcIHjhH7yxYbxVqTqGUw0DLjHJZ3/w255-h400/default.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Proper court attire</b> </p><p>That scene makes even less sense given the dress code women at court had to follow in 1813. Queen Charlotte required all the ladies to wear hoop skirts -- the fashion of the Queen's youth in the 18th century. </p><p>Though willing to obey the Queen's dictates, these affluent aristocratic women were also eager to wear the latest fashions. </p><p>So, they just put hoops under their empire-style gowns. The result was often an unflattering mish-mash of styles. The court gowns totally obliterated the natural waist line, making their wearers look, in my opinion, like they were in the late stages of pregnancy. </p><p>If you think I'm exaggerating, just look at the print of the Princess of Wales in 1807 wearing her court dress. </p><p>Imagine sylph-like Daphne Bridgerton or any of the Featherington sisters wearing such ridiculous gowns. No wonder the <i>Bridgerton </i>costume designers took liberties with history when it came to the scenes at Queen Charlotte's court.</p><p><span><b>Stays</b></span></p><p><span>C</span>orsets the way we know them today weren’t even worn during the Regency. If a woman wanted or needed support or smoothing under her gown, she wore an undergarment called stays, which were a precursor to the corset. </p><p>Regency stays were longer than a corset, covering more of a woman's body. See the image in this post depicting a woman being laced into her stays by her maid circa 1810, and note the garment's long line.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeLWoDriTgp55wGUKrczxCgpjDkO3-nt8iOWwjdfsKJ0J-VJO-Gy0QXCejBal5mQdWOjDvct5gP9kQWU8JxUqhER5dJgF6mB4di29izcPPitwmUrJz3g_izL8YabzCzwz6Egp3ejZPZsf/s998/800px-A_woman_standing_at_a_dressing_table_while_a_maidservant_lac_Wellcome_V0019929.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeLWoDriTgp55wGUKrczxCgpjDkO3-nt8iOWwjdfsKJ0J-VJO-Gy0QXCejBal5mQdWOjDvct5gP9kQWU8JxUqhER5dJgF6mB4di29izcPPitwmUrJz3g_izL8YabzCzwz6Egp3ejZPZsf/w257-h320/800px-A_woman_standing_at_a_dressing_table_while_a_maidservant_lac_Wellcome_V0019929.jpg" title="A maid lacing stays in 1810" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>In the centuries before the Regency period, stays were sometimes laced tightly to give a woman a small waist. Padding the hips with wide side hoops called panniers also made a women’s waist look comparatively tiny. <p></p><p>Many women, especially the younger ones, dispensed with padding or constrictive undergarments altogether in the early 19th century. Others, though, kept wearing stays to help them achieve the fashionable slendar silhouette under their columnar gowns. </p><p><b>Exceptions</b></p><p>With those loose gowns, tight-lacing was more or less unnecessary during most of the Regency Era. However, that doesn’t mean the practice was unheard of. </p><div><p>Here’s a contemporary account (1810) describing the use of stays. First, the writer observes that stays were no longer made with whalebone or hardened leather, but instead contained iron or steel bars that were 3 or 4-inches wide and 18-inches long iron. </p><p>That sounds like a torture device. But there’s more. </p><p>The writer adds that it was by “no means uncommon to see a mother lay her daughter down upon the carpet, and placing her foot on her back, break half-a-dozen laces in tightening her stays.” </p><p>What a vivid image! Perhaps poor Prudence’s corset-lacing scene in <i>Bridgerton</i> isn’t so far-fetched after all. </p></div><p></p></div><div><b>Tight-lacing makes a come-back</b></div><div><p>By the end of the Regency period defined waistlines were creeping back into fashion. It didn’t take long for small waists to become a fashion obsession once again and tight-lacing a concern, as this satiric cartoon, titled "A cutting wind," from the 1820s demonstrates:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7RMEN83Qli7drviMeX7YHmgdaYhrupKRTtSe8dKkDBzKik8C9-qkTRNdvwR2YunIj0X21n0C1JkUY44LJ3SDGCv6AykAa1KR198PZvPHLIW0uNVF_5Bs56y0LPLG7xB4ZTMo7pUVnHKP/s491/Fatal_effects_of_tight-lacing_cropped.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="491" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7RMEN83Qli7drviMeX7YHmgdaYhrupKRTtSe8dKkDBzKik8C9-qkTRNdvwR2YunIj0X21n0C1JkUY44LJ3SDGCv6AykAa1KR198PZvPHLIW0uNVF_5Bs56y0LPLG7xB4ZTMo7pUVnHKP/w400-h331/Fatal_effects_of_tight-lacing_cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Creative vision behind the series</b></p><p>Fashion historians have a valid point about the anachronisms on display in<i> Bridgerton.</i> However, the series was never meant to be a painstakingly accurate view of Regency styles and manners, so I think it’s unfair to hold its costume designers to a rigid standard. </p><p>If you want to see the Regency dress portrayed on film more accurately, look no further than the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. </p><p><i>Bridgerton</i> is an entertaining Regency-set fantasy, taking place in an parallel universe where racial diversity exists at the highest levels of British society. Its resounding success with the public is due to the bold and creative way producers Shonda Rimes and Betsy Beers interpreted Quinn’s novels, on several levels, for Netflix. </p><p>The genius of Rimes and Beers collaboration has been recognized in their industry. Just last April they were awarded the 2021 Distinguished Collaborator Award by the Costume Designer’s Guild. </p><p>For a more detailed historical analysis of <i>Bridgerton's</i> costumes<i> </i>here’s fashion historian Raissa Bretaña for <i>Glamour</i>:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qmsBbBZlf_Y" width="320" youtube-src-id="qmsBbBZlf_Y"></iframe></div><br /><p>So, you won't find period-appropriate bonnets or underwear in <i>Bridgerton</i>. It's the alternative world view and passionate relationships, not historically accurate costuming, that's made the show so popular with viewers.</p><p>In fact, when it comes to proper Regency attire, some of the characters doff their clothes so often it’s hard to remember what they're wearing in some scenes.</p><p>But even <i>Bridgerton</i>'s severest costume critics have to agree that despite any anachronisms, the series has introduced a host of new fans to our favorite time period. </p><p>After all, never has the Regency Era been so much fun to watch!</p><p>**</p><p>Sources for this post include: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Corsets and Crinolines</i>, by Norah Waugh, Theatre Arts Books/Methuen, New York, copyright 1954.</li><li><i>Bras: A Thousand Years of Style, Support and Seduction</i>, by Stephanie Pedersen, a David and Charles Book, published in the United Kingdom, 2004. </li></ul><p></p><div><br /></div><div><i>Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, the University of Washington Libraries <a href="https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/costumehist/id/448/rec/2" target="_blank">Digital Collection</a>, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (<a href="https://collections.lacma.org/node/252620" target="_blank">LACMA</a>)</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-79594003270717744392020-10-23T10:53:00.002-07:002021-05-16T12:20:28.648-07:00Regency thrills and chills: Jane Austen's "horrid novels"<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHKE4aVaIZM4OIOGt8hwu7CoTNHFXB9o9iKAVgDK25I4Xy9GBAOhb8U6eSeoiEozKEsLLufFvmYEAMThKeDuUhMKgVovprZRTSYAqDs-USXJF4cp_YxlGNFQhdWRDAZxxoR7o0cMReiYk/s960/gothic-1662756_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="960" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHKE4aVaIZM4OIOGt8hwu7CoTNHFXB9o9iKAVgDK25I4Xy9GBAOhb8U6eSeoiEozKEsLLufFvmYEAMThKeDuUhMKgVovprZRTSYAqDs-USXJF4cp_YxlGNFQhdWRDAZxxoR7o0cMReiYk/w640-h422/gothic-1662756_960_720.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Do you think that the popularity of dark, scary thrillers is a recent phenomenon? If you do, I’d like to introduce you to the “horrid novels” of the Regency era – just in time to add to your Halloween reading list.</p><p>If you read Austen’s<i> Northanger Abbey</i> you’ll find a discussion of seven "horrid" novels that the worldly Isabella Thorpe insists that Catherine Morland, the naïve young heroine, read straight away. Not only were these stories familiar to Jane Austen, she satirizes them in <i>Northanger Abbey. </i></p><p>In Austen's story, 17-year-old Catherine is heavily influenced by the Gothic novels she reads. As a result she believes she sees evidence of sinister deeds, including murder, when she visits her friend's home, Northanger Abbey. Before we can get to a happy ending, Catherine must mature, rein in her imagination and appreciate the difference between fiction and real life. </p><p><b>The Horrid Novels</b></p><p>Here are the seven Gothic novels (with their actual publication dates) that Isabella Thorpe recommends to Catherine Morland in Austen's sprightly tale. For over a century scholars thought that Austen made up some of these book titles, but further research proved that all of these books actually did exist. </p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Castle of Wolfenbach</i>, by Eliza Parsons (1793)</li><li><i>Clermont</i>, by Regina Maria Roche (1798)</li><li><i>The Mysterious Warning</i>, by Eliza Parsons (1796)</li><li><i>The Necromancer, or The Tale of the Black Forest,</i> by Ludwig Flammenberg (1794)</li><li><i>The Midnight Bell</i>, by Francis Lathom (1798)</li><li><i>The Orphan of the Rhine,</i> by Eleanor Sleath (1798)</li><li><i>The Horrid Mysteries</i>, by Carl Grosse (1796) - translated from German by Peter Will</li></ol><p></p><p>Austen also has her heroine discuss two other books that were wildly popular at the time: <i>The Italian</i> (1797) and Catherine's favorite, <i>The Mysteries of Udolpho </i>(1794), both by Ann Radcliffe. Radcliffe, an English author whose lifetime encompassed the Regency, is considered a pioneering Gothic novelist, and her five bestsellers made her the highest-paid professional writer of the 1790s. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Some Characteristics of 18th-19th Century Gothic Novels</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaH87C4gii-A2LeQ4imwDbMra0uAx7DWXk-4F5hK-BtvjvqaMVmdI7OcUGiZ-V0SMJO-fOvckuITsCeIy0MyN__SBmdHr3ptjHqtvE0vMFARJG7CzTM3LIYx82x9gudcuajh9ujd_ueSET/s511/haunted-castle-1802413__340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="511" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaH87C4gii-A2LeQ4imwDbMra0uAx7DWXk-4F5hK-BtvjvqaMVmdI7OcUGiZ-V0SMJO-fOvckuITsCeIy0MyN__SBmdHr3ptjHqtvE0vMFARJG7CzTM3LIYx82x9gudcuajh9ujd_ueSET/w320-h243/haunted-castle-1802413__340.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div>Though the storylines and the settings varied somewhat, Gothic fiction during Jane Austen's time had several common characteristics. </div><div><br /></div><div>An atmosphere of mystery was a given, along with plenty of drama, fear and suspense. Here are few other important elements that crop up often in these tales:<div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRz_Cy27pP-fnczTKrAjfKGKE0wliOc5FMiAoZO_ooJL2lmiMYIsmAIZ333u5u43X1Hkwrty6hVCOwbSkDblSAfMq3v-lg9YmQyEztCB6KDUug5VFCKagNESdvssFDupcAgy-fV452WfU1/s720/spirit-5534411_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRz_Cy27pP-fnczTKrAjfKGKE0wliOc5FMiAoZO_ooJL2lmiMYIsmAIZ333u5u43X1Hkwrty6hVCOwbSkDblSAfMq3v-lg9YmQyEztCB6KDUug5VFCKagNESdvssFDupcAgy-fV452WfU1/w235-h320/spirit-5534411_960_720.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>A crumbling, gloomy manor house or castle, preferably haunted, with a mysterious and dark history</li><li>Paranormal events and/or supernatural manifestations- i.e. ghosts</li><li>A dastardly villain (dark and brooding, but somehow compelling)</li><li>A brave hero (who may also be dark and brooding) </li><li>A beautiful, persecuted heroine who is also virtuous and brave</li><li>And, of course, Romance (with a capital R)</li></ul><p></p><p>Later Gothic fiction also featured monsters, such as <i>Frankenstein</i>, written by Mary Shelley in 1818, and the titular vampire in Bram Stoker's <i>Dracula</i>, written in 1897. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Gothic Fiction and Film Today</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gothic fiction, and especially its sub-genre Gothic horror fiction, is every bit as popular today as it was during the Regency era. Vampires are espeically well-received by the reading public. Notable examples include the <i>Twilight</i> series by Stephenie Meyer, Anne Rice's <i>Interview with the Vampire, </i>and Charlaine Harris's <i>The Southern Vampire Mysteries</i>, which was adapted for television as the HBO series<i> True Blood</i>. <p></p><p>Gothic-inspired novels, like many of those written by Stephen King, translate especially well into film and also appeal to modern-day horror fans. So do the marvelously weird and creative films of Tim Burton, including <i>Beetlejuice, Dark Shadows</i>, <i>The Nightmare Before Christmas</i>, <i>Corpse Bride</i>, and his version of <i>Alice in Wonderland.</i></p><p>I guess it all comes down to whether, or how, you like to be scared, especially on Halloween. As for me, I like humor with my frights. So, on that note I'll leave you with a funny scene from the modern Gothic film classic <i>Beetlejuice</i>, when a dinner party in a haunted house goes horridly astray. </p><p>Happy Halloween!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AQXVHITd1N4" width="320" youtube-src-id="AQXVHITd1N4"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><b><i>Images courtesy of Pixabay</i></b><p></p></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-27777788025014571032020-08-25T11:39:00.001-07:002021-05-16T12:16:03.144-07:00Caroline of Brunswick: England's "Injured Queen"<p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OMRe-wHTWg0dfu4fBfpUJ1wkLXektn-1uQs05cYbeqG6VyS2_R7uaXB9NJv4GifsMW1d-F6Sa8aOXdGgWOrpqdE7FC6sS_k7fJ5U-dzYna3A3x4FxQQAEWMtaeGglPPLydJ8EfM7G2aH/s278/220px-Caroline_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%25C3%25BCttel.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5OMRe-wHTWg0dfu4fBfpUJ1wkLXektn-1uQs05cYbeqG6VyS2_R7uaXB9NJv4GifsMW1d-F6Sa8aOXdGgWOrpqdE7FC6sS_k7fJ5U-dzYna3A3x4FxQQAEWMtaeGglPPLydJ8EfM7G2aH/w317-h400/220px-Caroline_of_Brunswick-Wolfenb%25C3%25BCttel.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1804 portrait of Caroline, Princess of Wales</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>August can be an unlucky month for European royalty, and that was especially true during the Regency. Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena in August of 1815. And in August of 1821 Caroline of Brunswick, the unacknowledged Queen of England, died a lonely death in London just three weeks after her estranged husband, the erstwhile “Prinny” or Prince Regent, was crowned King George lV.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FuA2VhQhQ-VFDW16Jino5dr7OZnifJY3I3U7FmjDoC3OI3lrL7RtC5RODIupGCrqhh9gwhaL6pLBiFOdGJwRtdv8u7oG5ONeics3qRMagKjWsbG_uj33OrrI3jMc2QGqCrEKekCohQ-O/s359/220px-Dupont_-_Caroline_of_Brunswick%252C_Princess_of_Wales+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="220" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0FuA2VhQhQ-VFDW16Jino5dr7OZnifJY3I3U7FmjDoC3OI3lrL7RtC5RODIupGCrqhh9gwhaL6pLBiFOdGJwRtdv8u7oG5ONeics3qRMagKjWsbG_uj33OrrI3jMc2QGqCrEKekCohQ-O/w245-h400/220px-Dupont_-_Caroline_of_Brunswick%252C_Princess_of_Wales+%25282%2529.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1795 portrait of Caroline</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><h3>An arranged marriage </h3><div>Caroline was unlucky throughout her life. Growing up in the German province of Brunswick, she was kept secluded by her family. They were especially determined to keep her away from the opposite sex. <div><br /></div><div>Her companions were mostly elderly females and governesses. She was sent to her room when guests came over and usually couldn't go to court functions or balls. And when she was permitted to attend a ball, she wasn't allowed to dance. <p></p><p>She had even less luck in her married life.</p><p>Caroline’s husband, chosen for her, was the Prince of Wales, the future Prince Regent and King George IV of England.</p><p>She was by no means his one and only. By the time Prinny was considering marriage, he’d already had several mistresses and had even entered into an illegal marriage with a Catholic woman, Maria Fitzherbert. Though the marriage was never valid, Prinny referred to Maria as his wife for years after his marriage to Caroline. </p><p>The only reason Prinny agreed to legally wed Caroline, or any woman at all, was because he was deeply in debt - millions of dollars in today's money. He regularly exceeded his generous annual allowance, and his lavish spending was taking its toll on the government coffers. </p><p>King George III refused to settle his son's debts unless Prinny married an eligible princess. Prinny reluctantly agreed, on the condition that his allowance was to be doubled in addition to his debts being paid. </p><p>And that’s how Caroline of Brunswick came into the picture. She was the daughter of the Duke of Brunswick and Princess Augusta. Her illustrious mother was the sister of King George III, which made her Prinny’s aunt. Not only was Caroline an eligible, <i>Protestant</i> princess, but the Prince's marriage to her would further strengthen the alliance between England and Brunswick. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Meeting her prince</h3><p>Even though Caroline and George were first cousins they’d never met. There were no photographs in those days, so the young couple relied on carefully crafted painted portraits to “see” each other – sort of like the 18th-century version of Tinder. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuqEHW7SkT9WGFB55rmaKE6faZ-XWQ-lxzqG6R0gdcdzgBvtJJ4hbK53YdOsQFoeF8d4fO-TeiO-Hx5vtyRnwxDXoLGLZpQgGENytMk-uQdq7JT8X7pOzFKQbOevsZcmA__vvE-GbO8kd/s236/170px-GeorgeIV1792.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="236" data-original-width="170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXuqEHW7SkT9WGFB55rmaKE6faZ-XWQ-lxzqG6R0gdcdzgBvtJJ4hbK53YdOsQFoeF8d4fO-TeiO-Hx5vtyRnwxDXoLGLZpQgGENytMk-uQdq7JT8X7pOzFKQbOevsZcmA__vvE-GbO8kd/w231-h320/170px-GeorgeIV1792.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1792 miniature of Prinny</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>But painted portraits, designed to flatter their subjects, can lie. When Caroline and George finally saw each other, right before their wedding, both were disappointed in their future mates. <p></p><div>When Prinny first met his future bride he was taken aback. Caroline at 27 wasn't bad-looking, and some sources even describe her as pretty at this stage in her life, with golden curls. But she was short and rather heavy, graceless, and loud. She was also careless about her personal hygiene and had to be reminded to bathe more often and change her underclothes. </div><div><br /></div><div>You could see why someone as fussy and fastidious as the Prince would be appalled. After meeting Caroline, Prinny reportedly asked for a glass of brandy and retreated to the far corner of the room.</div><p>And Caroline later commented that her intended was “very fat and he's nothing like as handsome as his portrait." </p><p>She was also unhappy with the Prince's obvious preference for the company of Lady Jersey, who was his mistress at the time. Prinny had sent Lady Jersey to meet his future bride when Caroline landed in England, and he also made his mistress his future wife's Lady of the Bedchamber. </p><p>But despite these red flags, the royal pair went through with the wedding anyway, on April 8, 1795.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Off to a bad start</h3><p>However, these bad first impressions congealed into real antipathy on the Prince’s side. He insisted later he only had sexual relations with his wife three times – twice after the wedding and once a week later. In any event, it was enough to conceive their only child, Princess Charlotte. Though they shared a residence (Carlton House) the couple unoffically separated within weeks of their marriage. After Charlotte was born, Caroline moved out, establishing herself in a rented place close to Blackheath.</p><p>His dynastic duty done, Prinny proceeded to publicly ignore his wife. As much as he could arrange it, she wasn't part of his life. She wasn't invited to his parties or court functions. He severely restricted her access to her child, insisting that a nurse or governess had to be with her when she visited the baby.</p><p>As far as the Prince of Wales was concerned, his legal wife didn't exist. He continued to exceed his allowance, overspending money on his palaces, clothes, mistresses, and entertainment.</p><p>And in the years that followed, stories began to circulate that the neglected Caroline had taken lovers – rumors that led to a "delicate invesitgation" into her conduct in 1806. During the investigation Caroline was not allowed to see her daughter at all, and even after the charges of infidelity were proved groundless Caroline's vists with Charlotte were further restricted to once a week, and only in the presence of her mother, the Dowager Duchess of Brunswick. </p><p>Is it any wonder that Caroline fled England and into a self-imposed exile? In 1814 she went to Italy, but soon tales of her eccentric and scandalous behavior on the Continent reached England. One persistent rumor, which may very well have been true, claimed she was having an affair with her married Italian secretary, Bartolomeo Pergami. There were also unsubstantiated rumors of an illegitimate child. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMqZ6VaUTZ8rP-1sePI1IjyrFh2xumP2DPFOm1Ayq-_xILT8Iye9N90zj0wblaOlHefANuN2wr6FTX2P81zv7wYDcntmCroeTCyRHf7yTjfZS2yQq8hkpBOpt_8DRVPkg4hii81p-7uW-/s1015/800px-A-voluptuary.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMqZ6VaUTZ8rP-1sePI1IjyrFh2xumP2DPFOm1Ayq-_xILT8Iye9N90zj0wblaOlHefANuN2wr6FTX2P81zv7wYDcntmCroeTCyRHf7yTjfZS2yQq8hkpBOpt_8DRVPkg4hii81p-7uW-/w315-h400/800px-A-voluptuary.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1792 caricature of Prinny </span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Meanwhile, the Prince continued his extravagant lifestyle. He kept his wife ignorant of what was going on with their daughter, who got married in 1817. <p></p><p>Even when Charlotte died in childbirth in 1819, Caroline wasn't informed of the tragic news directly by her husband. She had to find out from a stranger. </p><p>Charlotte's death and the death of her stillborn son made Caroline's position in the royal family even more tenuous. As Prinny's estranged wife, she had much less clout than she would have had as the mother and grandmother of heirs to the throne.</p><p>So when mad old King George III died in 1820 and it was Prinny’s turn to become King, Caroline decided it was time to return to England. She was determined to claim her rightful role as Queen Consort. </p><p>The new King, however, was equally determined that she would never sit beside him on the throne. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A determined divorce attempt</h3><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmVEayu3RCMXllcCa5NdUVeJyc8jqHrKWbWkWusRNlrn6-pvgcJKECbUdYw9VWFE-F1vC4C_aC8JsfPQuZTySvrzBW4hUeoX4BSC_58q-SFkF8o_xVfmlOfP8XWN_cJych3re99ldcSrs/s587/Modesty_1821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="479" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmVEayu3RCMXllcCa5NdUVeJyc8jqHrKWbWkWusRNlrn6-pvgcJKECbUdYw9VWFE-F1vC4C_aC8JsfPQuZTySvrzBW4hUeoX4BSC_58q-SFkF8o_xVfmlOfP8XWN_cJych3re99ldcSrs/w326-h400/Modesty_1821.jpg" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">1821 cartoon of Pergami and Caroline in Genoa</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>In August of 1820 Prinny tried to divorce Caroline through the mechanism of a special “Bill of Pains and Penalties" in Parliament. If passed, the bill would have denied Caroline her title as well as nullify her marriage to the King. </p><p>With great solemnity Caroline was put on trial, accused of infidelity and grossly improper conduct while she was living in Italy. </p><p>Italian servants who had witnessed her interactions with Pergami were called to testify against her, while character witnesses spoke in favor of the queen. </p><p>That autumn the trial was the topic of gossip and conversation in every London drawing room and country cottage. For three months it consumed the public's attention, eclipsing any other news.</p><p>But in the end, Prinny's scheme failed. Caroline was simply too popular with the people of Great Britain. Despite her wayward behavior, the general public sympathized with her. </p><p>The British people detested their prince for his years of immoral living and lavish spending while they endured economic hardships due to the expensive wars waged against Napoleon. They also blamed him for his harsh treatment of the woman he was joined to by the sanctity of marriage. </p><p>So the new king's subjects rallied to the defense of their queen with petitions and a million signatures. In November the bill was withdrawn. </p><p>Prinny was frustrated. The elaborate July 19, 1821, coronation he'd planned for himself was fast approaching, and he was adamant that he wasn't going to share his special day with his unwanted wife. </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">An uncrowned queen</h3><p>When coronation day came, Prinny not only didn't invite Caroline, he gave orders that she was not to be admitted to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony. She showed up anyway and banged on the doors, demanding to be let in. She was turned away.</p><p>Defeated, the unacknowledged Queen went back to her lodgings at Brandenburg House in Hammersmith. On July 30 she fell ill, and she died about a week later at the age of 53. The date was August 7, 1821- coincidentally six years to the day that Napoleon was forced to leave English shores for exile on St. Helena. </p><p>Prinny may have been able to command his guards to bar Caroline from his coronation, but he couldn’t command his people to forsake their uncrowned Queen. Caroline’s funeral cortège was mobbed as it made its way through London to the port at Harwich. </p><p>Initially, officials decided to have the procession avoid the city on its way to the coast, but throngs of mourners blocked the intended route and forced a rerouting through London and Westminster. Guards who tried to control the unruly crowd with drawn sabers had rocks and bricks thrown at them. </p><p>At Harwich, Caroline's remains were put on a ship destined for Germany. At her request, Caroline was buried in Brunswick Cathedral. She’d left instructions for her casket plate to read "Here lies Caroline, the Injured Queen of England." </p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Jane Austen weighs in </h3><p></p><p>Like most of the British public, Jane Austen had an opinion on the squabbles between the royal couple. She was firmly on what today we’d call “Team Caroline.” </p><p>Here’s what she wrote in a letter to a friend in 1813 about Caroline, who was then the Princess of Wales:</p><p><i>“Poor woman, I shall support her as long as I can, because she is a Woman, & because I hate her Husband . . . but if I must give up the Princess, I am resolved at least always to think that she would have been respectable, if the Prince had behaved only tolerably by her at first.”</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOT2604z8lN3_ckyvPtrcguMhUnBYfVhSZxr-lvQ27PVite8WT6jZ-R0VtH47d-z2mGwinqJ5gv3f_kW2JDAdKDpI1V_4dteu0R3JpeXP_m3u8rdkzaGJpSSzO2OI5OvJeAXfGi6oeJpR/s387/Wedding_of_Charles%252C_Prince_of_Wales%252C_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer_photo.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="264" data-original-width="387" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEOT2604z8lN3_ckyvPtrcguMhUnBYfVhSZxr-lvQ27PVite8WT6jZ-R0VtH47d-z2mGwinqJ5gv3f_kW2JDAdKDpI1V_4dteu0R3JpeXP_m3u8rdkzaGJpSSzO2OI5OvJeAXfGi6oeJpR/w400-h273/Wedding_of_Charles%252C_Prince_of_Wales%252C_and_Lady_Diana_Spencer_photo.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Charles and Diana at their wedding on July 19, 1981</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A modern parallel</h3><p></p><p>In our time there was another Prince and Princess of Wales who had an unhappy marriage, and that marriage has often been compared to Prinny and Caroline’s unfortunate union. Like Caroline, Diana was much more popular than her husband, and Diana had to endure the humiliation of her husband’s very public extramarital affair. And like Caroline, Diana also died in August, although Diana died violently in a horrific car crash as she was being chased through the streets and tunnels of Paris by camera-wielding paparazzi. </p><p>But I don’t think the comparison between the two royal marriages holds up. Charles is no George IV, a man who was silly, vain, and frequently cruel to his wife and daughter. </p><p>And the problems in Charles and Diana’s troubled marriage were intensified by the relentless pursuit of shocking headlines by an insatiable media. George and Caroline may have been lampooned by the press of their day, but their experience was nothing like their 20th-century counterparts had to endure.</p><p>In the end, the factors and personalities involved in the breakdown of these two royal marriages are unique to each case. As Tolstoy observed in his novel <i>Anna Karenina</i>, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." </p><p>Caroline of Brunswick undoubtedly felt unloved and unwanted by her husband. And that’s an injury no royal title can’t heal. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Sources include:</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency 1811-20</i>, by J.B. Priestley, Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1969.</li><li><i>Our Tempestuous Day</i>, by Carolly Erickson, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1986.</li><li><i>An Elegant Madness, High Society in Regency England</i>, by Venetia Murray, Viking (Penguin Putnam, Inc.) New York, 1999.</li><li><i>The Regency Companion</i>, by Sharon Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin, Garland Publishing Inc., New York and London, 1989.</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons<br /></b></i></div></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-70141063954071057412020-08-15T10:45:00.001-07:002021-05-16T12:16:39.849-07:00Napoleon's last cruise<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlhuoweR0yb1y7WRLCyHuyc6TSFxDWjJe15dDeAWnAwJEAoN-l5-DlUGhkoq2Jb920c3D0gBgDrwsYe-cwQw3MC8PKIeDimzhJorB3O0GnrtXOT79QUuLa8XvQxTOb3eqr0tBgePjlvF1/s1276/St-Helena-view-when-leaving.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlhuoweR0yb1y7WRLCyHuyc6TSFxDWjJe15dDeAWnAwJEAoN-l5-DlUGhkoq2Jb920c3D0gBgDrwsYe-cwQw3MC8PKIeDimzhJorB3O0GnrtXOT79QUuLa8XvQxTOb3eqr0tBgePjlvF1/s640/St-Helena-view-when-leaving.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">On deck looking towards St. Helena (photo by Andrew Neaum, CC BY-SA 3.0)</span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>In this strange pandemic year, most summer cruises have been canceled. But during another summer 205 years ago it was a different story for at least one man. </p><p>That August the former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, set out unwillingly on a special cruise, designed just for him. His ship was no luxury liner; it was more like a prison transport, taking him to his final place of exile. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Consequences of Waterloo</h4><p>I doubt Napoleon knew he’d wind up in St. Helena after the British coalition of armies led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army commanded by Field Marshal von Blücher decisively defeated the French forces at the <a href="http://www.regencylookingglass.com/2019/06/echoes-of-waterloo.html" target="_blank">Battle of Waterloo</a> on June 18, 1815. But Napoleon probably suspected that his glorious career as a general and an emperor had run its course.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXqAScALYHdMZoGxfhAH9n4IAS_z8MZXHxse-kNI-J0dtZP7IM50QkyovPQj5pKjQDje-zgIpv2RZ5mKWhe0rVEkyzIAtzrVbTy_noB_eta3D0h2Ef68_5CHtEdZV_6EGJuycKGKqiFDc/s1024/1024px-Saint_Helena_on_the_Globe_%2528in_the_United_Kingdom%2529.svg.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXqAScALYHdMZoGxfhAH9n4IAS_z8MZXHxse-kNI-J0dtZP7IM50QkyovPQj5pKjQDje-zgIpv2RZ5mKWhe0rVEkyzIAtzrVbTy_noB_eta3D0h2Ef68_5CHtEdZV_6EGJuycKGKqiFDc/w320-h320/1024px-Saint_Helena_on_the_Globe_%2528in_the_United_Kingdom%2529.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Helena, circled in red, on a map</span></span></p><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Napoleon’s first stop after his defeat was Paris. There he methodically prepared for the next phase of his life. After all, it wasn’t the first time he’d lost a battle and been forced into exile. </p><p>However, Napoleon’s exile to Elba in 1814 following the Treaty of Fontainebleau was upended when the emperor managed to escape to France and assemble another army. </p><p>Napoleon must have realized that the British were determined not to let history repeat itself. This time, the consequences of defeat would have to mean permanent exile. However, Napoleon wanted to exert some control over where he would spend the rest of his life. </p><p>But first, he had business to attend to. In Paris, he abdicated his throne in favor of his son. Which incidentally didn’t work – the French throne went to Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI, the unfortunate monarch who was guillotined during the French Revolution.</p><p>The next step in Napoleon’s retirement plan was to escape France and go to the United States. He was even promised a passport to the U.S. by the French provisional government.</p><p>But the promised passport never materialized. So Napoleon decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to Rochefort, a port on the southwestern coast of France. Still determined to go to the U.S., he hoped to slip past the Royal Navy blockade. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-_WB4i3iXwN9kAj19qD1bjKpsAQdFx6zl4ZbpQupCR-X0BqYHfQSUXehbo8ow359qQRhimLlO5mhfDYqHXD3t7W82kzYHK8BmkPepZjANZWhAPeChkV4CrMBm2lCxRq3OK1yPPI-P4ZI/s1139/800px-Eastlake_-_Napoleon_on_the_Bellerophon.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-_WB4i3iXwN9kAj19qD1bjKpsAQdFx6zl4ZbpQupCR-X0BqYHfQSUXehbo8ow359qQRhimLlO5mhfDYqHXD3t7W82kzYHK8BmkPepZjANZWhAPeChkV4CrMBm2lCxRq3OK1yPPI-P4ZI/w225-h320/800px-Eastlake_-_Napoleon_on_the_Bellerophon.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On the <i>Bellerophon </i>in Plymouth, 1815<br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><h4>A thwarted escape </h4></div><div>But Napoleon’s dreams of escape evaporated when he saw the tall ships of the Royal Navy blocking every conceivable exit. So, on July 15, 1815, Napoleon accepted the inevitable and surrendered to Captain Frederick Maitland aboard the HMS <i>Bellerophon</i>, a British man-of-war anchored off the small island of Aix near Rochefort. <p></p><p>“I have come to put myself under the protection of your prince [that would be the Prince Regent] and your laws,” said the man who was once a feared British foe.</p><p>Next, the<i> Bellerophon </i>carried the former Emperor of the French (now known simply as General Bonaparte) to Plymouth and Torquay Harbour on the north shore of Tor Bay. At Torquay Napoleon stayed on the ship, becoming a tourist attraction for the curious who clustered onto small boats and rowed out into the English Channel hoping to catch a glimpse of the defeated emperor. </p><p>If Napoleon thought he’d ever get off a Royal Navy ship while in England he was sadly mistaken. British officials vowed they wouldn’t make the same blunder they’d made in 1814. So they decided to exile their old enemy to a remote location far away from Europe and any chance of a comeback. On July 31 Napoleon was told that he was headed for St. Helena, an island off the coast of Africa.</p><p>Concerned that the aging <i>Bellerophon</i> couldn’t make the voyage, the Navy transferred Napoleon to another ship, the HMS <i>Northumberland</i>, which set sail for St. Helena on August 7, finally leaving British waters on August 9. </p><p>Napoleon left the British Isles without ever having set foot on British soil. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">St. Helena in 1815</h4><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHAEi4_Mz4vnjoe31rvxXfKtAHY-drsd-FKThGyl-UM2zvztGZtNCDQpMi1C9-ve36dTAaljLMChu6Hg6-ZzAIEWeSRYndy6cz7SUQXxHg8FWvI34pcT_9MXttzPQijfINrNgy5ZX-e9B/s224/Napoleon_on_HMS_Northumberland-Denzil_Ibbetson-IMG_0530.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHAEi4_Mz4vnjoe31rvxXfKtAHY-drsd-FKThGyl-UM2zvztGZtNCDQpMi1C9-ve36dTAaljLMChu6Hg6-ZzAIEWeSRYndy6cz7SUQXxHg8FWvI34pcT_9MXttzPQijfINrNgy5ZX-e9B/w243-h320/Napoleon_on_HMS_Northumberland-Denzil_Ibbetson-IMG_0530.JPG" width="243" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Napoleon on board the</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Northumberland</span><br /></span><br /></i></p></h4><i><br /></i></td></tr></tbody></table>The trip down the African coast took about two months, and the ship didn’t reach St. Helena until October 15. According to contemporary accounts, Napoleon grew silent on the deck of the <i>Northumberland</i> when he first spotted his future home.<div><br /></div><div>I don’t think he was struck dumb with admiration. I imagine his heart sank when he saw the island’s forbidding cliffs rising out of the ocean.<p></p><p>On the globe St. Helena looks like an isolated speck in the middle of the vast South Atlantic Ocean. It’s basically a rock, 1,200 miles west of Angola on the African continent, and 2,500 miles east of Rio de Janeiro. </p><p>It is a volcanic island, 47 square miles in area, attached to the ocean floor with only the tip visible above sea level. St. Helena’s nearest neighbor is Ascension Island, another volcanic island and British possession, about 800 miles northwest of St. Helena. </p><p>And on the uninhabited Ascension Island, as yet another precaution, a garrison of British soldiers under the command of Sir Edward Nicolls of the Royal Marines was stationed. </p><p>During his stay on St. Helena, Napoleon was guarded by 3,000 troops, and four ships constantly patrolled the coastline to prevent any escape attempts. The man in charge of the famous prisoner, Sir Hudson Lowe, was a harsh and ruthless jailor. Napoleon was not going to escape on his watch. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKg2p_0xmgmdLfjZFrM-fiZ5LJVqTKz0wt_3s08I22PvIZzspAK5FgYgLNKUrERgFh2r44e3oxCPix4eGkb5IB0gJpDPoSclnudKWmgt9CYA0O5isQHtmll6-W7Z94DA6UbFz-5QwSv5di/s1024/Longwood_House_%252816311222817%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKg2p_0xmgmdLfjZFrM-fiZ5LJVqTKz0wt_3s08I22PvIZzspAK5FgYgLNKUrERgFh2r44e3oxCPix4eGkb5IB0gJpDPoSclnudKWmgt9CYA0O5isQHtmll6-W7Z94DA6UbFz-5QwSv5di/w320-h240/Longwood_House_%252816311222817%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Longwood House (p</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">hoto by David Stanley, CC BY 2.0)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Death of the emperor</h4><div>Napoleon only lasted less than six years in exile. He spent most of his time in Longwood House, built especially for him. But the house and general location were described by Napoleon and his fellow exiles as humid, damp, and unhealthy - conditions which may have contributed to his death. <p></p><p>Napoleon had many health complaints, including liver problems, towards the end of his life, and he died May 5, 1821, at the age of 51. His doctor listed his cause of death as stomach cancer, but for years there was speculation that he was poisoned by arsenic, either deliberately or accidentally. Lately, though, the death-by-poison theory has been discredited. </p><p>The former emperor was buried on St. Helena, but in 1840 the French King Louis-Philippe arranged for Napoleon’s remains to be returned to Paris, where they were buried in splendor under the Dome of Les Invalides. </p><p>Napoleon spent much of his time on St. Helena dictating his memoirs. Of his contribution to France during the French Revolution, he said: “I have unscrambled Chaos. I have cleansed the Revolution, ennobled the common people, and restored the authority of kings.” </p><p>Following Napoleon's death, the last of his 20 companions in exile left St. Helena. They departed at the end of May in 1821 and arrived back in Europe on August 2 – another summer cruise courtesy of the Royal Navy. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">St. Helena today</h4><p>Although it’s still remote (the internet didn’t reach the island until 2015) today St. Helena is becoming a tourist magnet for history buffs, hardy hikers, rock climbers, bird watchers, and anyone who enjoys an adventure.</p><p>The “Saints,” as the residents are called, encourage the tourist trade with charming restaurants and hotels. I’m sure the cuisine and the accommodations are a decided improvement over what Napoleon experienced 200 years ago. </p><p>There is also much natural beauty on the island to enjoy, as well as boat tours that showcase the large pods of frolicking dolphins and scores of whale sharks in the surrounding sea. You can even visit a resident group of tortoises, one of which is almost 200 years old. And of course, there are many memorials to the island's famous former resident. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZgKwLOc_rkA2760_v7LmYhPH0DAzdt2ktPlSgPFzQW4OzUmwMW8aBDBj73EOHI4o0mNhkCKBHcOliCeoErqN1zHPofmvucUoRAvk5krfFAl3C2x2MXT_6QbJo3nCh_ngbLIBnecVp1mi/s1920/1920px-First_Comair_Boeing_737-800_flight_to_Saint_Helena_Airport_%2528191%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZgKwLOc_rkA2760_v7LmYhPH0DAzdt2ktPlSgPFzQW4OzUmwMW8aBDBj73EOHI4o0mNhkCKBHcOliCeoErqN1zHPofmvucUoRAvk5krfFAl3C2x2MXT_6QbJo3nCh_ngbLIBnecVp1mi/s640/1920px-First_Comair_Boeing_737-800_flight_to_Saint_Helena_Airport_%2528191%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">St. Helena airport (photo by Paul Tyson, CC BY 3.0)</span></span></h4><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>The once-arduous trip has been made a little easier with the construction of an airport, although you may want to think twice about taking that route. Flights to the island are notoriously rough due to high winds and the dangerous effects of wind shear. <p></p><p>Before the airport began to offer regular flights in 2017, to get to the island a traveler had to fly to Cape Town, usually by way of Johannesburg, and then be prepared to embark on a 5-6 day boat trip aboard the cargo liner RMS <i>St. Helena</i>. Bad weather or other complications could make the trip even longer. </p><p>That puts Napoleon’s 2-month voyage from England to St. Helena into perspective.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Traces of Napoleon </h4><p>Napoleon’s exile on St. Helena seems an inglorious end for someone who had a spectacular career, especially considering his meteoric rise from the lowly ranks of an artillery officer to Emperor of France. But even in 1802, over a decade before his final exile, Napoleon seemed aware of the risk that was inherent in an ambition like his, and he accepted it.</p><p>As he put it, “It would be better never to have lived at all than to leave behind no trace of one’s existence.”</p><p>Napoleon would no doubt be relieved to know that in St. Helena, Europe, and across the world, there are plenty of traces that attest to the existence of Monsieur Bonaparte. </p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPNJ9GJvvtxjWh5JxF_cTJ3bBIPYCr7mtXTJ8GWXyfFEJJ0u-XfMW0evI-Q_pkoQVKd5DbvR0M4q1odQhahEklqrLs_sXXK2UeX_7hIOfUwsi-oPhTVbqfceZmcanxGJclsT6e2xMXKuF/s220/Napoleon_sainthelene.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="220" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrPNJ9GJvvtxjWh5JxF_cTJ3bBIPYCr7mtXTJ8GWXyfFEJJ0u-XfMW0evI-Q_pkoQVKd5DbvR0M4q1odQhahEklqrLs_sXXK2UeX_7hIOfUwsi-oPhTVbqfceZmcanxGJclsT6e2xMXKuF/w320-h237/Napoleon_sainthelene.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Napoleon on St. Helena," Franz Josef Sandmann, 1820</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><b><br /><br /></b></div><div><b>Sources:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>“From Waterloo to the island of St. Helena,” by Joanna Benazet and Irène Delage, October 2015 (translation Rebecca Young); <a href="https://www.napoleon.org/en/young-historians/napodoc/from-waterloo-to-the-island-of-st-helena/#:~:text=On%207%20August%2C%20Napoleon%20embarked,Helena%20on%2015%20October%201815." target="_blank">Napoleon.org</a>, the history website of the Fondation Napoleon </div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>The Wars of Napoleon: The History of the Strategies, Tactics, and Leadership of the Napoleonic Era</i>, by Albert Sidney Britt III, The West Point Military History Series, Thomas E. Greiss, Series Editor, Department of History, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, Avery Publishing Group Inc., Wayne, New Jersey, 1985. </div><div><br /></div><div>"Why You Should Visit St. Helena, home to the ‘worlds’ most useless airport’," by Julia Buckley, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/africa/st-helena-what-to-see-do-best-guide-island-distillery-tortoise-coffee-where-to-stay-consulate-hotel-a8132291.html" target="_blank">Independent.co.us</a>, Thursday, 28 December 2017 </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><b>Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons</b></div></div></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-52007305843656058202020-08-07T17:55:00.001-07:002021-05-16T12:19:29.980-07:00Party at Pemberley <p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1wj6m5haexWsmmxgHdLh2CFrgMsoGZE-h5XGgkNiQ6VDrz4IKQU_olyBiCQP6-rGoQFelNwahD9RuIFFULO2U2-yP4QRxHOSd9nBDKPJQDu1lm_d_D8oDfxQxfe6n71YzespY7Sd6KQi/s1280/1280px-Lyme_Park_2014_07.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1wj6m5haexWsmmxgHdLh2CFrgMsoGZE-h5XGgkNiQ6VDrz4IKQU_olyBiCQP6-rGoQFelNwahD9RuIFFULO2U2-yP4QRxHOSd9nBDKPJQDu1lm_d_D8oDfxQxfe6n71YzespY7Sd6KQi/w640-h426/1280px-Lyme_Park_2014_07.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The exterior of Lyme Park doubled as Pemberley in the 1995 BBC version of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. <br />(Wikimedia Commons; photo by Mike Peel, CC-BY-SA-4.0)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve noticed that Jane Austen doesn’t go into a lot of details about food in her novels. But there’s one meal in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> that’s described in some detail: the refreshments Mr. Darcy serves Elizabeth Bennet and her aunt when they pay a social visit to Pemberley. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By this point in the story, Elizabeth has roundly rejected Darcy’s awkward and rather insulting proposal of marriage. But Elizabeth’s hard feelings towards Darcy begin to melt when she sees him in his natural surroundings at Pemberley, his impressive country home. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Austen describes the informal meal like this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“The next variation which their visit afforded was produced by the entrance of servants with cold meat, cake, and a variety of all the finest fruits in season; but this did not take place till after many a significant look and smile from Mrs. Annesley to Miss Darcy had been given, to remind her of her post. There was now employment for the whole party; for though they could not all talk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes, nectarines and peaches soon collected them around the table.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“For though they could not all talk, they could all eat” – if that isn’t a romantic description of the shyness of awakening love, I don’t know what is! </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though this meal is set during the Regency era, it seems like something easily put together today. In fact, here is my attempt at recreating Darcy’s spread, although on a much smaller scale:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw89vn2-S29ymkm-kWEPfjf9KZnUJaGclj0Wcc5B2R7rrXpLbonTnH8RqU0v1FCBH94a7t-1bhlmDvIdBcktsref4rZFM6bO0qnQ79y0MeTi0fejwCSxJogHt1DvXPbi7XxE0TqxbLaxDf/s2048/IMG_20200805_133749.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw89vn2-S29ymkm-kWEPfjf9KZnUJaGclj0Wcc5B2R7rrXpLbonTnH8RqU0v1FCBH94a7t-1bhlmDvIdBcktsref4rZFM6bO0qnQ79y0MeTi0fejwCSxJogHt1DvXPbi7XxE0TqxbLaxDf/s640/IMG_20200805_133749.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My recreation of the refreshment table at Pemberley</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My version of cold meats is deli-sliced turkey breast. I did my best to construct mini-pyramids of peaches and nectarines and grapes. And my cake is store-bought lemon poppy-seed muffins. Since Jane Austen didn’t mention what beverages were served, I took a guess and added a cup of tea.</span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Not bad, if I do say so myself. About the only thing missing from my set-up, besides an ample quantity of food, is the servants. I can almost imagine Mr. Darcy standing stiffly by the table, watching with yearning eyes as Elizabeth selects a delicate morsel or two. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what kind of cake would we see at Pemberley at this time in history? One thing is certain: the kitchen staff wouldn’t have been able to pop down to the supermarket and buy a pack of muffins.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">No, more than likely the Pemberley cook would have chosen a recipe from her trusty cookbook,<i> The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy; Which far exceeds any Thing of the Kind yet published</i>, written by “a Lady.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The “Lady” behind this project was Hannah Glasse, an English housewife, who wrote her cookbook primarily as an instruction manual for servants. She published it herself in 1747, and it was a hit with the public for at least a hundred years, going through 40 editions. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Along with her contemporaries, Jane Austen would have certainly been familiar with Hannah Glasse’s recipes. This book was an indispensable reference in households across Great Britain. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And the topics covered in the book went far beyond food. They included recipes for ridding a home of pests, cleaning fabric, cures for the bite of a rabid dog, and even a powder to treat heartburn, which could be necessary if you overindulged in Hannah’s culinary creations. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hannah’s book was also popular in America, both before and after the Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington all owned copies. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The Art of Cookery</i> made Hannah Glasse famous, and her fame as a cookbook author is even more noteworthy because of the prejudice she had to surmount as a female. Rumors abounded that her book must have been written by a man because it was too well-organized and thorough—basically too good— to have been written by a woman. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even Samuel Johnson, one of the most influential literary critics of the 18th century, <a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/texts/cook/1700s2/arttitlehome/arttitle.html" target="_blank">held that opinion.</a> According to his biographer James Boswell, Johnson said that “Women can spin very well; but they cannot make a good book of cookery.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a shame Glasse didn’t include a recipe for crow in her book – it would have been a good dish to serve Johnson and other critics as <i>The Art of Cookery</i> became a bona fide bestseller. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrstOYexUK_HHdgF1DxtzCUgwoutV2vE4Clih4l5x0SJCLA01fMQi6j4sJPj68iv-3kUdOkMZmKqk01mqAz3rg0uIBL1luMNxPylLq6gWdmSktcY430GrArg7PUIdgX3BcZtjoCHdSfFY/s1280/1280px-Art_of_Cookery_frontispiece.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrstOYexUK_HHdgF1DxtzCUgwoutV2vE4Clih4l5x0SJCLA01fMQi6j4sJPj68iv-3kUdOkMZmKqk01mqAz3rg0uIBL1luMNxPylLq6gWdmSktcY430GrArg7PUIdgX3BcZtjoCHdSfFY/s640/1280px-Art_of_Cookery_frontispiece.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Title page of the 1777 edition (Wikimedia Commons)</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what prompted Hannah to write her groundbreaking book? The main reason was that she needed the money. However, in her introductory note to the reader, Glasse explains her other motivation: she wanted to improve the cooking skills of servants, which was a novel idea at the time:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"I believe I have attempted a branch of Cookery, which nobody has yet thought to be worth their while to write upon: but as I have both seen, and found, by experience, that the generality of servants are greatly wanting in that point, therefore I have taken it upon me to instruct them in the best manner I am capable; and I dare say, that every servant who can but read will be ca</i></span><i style="font-family: inherit;">pable of making a tolerable good cook, and those who have the least notion of Cookery cannot miss of being very good ones.”</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, back to that summer afternoon at Pemberley: I wonder what kind of cake our fictional cook might have made to serve Darcy’s guests?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If she had consulted Chapter 15 of <i>The Art of Cookery</i>, “Of making Cakes, &c.” she would have been presented with a lot of choices. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, she might have decided to make a "rich cake" for the occasion. All she would have needed is four pounds of flour, seven pounds of currants, six pounds of butter, two pounds of Jordan almonds, four pounds of eggs, three pounds of sugar, a bunch of spices (including cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger), wine, brandy and “sweet-meats to your liking,” – as long as you like orange, lemon, and citron. Now that’s a rich cake indeed!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or, if the cook had a supply of caraway seeds she might settle on a seed cake. Hannah’s "rich seed cake, called the nun's cake" also calls for lots of butter (four pounds) along with 35 eggs (16 of which have to be separated, yolks from whites). However, for this cake, the cook had better be</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> prepared to beat the batter (by hand, of course) for “two hours together.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Two hours! You’ve got to admit, that’s true devotion to baking. It also sounds like quite a workout —you could really build up strong arm muscles that way.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My seed cakes are made with poppy seeds instead of caraway seeds, and they didn’t take me any time at all, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">just a trip to the market. But I’m sure Hannah’s cakes would have tasted better – or at least a lot richer. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And who knows? It could be that a bite of a delicious buttery cake laced with brandy and wine was what turned the tide of Elizabeth’s affections toward Mr. Darcy. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It certainly couldn’t have hurt!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4k8BsPmZil3Yeg4m7jwY9nrbXOvTyit93SUGDGMhBZUd9vohn7TZZ4WVMgXnFEYWBcy2O89Z20Z6umPJLQIIn9hcTR52AE-u_Acgo6DlX-TAP7vB8mudSxLLajhvZgYksKwCfZrpHMtjQ/s413/cupcake-298961__340.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="413" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4k8BsPmZil3Yeg4m7jwY9nrbXOvTyit93SUGDGMhBZUd9vohn7TZZ4WVMgXnFEYWBcy2O89Z20Z6umPJLQIIn9hcTR52AE-u_Acgo6DlX-TAP7vB8mudSxLLajhvZgYksKwCfZrpHMtjQ/w200-h164/cupcake-298961__340.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Photo from Pixabay</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: If you'd like to read <i>The Art of Cookery</i>, you can get the whole text on <a href="https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=xJdAAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb_hover&pg=GBS.PR11" target="_blank">Google Books</a>. </span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8691745257761485017.post-3967985703165554972020-06-10T15:31:00.001-07:002021-05-16T12:22:02.811-07:00Wedding bells for Mr. Darcy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflUuEFHCM8S_U5UOYBDF7zsjk9ZjKaq_vabDiuVLQjEYyd7jYul5hcehrml4NduuWfi8Dm-QJwF-DxCEc3uuTU_lwV5756qGKd_LmKYI6wcRKqrlnRYrSNT1sAt5rj2rAx7U1-rsASxYw/s763/wedding-4765922_960_720+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="763" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflUuEFHCM8S_U5UOYBDF7zsjk9ZjKaq_vabDiuVLQjEYyd7jYul5hcehrml4NduuWfi8Dm-QJwF-DxCEc3uuTU_lwV5756qGKd_LmKYI6wcRKqrlnRYrSNT1sAt5rj2rAx7U1-rsASxYw/w400-h324/wedding-4765922_960_720+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">I just love it when a romantic story ends with a wedding. And few stories are as romantic as <i style="line-height: 1;">Pride and Prejudice</i>. But where’s the wedding at the end?</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">You see, during quarantine, I decided to copy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL84Aw12nRu1NHMOltb9n7ca8XaYlnU77" target="_blank">Jennifer Ehle</a> and re-read<i style="line-height: 1;"> Pride and Prejudice</i>. (You may remember Ehle as the actress who played Elizabeth Bennet, opposite Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy, in the 1995 BBC production of <i style="line-height: 1;">Pride and Prejudice</i>.)</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">Reading <i style="line-height: 1;">Pride and Prejudice</i> helped me cope with lockdown. Even though I’m very familiar with the story, Jane Austen’s prose was delightful. No movie can really do her words full justice. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">But when I got to the end of the book, I confess I felt a little cheated. Though we know Darcy proposes again to Lizzie and she accepts him at last, we don’t get a description of their wedding. I was surprised – I guess that in the years since I’d read the book I’d forgotten the story didn’t end with an actual marriage ceremony. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">You can pardon my confusion - the final scene in the BBC mini-series is a joyous double wedding for the two Bennet sisters. So, we know what the BBC thinks a Darcy-Bennet wedding would’ve looked like – the whole village turned out, and there were flowers and festivities galore. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">But what does history say? A little research paints a different picture.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">During the Regency era weddings were simple, even plain affairs. Unless you were royalty, any kind of elaborate display or unnecessary additions to the ceremony was considered out-of-date or in poor taste. </font></div></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">We get an idea of what a genteel wedding might have looked like from a description Jane Austen’s niece Caroline received from her half-sister Anna of a family wedding in 1814. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">The simple church ceremony had no guests, only immediate family. The women had arrived in carriages; the men walked to the church. There were no flowers adorning the altar, nothing special to mark the occasion. The simplicity extended to breakfast afterward, which was only for the wedding party and family. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">So, here are some characteristics of a typical Regency-era English wedding:</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;">When:</b> Any month of the year except during Lent</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;">Where:</b> In a church or the chapel of a manor house</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_T8z_lc6Ds_TR71pBVsf3sY0lojEjGHWpg1-hJQJ-Kt_39PAga9OClCMf3ABh244B6uwAONYC-P7bnlY6xMUQcNjBuMwXG5QCwBOOdVOJDLbF_VmO0qwkpcEOQ40ErkmcVhyr6SNF4qQ1/s599/Charlotte_AugustaByRichardWoodmam.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="491" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_T8z_lc6Ds_TR71pBVsf3sY0lojEjGHWpg1-hJQJ-Kt_39PAga9OClCMf3ABh244B6uwAONYC-P7bnlY6xMUQcNjBuMwXG5QCwBOOdVOJDLbF_VmO0qwkpcEOQ40ErkmcVhyr6SNF4qQ1/w262-h320/Charlotte_AugustaByRichardWoodmam.jpg" title="Princess Charlotte in 1816" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Dress code: </b>A Regency bride typically wore an Empire-style, high-waisted gown in white or silver. She could add a trailing veil or wispy scarf made from lace or gauze, but not over her face – a face-covering veil didn’t come into fashion until later in the 19th century. She could also opt for a floral headdress, like the wreath of roses Prinny’s daughter, Princess Charlotte of Wales, wore to her 1816 wedding to Prince Leopold. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">The groom would wear his regular formal dress clothes in fashionable colors, like blue, but not black. Like the face-covering veil, black for male wedding attire didn’t come into fashion until later. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;">Time:</b> By law, church wedding ceremonies took place between 8 a.m. and noon. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;">Refreshments:</b> Because the weddings were held so early, they were often followed by a wedding breakfast (it was called breakfast even if it was served at noon). During the Regency, this would have been a full-course meal with a brides-cake (the cake wasn’t called a wedding cake till the Victorian era). </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">In Anna’s account of the 1814 wedding she attended, the wedding breakfast included bread (buttered toast and hot rolls), with meat (tongue) and ham and eggs. There were a few special touches – chocolate (cocoa) at one end of the table, and, of course, a cake. Like everything else associated with weddings, the wedding breakfast got more elaborate during the Victorian age. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXptXDWIKA0cRrC5E94AAKbhPhOGsoImV1_O1wr0o_cPr9qWL4IYEAB4oAN-5_42ymUhp0VnmqybNEPmOAc9DimsAzIzgAhyphenhyphenH0umdQA2HsQNuU0m_UjAYzKwnaXOzXAa32U-4uf7LdEca9/s600/439px-Frederick_Morgan_-_Off_for_the_Honeymoon.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="439" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXptXDWIKA0cRrC5E94AAKbhPhOGsoImV1_O1wr0o_cPr9qWL4IYEAB4oAN-5_42ymUhp0VnmqybNEPmOAc9DimsAzIzgAhyphenhyphenH0umdQA2HsQNuU0m_UjAYzKwnaXOzXAa32U-4uf7LdEca9/w293-h400/439px-Frederick_Morgan_-_Off_for_the_Honeymoon.jpg" title=""Off for the Honeymoon" by Frederick Morgan" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Honeymoon:</b> Because the wedding ceremony was held so early, the bride and groom had plenty of time to set off on their wedding journey, though sometimes they would cut short or skip their wedding breakfast to get a head start. During the Regency, brides would often take a female companion on the honeymoon. (I have no idea how Regency grooms felt about this custom!)</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><b style="line-height: 1;">Pre-wedding red tape:</b> As a result of Lord Hardwicke’s Act of 1753, intended to prevent clandestine marriages involving minors, couples wishing to marry in England had to follow a lengthy procedure. </font><span style="font-family: times;">Of course, if you were in a hurry you could skip the red tape and elope to Scotland, which was exempt from the Act, and get a same-day marriage with very few questions asked. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">In England, however, there were two typical routes an engaged couple had to follow if they wanted to get married:</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><i style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></i></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><i style="line-height: 1;"><b style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">Banns </font></b></i></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">The most common way of preparing for marriage was to have banns read. Banns were a published announcement of a couple's intent to marry. Banns were read during church services on three successive weeks prior to the ceremony. If the prospective bride and groom were from different parishes banns were published in the home church of each. Parents needed to give permission for banns to be published for their minor children under the age of 21.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">Publishing banns was free. However, besides taking time, this method gave the public an opportunity to object to or even prevent a marriage, so some couples decided to pay extra for privacy and/or to speed things along.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><b style="line-height: 1;"><i><font face="times">Special License</font></i></b></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">With a special license, you could forego having banns published and the ceremony could take place right away. A couple with a special license could also choose where and when to get married, instead of having to confine themselves to a morning wedding in a church. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">A special license could be obtained only from the Archbishop of Canterbury or his representative. So, you had to have connections and money to obtain a special license, which gave special licenses a certain cachet. Because of its association with the upper classes, a special license is the first thing the social-climbing Mrs. Bennet thinks of when her daughter announces her acceptance of the wealthy Mr. Darcy’s proposal: </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><i style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">“My dearest child,” she cried. “I can think of nothing else! Ten thousand a year and very likely more! ‘Tis as good as a lord! And a special license. You must and shall be married by special license!” </font></i></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">In the final chapter of <i style="line-height: 1;">Pride and Prejudice</i>, Jane Austen glosses over the wedding of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Instead, the end of the book touches on Elizabeth’s life at Pemberly with her husband after their marriage – how she dealt with her sister Lydia and Wickman’s requests for money, and how Lady Catherine de Bourgh finally got over her indignation to accept her nephew’s chosen wife. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">Though she wrote romantic novels, I don’t think Austen cared much about weddings. She certainly doesn't describe them in detail. Like others of her time, she probably saw a wedding as a means to an end. And I doubt she could have imagined the elaborate and expensive weddings that are popular today, much less the lucrative industry, including photographers, dressmakers, florists, caterers, and tourism, that's been built around weddings. </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">What type of wedding might Austen have preferred for herself if she’d married? It's impossible to know for sure, but perhaps we can get an idea by reading about the wedding she creates for Miss Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley at the very end of <i>Emma</i>: </font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><i style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">“The wedding was very much like other weddings, when the parties have no taste for finery or parade; and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband, thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. ‘Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business! Selina would stare when she heard of it.’ But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.”</font></i></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times">I have to hand it to Jane; I think a simple ritual, witnessed by a “small band of true friends” to celebrate a happy union is a pretty good description of a perfect wedding in any era.</font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAdWRDZhkqWfQ5CmHS-6FlOJ2RcSiNsom_JlsPQySa0yefD84WTYu9DNNLnH3oJvwbmuU8f2QPTssJeEW8xmH846jf1m4PLEU2YXXjWyCwHfEQoYvzqt_bfXfPy4OQaUdj1bB2AFa75ju/s577/1815-regency-proposal-woodcut.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><font face="times"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="577" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAdWRDZhkqWfQ5CmHS-6FlOJ2RcSiNsom_JlsPQySa0yefD84WTYu9DNNLnH3oJvwbmuU8f2QPTssJeEW8xmH846jf1m4PLEU2YXXjWyCwHfEQoYvzqt_bfXfPy4OQaUdj1bB2AFa75ju/w400-h300/1815-regency-proposal-woodcut.gif" width="400" /></font></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><font face="times"><br /></font></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><b><font face="times"><br /></font></b></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><div style="line-height: 1;"><b><font face="times">Sources:</font></b></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><b><font face="times"><br /></font></b></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><font face="times">Day, Malcolm, <i>Voices from the World of Jane Austen</i>, a David & Charles Book, David & Charles Limited, 2006 </font></li><li><font face="times">Adkins, Roy and Leslie, <i>Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England</i>, Abacus, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, London, 2013</font></li><li><font face="times">Hughes, Kristine, <i>Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England</i>, Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1998</font></li><li><font face="times">Laudermilk, Sharon and Hamlin, Teresa,<i> The Regency Companion</i>, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London, 1989</font></li><li><font face="times">Pool, Daniel, <i>What Jane Austen ate and Charles Dickens Knew</i>, Touchstone, Simon & Shuster, Inc., New York, 1993</font></li></ul></div></div><div style="line-height: 1;"><b><i><font face="times">Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Pixabay</font></i></b></div>Maureen Mackeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08103252687271508523noreply@blogger.com0