Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I'd like to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'll be back in 2018 with more blog posts about social history.
If you pop over to my Jane Austen blog, you can read about the fun the Austen family had with their Christmas theatricals.
Illustration by Cecil Aldin, courtesy the Wellcome Library.

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Hugh Thomson illustration for the Graphic, 1889.

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers! I look forward to sharing more secret histories from the world of Regency Spies in 2016!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you all have a peaceful Christmas with friends and family.
Image from the author's collection: 'The Ass'. The Affectionate Parent's Gift, and Good Child's Reward, T.Kelly, 1827

Going Shopping With Jane Austen!

High Change in Bond St; Courtesy Library of Congress,

The latest issue of Jane Austen's Regency World includes my feature on going shopping in Jane Austen's day, Maggie Lane explores the work of Elizabeth Inchbald, and Penny Townsend discusses Austen and William Shakespeare. There's also a review of my new book A Visitor's Guide To Jane Austen's England by Joceline Bury.  Last but not least, the magazine has lots of wonderful Christmas gift ideas for Austen fans!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and peaceful New Year.

Image: Engraving of an ancient sculpture unearthed in Hampshire: The Offering of the Magi, Gentleman's Magazine,|January, 1824.

Regency Cheshire Talk - More Photos

I had a wonderful time at my Regency Cheshire talk on Saturday - a big 'thank you' to Lena Shiell and all the library staff who worked so hard to make the Jane Austen Christmas event so special.  Sadly the traffic was so bad that I only got a glimpse of the Regency dancers, but I did hear the choir singing beautifully.

You can see more photos from the day on my Jane Austen blog and on the Chester Library facebook page.









Images:
Chester Library staff and David Mitchell, the Chester town crier at the Jane Austen's Regency Christmas day (3 photos).
Sioned Webb, Welsh Triple Harpist.
The author preparing to give her talk.

All photos on this blog post are © Lena Shiell of Chester Library.

Chester Library Talk: Regency Cheshire

Just a reminder that I'll be giving a talk at Chester Library on 30 November from 2-3pm as part of the library's 'Jane Austen's Regency Christmas' fun day. I'll be reading extracts from my book Regency Cheshire, and I will have some books to sell which you can buy on the day.
However, if you've already bought one of my books (or prefer to buy a copy online first), if you bring it with you, I'll be happy to sign it after the talk.
There are details on how to buy a ticket for the event here.
Image: Eastgate St, Chester, in the 1820s. 

Talks in 2013

So far this year I have got two talks lined up, so please make a note in your diaries.  On Thursday 13 June I will be giving a talk on 'Stolen Childhoods'  to Witton Women's Institute at St Wilfred's Parish Centre (Witton Street) in Northwich; the meeting opens at 7.45 pm and my talk begins at 8pm.  I'll be discussing child labour in northwest England during the industrial revolution.

And on Saturday 30 November, Chester Library is holding a Jane Austen's Christmas event.  At 2pm I'll be giving a talk on Christmas time in Austen's day, and will read some extracts from my book Regency Cheshire.  Hope to see you there!

Images:

Mule Spinning Room, 1860s. Child piecers and scavengers at work in a cotton spinning mill, supervised by the overlooker. Charles Knight’s Pictorial Gallery of Arts Vol. I, (c.1862).

Rows in Watergate St, Chester. Stranger’s Companion in Chester, 4th edition, c.1828

Merry Christmas!

I would just like to wish all my friends and readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a lovely peaceful time with family and friends.

Illustration of a Regency country dance, Hugh Thomson, The Graphic Christmas Special, 1889. (Author's collection).

Merry Xmas!

I’ve just returned from a mini-cruise to Bruges. Travelling was rather problematic owing to the atrocious conditions on the roads, but we made it there and back safely, and had a lovely time. The historic town looked very pretty in the snow. The winter light made everything seem monochrome and almost ‘flat’ – rather like a Lowry painting.

Happy Christmas and New Year!

A Classic Tale

Mary Barton caused a furore when first published in October 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘Tale of Manchester Life,’ with its no-holds-barred depiction of the vast gulf between the cotton masters and their ‘clemmed’ (starving) mill workers, sparked a furious debate in Cottonopolis. Was Gaskell’s novel true to life? Did Mary Barton, as its detractors claimed, exacerbate tensions between the classes rather than promoting greater understanding?
You can find out more in my special feature on Mary Barton in the November issue of History Today.

My book Narrow Windows, Narrow Lives looks at the reality of everyday life for workers in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution in Lancashire. Remember to order early for Christmas!

Image: The Dinner Hour, Manchester. Engraving by R. Kent Thomas (1816-1884.) for Lancashire by Grindon, Leo H., (Seeley & Co., 1892.)

Happy Christmas!

I've just returned from a short break in Somerset. The weather was extremely cold and foggy on the way down, but much milder on Sunday. Even so, I was very surprised to see new lambs gambolling about in the fields. We still probably have the worst of the winter weather yet to come, so I hope they will be all right. Maybe they just couldn't wait for Christmas!
You can read about the Christmases enjoyed by some of our most famous authors here. here

Merry Christmas everybody!