The Real Regency

Are we in danger of losing sight of the ‘real’ Regency? In my latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World, I argue it's time to paint a more realistic picture of the world in Jane Austen's day.
Far away from the glitzy world of clubs like Almack’s and White’s, social unrest in counties such as Cheshire embodied the real spirit of the age. While the Prince Regent and his chums enjoyed fantastic feasts at Brighton Pavilion, high food prices caused riots by hungry workers in 1812.

Those lovely frocks in La Belle Assemblée were made by cheap child labour. You can discover more about how textile workers in Cheshire towns such as Stockport, Macclesfield and Congleton lived in Regency Cheshire.

Image: Wesleyan Chapel (1825) at Tiviot Dale, Stockport. From Lancashire Illustrated (H. Fisher, Son, and Jackson, 1831.) Author’s collection. The ‘castle’ shaped building in the background on the right is the old Castle Mill built by Sir George Warren.

Hot Gossip

One of the biggest scandals of Regency England was the Prince Regent’s treatment of his wife Caroline of Brunswick . The royal marriage was a disaster – the Prince and Caroline were totally ill-suited. After producing an heir to the throne, Princess Charlotte, the royal couple separated. Princess Caroline liked to enjoy herself, hugely embarrassing the Prince by her party lifestyle and male admirers. When George III died in 1820, the new king was determined to rid himself of his troublesome wife. Her name was even omitted from the liturgy, a snub which greatly upset Earl Grosvenor of Eaton Hall. The Queen’s Trial of 1820, in which George IV tried to prove his wife’s adultery, was a sensation. For weeks, it was the main story in the Chester newspapers. But Regency Cheshire had plenty of its own scandals for the gossip-mongers to talk about. ..

Image: George IV, 1822. Engraving by William Darton. Author’s collection.

A golden moment

It’s less than two weeks to go now to the launch of Regency Cheshire, and the review copies have gone out; always an anxious time for any author. It was a lovely autumn day here, mild and sunny.
Two hundred years ago, Cheshire’s loyal citizens were getting ready to celebrate George III’s jubilee year on 25 October 1809. The king , who endured great sufferings not only from his illness but from his doctors’ attempts to cure him, was greatly loved by the ordinary people. By contrast, his son the Prince of Wales was hugely unpopular because of his spendthrift ways: gambling, womanising and boozing. He was mercilessly satirised and lampooned in scandal sheets. Meanwhile, the populace were determined to show their support for their ailing monarch. In Cheshire towns such as Chester, Knutsford and Macclesfield, bells rang, bonfires crackled and grand civic dinners were held. The following year, a tower designed by Thomas Harrison was erected on Moel Famau , although sadly it was never finished.

Image: The Prince of Wales. Charles Knight’s History of England, c.1868