Regency Cheshire on Amazon Kindle!

I'm thrilled to announce that my book Regency Cheshire is now available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle!

The late Georgian period was an age of unique style and elegance - the era of Trafalgar and Waterloo. Regency Cheshire explores the scandals, sports and pastimes of the great county families such as the Grosvenors of Eaton Hall. Their glittering lifestyle is contrasted with conditions for humble farmers and factory workers. The gentry and mill owners created elegant new villas and beautiful gardens while workers huddled together in slums with inadequate sanitation.

The Prince Regent and his cronies danced and feasted while cotton and silk workers starved. In my book, I explore the county’s transport system and main industries: silk, cotton, salt and cheese. Stage coaches rattled through the streets, and packet boats and barges sailed down the canals.

Lyme Hall, Cheshire.

But reform and revolution threatened the old social order. Blood was spilt on city streets during election fever and in the struggle for democracy. Balls and bear-baiting; highwaymen and hangings; riots and reform: Regency Cheshire tells the story of everyday life during the age of Beau Brummell, Walter Scott and Jane Austen.

You can read a free sample of Regency Cheshire here!

The 'Spy Nozy' Affair

Alfoxton House.

In early August 1797, a concerned resident wrote to the Home Office to report his fears about the new tenants at Alfoxton (Alfoxden) House, near the little village of Holford, Somerset. He believed that these incomers were actually French spies (especially as there had recently been an attempted invasion at Fishguard in Wales).

The new tenants were actually William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy. A couple of years earlier, they had set up their first real home together (a long-held dream) at Racedown Lodge, in Dorset. Then 1795, Wordsworth met Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and a famous literary friendship blossomed. The Wordsworths moved to Alfoxton House, not far from Coleridge’scottage at Nether Stowey. The two men, accompanied by Dorothy, went on long walks together over hill and dale, discussing poetry and philosophy long into the night. 

The Home Office spent special agent James Walsh to investigate. From his base at Nether Stowey, he discovered that one of the guests at Alfoxton was ‘Citizen’ John Thelwall, a noted Radical and Jacobin sympathiser he had been investigating for years.

William Wordsworth.

Next, he turned his attention to Coleridge, who was said to have his own printing press – perfect for publishing seditious literature. Coleridge and Wordsworth often rested and chatted on their favourite seat by the seashore at Kilve, discussing poetry and philosophy. The agent hid for hours, listening to their conversation. He was alarmed; the spies seem to know of his presence – they repeatedly talk about ‘Spy Nozy’. At last Walsh was convinced that Spy Nozy was ‘the name of a man (Spinoza) who had made a book, and lived a long time ago’. The Home Office had nothing to worry about.

Coleridge Cottage.

Were the Romantic poets really in danger of being imprisoned, maybe even executed? Coleridge, apprised of the tale from the pub landlord, had a wonderful after-dinner story to entertain his guests. Wordsworth treated the whole affair as a storm in a teacup, but the owner of Alfoxton, angered by rumours of Jacobins, gave him notice to quit soon after. Writer Thomas de Quincey later dismissed the ‘Spy Nozy’ story as a fable, and insisted Coleridge had been duped. 

But the Home Office files clearly show that the story was true – and that for a time at least, someone in the Government took the matter very seriously indeed…

 Images:

Alfoxden (Alfoxton) House, Somerset.  Dorothy and William lived here in 1797-8.  © Sue Wilkes.

Coleridge’s cottage at Nether Stowey. © Sue Wilkes.

Wordsworth. Engraving by the Brothers Dalziel for Poets of the Nineteenth Century, (Frederick Warne & Co., c.1870).

Tracing Your Regency-Era Ancestors

My latest feature for the new-look Your Family History magazine (April issue) explores the wealth of Georgian records available to help you smash the pre-civil registration barrier: parish registers, poor law records, apprenticeships, Home Office papers, criminal records, militia lists, newspapers and magazines, etc. 

There's also a great review of Regency Spies, and you can also 'Meet the Author' and read an interview with yours truly!
Image: 

‘A Street Row’. Footpads and robbers were rife in Regency England. The night-watchman waves his rattle to call for help. Illustration by George and Robert Cruikshank, Life in London, John Camden Hotten, Piccadilly, 1869. Author’s collection.

Fun And Games!

Gallop post-haste to my Jane Austen blog to find out more about a Regency kissing game!

Not Long Now!

My forthcoming book A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK (release date 30 October) and Amazon US.  Update 14 August: You can now also pre-order the book direct from Pen and Sword Books.
Discover Jane Austen's world and immerse yourself in the vanished world inhabited by Austen’s contemporaries. My book is an intimate exploration of how the upper and middle classes lived from 1775, the year of Austen’s birth, to her death in 1817. You can read some advance reviews here.

'Will you do me the honour of reading that letter?' Darcy meets Elizabeth in the park. 

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. 

Funeral for a Hero and Prime Minister

Following the news that Lady Thatcher, one of the most divisive prime ministers of modern times, is to receive a ceremonial funeral with military-style honours, I thought it would be interesting to look at the arrangements for the funeral of the Duke of Wellington, who twice served as prime minister.  

Arthur Wellesley, 1^st Duke of Wellington, saved England (and Europe) from Napoleon’s overweening ambition, and survived Waterloo and the Peninsular Wars.  Wellington was England’s darling when he returned from his amazing victory of June 1815, but his political career was dogged by controversy, notably owing to his uncompromising stance on parliamentary reform.  The Great Reform Bill of 1832 was passed despite his opposition, which earned him some boos at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway two years earlier.

At Wellington’s funeral on 18 November 1852, however, there was a massive turnout to see the final journey of one of England’s greatest military commanders.  Thousands of people paid their respects in silence as they watched the procession, which included a soldier from every one of the queen’s regiments.  The hearse was escorted by cavalry, six battalions of infantry, military bands including the Scots Fusilier and Coldstream Guards, nine guns (field artillery), eight guns of horse artillery. Prince Albert was in attendance, too. The huge funeral carriage was the same one used for Lord Nelson’s procession.  Very fittingly, Wellington was laid to rest by Nelson in St Paul’s Cathedral.

The expense of the funeral caused a debate in parliament. You can see some illustrations from the Illustrated London News of Wellington’s funeral here on the Victorian Web.  There’s a full description of the ‘order of proceeding’ of the funeral procession here on Google books.   John Drew's ‘'Biographical Sketch of the Military and Political Career of the Late Duke of Wellington, Including the Most Interesting Particulars of His Death, Lying in State, and Public Funeral’ (1852) describes the day of the funeral, too.

Images:Wellington and Napoleon:.History of England Vol. VII, (London, c. 1868.)
The Edge Hill Tunnel entrance on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, Penny Magazine, 31 March 1833. Both images from the author's collection. 

New Book Contract: Regency Spies

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ve just signed a new book contract with Pen and Sword for their new Social History imprint!

‘Regency Spies: England's Rebels and Revolutionaries Exposed’ will explore the shadowy world of the network of government spies and agents provocateurs which kept watch on Britain’s underprivileged masses during the Napoleonic wars.  The upper classes feared a replay of the French Revolution on British soil: the threat of an armed insurrection or a French invasion was taken very seriously.  Any hint of sedition was ruthlessly suppressed.

The ‘Great War’ against Napoleon had a devastating effect on the British economy.  Taxation reached record levels to pay for the war, and the poorer classes endured great hardship.  Hunger fuelled riots for cheaper food and Luddite attacks on mill-owners, factories and machinery.

The spy network had some famous successes, like the discoveries of the Despard plot, the Pentrich Rising and the Cato St conspiracy.  Sometimes the government’s efforts descended into high farce, like the ‘Spy Nozy’ affair, in which poets Wordsworth and Coleridge were shadowed by a special agent.  But the stakes were incredibly high: agitators risked the horrors of a traitor’s death if found guilty.

The book will tell the stories of the real conspirators against the government, and the tragedies which befell ordinary folk entrapped by agents provocateurs.  The provisional launch date for ‘Regency Spies’ is mid-to-late 2015.

Images from the Library of Congress British Cartoons collection:

Satire identifying reform with revolution by Cruikshank, 1819. 
‘True reform of Parliament: patriots lighting a revolutionarybonfire in new Palace Yard by Gillray, 1809. Sir Francis Burdett is making a speech and waving a bonnet rouge [cap of liberty] shaped like a fool's cap as Horne Tooke lights on fire a pile of acts and charters, as well as a Bible, with a flaming baton labeled "Sedition" while three creatures add to the flames. James Boswell, Samuel Whitbread, Lord Folkestone, and Henry Clifford add documents to the pile as a mob destroys Parliament in the background.

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).

A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England!

I am thrilled to announce that I have just signed a new contract with Pen and Sword!  My new book will be a social history of Jane Austen's time. I am so excited about my new project, as I have adored Austen and the Regency era since I was a little girl.

In 'A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England' I will be exploring everyday life for the upper and middle classes from 1775, the year of Austen’s birth, to her death in 1817. Drawing on contemporary diaries, illustrations, letters, novels, travel literature, and so on, I hope to recreate the vanished world inhabited by Austen and her contemporaries: the scents, sights, and sounds of the period.

Discover a lost era of corsets and courtship!

Images:
Lady's Monthly Museum ‘Cabinet of Fashion’ fashion plates for October 1798 – the Moorish Habit and the Fatima Robe.

A Romantic Ruin

I have passed Tintern Abbey many times while driving down the Wye Valley, but haven’t had a chance to explore this picturesque site until very recently. Tintern, of course, has its own story to tell: it was home to the Cistercian order during the twelfth century. It is also legendary for being one of the birthplaces of Romanticism. William Wordsworth, his sister Dorothy, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey all visited the ruins, which inspired one of Wordsworth's most famous poems.

But this beautiful, tranquil valley was also formerly home to thriving metal industries. There was an ironworks here as early as the sixteenth century, a wireworks, and later a railway. The clatter, smoke and din of industry have all long since gone, however. If you walk away from the main road and up along the valley, there is only birdsong to disturb the silence…

Images: Tintern Abbey, Tintern Abbey furnace.   © Sue Wilkes

The Lunar Society

This year marks the anniversary of the Birmingham riots in which inventor and philosopher Joseph Priestley's house was burnt down by a 'Church and King' mob.

Priestley (1733–1804) was a member of the Lunar Society, which starred some of the most eminent thinkers and men of science of its day. The Society was based in Birmingham, home of industrial pioneers Boulton and Watt and the famous Soho foundry.

You can find out more about the story of the Lunar Society members and their pivotal role in the history of freedom of thought in the July issue of Jane Austen's Regency World.

Images: Dr Joseph Priestley. Burning of Dr Priestley’s House at Fair Hill on 14 July 1791. Samuel Smiles’s Lives of the Engineers: Boulton & Watt, (John Murray, 1874).

Travelling Post-haste

If you are a fan of all things Regency like me, you’ll love S4C’s recreation of the days of the Irish mailcoach in their programme ‘Y Goets Fawr’ (The Mail Coach). You can watch a a clip of the show on their website or watch the programme on CLIC here.

Once upon a time, the Irish mails went from London to Holyhead via Chester, but in 1808 the Post Office decided a new, speedier route was needed, via Shrewsbury instead of Chester. Telford’s new road, begun in 1815, meant that coaches could reach an average speed of ten and a half miles per hour. The loss of the Holyhead mail was bad news for Chester businesses, although it remained a busy centre for local coach traffic.
Images: Seeing them off. Illustration by Hugh Thomson, Coaching Days and Coaching Ways, (Macmillan, 1910.)
Through the toll-gate. Illustration by Hugh Thomson, Coaching Days and Coaching Ways, (Macmillan, 1910.)

Balmy Bala

Just got back from a lovely short break in Bala, north Wales. The weather was scorchingly hot on Sunday – hope that wasn’t the only summer we’re going to get this year! We also explored the coastal town of Barmouth, where there was a nineteenth century lock-up for malefactors. The building, built c.1834, had one cell for men and another for women.

The town lock-up or ‘bridewell’ was used to contain drunk and disorderly citizens or those waiting to go before the magistrates. Several Cheshire towns such as Nantwich, Stockport and Farndon had them, too.
I hope to have some exciting news soon – watch this space!
Photo: Nineteenth century lock-up, Barmouth. © Sue Wilkes

Priceless Treasure

No chance of seeing this morning's partial solar eclipse from cloudy Cheshire - we missed the recent lunar eclipse owing to the poor weather, too. We had a very interesting trip on Sunday, though. We went to the Potteries Museum and saw the Staffordshire Hoard. The craftsmanship and artistry of our Anglo-Saxon forebears is amazing, and it was a real privilege to see it. It is free admission at the museum, and well worth a visit, as the cliche goes. The museum also has a fantastic collection of Staffordshire pottery and china, and there were some lovely pieces of Regency date, including a huge Wedgwood bowl made to commemorate the Peace of Amiens.

At home with the Georgians

I finally managed to catch up with Amanda Vickery's new series At Home with the Georgians, and this is a 'must-see' for all Austen fans. Vickery is one of my favourite authors on the period, and I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. When Vickery visited Chawton Cottage and sat at Jane Austen's writing desk, you could see the thrill she felt on being on such hallowed ground.  Vickery also explored the other side of the marriage question through the diaries of some Georgian men - how they longed to set up home and have a soul mate to keep them company. Surely food for thought for all budding Regency novelists!

The Royal Engagement

A couple of days ago, the nation was treated to the exciting news of Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton. Things were done very differently when Prince George, son of George III, got engaged to Princess Caroline of Brunswick. The Prince was pressured into the marriage. His father wanted him to provide an heir to the throne, and the young prince was deep in debt. Prince George did not meet his royal bride until three days before the wedding; he had only seen a flattering portrait of her.
Princess Caroline of Brunswick arrived at Gravesend to begin her new life in England on Saturday 4 April 1795 and disembarked on one of the royal yachts the next day.
The lady the prince sent to accompany his new bride was his mistress, Lady Jersey. She brought some new clothes for Princess Caroline: 'a white satin gown, and very elegant turban cap of satin, trimmed with crape, and ornamented with white feathers' (New Annual Register, 1795). The clothes did not flatter the princess's somewhat florid complexion. When the prince, resplendent in his hussar uniform, went to St James's Palace to meet his future wife, he 'appeared extremely agitated'. Things did not bode well for the royal nuptials...
Image: Fashionable full dress with turban adorned with white feathers, Lady's Monthly Museum, November 1798.

An unexpected treat!

I was in Oxford at the weekend, and wandered into the Bodleian library as they always have interesting exhibitions on. By sheer good fortune, there was a one-day Jane Austen Exhibition. The exhibition was to help launch the Jane Austen Fiction Manuscripts Digital Edition. On show was the manuscript of her short stories and plays (Volume the First) written when Jane was a teenager, and Cassandra’s fair copy of ‘Sanditon’. There was also a set of Austen first editions owned by her brother Edward Knight. I was absolutely thrilled to see them - especially ‘Volume the First’ – somehow seeing Jane’s handwriting close up makes one feel closer to the author.

© Author’s photos of Jane Austen’s ‘Volume the First’ on display at the Bodleian, and the title page of Edward Knight’s copy of ‘Sense and Sensibility, also on display.

Mr Knightley's Bedtime Reading?

If Jane Austen’s hero Mr Knightley (Emma) wanted an entertaining bedtime companion, he might have chosen the latest issue of the Gentleman’s Magazine, which was founded by Edward Cave under the nom-de-plume 'Sylvanus Urban'.  The first issue, which appeared in January 1731, included a report on the ‘Melancholy Effects of Credulity in Witchcraft’ concerning recent witch trials in Somerset, and Pennsylvania in America.

Dr Samuel Johnson, then an unknown, starving hack writer, was an early contributor. Johnson had no regular income until Cave took him under his wing. The magazine published essays of antiquarian interest, reviewed the latest books such as Austen’s Emma, and included human interest stories like that of ninety year old William Crossman, a Somerset man who ‘kept his coffin by him for fifty years, and used it as a cupboard.’ (July 1824).
This immensely popular publication lasted right into the twentieth century. You can find out more about the Gentleman’s Magazine success story in the latest issue of Jane Austen's Regency World. There are also some early issues of the magazine at The Internet Library of Early Journals.

Images from the author’s collection:

Edward Cave. Boswell’s Life of Johnson, (Routledge, Warnes, & Routledge, 1859).

Portrait of Joseph Cradock (1741-1826), Senior Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Gentleman’s Magazine Vol. XCVII, January 1827.
Frontispiece of Gentleman’s Magazine Vol. XCVIII (July-Dec 1828), depicting the newly built St Katharine’s Hospital, Regent’s Park London, the Master’s House and coats of arms.

Reader feedback and Reviews of Regency Cheshire

A quick update of some reader feedback and reviews of Regency Cheshire:

‘It really was a lovely read, full of interesting characters, the preacher Jabez Bunting (what a wonderful name) and ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton. It was sad in places, the plight of the poor chimney-sweeps, brutal in others, the bear-baiting and cock-fighting, the grisly murders… My favourite bit was the story of the Knutsford innkeeper who relegated his inn sign of the Duke of Wellington to the pigsty. The book gave me a lot of pleasure, thank you’. Mr Nigel Kimber, Great Milton.

‘My copy has just arrived yesterday courtesy of Amazon uk. I devoured it last night, having fond memories of Cheshire despite attending the College of Law there! Congratulations Sue on such a readable, informative and beautifully produced book.’ Austenonly.

There are also some more kind comments at Gill's Place and on this blog post here.
A big thank you to Vic at Jane Austen Today for her splendid review, too. Do check out Vic's blog as it is full of fascinating info for Jane Austen fans.
Image: The author at Waterstone’s in Chester. © Sue Wilkes