# Regency England



## mandicook (Aug 9, 2011)

Hello everyone!

I am working on a historical romance novel (my first attempt at a novel!) set in London in 1816. I have spent much more time doing period research that actually writing lol. But I do have a question I'm having a hard time answering. I was hoping maybe there was someone here with some knowledge or expertise with that period. If I have any future questions, I will probably post them here as well so as not to clog the forum 

My hero in the story is a captain in the British Army, in London after the Napoleonic wars. Was it customary at that time for a military official to wear their uniform to non-military social events, such as ball? If so, would they be in full dress or mess dress? If not, would they wear traditional dress with no indication of being military, or would they wear some type of patch or medal like some do today?

Thanks!


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 11, 2011)

I am also writing regency works, but I'm not going to be as picky as you on these sorts of details nor do I think your audience would be either. The only book I can suggest is, "Daily Life in Elizabethan England."


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## mandicook (Aug 11, 2011)

That you for the suggestion, I will check it out!

I am not going into too much detail about the clothing in general, but I was wondering how I might make it obvious to everyone who sees him that he is an officer. I just decided to use gossip as my tool


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 11, 2011)

I know I have a military guy in my story, and I've struggled with how I could have him even serving and being off at the war with Napoleon at all given I just read they pretty much never even fought on English soil. Maybe someone else knows if that's accurate. And then I'm keeping mine away for an inordinate amount of time and considered trying to make him a POW. But am completely unsure if they took POWS at that time myself. So thus hurt in a military hospital it is, maybe a broken something, back?


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## mandicook (Aug 11, 2011)

Cat Laurelle said:


> I know I have a military guy in my story, and I've struggled with how I could have him even serving and being off at the war with Napoleon at all given I just read they pretty much never even fought on English soil. Maybe someone else knows if that's accurate. And then I'm keeping mine away for an inordinate amount of time and considered trying to make him a POW. But am completely unsure if they took POWS at that time myself. So thus hurt in a military hospital it is, maybe a broken something, back?




No, the Napoleonic wars were never fought on British soil. Depending on the timing of your story, you could have him in between wars or you could have him in the hospital with injury. My story takes place after the 7th coalition (1816) and so the character is home from war. As far as POWs, I do think that Napoleon has POW camps, but I'm not sure of the details.

Good luck!


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 12, 2011)

The 7th coalition, did the war go past 1816? I thought it went into 1818. I'm not writing many dates in yet during rough draft, it only takes place over about a 2.5 year period.


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## C.M. Aaron (Aug 12, 2011)

The Napoleonic Wars ended in June of 1815 with probably a few months of demobilization afterward so that all of the soldiers would have been home by 1816. The British were also fighting the Americans between 1812 and January of 1815, but those soldiers would also be home by 1816. Consider that your British Army officer may have been put on half pay after the war and semi-retired, but that is not necessary. Many, perhaps most, officers remained on active duty in the peacetime army.   C.M.


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 16, 2011)

And that screws up my actual time line. Darn it. Must rewrite in dates now.


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## WolfieReveles (Aug 16, 2011)

My knowledge of regency dress code is mostly based on Jane Austen and BBC miniseries. As far as outfits go, yes, military full dress is very likely. Unsure about medals.
As far as convalescence I would recommend some illness for a short stay, perhaps a shattered knee or pelvis for an extended stay. A broken back sounds like it would most likely kill him, possibly leave him paralyzed but most likely kill him. You could also use some post traumatic stress and have him placed in a French or English sanitarium, or catatonic in a hospital, which allows you to extend or shorten his absence in any way you please, but he wouldn't come home in the most joyous state.

Anyway, if you want a quick and easy reference, consult BBC period dramas. The BBC do their research well and take pride in realism. They also carry out their wardrobe and scenography meticulously.


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 16, 2011)

I'm still a bit confused about the whole time periods, the Edwardian, to the Elizabethian, etc...


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## mandicook (Aug 17, 2011)

Cat Laurelle, most of the time periods are named after whomever the Sovereign was at the time. Elizabethan referring to Queen Elizabeth I, back in the late 1500's. The Regency period was the time where the Prince Regent was ruling instead of his father (early 1800's). Victorian = Queen Victoria (mid to late 1800's). Edwardian - King Edward VII (early 1900s). And so on and so forth


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## Cat Laurelle (Aug 17, 2011)

I kind of got that, I am glad you gave me a list, now I understand the use of the word Regency, and my dates are good for that, but I'm looking for specific books referring to the times for that period and what type of subtle differences may have occured as compared to other times/periods.


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## WolfieReveles (Aug 17, 2011)

A quick search turned up these on amazon, listed in no proper order:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/158297280X/?tag=writingforu06-20
On society- Amazon.com: Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners: Compliments, Charades & Horrible Blunders (9781596912748): Josephine Ross, Henrietta Webb: Books
On life and conventions - Amazon.com: Georgette Heyer's Regency World (9781402241369): Jennifer Kloester: Books
On living spaces and every day life - Amazon.com: Georgian and Regency Houses Explained (England's Living History) (9781846740510): Trevor Yorke: Books


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## Jobionekenobi (Sep 26, 2011)

Ensure when you do write that you use English words to decribe there dress, for example a captain would wear trousers... not pants! and eat jam not jelly. Lots of American words slip into english regency romance, and as an English person it can spoil it! Good luck with your reserch the british liabary has load of books online now which you can access free, some that were written in that period and some acedemic things. Apolgies about spelling, my pop up blocker does not allow the spell checker.


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## Cat Laurelle (Sep 26, 2011)

*Regency Romance and Language*

Would you happen to have that website, or could you somehow send it to me off list/privately for those books? or language pages?


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## Joanna Stone (Sep 27, 2011)

Please Cat go and do some more research before you carry on with this novel, you may well have the most brilliant idea but you aren't going to be able to do it justice until you are completely familiar with the period you have decided to set it in and I'm afraid it's glaringly obvious that you don't know much about the period  You're a journalist so you must know how to research and get your facts right, look up the British Library and find their website, get some books and biographies out of the library and read, read, read that way you won't mix up the Elizabethen period with the Regency ( some 250 years between them) and you'll be able to flavour your book with a real sense of the times.


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## Cat Laurelle (Sep 27, 2011)

Why would you make a bunch of assumptions that I am not doing reseach? I'm on my second draft and have read up a lot and am being very picky about which time period each type of detail would have occured/taken place. Do you not trust people who are Journalists? Are you making an assumption based on the media?


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## Joanna Stone (Sep 28, 2011)

Because you didn't realise that the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 not 1818, because you suggested a book about daily life in Elizabethan England as a resource for life in the Regency period (rather like suggesting someone researches Abigail Adams as background for the life of a president's wife when writing about Jackie Kennedy) etc... It's one thing not knowing about a specifc point, like the original poster's question, it's quite different not knowing the basic facts about your period and the date of the major war during that period is a basic fact. You also said in an earlier post you weren't being "picky" about details - when writing a historical novel you have to be, even more than when wriiting a contemporary novel, because you'll get caught out by your readers. Established bestselling authors can get away with being slapdash, new ones can't, their publishers don't like it when they get letters of complaint about details. 

I can't think why you believe I don't trust journalists - I said you are a journalist so you must know how to do research, it's part of your job. I was merely stating a fact, research will probably come easier to you than for someone who has never tried researching anything, that's all.

Many apologies if I've offended you, it wasn't meant, but as the granddaughter of a passionate historian (whose books are still used as texts in some US universities) and the writer of historical novels myself I do take historical accuracy seriously, after all nothing destroys the world of a novel quicker than discovering that the writer has made a fundamental error.


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## Cat Laurelle (Sep 29, 2011)

Forget I ever put up this thread, I was barely starting to fact check when I put it up. Can anyone tell me how to remove myself from this site? I've been repeatedly attacked no matter where I post anything.


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## adventuringheroine (Jun 28, 2013)

I'm also attempting to write something set in the regency era and had a question about ranking... My heroine's father is a second son of a gentleman (around the Bennet's wealth maybe a bit more) and I'm wondering what's the highest rank he could have?


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## Joanna Stone (Jul 21, 2013)

adventuringheroine said:


> I'm also attempting to write something set in the regency era and had a question about ranking... My heroine's father is a second son of a gentleman (around the Bennet's wealth maybe a bit more) and I'm wondering what's the highest rank he could have?


  If his father is just a gentleman (ie, doesn't have any form of title) a second son will be mister; Mr David Smith, his wife will be Mrs David Smith
The second sons of Baronets (Sir John Smith) and Barons (Lord Smith) are Mr ... Mr David Smith
The second sons of Vicounts and Earls are Honourables; The Honourable David Smith - only adressed like that on letters and when being announced, in company people will address them as Mr Smith not The Honorable David or the Hon Smith.  His wife would be The Honourable Mrs David Smith
The daughters of Vicounts are Honourables, of Earls Lady; Lady Davina Smith, in company spoken to as Lady Davina not Lady Smith
The younger sons of marquis' and Dukes are Lords; Lord David Smith and are addressed as Lord David. His wife would be Lady David Smith and in company people would say, 'More tea, Lady David?'

Unlike some continental countries younger sons of English peers don't pass on any form of their title to their children.

Hope this helps


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## Sparktheunknown (Jul 27, 2013)

Aww. did Cat really leave? Its been almost a year. I guess so. I hate it when other writers eviscerate each other. As if one might drop dead for just supporting someone who's trying something new and instead of being the judge and executioner themselves just leave it up to free market.


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