Breast feeding in the Early 19th Century

French artists Marguerite Gerard (1761-1837) painted this domestic scene of a mother about to breast feed her child.  The subject is unusual in that breasfeeding one’s baby was unfashionable for aristocratic and upper classes,  and the act had become associated with the poor and lower classes. Generally, wet nurses were paid to feed the babies [...]

Read Full Post »

Humphry Repton’s Famous Landscape Designs

Sir Humphry Repton (1752-1818), who was mentioned in a previous post about the paint color Invisible Green was a famous landscape designer during the end of the 18th century and early 19th century. “In his day, [he]was equal in stature to Capability Brown or Gertrude Jekyll, but is now often-overlooked. However, he was once favoured [...]

Read Full Post »

Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd: A Review

Consider this recipe for a modern Austenesque mystery: Take a familiar and beloved novel, Mansfield Park, with characters whose motives and actions we know intimately, and tear the book up. Throw the pages inside a bag, shake vigorously, and let the characters and plot fall where they may. Add a writer who has cooked up [...]

Read Full Post »

Invisible Green: A Favorite Colour for Georgian Landscape Buildings and Garden Fences

Inquiring reader: This is the second post by historical paint expert Patrick Baty of Papers and Paints, who has carried out extensive research into the use of pigments in architectural and decorative paintings. He has kindly answered a question about the paint color “invisible green,” which was left on his previous post, Painting a House [...]

Read Full Post »

Appointment With Death, a Hercule Poirot Mystery

Appointment with Death is the last new Hercule Poirot mystery to be shown on PBS for Season X. David Suchet and a sterling ensemble cast reenacted Agatha Christie’s tale in Syria – or did they? Big changes were made to the original storyline, which Christie had originally set in Petra. Lord Boynton, a famous archeologist, [...]

Read Full Post »

Two Richmonds: Australia and Virginia

What are the odds that two Richmonds a world apart would boast two historic churches named St. Johns? St John’s in Richmond was built in 1837 and is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Australia (actually, Tasmania). The structure is situated near the oldest bridge, built between 1823 and 1825 by Australian convicts over the [...]

Read Full Post »

Painting a House During the Regency Era: Q&A With Colourman Patrick Baty

Inquiring readers, One of the perks of overseeing a blog is getting to know the fascinating people one encounters while researching a topic. One such individual is Patrick Baty of Papers and Paints. Mr. Baty has carried out extensive research into the use of pigments in architectural and decorative paintings. Recently I asked him the [...]

Read Full Post »

Regency Interiors in the 1995 Adaptation of Persuasion: Inspired by Antiquity and Sir Thomas Hope

Thomas Hope (1769–1831), the style icon of the Regency interior, would have been happy with these images of Sir Walter Elliot’s interior of Camden Place in Persuasion 1995.  Thomas Hope was known for the “decorative details and ornament based on influences from his nearly ten-year Grand Tour, as well as from motifs from ancient Greece [...]

Read Full Post »

Admiral Croft in His Gig: Jane Austen’s Persuasion

In Persuasion, Jane Austen depicts the Crofts as the happiest couple imaginable. Sophy, who is also Captain Wentworth’s sister, follows her Admiral across the seas, sacrificing her looks in the process. She is only 38 years old, but her complexion is ruddy and has obviously been affected by the sun. Jane Austen writes about the [...]

Read Full Post »

In Third Girl, a Witty & Fastidious Poirot is Back: PBS Masterpiece Mystery!

Third Girl is the second installment of Season X of Hercule Poirot on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Unlike his dark and edgy stint on Murder on the Orient Express, David Suchet relaxes a bit in this production, once again showing the fastidious side of Poirot and reintroducing some of the dark humor for which Dame Agatha [...]

Read Full Post »

Jane Austen’s Death: Events in College Street 18th July 1817

In mid April 1817 Jane Austen was so ill she took to her bed in Chawton. By the 27th April she had written her will. After a visit from her brother James and his wife Mary she agreed to go to Winchester to be close to her surgeon who would take care of her there. [...]

Read Full Post »

Two Richmonds

Richmond and the River Swale, North Yorkshire Richmond, Virginia, my home town More on the topic: Castle View, Richmond Richmond, Virginia

Read Full Post »