News of the Weird, Regency Edition by Allison Lane

Many modern newspapers carry a column titled News of the Weird.  But weird behavior is not just a modern phenomenon.  Below are some of my favorite Regency oddities:

The Great Georgian Gambling Epidemic   By Cheryl Bolen

In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen gives us a glimpse of the extent of the rage for all forms of gambling in the late Georgian era, which includes the Regency. Some of the tales she tells would probably be rejected by today’s Regency romance editors as completely unbelievable and yet, they are all true.

How the chips fell in Georgian times …

Of Jehus and Jarvies

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Readers of Regency romance novels are familiar with the ubiquitous figures of the jarvey and the Jehu on the box of one kind of vehicle or another. These two words are commonly used in modern writing interchangeably, as though they were synonymous. Yet, my reading of various Regency documents such as books, letters, diaries, newspapers and other periodicals over the years has led me to the conclusion that in actual fact these two words are quite antonymous. A jarvey is not a Jehu, nor is a Jehu a jarvey. Not to mention that a jarvey is not a coachman, but a Jehu might be.

So what is the difference between a Jehu and a jarvey?

The Wake in Regency England

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

The English wake during the Regency had nothing to do with the ceremony which many people in westernized nations today observe in honor and memory of someone recently departed. In fact, wakes in England by the early nineteenth century were considered by many such profane and unruly events that there were many efforts being made to suppress them completely. By the time the former Prince Regent, George IV, died in 1830, at least a third of the wakes in England had been abolished or severely curtailed. Few survived past the end of the reign of his niece, Queen Victoria.

The origins and history of the English wake …

Horseracing: The Thoroughbred of English Sports by Cheryl Bolen

Horse racing can be an exciting aspect of a Regency romance novel. In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen gives us a brief overview of the origins of the sport and some historical details about some of the most prominent racing venues in England.