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Book Review: Princesses: The Six Daughters Of George III By Flora Fraser
King George III had a big family, siring 15 children with his poor Queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. But it's only their flamboyant and extravagant firstborn, George, Prince of Wales, and his...
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On The Importance Of Fashion
"Neither Ceasar nor Epaminondas have spent so much thought upon the arrangement of their armies or the event of a battle, as is being spent by my contemporaries upon a pouf, or a well-adjusted ribbon,...
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Georgiana Spencer Marries The Duke Of Devonshire
News that the Duke of Devonshire, one of the wealthiest bachelors in England, was to marry the beautiful and charming Georgiana Spencer spread fast and created quite a sensation. The wedding was very...
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Historical Reads: Marie Antoinette's Boudoir At Fontainebleau
Author Melanie Clegg shows us Marie Antoinette's boudoir at Fontainebleau. To quote:Marie Antoinette was never to become fond of Fontainebleau – it was enormous and sprawling, its stately edifice and...
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Fashions For 1829 (Part 5)
Hello everyone,I've found two more fashion plates from the year 1829 and thought I'd share them with you. Aren't these dresses very pretty? My favourite is the second one. I love the style, the...
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Marie Antoinette's Proxy Wedding
On 19 April 1770, the Archduchess Marie Antoinette married Louis, the Dauphin of France, by proxy. At 6:00 pm, the 14 year old bride, wearing a glistening and luxurious gown of cloth of silver, with a...
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Book Review: Liberty: The Lives Of Six Women In Revolutionary France
"Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights," declared Olympe de Gouges in 1791. Unfortunately, the French Revolutionary government didn't agree with Olympe, and never granted women full...
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Rosa Bonheur
Portrait de Marie-Rosalie dite Rosa Bonheur by Édouard Louis DubufeMarie Rosalie Bonheur was born in Bourdeaux in 1822 into a poor but artistic family. Her mother was a piano teacher, while her father,...
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A Tomboy Princess
In June 1811, Lady Albinia Campbell met the 15 year old Princess Charlotte of Wales, heir to the British throne, at Windsor. Here's what she thought of the young girl:Princess Charlotte is here. She is...
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Historical Reads: Macaronis And Dandies
Over at The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide To The 18th Century, Heather Carrol explains who the macaronis and the dandies, " two very different breeds of flamboyant males", were. To quote:The...
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Mrs Muttlebury, Wet Nurse To Charlotte, Princess Royal
In 1766, Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, gave birth to her first daughter, Charlotte. At the time, custom forbade royal and noble women from breastfeeding their children themselves, and so...
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The Birth Of Henry, Duke Of Cornwall
On 1 January 1511, in the very first hours of the morning, Catherine Of Aragon, wife of King Henry VIII, gave birth to a baby boy. Finally, England had an heir! His parents were overjoyed. The baby was...
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Classic Books: Pinocchio, The Master Of Ballantrae & The Adventures Of...
Hello everyone,it's been a while since I last shared with you some classic books I really like. So, let's get started:Pinocchio by Carlo CollodiI had an abridged version of Pinocchio when I was little...
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The Invasion; Or, France And England
English artist William Hogarth was a patriotic man who deeply disliked France. He showed his feelings about the two rival countries in two prints entitled "The Invasion; Or, France And England". Let's...
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Glove Stretchers
What's that weird-looking object pictured above? Is it a rudimentary pair of scissors? Chop sticks? Some kind of hair clip? Nope, it's a glove stretcher. A glove stretcher was a must have for any...
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Historical Reads: Did Elizabeth I Really Hate Other Women?
Did Queen Elizabeth I really hate other women? Over at English Historical Fiction Authors, Sandra Byrd debunks the myth. To quote:There is no doubt that from time to time Elizabeth expressed, sometimes...
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Fashions For 1810
Hello everyone,today we're gonna take a look at the style of clothes worn in 1810. Dresses were still in the empire fashion and those ridiculously huge sleeve still hadn't made an appearance:EVENING...
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Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne
Elizabeth Milbanke, the only daughter of Yorkshire landowner and politician Sir Ralph Milbanke, was baptized on 15 October 1751. Elizabeth grew up to be a beautiful, clever and good-humoured young...
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Book Review: An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula
I bought An Uncommon Woman by Hannah Pakula because, after years of studying the life of Queen Victoria, I had became interested in her children as well. And what better way to start my research on...
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Ah, Madame, you must be such a good swimmer
In pre-revolutionary France, conversation was an art. Word games, making up poems or conundrums, jokes and debates were all favourite pastimes that stimulated conversation and kept the brain sharp....
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