The Early Modern Commons

Today’s article is rather different to my usual ones, as today’s is a rather early festive post and will be the last one for this year, as I’m taking a short break until  the new year, when I’ll return with plenty more tales from the Georgian...

The Reverend Samuel Oliver has probably received more publicity via All Things Georgian than he ever did during his life, as I have written several times before, he was the vicar who simply kept on giving. He was not only the moral compass for Whaplode...

In Harriette Wilsons’ Memoirs, she described in great detail the ball that was held at Burlington House, in celebration of the English victory over Napoleon. Watier’s 1 July 1814 on the reverse Harriette, along with her sisters, Amy and Fanny managed...

You can hear my participation in Dan Snow’s History Hit podcast here. Thanks to Dan for the invitation. For anyone interested in knowing more, this is the paper (joint with Patrick O’Brien) recently published in the EHR and motivated this participation,...

Before my summer break we took a look at the Berners Street Hoax, so it seems somewhat fitting that we return to that story. In the previous post I wrote about the wager  itself and today we’ll take a look at  Samuel Beazley who reputed to have been...

Author: Holland, Henry, Sir, 1788-1873. Title: Recollections of past life. Publication: London : Spottiswood & Co., printers, New-Street Square and 30 Parliament Street, 1868. Manufacture: London : Printed by Spottiswood & Co., New-Street Square...

Recently I spoke with the Guardian journalist Tim Dowling for an excellent article he was writing (published last week) about whether beards are finally ‘over’, and I thought it would be interesting to reflect on some of this. Since re-emerging around...

Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, Michael Lewis, identifies some 'middling' dress accessories among the finds of the PAS.

Here’s the transcript, in English, of a recent interview I gave to the French media Atlantico, concerning this paper (joint work with Jaime Reis and Lisbeth Rodrigues). The interview concerns the causes of the Little and Great Divergences, with particular...

As we are approaching Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake day, I thought we would take a look at Sarah Tully, later to become Lady Hoare about whom the Wellcome Collection have a book of recipes from the 1730’s in Sarah’s name. It’s not clear...

I accidently came across this beautiful medicinal chest on the Wellcome collection website and decided to find out more about Reece. Dr Richard Reece was born in 1775 and at the age of twenty was resident surgeon at Hereford Infirmary. He became a member...

Jane, or Mother Douglas as she was known, kept a bawdy house or brothel, in the Piazza, Covent Garden, entertaining a more upmarket clientele, until her death in 1761. It was, as is often the case, that whilst looking for something completely different...

Delighted to welcome back Paul Martinovich who previously wrote the fascinating guest post ‘Who was Selina Cordelia St Charles?’ Today Paul’s back, with an equally fascinating post to share, so I’ll hand over to Paul to tell us more about Dr Richard...

Today it’s my pleasure to have Lynda O’Keeffe with us again. Following on from her previous post about the blind playwright, John O’Keeffe, today, she’s going to tell us the very moving and tragic story of his daughter, Adelaide’s life.  Introducing...

After my previous article on Regency Women: Beauty Behind the Scenes, I realized that the things I really want to know more about concerning Jane Austen’s Regency women aren’t (and weren’t) discussed as much as other topics such as beauty regimes....

In memory of Blackie Margaret Hale, c.1999-August 17, 2021. Those who have followed me over the years know who Blackie was, and I would like to talk about her on this sad day. Earlier today, my family and I decided to have our beloved cat put to sleep...

Regency women went to great lengths to achieve an effortless, romantic look with long, flowing lines to their dresses and hairstyles. Even their dresses, which appeared to have little underneath, had several layers hidden below the surface. As with everything,...

I love introducing new guests to All Things Georgian and I’m excited to welcome Lynda O’Keeffe, researcher, writer and storyteller, today to tell us about John O’Keeffe (1747-1833), the blind playwright. As her name denotes, she is an ancestor...

I came across a story to share with you from the Star, 29 June 1802 which described Monsieur Garnerin’s first flight in England ,although I had read that his first flight didn’t take place until 21 September 1802, but perhaps it was, that on that...

Joanna was born in 1750 and presented for baptism at the local parish church, Ottery St Mary, Devon, by parents William and Hannah on 6th June 1750. If you look to the left of the entry in the baptismal register, you’ll see a faint, handwritten notation...