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Anatomy of a Regency Inquest
During the Regency, the British had a constitutional dislike of police, believing that an organized police force would undermine the ideals of the kingdom. So when there was a crime, they had to rely on local magistrates and volunteer constables to take care of things. Occasionally, people would enlist the aid of the Bow Street Runners in London (that’s a post for another day). But when the crime involved a suspicious death, the coroner was called in to decide if someone was responsible and if that person deserved to pay for the crime. The title “coroner” comes from the Latin “coronus,” meaning crown; from the Middle Ages, the British coroner…
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A Reflection on Pre-Colonialism
When we think of the British in India, most of us will instantly envision colonial officers and their memsahibs lording it over the natives. This supremacist attitude, however, did not always the reign in England, but was the result of a long and complicated progression.
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A First of Its Kind: the Waterloo Medal
The Waterloo Medal was the first of its kind in Britain, but not everyone was pleased by its historic creation.
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The Senses and Sensibility
What was up with Marianne Dashwood and Catherine Moreland anyway?
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Never Mind Your Daily Bread
Though I love the Regency era, it was not all loveliness and good manners. The Corn Laws were an example of what greed can do to destroy peace and prosperity.
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The Truth about Romance
Romance hasn't always meant what we think it means.
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The Glory of Britain
Princess Charlotte of Wales was thought to be "Europe's hope and Britain's glory."
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Finding Connections
I often feel like a great pretender as an American writing about the Regency, but my genealogist husband pointed out my own valid connection.
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A Debate Over Debutantes
As a word geek, I do apologize for splitting hairs, but I really must take a stand: there were no debutantes in the Regency.
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How Bazaar
It seems fair to assume that the Soho Bazaar was most likely the shopping place Georgette Heyer meant in her excellent novels, but who can blame her for getting confused? I certainly don't dare.
