Regency History

The English Regency politically began in 1811, when Prince George IV was made Regent of England. His father, King George III, had been declared insane. This is the same King George who was in power during the American Revolution. During much of the Regency, Napoleon was rampaging about Europe, until he met his Waterloo in Wellington. This was also the time when the Industrial Revolution was just beginning to rear its head. Times were changing and quickly, just as they are now as we dive into the Information Revolution.

While the Regency officially began in 1811, the culture, style of dress, and society manners of the Regency period actually began in the late 1700s and ran until about 1830. Think of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice--ladies in long flowing dresses with empire waists, gentlemen in double-breasted cutaway coats and skin-tight trousers, and witty, urbane conversation, a true duel of the sexes. Just as those descriptions typified the English upper classes during that period, so do they typify the characters found in Regency romances.

Below are some links to short articles on particular aspects of the Regency period that I've researched during my writing.

• Under the Leadership of Gentlemen: Parliament During the Regency
• Could a woman really pose as a man in Regency England?
• There’s Dancing, and Then There’s Waltzing
• The Old One-Two: Boxing in Regency England
• Christmas, Regency Style
• Seeing Stars: Astronomy During the Regency Period
• Lady Emily's England, a look at sites in London through the eyes of the heroine from La Petite Four.

You can also find me prosing on about nineteenth century life at Nineteenteen, the blog I share with my friend and sister author Marissa Doyle.