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Archive for the ‘jane austen’ Category

The Tyburn River Runs Through Grays Antique Dealers

Posted in jane austen, Regency London, tagged , , , , on July 22, 2009| 2 Comments »

Tributary of the Tyburn with goldfish

Tributary of the Tyburn with goldfish

Gentle readers, when looking up information about the reference Jane Austen made to Gray’s Jewellery store in Sense and Sensibility, I ran across this interesting site about Grays Antique Dealers. Situated in a famous building constructed by Bolding and Son, Plumbers, a water closet manufacturer whose name did not become as famous as Crapper’s, the building features a most wondrous sight – the remains of a tributary of the River Tyburn which runs through its mews.

The river rises at Shepherds Well in Hampstead and flows through Regents Park and the West End to the Thames via The Mews. As the area became built up the river was culverted, but there is one place the clean and running water of the Tyburn can still be seen and that is beneath the basement of Grays Mews, where it has become a popular tourist attraction full of golden fish.

This is how Mayfair might look had the Tyburn been allowed to flow above ground.

This is how Mayfair might look had the Tyburn been allowed to flow above ground.

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Dental Hygiene in the Regency Period

Posted in jane austen, Jane Austen's World, personal hygiene, Regency Life, Regency style, Regency World, tagged , , , , on July 21, 2009| 13 Comments »

In Sense and Sensibility, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood receive their first unflattering glimpse of a finnicky Robert Ferrars in Gray’s Jewelers  as he takes his time choosing a toothpick case:

He was giving orders for a toothpick-case for himself, and till its size, shape, and ornaments were determined, all of which, after examining and debating for a quarter of an hour over every toothpick-case in the shop, were finally arranged by his own inventive fancy, he had no leisure to bestow any other attention on the two ladies, than what was comprised in three or four very broad stares. – Jane Austen

Good dental hygiene is not a modern concept. Toothpicks have been found alongside their owners in ancient Egyptian tombs, and the Chinese freshened their breath as early as 1600 B. C. by chewing on aromatic tree twigs.  The world’s first known recipe for toothpaste, a mixture of rock salt, mint, dried iris flower, and pepper, came from Egypt. The development of toothpastes in more modern times started in the 18th century. A bicarbonate of soda or baking soda, the main raising agent in baking powder, was traditionally used for cleaning teeth and included in tooth-powder . A 19th century London Times advertisement promised an assortment of wonderful results for those who used tooth powder:

For the TEETH. Patronized and used by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent. TROTTER’s ORIENTAL DENTIFRICE, or ASIATIC TOOTH POWDER, had been for 20 years acknowledged by the most respectable Medical authorities, used by many, and recommended. The Powder cleanses and beautifies the teeth, sweetens the breath, posses no acid that can erode the enamel, and puts a beautiful polish on the teeth. From its astringency, it strengthens the gums, eradicates the scurvy (which often proves the destruction of a whole set of teeth), preserves sound teeth from decay, secures decayed teeth from becoming worse, fastens those which are loose, and proves the happy means of preventing their being drawn. – Next Year, Last Century

A dentist named Peabody was the first to add soap to toothpowder in 1824. Betel nut, though to reduce cavities, was also mixed into certain recipes.  By the 1850s chalk was included and in the 1860s a home-made toothpaste recipe incorporated ground charcoal. Recipes for tooth powder varied and were zealously guarded by their creators:

Toothpowders were based on three or four components: abrasives such as chalk, orris root, heavy magnesium carbonate or cuttlefish bone; antiseptics and detergents, represented by powdered hard soap and borax; and astringents which could be the tannins found in cinchona bark, bayberry leaves, essence of sassafras, and, very commonly, tincture of myrrh. Aromatic substances were often added as breath sweeteners, common ones being cardamon, cloves, peppermint, oil of lemon and aniseed. – Dental practice in Europe at the end of the 18th century By Christine Hillam, p. 214

The first toothbrush was made around 1780 by William Addis of Clerkenald. Addis also manufactured tooth brushes made of cattle bone.  Boar bristles were placed into bored holes and kept in place by a thin wire.  Interestingly, boar bristles remained in use until 1938, when nylon bristles began to replace the natural fiber.

Toothbrush holder made of bone, early 1800

Toothbrush holder made of bone, early 1800

Toothbrush bristles were the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the necks and shoulders of swine who lived (preferably) in the colder climates of  Siberia and China. Tooth powder was packed in a variety of boxes, like the one in the image below.

19th c. toothpowder box

19th c. toothpowder box

By the early 1800s, a variety of toothbrush and toothpowder manufacturers were competing with each other for a rapidly growing number of clientele in a thriving toothpowder trade. Tooth powder recipes proliferated, and toothbrushes began to be sold in great quantities. Sometimes both the tooth powder and toothbrush were sold together  ( ‘Bott’s Tooth Powder and Brushes’, Newspapers (1798).

M. Trotter, a widow, manufactured tooth powder and tooth brushes in her warehouse on No. 36, Surrey-street  in the Strand. Her tooth powder cost 2s 9d a box and her India Tooth Burshes cost 1s each. She was so successful that in a few years she moved into larger premises.  Dental Practice in Europe, p. 212

18th c. silver flask-shaped comfit box

18th c. silver flask-shaped comfit box

Anise comfits

Anise comfits

Breath fresheners took the form of comfits made of anise, caraway, and fennel seeds. These sugary seeded confections were laborious to make,  requiring dozens of thin sugar coatings. The seeds needed to be continually stirred in order to spread the coat evenly, and each sugared coat had to harden before the next coat was poured on. The process was repeated until the comfits had reached the proper size.  When a comfit is chewed, the fennel or anise seeds are crushed open, freshening the breath for 15 minutes up to half an hour.  People are still served this type of candied seed in Indian restaurants today.

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Jane Austen’s Legacy: Precious Bits of Ivory Turned Into Monsters

Posted in Book review, jane austen, Jane Austen Novels, Popular culture, tagged , , , , on July 18, 2009| 20 Comments »

completeworksJane Austen wrote six novels. You can almost count them on one hand. Those books, and a smattering of Juvenilia, a few uncompleted manuscripts, and a number of letters – some fragmented, most missing blocks of years – are all that we have of Jane Austen’s legacy in writing. Yet these little bits of ivory contain such a vastness of riches that one can spend a lifetime exploring them.

Not only did Jane inspire some of the best minds of her generation, but 192 years after her death her legacy still lives on, spawning imitators and sequel makers and inspiring an entire genre in literature. Her topics were circumscribed and narrow, which is the key to her timelessness. By focusing on the essential and not that which was fashionable, her writings remain fresh, relevant, and current. Jane Austen’s works are popular the world over and, observing from the number of websites, blogs, and discussion forums devoted to her on the World Wide Web, interest in her is still increasing and cuts across cultures and generations.

iheartdarcylgpride_and_prejudice_cb2(1)You haven’t truly arrived until you’ve been imitated. Like Shakepeare, Jane’s works invite hordes of copyists, with new books, movies, games, and comics based on her work and life cropping up monthly. Satirists are having as much fun with our Jane as with Shakespeare. Action figures and finger puppets abound, and famous lines are quoted with a modern twist every day. With Shakespeare it might be, “To eat, or not to eat, that is the question,” while Jane’s famous opening line morphs into, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a writer in need of a plot must steal from Jane Austen.” We quoth our Jane evermore, but, lacking her biting wit and brilliant insights, we fall short every time.

sense and sensibility and sea monstersAnd now it seems that the Jane Austen industry has descended into monster sequel and adaptation madness, regurgitating these popular culture books at an unholy rate. The new crop of Jane Austen adaptations include Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre Slayer, Pride and Predator, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. What’s next? Emma and the Loch Ness Monster? King Kong Conquers Northanger Abbey? Mr. Bingley, Werewolf?

At least Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was sensible enough to retain 80% of Jane’s words. Currently, I am barely slogging through Mr.Darcy, Vampyre. The book purports to be about Jane Austen-named characters, but their actions, speech, and motivation have nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice. Neither can Amanda Grange’s writing hold a candle to either Jane’s spare, witty style or Anne Rice’s evocative and decadent language in her masterful first novel, Interview With the Vampire. One suspects that Source Books has rushed this vanity novel out to take advantage of the Monster and Jane Craze. And now Quirk Books has announced the publication of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. Have you seen the trailer? Uggh. The book has retained only 60% of Jane’s words, which means it will be even more action oriented than P&P and Zombies. While thirteen year old boys are whooping for joy in anticipation of this book, we lovers of literature are scratching our heads, knowing that its publisher and author will be happily scooping up dollars at the bank. Meanwhile a more talented and original writer, unable to get a foot through that publisher’s door, will have to work at Burger King to pay the rent.
Mr Darcy, Vampyre cover
And then there are the Jane Austen and sex sequels. Last year, a sequel had Darcy and his Elizabeth making love at least 19 times in the first half of the book. I am currently awaiting two sexy sequels with a bit of trepidation, but I will be frank with you, if these two books are merely about titillation, I won’t be giving them a kind review. There’s a popular cultural reason why the American ending of Pride and Prejudice 2005 contains this scene, which our British cousins didn’t have to see. “Nuff said.

Not for me these wannabe imitators, these pale, faceless shadows of a literary genius whose sun shines so brightly that I reread her words regularly without tiring of her. Enough, I say, of this monstrous Jane Austen sequel trend.  Fun is fun, but desecration is another thing. I know many people feel that this is an innovative way to introduce young people to Jane Austen’s splendid novels. I say, let’s stop the monster madness now and introduce Jane to new readers in a more proper way.

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  • Making light: Incorporate Electrolyte : This blogger wrote tongue in cheek about a possible sequel entitled Mary Bennet, Vampyre Slayer way back in 2007. Her plot outline is funnier than any of the current crop of books

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Jane Austen’s Last Hours

Posted in jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Etiquette, Regency Life, Regency style, tagged , , on July 18, 2009| 4 Comments »

Gentle Reader, July 18th marks the anniversary of Jane Austen’s Death. This post was first published in 2007:

Mary Austen nee Lloyd, the wife of James Austen, was present at Jane’s death. She wrote the following passage in her diary (See image below)

17 July 1817 “Jane Austen was taken for death about ½ past 5 in the Evening”
18 July 1817 Jane breathed her last ½ after four in the morn; only Cass[andra] and I were with her. Henry came, Austen & Ed came, the latter returned home”

Read a sad but fascinating account of Jane’s final hours, Jane Austen’s Final Resting Place, at Hantsweb.
Jane spent her last days in a small house in Winchester, near a doctor of some repute. She wrote in May:

I live chiefly on the sofa, but am allowed to walk from one room to the other. I have been out once in a sedan-chair, and am to repeat it and be promoted to a wheeled chair as the weather serves.” And speaking of her illness she remarks, “On this subject I will only say further that my dearest sister, my tender watchful, indefatigable nurse has not been made ill by her exertions. As to what I owe to her, and to the anxious affection of all my beloved family on this occasion, I can only cry over it, and pray to God to bless them more and more. – Chapter XXIII, Jane Austen: Her Homes & Her Friends (John Lane The Bodley Head, 1923) by Constance Hill.


Jane died on July 18, 1817. Cassandra, Jane’s dear sister, wrote these affecting words:

Since Tuesday evening, when her complaint returned, there was a visible change, she slept more and much more comfortably; indeed, during the last eight-and-forty hours she was more asleep than awake. Her looks altered and she fell away, but I perceived no material diminution of strength, and, though I was then hopeless of a recovery, I had no suspicion how rapidly my loss was approaching.

I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed. She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I had lost a part of myself. I loved her only too well — not better than she deserved, but I am conscious that my affection for her made me sometimes unjust to and negligent of others; and I can acknowledge, more than as a general principle, the justice of the Hand which has struck this blow.

You know me too well to be at all afraid that I should suffer materially from my feelings; I am perfectly conscious of the extent of my irreparable loss, but I am not at all overpowered and very little indisposed, nothing but what a short time, with rest and change of air, will remove. I thank God that I was enabled to attend her to the last, and amongst my many causes of self-reproach I have not to add any wilful neglect of her comfort.

She felt herself to be dying about half-an-hour before she became tranquil and apparently unconscious. During that half-hour was her struggle, poor soul! She said she could not tell us what she suffered, though she complained of little fixed pain. When I asked her if there was anything she wanted, her answer was she wanted nothing but death, and some of her words were: “God grant me patience, pray for me, oh, pray for me!” Her voice was affected, but as long as she spoke she was intelligible.

Read the rest of the letter on the Republic of Pemberley website.

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How Rich is Fitzwilliam Darcy? Very

Posted in jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Life, Regency World, tagged , , on July 15, 2009| 5 Comments »

Gentle reader,

This is a post I published two years ago to this day. Ever wonder how rich Mr. Darcy truly is? Five articles in this post discuss Regency economics.

firth2
How Rich is Fitzwilliam Darcy? Click here to view a morning coffee video by Brad DeLong on March 9, 2007. You will have to click on the start arrow to get the video started. What does an income of 10,000 pounds mean? If you can get past Brad’s awful imitation of Mrs. Bennett’s voice, this video is an informative 3 minute assessment of Darcy’s wealth in today’s terms. For a fuller explanation of the video, go to Brad de Long’s paper, How Rich is Fitzwilliam Darcy? The link leads to an insightful paper that discusses the economic circumstances of Jane Austen’s characters.
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