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The Reticule: A Fashionable Accessory in the Regency Period

October 7, 2007 by Vic

She soon believed herself to penetrate Mrs. Elton’s thoughts, and understand why she was, like herself, in happy spirits; it was being in Miss Fairfax’s confidence, and fancying herself acquainted with what was still a secret to other people. Emma saw symptoms of it immediately in the expression of her face; and while paying her own compliments to Mrs. Bates, and appearing to attend to the good old lady’s replies, she saw her with a sort of anxious parade of mystery fold up a letter which she had apparently been reading aloud to Miss Fairfax, and return it into the purple and gold reticule by her side …

Emma, Chapter 16

Reticules became popular when pockets were no longer sewn into the slim delicate dresses and skirts so common during the Regency era. These small handmade bags, frequently beaded or tasseled, came in a variety of shapes and are made of silk, velvets, handmade lace, or knitted fabrics. Most fashion plates of the Regency Era show ladies attired in walking costumes carrying a reticule similar to the one on top, circa 1800-1824 (Victoria and Albert Museum). These fashionable accessories were used from the late 18th Century through the flapper era in the early 20th Century.

Read my previous post on the reticule here, and find more examples of the Reticule in the following links:

  • Please Don’t Ridicule My Reticule discusses the history of the purse, including the reticule.Click here.

Posted in Fashions, jane austen, Jane Austen's World, Regency Life, Regency style, Regency World, Reticule and purse | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

Jane Austen’s Original Records

October 6, 2007 by Vic

Posted in jane austen |

Riding Side Saddle in Jane Austen’s Day

October 5, 2007 by Vic

“I am afraid you are very tired, Fanny,” said Edmund, observing her; “why would not you speak sooner? This will be a bad day’s amusement for you if you are to be knocked up. Every sort of exercise fatigues her so soon, Miss Crawford, except riding.”

“How abominable in you, then, to let me engross her horse as I did all last week! I am ashamed of you and of myself, but it shall never happen again.”

“Your attentiveness and consideration makes me more sensible of my own neglect. Fanny’s interest seems in safer hands with you than with me.”

Conversation between Edmund and Miss Crawford, Mansfield Park

Riding side-saddle was the leisure activity of the ladies of the upper classes, since horses were expensive to purchase and maintain. Horses and ponies that carried ladies were chosen for their sweet tempers and docile natures: they also needed special instruction in how to carry their riders in a side saddle.

The female rider was decked out in a formal riding habit. These fashionable costumes changed noticeably through the years. “Around 1785, the riding coat (later redingote) appeared with its close-fitting bodice, double or triple cape-collar in the style of a coachman’s coat, and a buttoned skirt. At the end of the century styles changed again and by the early nineteenth century a less voluminous habit became fashionable, with a high waistline and often a pleated jacket back, using materials such as fine wools or nankeen in the summer (there is also some evidence for velvet). The style lasted through the Regency period but began changing dramatically after the 1820s, when skirts became fuller again, and sleeves puffed.” (The Side Saddle Lady Museum)

Image from The Republic of Pemberley

Posted in Riding sidesaddle | Tagged | 5 Comments »

Flora & Fauna in the Regency World

October 3, 2007 by Vic

Writer Michelle Ann Young has been writing about flora & fauna in the Regency world in her informative blog, Regency Ramble. If you wonder what Jane Austen’s natural world was like during her countryside rambles, click here to read Ms. Young’s posts on the subject.

“Broom flowers in this month.” I often get gorse and broom confused. They both sport yellow flowers, but gorse if very prickly and flowers earlier in the spring. Broom is a much more gentle plant. It was used in the old days as an emblem or a cockade, worn on a lapel or a hat.

If I may add my personal observation, gorse and broom are considered pest plants today. I wonder if they were in Jane Austen’s time?

Posted in Natural world, Regency walk | 1 Comment »

The Year Without a Summer in Jane Austen’s Life

October 2, 2007 by Vic

Mrs. Digweed returned yesterday through all the afternoon’s rain, and was of course wet through, but in speaking of it she never once said “it was beyond everything,” which I am sure it must have been.

Jane to Anna Austen Lefroy, June 23, 1816

Jane Austen’s last summer before she died was a miserable one in terms of weather. Popularly known as “The Year Without a Summer,” 1816’s unusual weather pattern began half a world away. On April 1815, Mount Tambora erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. There had been a great deal of volcanic activity in the region between 1812 and 1817, but the gigantic eruption that blew the mountain’s top off on April 12th, 1815 spewed an enormous amount of volcanic debris into the upper atmosphere, blocking the sun with tiny particles of dust and affecting global temperatures.
After a major explosion, volcanic gas and dust remain in the upper atmosphere. These particulates are then steadily spread around the globe by winds. A catastrophic volcanic event, even a minor one, is “enough to delay the arrival of spring thaws, enough to project killing frosts into the growing season, and enough to shorten the growing window.” (Wickens)

That year the British experienced the third coldest summer since records were kept in 1659. Crops failed in SW England, and the price of rye and wheat rose, which resulted in food riots. An epidemic of typhus broke out in SE Europe, killing between 10,000-100,000 people, depending on which account one chose to believe.

What was Jane Austen’s reaction to the third worst summer weather in recorded history? She barely seemed to notice, although my observation may be off since many of her letters were destroyed by Cassandra and other members of her family. Jane made no unusual mention of the climate in the surviving letters of that year. Perhaps for an Englishwoman a few more days of wet, miserable, and cold weather were nothing to write home about. Still, it is disheartening to know that during the last full summer of her short life, Jane experienced unusually cool temperatures all through the season. She had already begun the downward spiral in health that would lead to her death. The dreary climate could only have added to her flagging energy and general sense of malaise.

  • Find out more about this event in this article: 1816- The Year Without a Summer: An Overview of the Eruption of Mount Tambora, by Simon Wickens.
  • Illustration: The Squall, James Gillray, 1808, Princeton University Library Collection

Posted in jane austen, Natural world | Tagged | 2 Comments »

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