Everything you need to know about English titles

No, I'm not going to try to give you all the details about English rank and aristocracy, about precedence, and honours, and dignities. Four years ago, I did a post listing some resources for information on titles. But now I have found two books from 1809 and 1828 which will tell you everything you do need to know, from the horse's mouth, as it were.

Crowns and Coronets of England from The Manual of Rank and Nobility

The 1828 book containing the above illustration is:

Hopefully its information is accurate and can be used without concern, for it does cover everything. The book has no illustrations other than the one at the top of the page, but it does have such arcane details as

The book contains lists of all the current (1828) title holders in Great Britain, and the origins and legalities of terms such as duke, earl, baronet, etc. etc. It also includes articles such as "Privileges of the Queen", "Maxim that the King never dies" and "Embalming Royal Bodies"!

The other book is from 1809 and is declared to be a children's book:

It contains twenty-four charming illustrations, and two excellent tables of precedence--one for men and one for women--at the book's end.

There is no table of contents or index which makes use a little challenging, but the information offered is fascinating. I find children's books such as this as a worth-while starting point for facts, particularly as the material is laid out so clearly. For the beginner, this book, followed by the Manual of Rank and Nobility, should supply every need.

 As well as peers, it also covers the army and navy, the church and various posts of officialdom, with their duties, and often details of costume.

Even court dresses receive a mention:

It is, of course, always best when undertaking research to look for primary source materials. I regard these two books as primary source, and I hope you find them as interesting as I have. They are both available for download from Google Books.

'Til next time,
Lesley-Anne

More Books Begging to be Read

A family emergency has occupied all my time this week, and so I can offer you only something which appears as well on my website--my list of favourite research books.

One of the joys of writing historical fiction is the historical research it requires.

I write about the Regency because I love to read about the Regency, in fiction and non-fiction.

Here I list some of my favourite research books in the hope that they will enhance your Regency romance reading experience.

There are many books about the Regent of the 'Regency', and his times.
These titles are good starting points:

George IV: Inspiration of the Regency

Steven Parissien hc, St. Martin's Press, 2001

The Prince of Pleasure and his Regency 1811-20 by

J. B. Priestley Sphere Books, trade pbk, 1971

George IV: Regent and King 1811-1830 by

Christopher Hibbert hc, Allen Lane, 1975

More general history of the period and some original accounts are found in:

Years of Victory 1802-1812 by Arthur Bryant
London, Collins, 1945 hc

The Age of Elegance 1812-1822 by Arthur Bryant
London, Collins, 1950 hc

The Rise and Fall of a Regency Dandy:
The Life and Times of Scrope Berdmore Davies by T.A.J. Burnett
ISBN 0-19-285124-1 pbk Oxford University Press

A Residence at the Court of London by Richard Rush
ISBN 0-7126-1780-9 pbk Century Hutchinson

Voices from the World of Jane Austen by Malcolm Day
ISBN 0-7153-2379-2 hc David & Charles Limited

Captain Gronow: His Reminiscences of Regency and Victorian Life 1810-60
ed. by Christopher Hibbert
ISBN 1-85626-013-5 hc Kyle Cathie Limited 1991, many other editions available

Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces (1811) or The English Lady's Costume
by a Lady of Distinction
ISBN 0-914-46-24-1 pbk R. L. Shep Publications 1997

The Miseries of Human Life by James Beresford
originally published 1806, many editions

Our Village by Mary Russell Mitford
originally published 1821, many editions

Diary of a Country Parson by James Woodforde
originally published ?, many editions

For views of the Regency world, try:

Britain Portrayed: A Regency Album 1780-1830 by John Barr
0-7123-0174-7, hc, 1989, The British Library

Regency England: The Great Age of the Colour Print
by Reay Tannahill, The Folio Society Limited, 1964 hc.

Mrs. Hurst Dancing and Other Scenes from Regency Life 1812-1823
by Gordon Mingay with original watercolours by Diana Sperling.
ISBN 0-575-03035-6 hc London, Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1981

Life 'below stairs' is well documented:

The Complete Servant: Regency life below stairs
by Samuel & Sarah Adams, Butler & Housekeeper
1-870962-09-5 trade pbk, 1993, Southover Press

The Housekeeping Book of Susanna Whatman
ISBN 0-7126-1755-8 National Trust Classics


About Regency Architecture and Design:

Masterpieces of Wedgwood by Aileen Dawson
ISBN 0-7141-0531-7 pbk British Museum 1995

Design and the Decorative Arts: Georgian Britain 1714-1837 by Michael Snodin and John Styles
ISBN 0-8109-6618-2 V&A Abrams 2004

Architectural Drawings of the Regency Period: 1790-1837 by Giles Worsley
ISBN 1-55835-044-6 hc Americn Instit. of Architects Press

London's Georgian Houses by Andrew Byrne
ISBN 0-9511459-0-8 pbk The Georgian Press

Georgian and Regency Houses Explained by Trevor Yorke
ISBN 978-1-84674-051-0 pbk England's Living History Series/Countryside Books 2007

About the Napoleonic Wars:

Die Hard! Dramatic Actions from the Napoleonic Wars
by Philip J. Haythornthwaite

ISBN 1-85409-447-5 pbk Arms & Armour Press/Cassell

Uniforms of Waterloo by Haythornthwaite, Chappell and Cassin-Scott
ISBN 1-85409-394-0 pbk Arms & Armour Press/Cassell

Next week, multi-published author Maureen Mackey will be here blogging about Regency Etiquette. Maureen is a prolific author of Regency romance and romantic suspense. It was while studying English literature and history that she fell in love not only with her future husband but also with 18th century and Regency England. Maureen’s lifelong love of mysteries prompted her passion for writing in that genre as well. When she’s not writing she likes to read, prowl through used book stores, walk her rambunctious Sheltie and spend time with Tom and their two sons. She’s currently working on a time-travel mystery and a Regency novella.

Her most recent Regency romance:

Can anything induce an unrepentant rake to abandon his indulgences and reform himself? Prudence Culpepper doubts her childhood playmate, Lord Harry, is capable of changing his irresponsible ways. But a fire, and a desperate chase through the countryside bring out the best and worst in both of them.


Please join us then!
In haste,

Lesley-Anne

This is a little article I wrote to aid members of my writers' group who were just breaking into historical writing, particularly the Victorian era. I offered a few suggestions on reading and research, and some ideas for reading on and of the period. I hope you find it interesting. I am going on holiday within a couple of days, and will be back in the middle of August. There will still be blogs for you to read--I hope you enjoy them, and I'll talk to you soon…

Lesley-Anne

Firstly about wording or language -- to get a solid idea of how people spoke you need to read books written at the time. If you are interested in 19th C Britain -- you should read any or all Jane Austen, 'Vanity Fair' by Thackery, 'Barchester Towers' and others by Anthony Trollope, 'Jane Eyre' and 'Wuthering Heights' by the Brontes, anything by George Eliot, 'The Moonstone' or 'Woman in White' by Wilkie Collins, anything by Thomas Hardy, and of course, Charles Dickens. Some of these are heavy going -- the writing style is alien to us, but even if you just browse them to look at the language, you will be learning. (I've never been able to read Dickens ) Someone else very useful and much easier to read is Flora Thompson. She only wrote a couple of books-- I think the library has them. One title is 'Lark Rise to Candleford'. And then there are people like Georgette Heyer who have impeccable period language although she was writing in the 20th century.

Also diaries can be very useful -- Francis Kilvert and John Woodforde were both parsons who wrote diaires, one at the end of the 19th century, one at the beginning. And finally if you want to get technical about words and language you can try "Nineteenth Century English" by Richard W. Bailey from the University of Michigan Press. It's pretty scholarly but very interesting.

Something you should know is that research, if you're writing historicals, is a life-long process. There is no quick and easy way to learn it all. Most of us writing historicals find the research way more fun than the writing :) You will need to know your British history really well, and if you're writing emigration type stories, you need to know all you can about that process of emigration as well as 19th century Canadian history. Those will be your basics.

After that -- whenever you have time! -- you need to research particular subjects. For example, google or library search 'horse drawn carriages' or '19th century costume' or 'Victorian trades'. And you just learn and learn and learn; but there's no quick way.

And remember don't put off writing until you have all the research done. Because you'll never be done researching, and you need to start writing as well as researching.