A Regency Primer on How to Play Hazard March 6, 2012

If you’ve ever come across the phrase “She was at sixes and sevens” in a historical novel and wondered what it meant, you may be surprised to learn it originated from the game of Hazard and generally is used to mean in a state of chaos or agitation. This popular dicing game has been around [...]

A Regency Primer on How to Play Whist February 28, 2012

Many historical romance novels feature card rooms at balls, clubs or dinner parties and gaming hells where rakes wager over the turn of a card or toss of a dice. Many games that are no longer familiar to us are rattled off: hazard, piquet, faro, and whist. Often, the games chosen have meaning for the [...]

A Regency Round-Up on Valentine’s Day February 14, 2012

There isn’t a lot of information available regarding how Valentine’s Day was celebrated in the early 19th Century. Most of the cards (mostly handmade love letters) from that time were considered ephemera and not held onto except in rare circumstances. You’ll notice I didn’t title this post as a primer, because I didn’t feel I [...]

A Regency Primer on The Last Frost Fair January 24, 2012

In the last entry in the Regency Primer Series we learned three ways to tie a Regency era cravat. This week, we’re going back in time to the last time the River Thames was frozen solid and the ships stood still and Londoners organized an impromptu festival in the middle of the river. The Little [...]

A Regency Primer on 3 Ways to Tie A Cravat January 10, 2012

The last entry in the Regency Primer Series wrapped up our look at Twelfth Night and Wassailing which signaled the end of Christmastide during the Regency Era. This week, we’re going to take a closer look at three knots in which a gentlemen (or his gentleman’s gentleman or valet) could tie his cravat: The Mail [...]