The Regency Era

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       The  Regency Era is that narrow period after the Georgian time of powdered wigs and gaudy satins, but before the Victorian  time of dull, straitlaced staidness. Some say that when Victoria took the throne, she was fed up with the loose  morals and hedonistic behavior which had characterized the Regency. The Regency Era, generally c1790-1820, was  indeed a time of undiluted pleasure-seeking and over-indulgence.
       From glittering London with its cobblestone streets and Palladian-style  buildings, to the magnificent country estates built to display a family's wealth and power, to the seaside resort  of Brighton that the Prince of Wales made popular and where he built his fantastic palace, the Royal Pavilion,  the Regency Era has a charm unmatched by any other period of British history.
       The term Regency itself means that the current ruler (mad King George  III, recently depicted in a movie called "The Madness of King George") is incapable of performing his  royal duties, and a "Regent" (his son and heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales) must be appointed  to govern. The Prince of Wales was designated Regent in 1811. The Beau Brummell Mystery Series begins in 1805 in  order to best capture the years when Brummell's friendship with the Prince was at its height, and Brummell's impact  on fashion and influence in Society soared with dizzying speed.
The Gentleman's Magazine       A Regency gentleman devoted his life to relieving boredom. Naturally,  a gentleman did not work at any sort of occupation. Instead he gambled on cards, horses, or which raindrop would  reach the bottom of a windowpane first. A gentleman attended parties, balls, musical evenings, Almack's Assembly  Rooms, the theater, the opera, country house parties, Vauxhall Gardens, and spent endless hours in exclusive gentlemen's  clubs with his high-born friends.
       The importance of the social whirl during the Regency era cannot be overstated.  No matter that the French Revolution had resulted in Napoleon crowning himself Emperor and that England was at  war. What really mattered was where one was seated at a dinner party!

To learn more about the Regency Era,
I suggest you go to Anne Woodley's page here
http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/Regency.html