As part of my blog, I developed a page where you can submit your Regency era questions. Here is a brilliant one from Brooke:
Moniker/Name: Brooke Your Question: I wish there was an easier way to figure out some basic nuts and bolts of the regency era. I am turning up nothing on my Google searches. Things like a map of regency era London with the different neighborhoods labeled, Did Families only go to London for the whole season or would they ever travel there for just one dance. What did respectable but not haute ton young Families do when they came to London? I mean they didn’t have a London house but could they stay in a Hotel, Would a respectable young married woman and her husband ever stay in a Hotel? Am I assuming a middleclass that didn’t really exist so much. maybe what I need is just a suggestion of some good dry history books that tell me about regency society, I find my understanding is quite imperfect. Source of Question: Just curious Additional comments: I love this resource, what a generous awesome thing you have done here!Thanks for the brilliant questions, Brooke! It can be very difficult to hunt and peck your way through the world wide web, especially when you are looking to answer some of the basic questions of Regency life.
For a tolerable map of London, I like the one available vis a vie Charles Dickens (http://charlesdickenspage.com/dickens_london_map.html). While its a bit past the Regency Era, it still give you a good overview of London as it would’ve been.
I also love Greenwood’s map of London from 1826 which you can view in detail here: http://users.bathspa.ac.uk/greenwood/imagemap.html
For a very detailed Victorian map, I recommend the interactive Charles Booth maps: http://booth.lse.ac.uk/. This is color coded to show views of wealth and will give you a general sense of neighborhoods and wealth in Regency time. Naturally, things changed substantially between the early and later century, but it nonetheless provides neighborhood views and gives you workable clues for your research.
I have also added some pins and a Regency London map board to my pinterest account: http://pinterest.com/regencyread/regency-london-maps/
For the little details of Regency England, I like to go directly to the source. You will see, particularly over the last year or so, me reference first sources which I find through the Google Book searches by limiting my time to around the Regency era.
For a nice general overview of London from 1827:
Leigh’s New Picture of London provides a wonderful resource for all things London, including history, layout, infrastructure and attractions. I tend to find the writing from this era witty, funny and not at all a “dry history” although it may require a bit more reading than the average Reg Rom lover would like.
With respect to your questions about hotels, Leigh’s Picture tells us that
You will see in some Reg Rom’s author mention the hero or other unmarried men preferred to rent apartments away from the family home in London so they might carouse and otherwise be apart from family scrutiny. Private furnished housing was also popular for lower gentry attending the Season, and depending on the neighborhood could be had a moderate price. Hotels and lodging houses were popular for shorter stays, and a review of that can be found here.
As for the respectability of these varied accomodations, Leigh writes:
There were rooms available enough for respectable families including merchants (cits as they were called or middle class as we might consider them in US) although likely cost would determine the address of lodgings. For instance, only the most supposing merchant would situate himself in one of the finer hotels in Mayfair.
A husband and wife of respectable circumstances could stay in many of the hotels, rented rooms or lodging houses offered in the metropolis. A young woman, properly chaperoned, might also find rooms in a respectable place but may be considered a high flyer if not possessing a good reason for being in the metropolis without male escort.
As for travelling to London for one dance, the cost and time of travel during the Regency Era would likely be too great to encourage such. With dances also going into the wee hours of the morning, and starting very late in the evening, the dangers of travelling the roads would be acute and therefore likely deter one shot travellers.
For more tidbits and research on the Regency check out the following:
http://www.likesbooks.com/regent.html (A list of books and a cheat sheet for high level Regency facts)
Jennifer Kloester’s Georgette Heyer’s Regency World does the research for you and can serve as a great primer on the Regency era.
Carrolly Erickson gives a broader history of the time period in Our Tempestuous Day: A History of Regency England
I hope that helps, Brooke! Please keep the questions coming,
Love,
Anne
