The Quizzing Glass Blog

A Regency Love Affair: Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson, Pt. 1
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A Regency Love Affair: Emma Hamilton and Lord Nelson, Pt. 1

This month marks the 209th anniversary of the death of Emma Hamilton. She was best known during the Regency as Emma Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton and the mistress of naval hero Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson. Theirs was a passionate affair, and this is the story of two intertwined lives, one of which ended in…

Fun with Words: Riddles, Rebuses and Jane Austen
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Fun with Words: Riddles, Rebuses and Jane Austen

Jane Austen must have had fun writing her fourth published novel, Emma. In addition to sparkling dialogue, funny situations, and comic misunderstandings, she included a couple of riddles.  If you have the book handy, these riddles (also referred to as charades) appear in Chapter IX of Volume I. Here’s how the riddles appear: Emma is attempting…

Christmas with Jane Austen and Charles Dickens

Christmas with Jane Austen and Charles Dickens

I’m always impressed by how one book can make a tremendous impact on the world, extending far beyond the writer’s lifetime. This certainly applies to Charles Dickens, born just a year after George, Prince of Wales was appointed Prince Regent. Dickens’ book, A Christmas Carol (originally titled A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story…

The Peace of Christmas Eve
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The Peace of Christmas Eve

  The Treaty of Ghent, also known as the Peace of Christmas Eve, was the pact signed in the city of Ghent, Belgium (chosen because Belgium was a neutral country) that officially ended hostilities between the fledgling United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Peace talks started in Ghent in August…

Members’ Regency Fiction Releases For December 2023

On the 1st of each month, Regency Fiction Writers publishes our FREE online newsletter, The Regency Reader, to anyone interested in Regency Fiction (1780-1840). The publication features author interviews, tidbits about the Regency era, and a listing of new titles from members and non-members. Members’ releases also appear here on the blog. Submit your Regency-set…

December’s Monthly Tea: Six Writing Productivity Myths
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December’s Monthly Tea: Six Writing Productivity Myths

  Join us on December 14 at 2 pm EST for a members-only talk on all things about setting productivity goals for 2024! (Be sure to SAVE YOUR SPOT via the button below!) When we struggle with productivity, we often find ourselves asking why any one particular method won’t work for us. Or why we aren’t more…

How Napoleon Ended the Holy Roman Empire
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How Napoleon Ended the Holy Roman Empire

“This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper” T.S. Eliot wasn’t describing the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire when he wrote those words in his poem, “The Hollow Men.” Nonetheless, his lines are an extremely apt way to describe the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, which…