History

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…

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…

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

It’s almost time to break out the pumpkin (or apple, or pecan) pies, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and, of course, roast turkey. For many Americans, a family meal featuring traditional fare is the basis of a Thanksgiving celebration. But you may surprised, as I was, at just how far back in history our Thanksgiving tradition…

Edward Despard and His failed Assassination Plot
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Edward Despard and His failed Assassination Plot

There must be something about the month of November and plots to kill the British king. The dastardly treason of Guy Fawkes and his band of conspirators is well-known, and the foiling of that plot is still celebrated more than 400 years after the event, marked with fireworks, parades and bonfires throughout Great Britain on…

November traditions

  Halloween may be over, but as we get into early November there are a few more British traditions that were likely familiar to anyone living in Regency England. The most obvious one is Guy Fawkes Day. November 5, 1605, is the date that the infamous Gunpowder Plot was foiled, preventing Guy Fawkes and his…

A Regency ghost and more tales of haunted theaters

A Regency ghost and more tales of haunted theaters

  What is it about ghosts and theaters? There seems to be something about the excitement and intense emotions exhibited during a performance that encourages spirits to hang around, like afterlife groupies hoping to get invited backstage. In my last post I talked about the ghosts who haunt the Theatre Royal Bath. However, ghostly apparitions…