Walter Scott and Lord Byron were both best-selling authors during the Regency.
Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility (1811): The story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who, in a reflection of the book’s title, react quite differently to the hopes and disappointments of their lives and their love affairs.
Mansfield Park (1814): A tale of class and misconception, it tells the story of Fanny Price, a poor cousin who is adopted by her richer relatives and generally treated with condescension. Fanny’s natural good sense, modesty and principles support her through various ordeals and she eventually comes to be valued by those she loves while other, less principled characters are eventually shown in their true light.
Lord Byron, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–18): A long poem written in stanzas after the style of Spenser. The first two cantos were published in 1812, followed by the third in 1816 and the fourth in 1818 and together they tell the story of the travels through foreign lands of a disillusioned pilgrim. In the third canto specific links with current events such as the Peninsular War, Waterloo and Napoleon are made and by the fourth canto the poet speaks for himself rather than through the pilgrim.
The Corsair (1814): A poem written in heroic couplets, it tells the story of the wicked yet chivalrous pirate chief known as Conrad, his intrigues and battles with Seyd, a Turkish Pasha, and his tragic love affairs with Medora and Gulnare.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605 and 1615): Originally published in two parts, the story of the crazy Spanish gentleman who believed himself to be a knight and engaged in acts of chivalry against windmills and sheep, was well known by the time of the Regency and widely read. Begun as a parody of the popular chivalric romance, the book developed a deeper meaning as Cervantes developed the character of the devoted idealist in Don Quixote and the practical realist in his squire, Sancho Panza.
Dante, Divina Commedia (early 1300s): Also known as The Divine Comedy, Dante’s epic poem was his most important work. In it the poet goes on a journey into hell with the spirit of the great Greek classical poet Virgil as his guide. Dante offered readers a vision of the inferno, purgatory and paradise before leading them to God. An allegorical work, it was thought by many to be heretical but the strength of the language, the vision and continual allusions to the human experience gave it universal appeal.
Maria Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent (1800): A tale of Ireland and the eventual downfall of the hard-living and reckless Rackrent family as told by the family steward, Thady Quirk.
Tales of a Fashionable Life (1812): The Absentee was one of the most popular of a series of stories published in six volumes by Mrs Edgeworth from 1809. It tells the story of Lord Colambre and his improvident parents Lord and Lady Clonbrony and the family’s eventual return to Ireland at the son’s behest.
James Hervey, Meditations Among the Tombs (1746–7): Hervey’s two volumes of Meditations and Contemplations were extremely popular for many years. ‘Meditations Among the Tombs’ was included in Volume One along with ‘Reflections on a Flower Garden’ and ‘A Descant Upon Creation’. Hervey had an immense appreciation of nature but his writing was often prosy and over-filled with truisms.
Homer, The Iliad: The epic Greek poem tells, in twenty-four books of verse, the story of the Trojan War and, in particular, the story of Achilles.
The Odyssey: The second of Homer’s epic poems, it tells the story of Odysseus (Ulysses) and his many adventures as he travels home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
Lady Caroline Lamb, Glenarvon (1816): Published anonymously, Lady Caroline’s first novel was written as a form of revenge against the poet Byron after he ended their affair. The novel caused a scandal with its thinly veiled sketches and caricatures of members of the haut ton, including Lady Caroline herself (as the innocent Calantha), her husband, mother and aunt, and Lord Byron as Glenarvon. Despite their outrage, members of the upper class pored over the book, looking for portraits of themselves and those they knew. Glenarvon went into several editions and even had a key published for easy identification of the various characters.
Matthew ‘Monk’ Lewis, Ambrosio, or the Monk (1796): A story of sin, seduction, murder and a pact with the devil, the Gothic novel made Lewis famous and earned him the nickname ‘Monk’.
William Paley, Natural Theology (1802): One of several texts by Paley, a fellow of Christ’s College, Cambridge, which argued that proof of the existence of God was to be found in the clear design inherent in the natural world and especially in the human body.
Anna Maria Porter, The Hungarian Brothers (1807): A popular novel set against the background of the French revolutionary war, it tells the story of the orphaned sons of a Hungarian nobleman who must seek their fortune as officers in the Hungarian army. It was written by the sister of Jane Porter, the popular author of Thaddeus of Warsaw, and published in three volumes.
Jane Porter, Thaddeus of Warsaw (1803): A popular historical novel in four volumes which tells the story of Thaddeus, a patriotic young man, and his exploits during Poland’s struggle for independence. It was reprinted several times during the Regency.
Mrs Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794): The story of Emily de St Aubert, an orphan who is left to the care of her ambitious aunt. The aunt, who is married to the sinister Signor Montoni, has Emily carried off to the castle of Udolpho in the Italian countryside where various apparently supernatural events take place before the heroine is eventually reunited with her lost love.
Clara Reeve, The Old English Baron (1777): Originally published as The Champion of Virtue, A Gothic Story, and later renamed The Old English Baron, the story takes its inspiration from Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto, a Gothic romance with a strong supernatural element. Clara Reeve’s novel tells the story of Edmund, a humble hero of obscure origin destined to discover his rightful heritage, overcome temptation and defeat the villain of the piece.
The School for Widows (1791): The stories of three women: close friends Rachel Strictland and Frances Darnford, whose husbands are as profligate as their wives are virtuous, and Isabella di Soranzo, a tragic widow.
Colonel David Roberts, Adventures of Johnny Newcome (1815): First published by ‘an Officer’, The Military Adventures of Johnny Newcome, with an account of his campaigns on the Peninsula, and in Pall Mall was illustrated with sketches by the famous artist Thomas Rowlandson. A poem in four cantos entitled Adventures of Johnny Newcome in the Navy (also with plates by Rowlandson) was published in 1818 under the name of Alfred Burton—aka John Mitford.
Mr Samuel Rogers, The Pleasures of Memory (1792): A popular poem of limited literary merit but which was considered ‘agreeable verse’ during the Regency.
Sir Walter Scott, Marmion (1808): A dramatic poem in six cantos, it tells the story of the wicked Lord Marmion and his attempts to win the hand of the wealthy Lady Clare. The fifth canto includes the ballad of Lochinvar, a young hero who rescues the fair Ellen from marriage to a dastardly suitor by swinging her on to his horse and riding off with her in the middle of the bridal feast.
Lady of the Lake (1810): A romantic poem in six cantos. Set in Scotland, it tells the story of a knight and his love for Ellen, the daughter of an outlawed Highland chief. A tale of love and sacrifice.
Waverley (1814): Generally recognised as the first historical novel, it recounts the adventures of Edward Waverley, a romantic young Englishman who travels to Scotland and becomes embroiled in the Jacobites’ attempt to restore the Pretender to the throne.
Guy Mannering (1815): Set in Scotland in the reign of George III, it tells the story of Harry Bertram who, as a young child, is kidnapped and taken abroad at the instigation of the evil lawyer Glossin who has designs on the family estate. Bertram’s life becomes intertwined with that of Guy Mannering and his daughter Julia whom he loves. Ignorant of his true identity, on his return to Scotland Bertram is again threatened by Glossin’s scheming but is saved by the old gypsy Meg Merrilies and the farmer Dandie Dinmont. This was the story
which so enthralled Mrs Underhill and her family in The Nonesuch.
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus (1818): The story of a young student, Frankenstein, who brings to life a creature he has made from dissected corpses and then abandons it at the moment of its birth. The novel was written as a tale of terror and enjoyed widespread popularity from its first printing. The Duke of Sale could hardly put it down in The Foundling.
Mr Robert Southey, The Curse of Kehama (1810): A long poem based on Hindu mythology which tells the story of Ladurlad and his daughter Kailyal and the curse placed on Ladurlad by the great Rajah of the world, Kehama, after the death of his son Arvalan.
Felix Lope de Vega (1562–1635): Second only to Cervantes among Spanish writers, Lope de Vega remains the world’s most prolific playwright and is considered the founder of the Spanish drama. In addition to plays, he also wrote romantic prose, narrative poetry, parody and historical epics. He was known as the ‘Prodigy of Nature’ and was so revered by the Spanish that the phrase ‘Es de Lope’ meant perfection.
Friedrich Augustus Wolf, Prolegomena ad Homerum (1795): A revolutionary text in that it was the first to focus on the problem of the authorship of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Wolf addressed the questions of whether Homer actually existed and had written both epic poems, thus establishing the foundation for an important part of modern Homeric scholarship.
Ajax: The original Ajax was a hero of the Trojan War and his deeds are related in Homer’s Iliad. ‘The Unknown Ajax’ was a character in Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida in which he was portrayed as a valiant but foolish man and a great fighter.
Venetia: Venetia Digby was born in 1600. A great beauty, she was included in Aubrey’s Brief Lives and described as ‘a most beautiful desirable creature’. Several poets, including Ben Jonson and Aurelian Townshend, wrote verses commemorating her death.
Oedipus: The tragic hero of Sophocles’ plays Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus who was doomed to kill his father and marry his mother without knowing who they were at the time.
Appendix 4
Timeline
1738: George III born.
1744: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz born.
1761: George III marries Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
1762: George, Prince of Wales, born (12 August).
1775: Jane Austen born at Steventon (16 December).
1785: George, Prince of Wales, marries Maria Anne Fitzherbert (21 December).
1795: George, Prince of Wales, marries Princess Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (8 April).
1796: A daughter, Princess Charlotte, born to HRH George, Prince of Wales, and Princess Caroline (7 January).
Soho Foundry opened in Birmingham (30 January).
1800: Maria Edgeworth publishes Castle Rackrent.
1801: The parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland united in the Act of Union (1 January).
The Prime Minister, William Pitt (the Younger), resigns over the Catholic Emancipation.
The Battle of Alexandria (21 March).
The Battle of Copenhagen.
1802: The Peace of Amiens signed by England, France and Spain.
Gas lighting used for the first time to light the front of the Soho foundry in Birmingham as part of the celebration of the Peace of Amiens.
William Cobbett first publishes his Political Register (January).
Walter Scott publishes the first volume of his Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.
Edinburgh Review established (October).
1803: War with France begins again (18 May).
Invasion scare in England.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge publishes his Poems.
1804: Pitt again becomes prime minister.
Napoleon proclaimed emperor (May).
1805: Battle of Trafalgar (21 October).
Admiral Horatio Nelson killed at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Battle of Austerlitz (2 December).
Scott publishes Lay of the Last Minstrel.
1806: Pitt dies (23 January) and the Ministry of All the Talents takes office.
Lord Grenville becomes prime minister.
The great Whig orator, Charles James Fox, dies (13 September).
1807: Abolition of slavery passed in the House of Lords (25 March).
Gas lighting installed in Pall Mall.
The Whigs are dismissed from Office.
The Duke of Portland becomes prime minister.
Napoleon invades Spain.
Charles and Mary Lamb publish Tales from Shakespeare.
Lord Byron publishes Hours of Idleness.
1808: The Peninsular War begins.
Covent Garden theatre destroyed by fire (20 September).
Richard Trevithick’s early steam engine, the ‘catch-me-who-can’, runs on a circular track at Euston.
Walter Scott publishes Marmion.
1809: Battle of Corunna (16 January).
Drury Lane theatre destroyed by fire (24 February).
The Duke of York forced to resign as army commander-in-chief over the actions of his mistress, Mary Ann Clarke (18 March).
Battle of Oporto (12 May).
Byron goes abroad (2 July).
Battle of Talvera (28 July).
The great engineer, Matthew Boulton, dies in Birmingham aged 81 (17 August).
Canning and Castlereagh fight a duel.
The Duke of Portland dies (30 October).
Spencer Perceval becomes prime minister.
1810: Napoleon marries Marie Louise, daughter of the Emperor of Austria (11 February).
Napoleon annexes Holland (9 July).
Princess Amelia dies (2 November).
George III pronounced insane.
Lady Hester Stanhope travels to the Middle East.
Walter Scott publishes Lady of the Lake.
1811: George, Prince of Wales officially becomes Regent (5 February).
The Regent holds his first public levee at Carlton House (26 February).
Battle of Albuera (16 May).
Duke of York reinstated as army commander-in-chief (25 May).
The Regent appoints himself a field-marshal.
The Regent holds a military review of 3,000 troops on Wimbledon Common (10 June).
The Regent holds the great Fête at Carlton House with 2,000 guests (19 June).
Luddites engage in machine breaking in the Midlands.
Nash begins Regent Street.
William Thackeray born (18 July).
Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility published (November).
Percy Bysshe Shelley publishes Necessity of Atheism.
Shelley is expelled from Oxford.
London’s population passes the one million mark.
Great Britain’s population approximately 12.5 million.
1812: Battle of Cuidad Rodrigo (19 January).
Charles Dickens born (7 February).
Parliamentary restrictions on the Prince Regent removed (11 February).
Capture of Badajoz (6 April).
The prime minister, Spencer Perceval, is assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons (11 May).
Lord Liverpool takes over as head of the Tory government.
Lord Liverpool resigns (21 May).
Lord Liverpool resumes office (8 June).
America declares war on Britain (19 June).
Battle of Salamanca (22 July).
Battle of Borodino (September).
Napoleon begins the retreat from Moscow (19 October).
James Madison elected as US president (November).
London’s main streets are lit by gas.
Wheat prices rise dramatically, reaching near-famine prices.
The waltz is danced for the first time in London ballrooms.
Joseph Turner exhibits Snowstorm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps at the Royal Academy.
Byron publishes first two cantos of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.
The Grimm brothers publish their Fairy Tales.
/>
Mrs Siddons appears on stage for the last time.
1813: Austen’s Pride and Prejudice published (January).
Battle of Vittoria (21 June).
Madame de Staël visits London.
Wellington invades France (8 October).
Napoleon defeated at Leipzig (October).
The Methodist Missionary Society is founded.
The Philharmonic Society is founded.
Robert Owen publishes A New View of Society.
Robert Southey publishes Life of Nelson.
Shelley publishes Queen Mab.
Byron publishes The Bride of Abydos.
1814: In an extreme winter the Thames freezes over and the great Frost Fair is held (1–5 February).
The Grand Duchess of Oldenburg arrives in London.
The Allies enter Paris (30 March).
Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba (11 April).
Louis XVIII enters Paris as king (3 May).
Wellington created a duke (3 May).
Austen’s Mansfield Park published (May).
The Allied sovereigns arrive in England (7 June).
The procession of the Allied Sovereigns to Guildhall (18 June).
Military Review in Hyde Park with 12,000 troops (20 June).
Thanksgiving service at St Paul’s (7 July).