Quilted Petticoats: worn by all women and useful in more ways than one!
As the weather is turning cooler, let's take a look at quilted petticoats. They were an item of clothing that transcended any notions of...
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- May 9
- 7 min
Moll King, of King's Coffee House in Covent Garden
‘What rake is ignorant of King’s Coffee House?’ (Henry Fielding, The Covent Garden Tragedy, 1732). There are many tall tales told about...
- May 1
- 3 min
May Day: Jack in the Green and Chimney Sweeps
May Day, or, Jack in the Green We'll banish Care, and all his Train Nor thought of Sadness round us play Fly distant hence, corroding...
- Apr 15
- 6 min
Revealing the later life of Nelly O'Brien
Sir Joshua Reynolds painted the courtesan Nelly O’Brien twice, between 1762 and 1764. Both paintings were paid for by her lover,...
- Mar 21
- 5 min
John Courtoy, hairdresser, investor, miser, and enigma
Mr Courtoy, who died a few days ago, was a native of France, and, when young, served in the French army. He was by trade a hairdresser,...
- Mar 14
- 4 min
Mary Ramsay, a female imposter
In All Things Georgian: Tales from the Long Eighteenth-Century, I recounted the adventures of Sarah Wilson, aka Lady Wilbrahammon…...
- Nov 16, 2023
- 2 min
Dido Elizabeth Belle - Etienne Daly's Decade of Research
Etienne Daly has been researching the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle for a decade now. In that time, he has uncovered some fascinating...
- Nov 9, 2023
- 3 min
Portrait of a Lady
The Historical Writers Forum is a place for writers of history, whether fiction or nonfiction, published or not, to connect and support...
- Nov 7, 2023
- 2 min
A Guide to Regency Entertainment
The following guide to entertaining during the Regency era is taken from a book published in 1818. Social Meetings The social meetings of...
- Apr 13, 2023
- 8 min
Dido Elizabeth Belle: revealing her half-siblings
This is an updated post of my original on a former blog. It reveals information about Dido Elizabeth Belle’s siblings, much of which was...
- Feb 9, 2023
- 8 min
The Fair Swindler of Blackheath
This is a fascinating story that proves fact is stranger than fiction. Grab a drink, sit back and enjoy! Elizabeth (Eliza) Frances...
- Nov 18, 2022
- 1 min
Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity
I’m delighted to let you know that my latest book, Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity, is now published. If you have pre-ordered a...
- Oct 31, 2022
- 1 min
Kitty Fisher keeps us waiting
This is just a quick blog post to apologise for Kitty's non-appearance at her scheduled time. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond...
- Aug 17, 2022
- 1 min
The best non-fiction books about the untold, or little-known lives of women throughout history
Recently, I was asked to share a list of five books that I'd recommend to other readers. Shepherd Books is a new online site that allows...
- Aug 4, 2022
- 1 min
Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity
My biography of Kitty Fisher has a cover! It will be published in October 2022 (in the UK), and is already available for pre-order at...
- Jun 29, 2022
- 3 min
A reimagining of Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Elizabeth Belle was born in 1761. Her mother was an African slave, Maria Bell, and her father a British aristocrat, Captain John...
- Jun 16, 2022
- 3 min
Beau Nash's 'Rules of Bath'
Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, dandy, Bath’s Master of Ceremonies and unofficial ‘king’ of the city was born in 1674. He set the rules by which...
- Mar 25, 2022
- 5 min
Who Was She? A Mysterious Stranger in Regency Clerkenwell
I was browsing through an 1819 copy of the Morning Advertiser looking for something completely different when this story caught my eye....
- Feb 9, 2022
- 2 min
Regency Tall Tales: Princess Caraboo
In 1817, Princess Caraboo’s story captivated the British public. She told a dramatic tale of her capture by pirates, and how they had...
- Dec 14, 2021
- 3 min
Frost Fairs, then and now
Although it wasn’t called a frost fair, the first recorded event where traders set up booths on the surface of the frozen River Thames...
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