Joanne Major

Strange as it may seem, the best idea we can get of Kitty’s famous bonnet is from a painting of two girls dressing a kitten by candlelight.

A sentry found Cromwell's head and kept it. At his death, the sentry bequeathed it (what an inheritance!) to his wife and daughter.

Newspapers, plays and paintings portrayed the romance of elopement — but what was the reality?

With Wimbledon in full swing, thoughts – naturally – turn towards that perennial British summer favourite, fresh strawberries and cream.

She tumbled from her horse and the press loved the idea of a fallen woman, falling. Overnight, Kitty became a sensation.

An ancient building, made of timber and plaster with a flat tiled roof, the Cheesecake House stood in the park from at least the reign of Charles II (and perhaps even earlier). To gain access to the front door, you crossed the small stream which ran in front of the building via a rudimentary wooden bridge. Samuel Pepys was a visitor; in 1669 he took his wife. They sat outside in their coach and ate ‘a cheesecake and drank a tankard of milk.’

So, how to make the perfect cup of Georgian-era coffee? Mrs Maria Eliza Rundell, in A New System of Domestic Cookery, 1808, gives a recipe.

They were an item of clothing that transcended any notions of class or status and worn throughout most of the eighteenth century by all women, from nobility down to fishwives. These petticoats had a variety of uses. Usually tied at either side of the waistband, they had a gap in the side seams which allowed access to a pair of pockets worn underneath.

There are many tall tales told about Mary (Moll) King, a shrewd businesswoman who was the proprietor of King’s Coffee House in London’s Covent Garden. Several sources say she was a thief, stealing watches from ladies’ pockets and held in Newgate before being transported on more than one occasion.

A Jack-in-the-Green was once a traditional sight in English May Day celebrations. Dancing at the head of processions on the day, often noisy and drunk, the Jack-in-the-Green was a man who covered himself in a conical or pyramidal framework decorated with green foliage, concealing his body. He resembled a walking tree or bush. The parades were riotous affairs...

Horace Walpole claimed that Bolingbroke asked Reynolds to give Diana’s eyes ‘something of Nelly O’Brien, or it will not do.’

It is said that Courtoy arrived in England with many gold Louis d’or coins, which he invested with the Bank of England. Thereafter, he commenced trading on Oxenden Street as a hairdresser and peruke (wig) maker. His trade took him into the best houses in London and he was soon very well known.

In a ditch, between St Albans and Colney Heath in Hertfordshire, lay a poor starving girl, half-naked. Two bakers travelling along the road discovered and rescued her. They took her to an alehouse near the turnpike where the local surgeon and apothecary, Mr Humphries, was sent for. Under his care, the girl recovered.

Etienne Daly has been researching the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle for a decade now. In that time, he has uncovered some fascinating facts to add to those already known.

Dido was the natural daughter of a former African enslaved woman and Sir John Lindsay. She was brought up at Kenwood House in Hampstead, London alongside her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Murray, and also at Lincoln's Inn Fields and Bloomsbury. The girls' great-uncle William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield owned the estate. You may have seen the film about Dido’s life, Belle (2013).

This is a fascinating story that proves fact is stranger than fiction. Grab a drink, sit back and enjoy!

I do hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed researching and writing Kitty’s life story. It's a treat for the eyes too as most of the images within it have been reproduced in colour, including some of the wonderful portraits of Kitty.

Kitty Fisher managed her public relations and controlled her image with care. In a time when women’s choices were limited, she navigated her way to fame and fortune. Hers was a life filled equally with happiness and tragedy, one which left such an impact that the fascinating Kitty Fisher’s name still resonates today. She was the Georgian era’s most famous – and infamous – celebrity.

Recently, Etienne Daly commissioned a miniature portrait of Dido, in the style of Andrew Plimer. He chose Edwina Hannam to paint this miniature, and I'm delighted that Etienne has permitted me to share it on my blog. It gives a wonderful insight into how Dido may have looked a few years on from the portrait above. Also, how she may have appeared wearing a powdered peruke, so fashionable at the time.

You had to pass Beau Nash’s scrutiny to be granted admission to balls and card parties. Even the highest in the land had to do as he said.