Regency Bathing Suits

Ah, summer! The warm months invite a variety of activities best enjoyed outside such as hiking, fishing, water sports, and swimming to name a few. I love to swim, and so do some of the heroines in my Regency romance novels. And since many readers report that reading about the fun and beautiful clothing characters wear is one of the reasons they read historical novels, this begs the question: what did ladies in Regency England…

Regency House Parties

by Donna Hatch From the Archives: Regency House Parties A time-honored English tradition, dating back hundreds of years, is the House Party. In England, house parties served multiple purposes: the gathering of friends; an informal setting in which to discuss politics and possibly sway a member of Parliament; showing off one’s wealth to friends or anyone else the host is trying to impress; and it also could provide a last-ditch effort to help a young…

Regency England through the Eyes of Romance Author Donna Hatch

As many of you know, I recently spent three weeks in England. I walked all over a part of London known as Mayfair, studied buildings and architecture, and visited parks and locations of historical interest during the Georgian and Regency Era. I have such a better idea of Regency Mayfair, and how my characters would live, work, play, and travel. I also visited a bit more modern sites such as Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and…

Summertime Pleasures in Regency England

A song I learned as a child summed up summer activities beautifully: Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green? Do you fish in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by? Is that what you do? So do I! Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green? Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool,…

Summer in Regency England

Ah, summer! It conjures up images of lazy summer days sipping lemonade and swimming. In mid June to early July, when the whirl of the London Season wound down because parliament ended, the gentry and aristocracy went back to their country homes. Which begs the question, since they were so rich and didn’t have to work for a living, what did they do all day–especially in the summer? The answer to this may surprise you.…