Regency Life: 3 Lives in 1 Day


Regency Life: 3 Lives in 1 Day

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Pride And Prejudice is one of the best-loved books of all time

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and, 200 years on, Jane Austen's novel sees no signs of fading.

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I'm roughly the same age as Jane Bennet,

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the eldest sister in the novel, but I've had opportunities

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that didn't even exist in her day,

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like going to university to study English,

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or appearing on television in shows like Fresh Meat.

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I'm going to be looking at the world she grew up in

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and exploring what life was really like in Regency England

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for a middle-class girl, a servant and a rich gentleman -

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the types of characters who would grace the pages of her novels.

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Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Pride And Prejudice,

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is 20 years old - a young woman on the cusp of life.

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Unlike Mr Darcy, she has no estate to inherit,

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but she's still part of the gentry, a small middle class.

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For most young women of Elizabeth's age,

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the future was all about who they married, simple as that.

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So finding a suitable husband was at the top of their to-do list.

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At 7am, as the sun shines through her window,

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the young lady of Regency England is woken.

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A yawn, a stretch, then first order of the day - make-up!

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Lead and rose powder for the face, charcoal for the eyebrows,

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bear fat - that's right, fat from a bear -

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is used as wax to smooth her hair, then it's time to get dressed.

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Petticoat, corset, underdress,

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day dress and that's just for the first outfit of the day.

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By breakfast, I've just about managed to jump in the shower

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and brush my teeth.

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But a young woman in Regency England was expected to be a lot more active

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first thing in the morning.

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She would have taken a trip to the local library or,

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in Jane Austen's case, practised the piano for an hour.

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With all that early morning activity,

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by ten o'clock you would have worked up quite an appetite,

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so you'd need more than a quick bowl of cereal or a snack bar

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as you're leaving the house.

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There's tea, plum cake and hot rolls to fill you up and, unlike nowadays,

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breakfast for a Regency lady lasted for a leisurely hour.

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After breakfast, it's straight to work.

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But in the Regency era,

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work didn't mean going into a shop or an office to earn money.

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For a middle-class girl, it meant needlework.

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Like Jane Austen's piano playing, needlework was among a whole range

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of activities that went into creating a "rounded woman".

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Today, a girl of Elizabeth Bennet's age might be at university

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or trying to hold down a good job,

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but in the Regency era she was training in accomplishments -

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a range of activities that were designed to improve

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a woman's social standing.

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In Pride And Prejudice, Mr Darcy's friend, Mr Bingley,

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discusses women's accomplishments:

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"They all paint tables, cover screens and net purses.

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"I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this,

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"and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time

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"without being informed that she was very well accomplished."

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Painting, reading, dancing

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and the modern languages were all seen in the same light,

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giving a woman culture and a social advantage in the world.

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Men would learn science and maths,

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but women were never taught these things.

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It was all about self-improvement.

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In the marriage market, these accomplishments

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would have been all-important,

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and a girl from a rich family would have had a governess

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to make sure she had accomplishments coming out of her ears.

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In Pride And Prejudice, Mr Darcy's aunt, Catherine de Bourgh, is

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shocked to realise that the Bennet sisters have grown up without one.

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"No governess! How was that possible?

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"Five daughters brought up at home without a governess!

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"I never heard of such a thing."

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After a while, you'd need a break from all these self-improvement activities.

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Whilst a middle-class girl today might go to meet her friend

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for a cappuccino in a local coffee shop,

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in Regency England, you'd go and pay your friend a morning visit.

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And morning, would mean anything up until three or four o'clock.

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Lunch was a movable feast - if you were in town, it might just be

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a pastry or a cake, like picking up a sandwich on the move today.

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After lunch, a middle-class girl would test her intellect

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with puzzles and word games

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and take inspiration from the fashion magazines of the day.

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The Gallery Of Fashion - the first fashion magazine - was published

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in April 1774, and contained all the latest trends of the day.

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But reading about clothes was not enough.

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Next on the agenda: shopping!

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In Pride And Prejudice, Kitty and Elizabeth Bennet

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take regular trips to a hat shop in the neighbouring village.

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"The village of Longbourn was only one mile from Meryton -

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"a most convenient distance for the young ladies,

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"who were usually tempted thither three or four times a week, to pay

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"their duties to their aunt, and to a milliner's shop just over the way."

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Although the Bennet girls were far less rich

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than the likes of Mr Darcy, a girl in their situation -

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living at home with their parents - would have money to spend.

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Over the course of the 18th century,

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the amount of money spent on goods quadrupled.

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Tea, coffee, chocolate and spices were becoming affordable

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to the middle classes, and could be found in shops all over town.

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Novelty items were really popular, like little gold anchors

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to celebrate Nelson's victory in the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805.

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They were the equivalent of Kate and William merchandise today.

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Everyone wanted a piece of this historic event.

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And in Pride And Prejudice,

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shopping is the only activity that can distract Elizabeth's sisters,

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Kitty and Lydia, from flirting with the visiting soldiers!

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"Their eyes were immediately wandering up in the street

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"in quest of the officers, and nothing less than a very smart bonnet

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"indeed, or a really new muslin in a shop window, could recall them."

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Back home, and time to prepare for the evening's social engagements,

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one of a girl's few opportunities to flirt with a man.

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Nowadays if you fancy someone, you could just send them a text

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or find them on a social media site,

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but you couldn't be anywhere near as direct as this in the Regency era.

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It must have been impossible!

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You weren't allowed to write a letter to a man

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unless you had a formal engagement.

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You weren't to be alone with a man without a chaperone.

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And you weren't really supposed to kiss a man unless you were married!

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In Pride And Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is a strong-minded woman,

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concerned about things beyond matters of the heart,

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but she's continually let down by her sisters.

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Lydia, her younger sister, follows the first flutter of her heart

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and runs off with a soldier, when she's not even engaged!

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And you would think it was the end of the world.

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Even Elizabeth says to Darcy:

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"She is lost for ever."

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In some of her letters, Jane Austen writes about her own cousin,

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Fanny Austen:

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"I am sorry she has behaved so ill.

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"There is some comfort to us in her misconduct,

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"that we do not have a congratulatory letter to write."

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It seems that her cousin has hooked up with a man

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and she's relieved that she hasn't got herself pregnant.

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The rules of the day were set down in conduct books,

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which were really popular at the time.

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They were like an agony aunt column in a magazine,

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except the advice was much stricter!

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"Wit is the most dangerous talent you can possess.

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"It must be guarded against with great discretion and good nature,

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"otherwise it will create you many enemies."

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So a girl was supposed to hide her intelligence from a man!

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Reading some of this advice today makes you shudder.

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Your eldest brother would inherit your parents' house

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and you couldn't earn your own money by entering a profession

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or even working in a shop.

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You were just expected to land a rich husband.

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In Pride And Prejudice, Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas,

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marries Mr Collins, a really repulsive man, and we learn:

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"Marriage had always been her object. It was the only honourable provision

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"for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain

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"of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want."

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Nowhere could you attract a husband better than at a ball!

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A middle-class girl announced herself on the marriage market

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by what they called "coming out". It meant she could finally dance

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at balls and could be approached by a man with marriage in mind.

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In polite society,

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the point at which you came out was considered extremely important.

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In Pride And Prejudice, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,

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Mr Darcy's aunt, is concerned about the Bennet sisters:

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"Are any of your younger sisters out, Miss Bennet?"

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"Yes, ma'am - all."

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"All? What, all five out at once? Very odd."

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It's shocking that 15-year-old Lydia Bennet is "out",

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and looking for a husband.

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For its time, a ball was a very racy affair.

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Thin, muslin dresses could be revealing

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in the hot and sweaty atmosphere of a ball.

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With the heat of an open fire,

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a ball was much warmer than a nightclub today.

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A single dance could last up to half an hour

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and would really tire you out.

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But, as with all other aspects of life,

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there were rules and conventions about how to dress.

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"Her arms, and part of her neck and bosom may be unveiled,

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"but only part."

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Now was the time to make your accomplishments count, and between

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dances you could talk to a man away from the prying eyes of a chaperone.

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In case you hadn't caught a man's attention in the raucous

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atmosphere of the ball, there was one more chance to catch his eye.

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Singing, or playing the piano, a girl would have a captive audience.

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While we might listen to a friend's playlist,

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in Regency England, you'd gather to listen to them sing.

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Karaoke skills were seriously put to the test.

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Having done her best to impress the most eligible bachelor,

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a woman would go home, not knowing what the future held.

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Has a more accomplished woman caught his eye? Will he write?

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Will her father even agree to a proposal?

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It must have been very hard for a woman growing up in Regency society.

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There were so many rules and conventions governing

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every aspect of her life, and men seemed to get all the perks.

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Life nowadays is very different for women,

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but it was the Elizabeth Bennets of this world who showed,

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in books and in life, that women couldn't

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and shouldn't be forced to hide their intelligence from the world.

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Mr Darcy, the hero of Pride And Prejudice,

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was very much at the top of his social ladder.

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He had a vast estate, which made him landed gentry, and earned

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£10,000 a year - that's about £500,000 to you and me.

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A man like Mr Darcy would have lived at a level of luxury

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unimaginable today.

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At 8am, while most of his servants have been up for hours,

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a gentleman in Regency England is just starting his day.

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His valet has prepared him a steaming tub of water,

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and his daily grooming ritual is about to begin.

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With the precision of a top stylist,

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his valet combs, flattens and trims his hair till it's just right.

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Then out comes the cut-throat razor for that clean-cut look.

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A little powered parsley seed to prevent baldness.

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And if that wasn't enough, now comes his make-up -

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Dr Withering's Cosmetic Lotion.

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It's a bizarre mix of soured milk and horseradish

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and, applied to a gentleman's face,

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it should hide all signs of too much port drunk the night before!

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In Jane Austen's time, unlike today,

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men spent just as much time as women on their appearance.

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Mr Darcy didn't look that good, straight out of bed!

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It took a lot of effort.

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In the Regency era, a gentleman would have sported a superhero look.

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Stomach in, shoulders out,

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tight breeches giving you calves like bowling pins.

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It's a skinny jeans, fitted shirt look.

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Legend has it that Regency dandy Beau Brummell

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spent five hours on his morning grooming routine!

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A man like Mr Darcy would have been a celebrity of his day.

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We're talking here about a man with virtually unlimited spending power.

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Today, he'd be talked about in newspapers and magazines

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and known all over town.

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Officially, he was part of the gentry - today's middle class -

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but he earned more than many lords and knights of Regency England.

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In this era, everybody boasted about their income

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and you knew what everyone else was worth.

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In Pride And Prejudice,

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it doesn't take long for Mr Darcy to get noticed!

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"He soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person,

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"handsome features, noble mien

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"and the report that was in general circulation within five minutes

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"after his entrance of his having 10,000 a year."

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But this income didn't come from nowhere.

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Before breakfast, a landowner would tend to the running of a huge estate

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and that wasn't a walk in the park!

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It was like a small town, with acres of farmland.

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He might be involved in politics,

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and would even act as a judge in local court cases,

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passing sentence on people who had committed crimes on his land!

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In the novel, the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet,

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underestimates Mr Darcy at first,

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but later realises that there's more to him than meets the eye.

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"As a brother, a landlord, a master,

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"she considered how many people's happiness were in his guardianship."

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The Regency gentleman was expected to look beyond his estate,

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of course, so he would spend part of his morning

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reading histories or biographies or early printed newspapers.

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Novels were left only for women, so a man like Mr Darcy

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might never have read a book like Pride And Prejudice.

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In the novel, to impress Mr Darcy, Miss Bingley declares:

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"There is no enjoyment like reading!

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"How much sooner one tires of anything than a book!"

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But he's not remotely impressed.

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She's just telling him exactly what he wants to hear.

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The estate in order, it's 10am and time for breakfast.

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A private chef has prepared brioche and spiced cakes,

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to be washed down with some coffee or hot chocolate.

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A man like Mr Darcy would have kept an expensive French chef.

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This was a mark of status,

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like eating out in a Michelin-starred restaurant today.

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As well as the latest tastes in food,

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he would have been bang up to date with the latest trends in fashion.

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If you didn't look the part, then you would be frowned upon

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by rich society and that would have been a big deal.

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Even more so than today, the way you decorated your house,

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the clothes you wore - all these things affected your standing.

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A lot of time and money was spent on home decoration,

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but for a gentleman, furnishing your house

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was less about swag and more about style.

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Leaving the house, today's wealthy businessman puts on

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his suit and tie, boards a packed train and travels to the City,

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briefcase in hand.

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He might scan the stocks and shares in the paper,

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or check his emails on a smartphone.

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The Regency gent however, heads into the countryside.

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With a footman as a bodyguard,

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he boards his chauffeur-driven carriage and leaves the estate.

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In Jane Austen's novels, we learn very little about

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what the male characters do when they are away from the heroine.

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This is definitely true of Pride And Prejudice.

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Anyone adapting the novel for the screen

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has to resort to their imagination.

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In the BBC's classic version,

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the most famous scene features Mr Darcy plunging into a lake.

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He doesn't go near a lake in the novel,

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but this is exactly the kind of physical activity

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he would have been doing if you read between the lines.

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A Regency gentleman would be constantly on the move -

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shooting, hunting, fishing.

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These manly pursuits were the obsession of the day.

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After all that exercise, a bite to eat.

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When Elizabeth Bennet visits Mr Darcy's estate, servants enter

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with "cold meat, cake, and a variety of all the finest fruits in season".

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A man like Mr Darcy had unlimited access to a horse and carriage

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and would often travel to a second home in London.

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There, part of his day was spent in theatres,

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galleries and opera houses, which flourished alongside

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the brothels, Turkish baths and fruit market of Covent Garden.

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But it wasn't all about culture.

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Gentlemen had time on their hands, and liked to have fun.

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Young "sparks", as they were called, would try and impress the ladies

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with the Regency equivalent of a sports car,

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riding around town at high speeds on two-wheeled carriages.

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Essentially they were joyriding but we're talking, like,

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eight to ten miles per hour!

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Women, fast cars - well fast-ish - sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

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Mr Darcy doesn't gamble in Pride And Prejudice,

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but many men of his standing would spend time in the so-called

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"hells" of Pall Mall - the casinos of their day.

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There was no roulette or blackjack.

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Instead, money would exchange hands on card games such as loo, faro

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and whist, or the dice game, hazard.

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For good luck, men would turn their coats inside out.

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And to keep gamers there for longer, clubs would serve sandwiches

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direct to your table, as they still do today.

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But a gentleman had to have his wits about him

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as some clubs would give away free drinks and then trick a man -

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who after a few glasses of port may not be as alert -

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into playing card cheats, known as "ivory turners".

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In Pride And Prejudice, the charming rogue, Mr Wickham,

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runs up gambling debts all around town.

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In May and June - known as the Season -

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there were endless balls and dinner parties.

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Traditionally, the country gentleman sat down to eat at five o'clock,

0:19:100:19:14

but copying fashionable Londoners, dinnertime got later and later

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and might be served as late as seven o'clock.

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It would show off your income, as later meals would have to be

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lit by candles, an expensive product in this age.

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And food was getting more and more elaborate.

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The Regency period is perhaps the most complex

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in British food history.

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We think of Heston Blumenthal's style as being very complicated,

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but the skill levels were just as high in the Regency era.

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You'd be amazed at some of the dishes being served up

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for the wealthy at this time - parmesan ice cream, crayfish jelly

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and all sorts of weird and wonderful combinations.

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In Pride And Prejudice,

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Mrs Bennet is nervous about cooking for Mr Darcy.

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"She did not think anything less than two courses could be

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"good enough for a man, on whom she had such anxious designs,

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"or satisfy the appetite and pride of one who had 10,000 a year."

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Two courses doesn't seem much, but just the first course would include

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several joints of meat, a roasted fowl, a bowl of soup,

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and fish, pies and cutlets - quite a spread!

0:20:200:20:25

And just as you thought it was all over, out come more cold joints,

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and sweet dishes like blancmange and stewed fruit.

0:20:300:20:34

I can't believe how much they ate!

0:20:340:20:36

It seems incredible that they would be able to find room for all that food!

0:20:360:20:39

After dinner, the ladies would leave the table, and the gentleman

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would enjoy a glass of port or two, over a game of cards.

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And amazingly, after all that port,

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the men would have worked up an appetite for supper.

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Cold meats, rolls, and a negus - a drink made from, wine, spices,

0:20:560:21:01

lemon and calves foot jelly.

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It was like raiding the fridge after a night out.

0:21:030:21:05

I think all that hard work running a large estate was more than rewarded!

0:21:050:21:10

It doesn't sound like a bad life, does it?

0:21:100:21:13

The servants are the poorest characters in every period drama,

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but they're not to be ignored!

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In Regency England, they had a vital part to play.

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In the Regency era, servants were responsible for every aspect

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of their masters' and mistresses' daily life, and none of the grand

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feasts and balls of this period could have happened without them.

0:21:380:21:42

There would have been around seven servants at Longbourn,

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where the Bennet sisters live,

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and as many as 20 in Mr Darcy's household, Pemberley.

0:21:480:21:50

But in Pride And Prejudice, we hardly ever see them.

0:21:500:21:54

Of Mr Darcy's many servants, only the housekeeper says a word.

0:21:540:21:57

You really have to read between the lines to work out

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what any of them did.

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But books from the time can help us to fill in the gaps.

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In 1825, Samuel and Sarah Adams, a butler and a housekeeper,

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published a guide to a servant's duties.

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It tells us a lot about how servants would have lived

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their day-to-day lives in Jane Austen's time.

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At 5am, for a housemaid in Regency England,

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there's no time to snooze in bed.

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On come the cottons for the working day ahead -

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gown, cap, neck handkerchief.

0:22:280:22:31

Then into the drawing room.

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Clear away the port glasses, candlesticks and other mess

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left by the master the night before, and brush down the surfaces.

0:22:360:22:41

The embers still burning from last night

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will need to be brought back to life and new firewood put in place.

0:22:450:22:48

Many of the processes we take for granted today

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had to be tended to by hand.

0:22:510:22:54

The central heating, hot water,

0:22:540:22:57

and electric lighting of a modern home are all absent.

0:22:570:23:01

Without a vacuum cleaner, the maid would spread the carpet with

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damp tea-leaves, to remove the dust,

0:23:040:23:07

then sweep them up and start all over again in the next room.

0:23:070:23:11

At 6am, with the house clear, there's lots to prepare for the day.

0:23:110:23:15

A large estate was like a big department store -

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but one where everything had to be made on site.

0:23:190:23:22

The servants had to mix their own scents, make their own jams,

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sew their own clothes and even prepare their own cosmetics.

0:23:260:23:30

And they made primitive forms of teeth whiteners,

0:23:300:23:33

with honey and charcoal.

0:23:330:23:35

Charcoal, on your teeth -

0:23:350:23:37

it doesn't sound like a brilliant plan for whitening to me!

0:23:370:23:40

You were born into your position in life,

0:23:420:23:44

falling into a natural order whether you liked it or not!

0:23:440:23:47

At 7am, having already been up for two hours,

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it's time to raise the mistress from her slumber.

0:23:540:23:57

It wasn't just a case of knocking on her door.

0:23:570:23:59

The maid had to dress her lady, and even prepare lotions for her

0:23:590:24:03

sometimes disgusting skin conditions -

0:24:030:24:07

worm pimples, small red pimples,

0:24:070:24:09

and even some sort of mega-spot called the Barolph pimple.

0:24:090:24:13

Judging by the number of names they had for different spots

0:24:140:24:17

and pimples, skincare must have been a huge problem!

0:24:170:24:21

And worse than all of these spots combined

0:24:210:24:24

was the "livid buttony pimple".

0:24:240:24:26

"In its most severe form, this eruption nearly covers the face,

0:24:260:24:30

"breast, shoulders, and top of the back."

0:24:300:24:34

Mmm... That sounds disgusting!

0:24:340:24:37

Downstairs, things were much grubbier -

0:24:370:24:39

they didn't have access to these kinds of lotions

0:24:390:24:42

and would often have to wear the same clothes for much, much longer.

0:24:420:24:45

And at the bottom of the servant pecking order,

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there were some pretty horrible jobs to do,

0:24:480:24:50

like emptying the chamber pot of your master and mistress.

0:24:500:24:54

And you could be on call, day and night.

0:24:540:24:56

It sounds absolutely exhausting!

0:24:560:24:58

Though their conditions were tough,

0:24:580:25:01

we shouldn't think of servants as slaves.

0:25:010:25:03

They are the poorest characters that we read about in Jane Austen's

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novels, but they earned much more than people farming the land.

0:25:060:25:10

And there was no need to pay rent or buy food,

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so you could save almost all of your earnings.

0:25:130:25:15

Many servants served the same families for most of their lives,

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and there were opportunities to move up the ladder and have a reasonable life.

0:25:190:25:22

Servants would prepare breakfast for their masters and mistresses,

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but they weren't to hang around for too long after the meal.

0:25:300:25:33

Part of the reason servants are largely missing

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from Pride And Prejudice is that in this era,

0:25:350:25:38

the ladies and gentleman of the house expected privacy.

0:25:380:25:40

Too much contact would lead servants to chatter about their superiors.

0:25:400:25:44

But rules get broken

0:25:470:25:49

and we know from Jane Austen that servants loved to gossip!

0:25:490:25:52

When Elizabeth Bennet's sister Lydia runs off with a soldier,

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their mother doesn't have "prudence enough to hold her tongue before the servants".

0:25:560:26:01

Soon everyone will know!

0:26:010:26:03

And it wasn't just gossiping that was against the rules.

0:26:030:26:06

No swearing was allowed at the table.

0:26:060:26:09

Gambling was prohibited.

0:26:090:26:12

And drunkenness, forbidden.

0:26:120:26:15

Servants were to be seen and not heard -

0:26:150:26:17

they had to keep noise to an absolute minimum.

0:26:170:26:19

And male and female servants were to sleep at opposite ends of the house,

0:26:190:26:24

as when they had the opportunity, they could get up to all sorts.

0:26:240:26:28

A little bit of slap and tickle was an everyday occurrence.

0:26:280:26:33

But for a woman, pregnancy out of wedlock was a serious thing.

0:26:330:26:37

It meant instant dismissal.

0:26:370:26:38

At one o'clock, the family have a light lunch,

0:26:400:26:43

while the servants sit down for their main meal of the day.

0:26:430:26:46

But even amongst the servants, there were strict hierarchies.

0:26:460:26:50

Senior servants took their meals separately,

0:26:500:26:53

sitting down to roast beef and wine,

0:26:530:26:55

while in the servants' hall,

0:26:550:26:56

they had to settle for boiled meat and beer.

0:26:560:26:59

Apart from Sunday afternoon church,

0:26:590:27:01

servants had few opportunities to go out.

0:27:010:27:04

And in many houses, maids weren't even allowed out,

0:27:040:27:07

except for the odd local fair.

0:27:070:27:09

So the servants would have no balls, parties or feasts to attend,

0:27:100:27:15

but they'd make them happen for their superiors.

0:27:150:27:18

In Pride And Prejudice, we hear little of servants at Netherfield,

0:27:180:27:21

where Mr Bingley holds a ball,

0:27:210:27:23

but they would have had their work cut out.

0:27:230:27:26

Coachmen drive the guests to the ball.

0:27:260:27:28

The way they dressed and the way they spoke reflected the status

0:27:280:27:31

of the families who employed them.

0:27:310:27:33

Whatever the conditions outside, footmen would stand

0:27:330:27:37

carrying torches, coated in flaming tar, to guide guests to the party,

0:27:370:27:41

and they'd announce their visitors' arrival.

0:27:410:27:45

The ball was a time of fun, frivolity and excess,

0:27:450:27:48

but not for the servants.

0:27:480:27:50

The silver has to be laid, the candles lit

0:27:520:27:56

and hours spent in the kitchen.

0:27:560:27:58

There were no extractor fans,

0:27:580:28:00

so preparing for dinner could be an uncomfortable process.

0:28:000:28:03

Heat, smoke and lack of ventilation were common perils.

0:28:030:28:07

Expensive cuts of meat are prepared to impress

0:28:070:28:10

the guests at the party, and elaborate garnishes are added.

0:28:100:28:14

There were no freezers, so ices are prepared outside.

0:28:140:28:18

The mountains of food are placed in silver dishes,

0:28:180:28:20

and finally the feast is served.

0:28:200:28:23

Occasionally, it could be as late as midnight before the butler

0:28:260:28:29

gave the servants leave to go to bed.

0:28:290:28:31

The footman might sleep in the butler's pantry

0:28:310:28:35

to stop people from stealing the silver.

0:28:350:28:37

And as for the housemaid, after what could have been a 19-hour day,

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upstairs for a well-earned rest.

0:28:420:28:45

Life for a servant in Regency England

0:28:450:28:48

sounds absolutely exhausting, but not without its fun.

0:28:480:28:52

In Pride And Prejudice, we only see them through the eyes of their

0:28:520:28:56

masters and mistresses, but they played a vital role in Regency life.

0:28:560:29:00

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