Romantic relationships 1660–1837
Having looked at 'The Open Country of Woman's Heart' – with its largest territories being 'Love of Admiration' and 'Love of Dress' – here is the companion piece, 'A Map of the Fortified Country of Man's Heart'. As the titles suggest, the inner workings of the feminine and masculine heart are represented in quite different... Continue Reading →
Just a little note to announce that my new book Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship is released in the US today! Based on the advice of genuine eighteenth-century seduction manuals (with a bit of Jane Austen's most fancied hero thrown in), it is already getting some lovely reviews from Publishers Weekly, Book Page and the... Continue Reading →
On a visit to Scotland, a ‘Lady’ (recorded as being the renowned beauty and novelist Lady Charlotte Campbell) was startled by the appearance and conduct of a poor mad woman. This poem, published around 1800, tells the sad tale of heart-broken ‘Crazy Jane’, who lost her wits when she was deserted by her false lover,... Continue Reading →
I am a fan of the dancing centenarian, but was particularly struck by the parish concern over the sex life of John and Mary Barton, newlyweds aged 76 and 84.
This wonderful print may not immediately evoke images of the destitute and the debauched of Georgian society, but it does afford a brilliant view of some of the contemporary ideas about women, their natures, motivations, and inner desires. Indeed, the state of a woman’s heart – and how she chose to act upon its... Continue Reading →
Unbridled passions! Sibling rivalry! Threatened suicide! Wife selling! A party down the pub! What more could you want from this news report of 1787? Not only does it give a lively insight into love and marriage in the eighteenth century, but it proves once and for all that Bristol is a city where romance never... Continue Reading →
“Observe how I step in the Line, Though eight Quarts I have carried away; O Bet! you will never be mine If thus you get drunk every Day. As drunk as a Piper thou art; O tell me how could’st thou do so; Thou wilt ne’er from the Ale-house depart Till unable to walk, stand,... Continue Reading →
"A NEW SONG, For a Wedding Night.How is that welcome night, When love and beauty make a feast Let not the Bridegroom be afraid Tho' he encounters with a Maid: She'll squeak, she'll cry, She'll faint, she'll die, She'll then begin to tremble: But take her, and rouze her, And mouze her, and rouze her,... Continue Reading →
The c18th print below serves as a reminder that indulging in too much gin can cause mischief. A grim-faced husband trudges and sighs his way along the street, regretting that he has (once again) allowed his merry wife to be to free with the Strip-and-go-naked. ‘A Poor Man Loaded with Mischief, or Matrimony… drawn by Experience,... Continue Reading →
The History of Love 