Husband-Hunting in c18th India

As is perhaps inevitable for someone so interested in social history, I am also a keen genealogist – and so I was very excited last month when I was given exclusive access to the brand new 'British in India' collection over at findmypast.co.uk. Naturally I busied myself primarily with the marriage records, and over a...

Dealing with an unwanted Valentine, c18th style

I have to say, this was not a problem I ever had to deal with in my tender youth (weep, woe, &c). Oh no, I was far too busy watching Hornblower and/or wishing I was Lizzy Bennet to have much to do with boys. Presuming that most normal humans are less likely to shun The...

Share your Fanciable Historical Figures (& win a book!)

Let's be honest. We all take a bit of a liking to the odd inappropriate person every now and again, and as anyone interested in historical research will (probably..?) testify, sometimes it just so happens that that person died hundreds of years before you were born. [You can't get much more inappropriate than two of the...

The Voyage of Matrimony, from the Volcano of Passions to Misery Town (1826)

And lo, you find yourself embarking upon your first love affair. Egads!, I hear you cry, how am I to navigate this unknown terrain, such uncontrollable bliss, such exquisite ecstasy? Never fear, gentle reader, you merely have to consult this late-Georgian map. Your mindless optimism will be shot in no time. This 'Study for Youth' charts...