Regency, This Week In History

This Week In History: January 26-February 1

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January 26, 1788: The British First Fleet sails into Port Jackson to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement in Australia.


January 27, 1785: The University of Georgia is founded, becoming the first public university in the US.


January 28, 1813: Pride and Prejudice is first published in the UK.


January 29, 1856: Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.


January 30, 1826: The Menai Suspension Bridge connecting the Isle of Anglesey to north coast of Wales is opened.


January 31, 1747: The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.


February 1, 1793: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.


 

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: P&P Supreme Court Citation

Our Favorite this week is a bit of an odd duck. Whoever thought that the United States Supreme Court would be citing Pride and Prejudice in one of its decisions? Well, on January 13, 2015 it did.

It was a case where a bank robber fleeing from the scene broke into a woman’s home and “guided a terrified Parnell from a hallway to a room a few feet away, where she suffered a fatal heart attack.” This bank robber (Whitfield) was convicted of (among other things) forcing the woman to accompany him–which increased the penalties he’d face. He was appealing based on the definition of the word “accompaniment”, which is used in the statute he was convicted of violating.

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This is (in part) what the Court decided:

In 1934, just as today, to “accompany” someone meant to “go with” him. See Oxford English Dictionary 60 (1st ed. 1933) (defining “accompany” as: “To go in company with, to go along with”). The word does not, as Whitfield contends, connote movement over a substantial distance. It was, and still is, perfectly natural to speak of accompanying someone over a relatively short distance, for example: from one area within a bank “to the vault”; “to the altar” at a wedding; “up the stairway”; or into, out of, or across a room. English literature is replete with examples. See, e.g., C. Dickens, David Copperfield 529 (Modern Library ed. 2000) (Uriah “accompanied me into Mr. Wickfield’s room”); J. Austen, Pride and Prejudice 182 (Greenwich ed. 1982) (Elizabeth “accompanied her out of the room”).

Interesting, isn’t it? 😀

You can check out the full text of the decision here.

Books, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: British Men Poetry & Prose

 

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My good friend Emily shared this with me earlier in the week, and I haven’t been the same since 🙂

For your listening pleasure, this week’s Favorite is a playlist put together by 8tracks user SADarcy. It includes a Pride and Prejudice excerpt read by Matthew Macfaddyen, Several Shakespeare sonnets read by David Tennant, and an excerpt of North and South read by Richard Armitage. Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch also feature prominently, and Kenneth Branagh and Alan Rickman make appearances as well.

Ready?

Listen here.

See the full list of poems and excerpts here.

Enjoy!

 

 

Fashion, Friday Favorites

Friday Favorite: (Un)Dressing Mr. Darcy

Our Friday Favorite this week comes to us from Brian Cushing, a Regency period re-enactor who gives workshops and talks about gentlemen’s dress in the early 19th century. This video is taken from his demonstration at Burdett’s Tea Shoppe in Springfield, TN. Mr. Cushing begins with the outermost layer of clothing and works his way inward, explaining the function and development of each piece as he goes–great for those of you who like visual aides!