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Jane Austen Regency Life #2
Courtship and Marriage in Jane Austen's World
Jane Austen’s books are full of hidden mysteries for the modern reader. Why on earth would Elizabeth Bennet be expected to consider a suitor like foolish Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice? Would Lydia's 'infamous elopement' truly have ruined her family and her other sisters’ chances to marry? Why were the Dashwood women thrown out of their home after Mr. Dashwood's death in Sense and Sensibility, and what was the problem with secret engagements anyway? And then there are settlements, pin money, marriage articles and many other puzzles for today’s Austen lovers.
Customs have changed dramatically in the two centuries since Jane Austen wrote her novels. Beyond the differences in etiquette and speech, words that sound familiar to us are often misleading. References her original readers would have understood leave today’s readers scratching their heads and missing important implications.
Take a step into history with Maria Grace as she explores the customs, etiquette and legalities of courtship and marriage in Jane Austen's world. Packed with information and rich with detail from Austen's novels, Maria Grace casts a light on the sometimes bizarre rules of Regency courtship and unravels the hidden nuances in Jane Austen's works.
Non fiction
Customs have changed dramatically in the two centuries since Jane Austen wrote her novels. Beyond the differences in etiquette and speech, words that sound familiar to us are often misleading. References her original readers would have understood leave today’s readers scratching their heads and missing important implications.
Take a step into history with Maria Grace as she explores the customs, etiquette and legalities of courtship and marriage in Jane Austen's world. Packed with information and rich with detail from Austen's novels, Maria Grace casts a light on the sometimes bizarre rules of Regency courtship and unravels the hidden nuances in Jane Austen's works.
Non fiction
153 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2016
55 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Maria Grace
100 books321 followersSix time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets and waivers or historical costumes, usually not at the same time.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 20, 2020
This book is a compilation of information from various sources on the practices of Georgian marriage. Courtship as we think of it was a Victorian invention. Jane Austen's characters were caught in-between the practical arranged marriage generation of Georgians and the romance of the Victorians. Most of this book didn't add anything new to my vast store of knowledge. I especially liked the last section which lays out the laws for women. Basically the laws infantilized women and reduced them to nothing more than dependents of men. Divorce laws favored men even in cases of cruelty and unlike in the novels, it wasn't easy to obtain and even harder to get a full divorce allowing the unhappy gentleman to remarry. I liked how the author examined the common tropes in novels and showed how those common tropes are historically inaccurate. The final section of the book, basically an appendix, provides handy copies of the Hardwicke Marriage Act and the marriage service from the Book of Common Prayer.
At least this time the subject matter directly relates to Austen's novels and the author examines some of the relationships in the novels in the context of real life: the author explains companionate marriages and why Charlotte Lucas was content with Mr. Collins, what happened to women like Maria Bertram Rushworth and how widowers like Sir Walter had every incentive to remarry but widows like Lady Russell and Lady Catherine had more control over their lives than they did when they were married. You'll never think of Mrs. Clay and her freckles in the same way again. Poor Mrs. Clay may have been suffering from a disease given to her by her late husband (or some other man)!
If you follow all the blogs you will know all this information and won't need to buy the book. If you're going to write a Regency romance novel you should have all this information stored somewhere. This book is a good way to keep it all in one spot. Sadly, because of the paternalistic culture of the era, I don't think any of us women would actually enjoy living in the Regency era and novels are just that- fiction. EVEN Jane Austen's novels! Real life was more like Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins or Maria Bertram and Mr. Rushworth, IF a woman was lucky.
There are tons of typos in this book making me dismiss it as a valid source of information because it was so poorly proofread.
Some of the lowlights of Regency era law:
With formal repeal of dower in 1833, wives lost the absolute right to inherit. So in the absence of jointure provisions or explicit provisions in a husband's will, the widow could be left without support at her husband's death.
If a widowed man married his deceased wife's sister the marriage could be voided and the children disinherited.
a woman’s social standing, in some cases her very survival, depended upon her ability to prove she was a respectable married woman. A man could live anywhere he chose, with anyone he chose, and little would be said. But a woman who was thought to be living with a man without benefit of clergy could be exposed to any number of dangers. She could not depend on her husband for support if she could not prove she was his legal wife, she would be exposed to taunts and insults, she might even be liable to arrest and incarceration as a prostitute. If she was a widow, she could be denied her lawful dower rights, even custody of her own children. As you might imagine, most women would safeguard their "marriage lines" above all their possessions.
Dissolving a marriage wasn't easy and a man had to live with his wife for 3 years, prove she was still a virgin and be subjected to a test by court appointed courtesans to prove he couldn't consummate his marriage. Non-consummation of marriage was not a valid reason for annulment.
If a spouse, man or wife, simply ran off and deserted the other, the doctrine of coverture complicated matters, because they were still legally one person. A woman could not simply leave her husband’s home without permission. He could legally drag her back under his roof—and even soundly beat her for her efforts!
If she managed to leave, the wife had no access to moneys or properties from the marriage, everything belonged to the husband. Nor did she have any right to her children. They too belonged to their father—assuming of course he wanted them.
Adultery by the wife was considered sufficient grounds for a husband to obtain divorce. For the wife, adultery had to be aggravated by physical cruelty (if he beat her to the point of threatening her life), bigamy (which no one thought was a good idea) or incest (like sleeping with the woman’s sister).
Civil laws concerning trespassing were used in bringing a wife’s lover to court since he ostensibly ‘wounded another man’s property', thus entitling him to financial compensation under civil law. If she ran off with her lover, the husband could also claim damages for the loss of her services as household manager.
a man had the right to severely beat his wife if he deemed it appropriate. A man could thrash his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
A woman could petition the court that her husband inflicted cruel and unjust harm upon her. But to get the sympathy of the court, women had to paint themselves as passive and dutiful victims of truly inhumane treatment.
If a divorce was granted, it overturned the property settlements made in the marriage articles. Parliament took on the responsibility of redistributing assets. Typically, the woman (since in almost all cases, she was the guilty adulterer) lost all her income, property and any right to see her children. Usually a woman was granted an allowance to maintain herself, just enough for food and housing in most cases. But, since she was not permitted to sue her ex-husband, the chances of her actually collecting that allowance were slim.
Mourning protocols for widowers did not include the extensive restrictions experienced by women. They were not expected to dress in mourning garb nor delay remarriage for at least a year. Widowers frequently remarried quickly, without societal censure, especially if he was left with young children.
Many conduct writers suggested a widow should continue to live a life of somber retirement for the remainder of her life. Without the man who defined her legal personhood, society had a difficult time understanding what to do with her. Keeping her out of sight and out of mind was one way of dealing with that.
Things the novels get wrong:
Turns out eloping could cause quite a bit of trouble, including bringing the legality of the marriage and legitimacy of the children from such a marriage into question. It also put a young woman, especially one with a fortune, in a dangerous position. If the marriage was considered legitimate, her fortune would be irrevocably in the hands of her husband, and she would have no guaranteed provision for her or her children's future. If it was not, her reputation would be ruined and her chances of making a good marriage possibly gone forever. Not exactly a win-win proposition.
Despite a Gretna Green (or other Scottish) elopement being a romantic idyll, marrying in a big city parish was by far the most likely way young people married against their parents’ wishes.
Before the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, which finally legalized divorce in the civil courts, divorce was governed by the ecclesiastical court and the canon law of the Church of England. The Church opposed ending a marriage. It only permitted a couple a ‘divorce’ that amounted to what we call today a legal separation. Parties could break up housekeeping and were no longer legally and financially responsible for one another. But, they could not remarry.
Canon law allowed a separation (in the era called a divorce), called the divortium a mensa et thoro (separation from bed and board). The Ecclesiastical courts permitted it for certain specified causes. The causes were life-threatening cruelty and adultery by the husband, or adultery by the wife. This act allowed spouses to live separately and ended the woman’s coverture to her husband and his financial responsibility for her.
At least this time the subject matter directly relates to Austen's novels and the author examines some of the relationships in the novels in the context of real life: the author explains companionate marriages and why Charlotte Lucas was content with Mr. Collins, what happened to women like Maria Bertram Rushworth and how widowers like Sir Walter had every incentive to remarry but widows like Lady Russell and Lady Catherine had more control over their lives than they did when they were married. You'll never think of Mrs. Clay and her freckles in the same way again. Poor Mrs. Clay may have been suffering from a disease given to her by her late husband (or some other man)!
If you follow all the blogs you will know all this information and won't need to buy the book. If you're going to write a Regency romance novel you should have all this information stored somewhere. This book is a good way to keep it all in one spot. Sadly, because of the paternalistic culture of the era, I don't think any of us women would actually enjoy living in the Regency era and novels are just that- fiction. EVEN Jane Austen's novels! Real life was more like Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins or Maria Bertram and Mr. Rushworth, IF a woman was lucky.
There are tons of typos in this book making me dismiss it as a valid source of information because it was so poorly proofread.
Some of the lowlights of Regency era law:
With formal repeal of dower in 1833, wives lost the absolute right to inherit. So in the absence of jointure provisions or explicit provisions in a husband's will, the widow could be left without support at her husband's death.
If a widowed man married his deceased wife's sister the marriage could be voided and the children disinherited.
a woman’s social standing, in some cases her very survival, depended upon her ability to prove she was a respectable married woman. A man could live anywhere he chose, with anyone he chose, and little would be said. But a woman who was thought to be living with a man without benefit of clergy could be exposed to any number of dangers. She could not depend on her husband for support if she could not prove she was his legal wife, she would be exposed to taunts and insults, she might even be liable to arrest and incarceration as a prostitute. If she was a widow, she could be denied her lawful dower rights, even custody of her own children. As you might imagine, most women would safeguard their "marriage lines" above all their possessions.
Dissolving a marriage wasn't easy and a man had to live with his wife for 3 years, prove she was still a virgin and be subjected to a test by court appointed courtesans to prove he couldn't consummate his marriage. Non-consummation of marriage was not a valid reason for annulment.
If a spouse, man or wife, simply ran off and deserted the other, the doctrine of coverture complicated matters, because they were still legally one person. A woman could not simply leave her husband’s home without permission. He could legally drag her back under his roof—and even soundly beat her for her efforts!
If she managed to leave, the wife had no access to moneys or properties from the marriage, everything belonged to the husband. Nor did she have any right to her children. They too belonged to their father—assuming of course he wanted them.
Adultery by the wife was considered sufficient grounds for a husband to obtain divorce. For the wife, adultery had to be aggravated by physical cruelty (if he beat her to the point of threatening her life), bigamy (which no one thought was a good idea) or incest (like sleeping with the woman’s sister).
Civil laws concerning trespassing were used in bringing a wife’s lover to court since he ostensibly ‘wounded another man’s property', thus entitling him to financial compensation under civil law. If she ran off with her lover, the husband could also claim damages for the loss of her services as household manager.
a man had the right to severely beat his wife if he deemed it appropriate. A man could thrash his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
A woman could petition the court that her husband inflicted cruel and unjust harm upon her. But to get the sympathy of the court, women had to paint themselves as passive and dutiful victims of truly inhumane treatment.
If a divorce was granted, it overturned the property settlements made in the marriage articles. Parliament took on the responsibility of redistributing assets. Typically, the woman (since in almost all cases, she was the guilty adulterer) lost all her income, property and any right to see her children. Usually a woman was granted an allowance to maintain herself, just enough for food and housing in most cases. But, since she was not permitted to sue her ex-husband, the chances of her actually collecting that allowance were slim.
Mourning protocols for widowers did not include the extensive restrictions experienced by women. They were not expected to dress in mourning garb nor delay remarriage for at least a year. Widowers frequently remarried quickly, without societal censure, especially if he was left with young children.
Many conduct writers suggested a widow should continue to live a life of somber retirement for the remainder of her life. Without the man who defined her legal personhood, society had a difficult time understanding what to do with her. Keeping her out of sight and out of mind was one way of dealing with that.
Things the novels get wrong:
Turns out eloping could cause quite a bit of trouble, including bringing the legality of the marriage and legitimacy of the children from such a marriage into question. It also put a young woman, especially one with a fortune, in a dangerous position. If the marriage was considered legitimate, her fortune would be irrevocably in the hands of her husband, and she would have no guaranteed provision for her or her children's future. If it was not, her reputation would be ruined and her chances of making a good marriage possibly gone forever. Not exactly a win-win proposition.
Despite a Gretna Green (or other Scottish) elopement being a romantic idyll, marrying in a big city parish was by far the most likely way young people married against their parents’ wishes.
Before the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857, which finally legalized divorce in the civil courts, divorce was governed by the ecclesiastical court and the canon law of the Church of England. The Church opposed ending a marriage. It only permitted a couple a ‘divorce’ that amounted to what we call today a legal separation. Parties could break up housekeeping and were no longer legally and financially responsible for one another. But, they could not remarry.
Canon law allowed a separation (in the era called a divorce), called the divortium a mensa et thoro (separation from bed and board). The Ecclesiastical courts permitted it for certain specified causes. The causes were life-threatening cruelty and adultery by the husband, or adultery by the wife. This act allowed spouses to live separately and ended the woman’s coverture to her husband and his financial responsibility for her.
May 28, 2019
For P&P fans and P&P Authors this is a MUST READ! This book explains the mores and nuances of Regency life as it related to marriage and courtship.
For example a woman could refuse a dance offer at a Public ball without forfeiting the remainder of her dances.
A betrothal was LEGALLY the same as a marriage - so stop writing Mrs. Bennet worrying about Darcy leaving Lizzy once the settlement is signed... he can't basically.
Once betrothed the chaperoning stopped so couples could write one another, gift one another and canoodle. A study of birth & marriage records show that 1/3 of British regency brides were pregnant on their wedding day because see above.
It is just chock a block full of fascinating and useful information.
For example a woman could refuse a dance offer at a Public ball without forfeiting the remainder of her dances.
A betrothal was LEGALLY the same as a marriage - so stop writing Mrs. Bennet worrying about Darcy leaving Lizzy once the settlement is signed... he can't basically.
Once betrothed the chaperoning stopped so couples could write one another, gift one another and canoodle. A study of birth & marriage records show that 1/3 of British regency brides were pregnant on their wedding day because see above.
It is just chock a block full of fascinating and useful information.
October 1, 2016
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
I love Jane Austen and Jane Austen Fan Fiction. I have read my fair share of both over the years as well as other Regency romances. I thought I was familiar with the do's and dont's of the time through osmosis...was I ever mistaken!
Maria Grace has written with a light but deft hand the intricacies of courtship and marriage during the Regency period. This serious business of courtship and marriage is conveyed with a sense of humour and examples from scenes of Jane Austen's works are provided and further clarified. It is a wonderful companion piece to have handy when reading these novels and others.
Not only does the Church of England have their tenets that must be followed, but Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753 was enacted to further delineate matters. These are all explained in lay person's terms that were fascinating. Excerpts from Ms. Grace's research from materials of the times were added to show what young men and women needed to know to be a proper gentleman or lady.
Under Chapter 1 A New Idea: Marrying for Love, was the heading 'Duty of Virgins' which stated the following:
"It was the duty of a young woman to marry. The Whole Duty of a Woman written in 1737 stated: Woe to she who remained unmarried: An old Maid is now thought such a Curse as no Poetic Fury can exceed, look'd on as the most calamitous creature in Nature." Miss Bingley must have been frantic after reading that!
I found this to be a quick but very informative and educational read that I will be referring to again and again in the future. I highly recommend it not only for readers but authors who wish to delve into this time period.
I love Jane Austen and Jane Austen Fan Fiction. I have read my fair share of both over the years as well as other Regency romances. I thought I was familiar with the do's and dont's of the time through osmosis...was I ever mistaken!
Maria Grace has written with a light but deft hand the intricacies of courtship and marriage during the Regency period. This serious business of courtship and marriage is conveyed with a sense of humour and examples from scenes of Jane Austen's works are provided and further clarified. It is a wonderful companion piece to have handy when reading these novels and others.
Not only does the Church of England have their tenets that must be followed, but Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753 was enacted to further delineate matters. These are all explained in lay person's terms that were fascinating. Excerpts from Ms. Grace's research from materials of the times were added to show what young men and women needed to know to be a proper gentleman or lady.
Under Chapter 1 A New Idea: Marrying for Love, was the heading 'Duty of Virgins' which stated the following:
"It was the duty of a young woman to marry. The Whole Duty of a Woman written in 1737 stated: Woe to she who remained unmarried: An old Maid is now thought such a Curse as no Poetic Fury can exceed, look'd on as the most calamitous creature in Nature." Miss Bingley must have been frantic after reading that!
I found this to be a quick but very informative and educational read that I will be referring to again and again in the future. I highly recommend it not only for readers but authors who wish to delve into this time period.
October 21, 2017
A very competent, if short, introduction to courtship and marriage during the regency period. An excellent guide for anyone who has ever read a regency romance and wondered exactly what is meant by jointure or entail, and what's the difference between dowry and dower?
As the title implies, the book references Jane Austen novels a lot for context and suggests different ways that we can interpet the actions of characters. How would the average regency reader have viewed Charlotte Lucas? Hard-hearted, or practical? Was Emma's plan of 'respectable spinsterhood' a show of admirable independence, or conceited vanity?
There are plenty of quotes from etiquette guides to demonstrate what was considered proper behaviour. I was a little skeptical of these. Firstly because the sort of person who bothers to write an etiquette guide is invariably a reactionary bore. There are a great many silly guides on how to date written for modern audiences, but I'm sure I wouldn't trust any of them to accurately portray how real people interact.
Secondly, the books were drawn from a wide time-range. Would people in the 1810s take advice that was written in the 1730s? Would you take dating advice from the 1940s?
The tone is chatty, which is fine except when it gets repetitive. In the descriptions of parlour games there were rather too many instances of 'the mind boggles at the scandalous possibilities'! Umm, no, not really. Nobody who's ever met a teenage boy would boggle if he suggested a jumping game to a girl in a low-cut gown.
Best of all, there's a good bibliography at the end. So if you're interested in the subject there's much more information to be had.
As the title implies, the book references Jane Austen novels a lot for context and suggests different ways that we can interpet the actions of characters. How would the average regency reader have viewed Charlotte Lucas? Hard-hearted, or practical? Was Emma's plan of 'respectable spinsterhood' a show of admirable independence, or conceited vanity?
There are plenty of quotes from etiquette guides to demonstrate what was considered proper behaviour. I was a little skeptical of these. Firstly because the sort of person who bothers to write an etiquette guide is invariably a reactionary bore. There are a great many silly guides on how to date written for modern audiences, but I'm sure I wouldn't trust any of them to accurately portray how real people interact.
Secondly, the books were drawn from a wide time-range. Would people in the 1810s take advice that was written in the 1730s? Would you take dating advice from the 1940s?
The tone is chatty, which is fine except when it gets repetitive. In the descriptions of parlour games there were rather too many instances of 'the mind boggles at the scandalous possibilities'! Umm, no, not really. Nobody who's ever met a teenage boy would boggle if he suggested a jumping game to a girl in a low-cut gown.
Best of all, there's a good bibliography at the end. So if you're interested in the subject there's much more information to be had.
Read
October 1, 2016Review and giveaway coming to Just Jane 1813.
October 25, 2016
Great background information, particularly for those writing historical fiction in this era or wanting to understand the dynamics of the relationships in Jane Austen's novels. I found myself sending passages to my PC via the Kindle's email function to keep as notes for my own writing projects.
In terms of the actual laws and rituals of the time, let's just say I'm glad things have changed.
In terms of the actual laws and rituals of the time, let's just say I'm glad things have changed.
October 2, 2019
As far as a grand, overarching view into Regency marriage, it does a decent job. It covers all the basics and was rather engaging in how it presents the information. For that, I'm giving it 3 stars. However, I'm not sure how accurate some of it is. Though the author does cite references from time to time, much of what she says isn't, and there's quite a few things that just doesn't line up with what I have studied of the period, and I've done a lot of it. Of course, it doesn't help that at times the author contradicts herself.
That said, it's a cheap book and an entertaining read for any newbies wanting a basic understanding of how things happened back then.
Normally, I don't like calling out indie authors about their editing because no book is perfect (even those traditionally published ones), but this one has a lot of problems. Mostly, it's errant punctuation that crops up on every other page and completely disrupts the sentences and makes it difficult to understand at times.
That said, it's a cheap book and an entertaining read for any newbies wanting a basic understanding of how things happened back then.
Normally, I don't like calling out indie authors about their editing because no book is perfect (even those traditionally published ones), but this one has a lot of problems. Mostly, it's errant punctuation that crops up on every other page and completely disrupts the sentences and makes it difficult to understand at times.
November 4, 2016
I received the Kindle version free in a giveaway by Maria Grace. This is my honest opinion.
I found it very interesting. I've read a lot of regency romances, and some non-fiction about that time, but I still learned some new stuff. It's informative without being too "scholarly", and the author frequently refers to specific Austen characters.
There are some minor problems with the wrong word being used, presumably due to auto-fill or spellchecker (for example "romans" instead of "romance"), and punctuation marks in the wrong place or missing. The way book titles were formatted in the text was inconsistent. Maybe these can be fixed for a revised edition in the future. (This sort of thing catches my eye, but other readers may not even notice)
Overall, both enjoyable and informative.
I found it very interesting. I've read a lot of regency romances, and some non-fiction about that time, but I still learned some new stuff. It's informative without being too "scholarly", and the author frequently refers to specific Austen characters.
There are some minor problems with the wrong word being used, presumably due to auto-fill or spellchecker (for example "romans" instead of "romance"), and punctuation marks in the wrong place or missing. The way book titles were formatted in the text was inconsistent. Maybe these can be fixed for a revised edition in the future. (This sort of thing catches my eye, but other readers may not even notice)
Overall, both enjoyable and informative.
February 8, 2017
Interesting, but the ending was rather abrupt.
September 22, 2018
A concise and interesting book that delivers exactly as it says on the cover. Told in an easy to read manner while being informative and avoiding getting bogged in too much detail. Not sure whether it was just my copy, but the grammatical and misprinted errors in the book were disappointing. Required a more thorough edit - shoddy work from White Soup press, spoiled the reading flow.
January 24, 2020
For the most part a pretty basic introduction to courtship and marriage in the time of Jane Austen, this book did have some very interesting factoids in it, and helped explain aspects of legalities and inheritances that the modern reader wouldn’t automatically understand. Light, but well researched, a good starting point for anyone interested in the era and subject.
July 12, 2021
Rating: 4.5
I really enjoyed the subject and learned so many interesting facts about the regency era. I especially appreciated the accessible style but the academic citation of quotes.
My only issues with the book were that some places were a little repetitive, as in repeating the same joke two or three times within the same chapter, and another line edit would make for a smoother read. But the content was excellent and actually fun to read.
I really enjoyed the subject and learned so many interesting facts about the regency era. I especially appreciated the accessible style but the academic citation of quotes.
My only issues with the book were that some places were a little repetitive, as in repeating the same joke two or three times within the same chapter, and another line edit would make for a smoother read. But the content was excellent and actually fun to read.
December 15, 2022
Interesting
There were some aspects that I did not know; which was interesting to learn. Most of these 'rules' could be ascertained from reading JAFF. Although, not all authors have not done their research. I have always enjoyed Maria Grace's writing. She's done her research and passes it on to her readers.
There were some aspects that I did not know; which was interesting to learn. Most of these 'rules' could be ascertained from reading JAFF. Although, not all authors have not done their research. I have always enjoyed Maria Grace's writing. She's done her research and passes it on to her readers.
November 27, 2017
Sehr unterhaltsam geschrieben, habe es praktisch in zwei Tagen runtergelesen. Es wirkt auch sehr gut recherchiert. Kann es jedem Liebhaber von Austen Romanen nur empfehlen.
May 30, 2018
Informative for basic information.
January 1, 2020
Very great book for info to understand Jane Austen's novels. It helps you more understand some of the character's motivations.
February 4, 2021
I learned many new and interesting customs, this was a joy to read.
June 9, 2021
Helpful only reading
I have been reading a lot of Jane Austen lately. This has really helped me understand the ins and outs of her writing time period. Thanks so much!!!
I have been reading a lot of Jane Austen lately. This has really helped me understand the ins and outs of her writing time period. Thanks so much!!!
December 26, 2021
Good source of easy to understand information.
Read
March 27, 2025Easy, informative read; I enjoyed it.
December 22, 2023
This is an excellent and to the point introduction to the norms and customs of getting married in Jane Austen's Time: dating, mating, betrothals, dowery laws, financial settlements, ceremonies, annulments and divorces. It includes the liturgy for a Regency wedding along with the details of the Hardwicke Marriage Act and a bonus wedding cake recipe! The detailed bibliography is a wonderful resource-- the book is worth it for that resource alone. Maria Grace also inserts many pointed, little comments, which I found to be delightful. It gives many insights into Jane Austen's works and world.
May 11, 2025
A short and sweet book about the business of courting and marrying in Regency England. It covers everything from the beginning to the end of a relationship and is pretty thorough. Best of all, there were plenty of tie-ins with Austen's novels, which gave the facts context and made it easier to grasp them.
I only rated this book three stars because of the number of distracting typos, the brevity of the volume, and some of the shallowness of the information. Overall, I see it as being a quick and easy reference to the customs of the time period, which is good because the writing didn't imprint the information in my brain very well, despite having recently finished it.
I only rated this book three stars because of the number of distracting typos, the brevity of the volume, and some of the shallowness of the information. Overall, I see it as being a quick and easy reference to the customs of the time period, which is good because the writing didn't imprint the information in my brain very well, despite having recently finished it.
February 20, 2017
A very nice reference for writers
The author presents a well researched survey of love and marriage in the early nineteenth century. A must read for any writer wishing to create authentic period stories.
The author presents a well researched survey of love and marriage in the early nineteenth century. A must read for any writer wishing to create authentic period stories.
September 24, 2016
I enjoyed this book. It was wonderful for anyone who wants to know about Courtship and Marriage during Jane Austen's time and understand many of the situations brought up in Pride and Prejudice as well as Jane's other stories.
February 14, 2024
A good editor needed
The version of this title that I read was so filled with errors it was difficult to concentrate on the content. Repeated words and passages, and obviously omitted words should be corrected before going to print.
The version of this title that I read was so filled with errors it was difficult to concentrate on the content. Repeated words and passages, and obviously omitted words should be corrected before going to print.
December 26, 2025
Parts of it were five stars, but ultimately had to take a few stars off due to - incorrect historical facts, incorrect statements about Jane Austen’s books (specifically Persuasion), and ultimately the repetitiveness at the end of the book.
April 15, 2017
Informative and cheeky! A lot of info I already knew, and a fair bit to learn about the legal side of things! I definitely have a new appreciation of my rights as a woman in the 21st century.
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