Over the years I have read any number of Regency romance novels in which the hero wears his sword on some social occasion. Shame on him! No true gentleman would ever have worn a sword in the presence of any lady during the years of the Regency. Even a military man in full dress uniform would not wear his sword to a social event. It simply wasn't done!

On the other hand, most heros of novels from the earlier Georgian era would have considered themselves quite naked without their small swords. And considering the lawlessness of that time, the ladies in their company would have been quite comforted by the presence of said blade. In fact, most English gentlemen from the Middle Ages into the mid-eighteenth century wore a side arm, either a sword, a dagger, or both. A well-dressed buck out for a night on the town in Georgian London would have been a fool to wander the city streets unarmed.

So why had the wearing of swords fallen out of favor by the Regency?

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The precise dates of the English Regency are 6 February 1811, to 29 January 1820. King George III began his final decent into madness in 1810. By early 1811, it was clear to all that he was unlikely to recover. Thus, on 5 February 1811, the Regency Act was passed by Parliament, and the next day his eldest son, George, Prince of Wales, was sworn in as Regent at Carleton House. Prince George continued as Regent until the death of his father, on 29 January 1820. He then became King George IV, and the Regency was over.

So, naturally, the Redingote will only consider those historical events circumscribed by the years 1811 to 1820.

No.   Why?

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And if they aren't dead, where are they?

Who are "they?"

"They" are the figures of history with which writers of historical fiction sometimes pepper their novels. Over the years I have read any number of historical novels in which various personages of the time in which the story is set make an appearance. Or, sometimes these personages are referred to by the fictional characters in the stories without making a personal appearance. And entirely too often, the authors of these stories treat these once-real-life personages in much the same way that many of us today treat "has-been" celebrities.

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"You can't think I'm going to totter all over London looking at a lot of buildings I don't want to see! Very happy to take you driving in the Park, but that's coming it too strong, my dear girl!   ... Besides, I don't know anything about these curst places you want to see! Couldn't tell you anything about 'em!"
     — Mr. Freddy Standen to Miss Kitty Charing

"Oh, but that need not signify! Look, I purchased this book in Hatchard's shop this morning, and it tells one everything! It is called The Picture of London, and it says here that it is a correct guide to all the Curiosities, Amusements, Exhibitions, Public Establishments, and Remarkable Objects in and near London, made for the use of Strangers, Foreigners, and all Persons who are not intimately acquainted with the Metropolis!"
     — Miss Kitty Charing to Mr. Freddy Standen



I re-read Cotillion recently, many years since I last read it in high school. This passage caught my eye this time around, because I now know how thoroughly Heyer researched her novels. Did she invent the guidebook which Kitty purchased for her London adventure? Hatchard's was a real bookshop in Regency London. Was The Picture of London a real guidebook of the city?

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