By the name, one can be excused for thinking that a Royal Hanoverian Cream might be a rich, frothy, luscious dessert. But in actual fact, they were a breed of horse, now extinct, who pulled the royal carriages for many of the English kings and queens, including all the Georges. Napoleon nearly destroyed the breed in Hanover, but our very own Prince Regent came to the rescue, only to have the last George abandon them primarily because of their origins.

The parade of the Royal Hanoverian Cream horse through history ...

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Over the years, I have read dozens of Regency romances which include a scene in the bath. The hero may or may not be present while the heroine bathes, but one thing which is always close at hand is a bar of soap. Yet during the Regency, bar soap was extremely expensive, used only by the affluent classes. Bar soap, something so ubiquitous today we take it for granted. Yet, it was only in the last decade of the eighteenth century that a French chemist patented a method of making bar soap which should have helped to reduce the cost, making it available to more people. Before that time, those of modest means were more likely to use the less expensive soft soap.

A brief history of how soap lathered its way to the Regency ...

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Perhaps not exactly a death-trap, but the side-saddles in use during the Regency were nowhere near as safe as the side-saddles now ridden by modern-day equestriennes. All of those intrepid heroines of Regency romance novels who have ridden their horses astride may have been flaunting convention, but they were also much safer riding in that style than they would have been on a Regency-era side-saddle.

A brief account of the development of the side-saddle and how it was used during the Regency ...

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Or, perhaps the panorama can be considered the Regency version of the IMAX or even the holodeck. The panorama was first introduced in London in the late eighteenth century and quickly spread across Europe. These enormous paintings became a popular form of entertainment throughout England and the Continent during the Regency. Yet I have never read a Regency novel in which a panorama plays any part.

A brief history of the origin of the panorama ...

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Earlier this year I wrote a brief history of the maze. I promised to write in more detail about the two most prominent forms of the maze during the English Regency. This week I will concentrate on a maze form which certainly existed during the Regency, though I have yet to see one mentioned in a novel set during that time.

The English turf maze, its origins, its construction and its uses up to and during the Regency ...

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