HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2026-01-29T17:21:04.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Could Benedict and Sophie have lived happily ever after? The true history behind Bridgerton's cross-class romance
items: How to survive a Regency marriage
items: Strange and surprising pastimes of the Regency Ton
items: The scandals that rocked Queen Charlotte's court
items: Wonders of God: the strange phenomenon of fasting girls
items: 23 things you (probably) didn't know about No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's prime ministers
items: Before Waterloo: what happened at the Duchess of Richmond's ball?
items: The Georgian guide to university life
items: “A nation addicted to gaming”: the Georgians’ crackdown on addictive betting

Could Benedict and Sophie have lived happily ever after? The true history behind Bridgerton's cross-class romance
type: item
date: 2026-01-29T17:20:15.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Trends-Entertainment
subject: TV interest
description: The fourth season of hit Regency period drama Bridgerton tells the story of second son Benedict’s relationship with Sophie, a lady’s maid in disguise. But could a real romance like this have ever had a happy ending? And are there any figures from history who lived out the upstairs/downstairs fantasy? Felicity Day explains more
encoded: We’re back in the candlelit ballrooms of the ton this month for a new series of Netflix’s Bridgerton, this time watching second sibling Benedict waltz his way towards marriage. But his love interest is no debutante expensively dressed by a fashionable modiste, drilled in the latest dance steps and declared a diamond by Queen Charlotte. Sophie Baek is a working lady’s maid in the household of the Bridgerton family’s neighbour, Lady Araminta Gun. It’s an upstairs/downstairs romance that could only ever prosper in the pages of a romantic novel – or so you might think… Were there cross-class romances in the Regency era? In fact, there are several true stories from the late Georgian age that give hope to those wanting to hear wedding bells chiming for Benedict before the end of season four. In early 1789, for instance, it was an open secret in the Banbury area of Oxfordshire one Mr William Wykeham, the young owner of the stately Swalcliffe Park, was besotted with Elizabeth Marsh, who was the cook to the tenants then occupying his ancestral home. As the sun came up on a bright day in early March, he stopped his carriage a discreet distance from the house where she toiled long and hard every day. When she jumped in, he whisked her away from a life in service for good – to the mingled indignation, amusement and anxiety of her employer, MP’s wife Henrietta Wrightson, who shared the news of their flight in a letter to her sister. It was an unlikely match between the teenage nephew of a viscount and the daughter of a Lancashire smallholder – not to mention that Elizabeth was some 18 years senior to her determined suitor. But they went on to wed in a local church not long after their elopement. Their marriage was tragically short, but Elizabeth gave birth to two children, a boy and a girl, before she died in 1792. When William followed her to the grave in 1806, their surviving daughter inherited not only the great house where her mother had once been employed, but another even …

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How to survive a Regency marriage
type: item
date: 2024-01-14T21:51:37.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: HistoryExtra Academy
subject: HistoryExtra Academy Regency Course
description: Anyone who has read Jane Austen will have an idea of how much effort a high society woman in Regency Britain gave to finding a husband. Felicity Day lays out what they needed to know, how they could meet that special someone, and why getting married had its dangers...
encoded: Weigh up the pros and cons before tying the knot Marriage was socially expected, but it certainly had its drawbacks Marriage was “the great object of female hope according to one (male) writer of the Regency period. He mused that it was “the natural wish and expectation of every amiable girl, to settle happily in marriage”. Becoming a wife certainly did have advantages, offering the chance for a woman to break free from constant chaperonage and to become (respectably) a mother. There was a profound stigma associated with single life, too, with spinsters the subject of much derision. Yet matrimony had definite downsides. A wife in the Regency period – the late Georgian era, commonly considered to stretch from around 1790 to 1830 – lost various legal rights and potentially some of her property the moment she said ‘I do’. Her husband could lawfully beat and imprison her, and prevent her seeing their children. Love and companionship aside, marriage did not look particularly enticing. And contrary to what we’re often told, if you were a woman from a wealthy, aristocratic family, staying single was usually a viable option. In fact, Emily Nugent, Marchioness of Westmeath, who found herself shackled to a serially unfaithful and abusive husband, became convinced that she would have been better off had she never married. She could have lived comfortably on the combined income of her £15,000 marriage portion and inheritance from an unmarried aunt, together giving her as much as £1,300 a year – more than triple what many clergymen earned. Emily could have joined those single ladies who made homes for themselves in Mayfair and continued to take part in the social round. Put in the hard work if you do want to make a match Finding a suitor wasn’t easy, and women had to be seen in the right places For the many women who did want to marry, or at least wanted to do what was expected, their best chance of making a match was to throw themselves into the Regency season. This whirl of ba…

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Strange and surprising pastimes of the Regency Ton
type: item
date: 2024-01-08T08:30:56.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: Trends-News
description: From wrenching off door knockers to imitating coachmen’s dress, Felicity Day explores the curious pastimes of the Regency super-rich…
encoded: You’re probably familiar with some of the many ways that the Regency super-rich whiled away their plentiful leisure hours, from gambling on cards, dice and prize-fights, to fox-hunting and horse-riding, stitching, and singing. But if you feel like taking up one of the more strange and surprising hobbies that had the haut ton seal of approval, here are seven you might try… Making shoes Unlikely as it seems that the aristocracy would take up tools like members of the labouring class and make something they had plenty of money to buy, they really did discover a passion for making their own footwear in the early 1800s. Fashion favouring simple, slipper-like shoes made of fabric or kidskin meant it was not too difficult for an amateur stitcher to progress, with the right tuition, from merely embroidering a shoe to making the whole thing. Members of the ton eagerly purchased toolkits and clamoured for trained shoemakers to teach them the craft in the comfort of their drawing rooms. On the podcast | Jane Austen's passion for fashion During the 1808 ‘season’, it seems to have become a particular obsession for society ladies. Earl Spencer’s daughter wrote in April to tell him not to expect a letter from her mama, because she was “in so irresistibly attractive a part of the operation of sewing round her shoe, that she cannot tear herself from it, even to perform her conjugal duties”. It wasn’t just women switching their needlework for something new: young men about town took to it, too. “They are so busy learning to make shoes that they can think of nothing else, and all engagements are forgotten,” lamented another Mayfair mother in 1809, her hospitality and daughters neglected. Drizzling At least shoemaking was useful. It’s harder to understand the popularity of the near-pointless pastime of ‘drizzling’, thought to have been carried over to Britain by French émigrés in the 1790s. Its intriguing name belies the fact that it was simply the rather boring art of unpicking braids…

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The scandals that rocked Queen Charlotte's court
type: item
date: 2023-05-04T07:44:35.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Period
subject: TV interest
description: From illicit affairs to assassination attempts, Felicity Day reveals the scandals that rocked the court of King George III and Queen Charlotte, whose relationship is the focus of a new Bridgerton spin-off series
encoded: It’s often said that the court of George III and Queen Charlotte was dull and censorious. “The palace of piety,” Horace Walpole called it. The royal couple were famously frugal, and far from having a bevy of buxom mistresses like his grandfather George II, the king had no woman in his life but his wife, mother of his 15 children. He and Charlotte were known to look askance on the adultery and excesses of their aristocratic subjects. Yet their court was to be rocked by scandals – and the biggest of them were of the royal family’s own making. Listen now | Polly Putnam, historical advisor on Netflix’s new series, delves into the real royal history that inspired Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Royal adultery It was one of George III’s brothers who dragged the family into the scandal sheets in his first decade as king. In December 1769, the papers divulged that an assignation between Henry, Duke of Cumberland, and his lover, Lady Grosvenor (sister of one of the queen’s ladies) had been interrupted by her husband’s servants. The pair had been caught together in a bedchamber at a busy coaching inn in St Albans, their clothing in disarray. Lord Grosvenor had promptly hauled the duke into court, and during a trial for ‘criminal conversation’ with his wife, all manner of embarrassing details about the rakish royal were revealed – from the apparent enjoyment he had taken in dressing up in disguise for their secret trysts, to the lamentable spelling in his love letters. Forced to foot the £13,000 bill for damages and fees, the king was furious that his sibling had shown so little regard for the moral responsibility that he (and many of his subjects) believed came with exalted rank. But he was all the more angry in 1771, when he learned that the serially philandering Henry had taken to the altar flamboyant widow Anne Horton, daughter of a baron dubbed ‘the King of Hell’ thanks to his womanising ways. He described the union as “a disgrace to the whole family” – though it beca…

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Wonders of God: the strange phenomenon of fasting girls
type: item
date: 2022-11-16T18:07:52.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Period
subject: Victorian
description: In the 19th century, numerous young women on both sides of the Atlantic were alleged to be forgoing food and surviving on faith alone. Felicity Day uncovers the secrets of the so-called “fasting girls”, whose stories have inspired a new Netflix drama The Wonder
encoded: In December 1869, a treacherous experiment was underway in a small village in Wales. Sarah Jacob, her parents claimed, had survived without a single scrap of food crossing her lips for two years. Now, in the face of scorn from the scientific community, they were attempting to prove that their daughter really was a “miraculous faster”. But six days into the two-week round-the-clock watch, things weren’t going to plan. The nurses, keen eyes primed to detect any attempts at deceit, were growing worried about the 12-year-old. She was getting weaker and colder. In fact, it looked like she was starving to death. Though newspapers across the nation were avidly following the “extraordinary case”, Sarah was not the first so-called “fasting girl” Britain had seen, nor was she the first to submit to such a perilous test. Europe had a long tradition of these miraculous maidens: young women who appeared to eat almost nothing at all, despite being otherwise in good health. Taking their lead from the devout Catholics of the medieval period, whose anorexia mirabilis was rooted in their deep piety, fasting girls had been attracting attention since at least the 16th century, their abstinence bringing them fame and fortune. Feathers and raising Even early on, they had divided opinion. To some, they were a “wonder of God” – evidence of his miraculous powers, and worthy of the crowds who flocked to gaze on them. Others were cynical: early modern physicians might not be able to state with any certainty how long a person could survive without eating, but at a time when famine was a bleak reality, the necessity of nourishment for the preservation of life was well-understood. It was growing scepticism that had led to the very first watches. In 1600, King Henry IV of France sent his “best and chiefest” physician to determine whether it was “by deceit or not” that Jane Balan had conducted her three-year fast; and in 1668, the Earl of Devonshire arranged for surgeons to watch Martha Taylor, “T…

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23 things you (probably) didn't know about No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain's prime ministers
type: item
date: 2021-04-03T06:24:53.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: General Modern
subject: Period
subject: Family and parenting
subject: London’s history
description: Felicity Day takes a glimpse behind the world’s most famous front door, reveals 23 fascinating facts about the official residence of the prime minister and the events that have taken place within its walls
encoded: It was given as a gift from a king In 1732 a grateful King George II presented Sir Robert Walpole with a house on Downing Street. Walpole, who is usually recognised as the first to have and to use the powers of a prime minister, refused the property as a personal gift. Instead, he agreed to accept it as an official residence for the First Lord of the Treasury, to which post – held by Walpole for more than 20 years – “he got it annexed for ever”. No 10 Downing Street was initially No 5 The king’s gift was, in fact, two houses: one fronting onto Downing Street and a larger one overlooking Horse Guards behind. Walpole moved in only once the two had been combined and refurbished, becoming the first premier to call Downing Street home in September 1735. The house was then actually No 5, and remained so until 1779 when it was renumbered. Its historic colour is the result of air pollution No 10 Downing Street’s distinctive brickwork is not actually black – restoration works in the 1960s revealed that the terrace was built with yellow bricks, subsequently blackened by two centuries of inner-city air pollution. A black colourwash is used today to maintain its historic appearance. A brewery once stood the land The land on which Downing Street stands was once part of the ancient Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman settlements of Thorney Island. Later home to a brewery, it was in the hands of the Crown by the reign of Henry VIII, sitting on the edge of the king’s vast Whitehall Palace site. A house there was leased by Elizabeth I to one of her favourites, Sir Thomas Knyvet, in 1581, and it was his niece, Mrs Hampden, who was residing in it when the land was confiscated under Oliver Cromwell (although she still continued to live there). The house was built by one of Oliver Cromwell's spymasters A “perfidious rogue” and “ungrateful villain” was how diarist Samuel Pepys described the man who gave his name to Britain’s most famous street. Sir George Downing was a former preacher who beca…

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Before Waterloo: what happened at the Duchess of Richmond's ball?
type: item
date: 2020-03-16T06:05:00.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: The Duchess of Richmond's soirée on 15 June 1815 might have been lost to time – had it not fallen just days before the climactic battle of Waterloo. Felicity Day explores that fateful night – featured in Julian Fellowes's drama Belgravia…
encoded: If it wasn’t for the chaos caused by an uninvited and most unwelcome guest, the Duchess of Richmond’s ball on 15 June 1815 would have been just another high society party in history. But since it was held in Brussels on the very day that Napoleon’s troops stormed into what is present-day Belgium, it became the stuff of legend, forever remembered as the glamorous prologue to the horrors of the battlefield at Waterloo. There’s no doubt that the highly romanticised fictional accounts of writers like Lord Byron and William Thackeray played their part in that. But just how much did they embellish the events of that fateful evening? Well for a start, the duchess – Charlotte Lennox – never intended her ball as a farewell for departing soldiers; it was just one of many parties and picnics entertaining genteel British expatriates and army officers alike that summer. Lady Conyngham had held a similar gathering the previous evening, and the Duke of Wellington had one planned for the 21st. It was by accident rather than design that the duchess’s party found its way into the history books. The story really begins more than a year earlier in March 1814, when Napoleon’s troops in Paris surrendered to Britain’s allies. The self-proclaimed emperor was forced to abdicate, and was swiftly exiled to Elba. With that, more than 20 years of recurrent war in Europe were over, and the long-awaited peace brought swathes of the British fashionable elite to the continent. Brussels was a particular tourist hotspot. It was partly because British regiments remained in the city. Families and friends of army officers came over to join them, jumping at the chance to holiday abroad again. But Brussels also owed its popularity to affordability. It was the perfect retreat for aristocrats feeling the pinch – not too far from home, cheaper than war-weary Britain and, being a garrison town, it had a lively social scene, with its own pleasure park, horse-racing, hunting and cricket. Like many of their frie…

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The Georgian guide to university life
type: item
date: 2019-09-19T15:57:12.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Education
description: As university students embark on a new academic year, writer Felicity Day looks back at Georgian student life – when revelry was the priority and serious study was strictly optional…
encoded: By the turn of the 19th century, England’s two universities, Oxford and Cambridge, were facing a barrage of criticism, directed at everything from their supposedly lazy and dissipated students to their unduly lenient exam systems and narrow curriculums. Reform of higher education was coming, but in the meantime, students were enjoying all the fun of the university experience, with very few of the challenges. If taking a step back in time to a less stressful student life sounds enviable, here’s what every Georgian undergrad needed to know... There’s no need to be bookish Everyone followed the same curriculum at university, whatever their future aspirations: if you were at Oxford, you’d be focusing on the Classics and logic, while at Cambridge the emphasis was on mathematics. At both, serious study was strictly optional. Class warfare: a day in the life of a Victorian schoolchild The 1911 schoolchildren strikes Schools of hard knocks: Georgian and Victorian public schools Lectures were few and far between. Most of the learning was self-directed, and supervision was extremely casual. Tutors reportedly had “no concern about [their] pupils” so they were free to do as much or as little as they pleased – and in many cases, it was the latter. “I never saw [my tutor] but during a fortnight, when I took into my head to be taught trigonometry,” wrote one former student, reflecting on university life in the 1760s. The most privileged students were excused from any teaching at all. Classified either as ‘noblemen’ or ‘gentleman commoners’ depending on whether they had a title, the sons of aristocrats were exempt from many of the rules governing the rest of the student population. Coming away with a degree wasn’t high on their list of priorities; instead, their stint at university was about learning to live independently as a man of fashion. It was their behaviour that prompted the most criticism from observers, who complained that “the higher a young man’s rank is, the more he is…

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“A nation addicted to gaming”: the Georgians’ crackdown on addictive betting
type: item
date: 2018-08-20T15:06:50.000Z
creator: Felicity Day
subject: Georgian
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: Money
description: While fixed-odds betting terminals and online games had yet to be invented in the 1730s, their Georgian equivalents were no less addictive and no less troubling for the government. Here, writer Felicity Day reveals the inner workings of Georgian betting and gaming…
encoded: By the time George II came to the throne in 1727, Britain was a nation addicted to gaming. The capital was fit to burst with gaming houses, where play continued round the clock, and gaming tables were a staple of private house parties, assembly rooms, gentlemen’s clubs and spa resorts. A game named Hazard was one of the most popular games, and also one of the most aptly named, since there were hazards aplenty in playing. Squeezed around a large, circular table, a player could easily win or lose an entire fortune in a single night, since large stakes were wagered on each throw of the dice, and four-figure losses were not uncommon. No amount of skill could improve the odds of winning at Hazard, either. In fact, the odds were stacked against a player before he or she even sat down at the table, because Hazard is a banking game, and in terms of probability, known to favour the player (or gaming house proprietor) who holds the bank. It was a highly addictive game too; payouts and losses came quickly, and so the atmosphere around the table was always one of fevered anticipation. Read more: The Georgian guide to perfect parenting A survivor’s guide to Georgian marriage (subscription) <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2018/05/GettyImages-533488891-18a8c26.jpg" width="5373" height="3958" alt="A Georgian painting depicting children leaving for school" title="Tears are shed in this 1790 painting 'Black Monday or the Departure for School', after William Redmore Bigg. Georgians believed that living away from home was key to developing boys' independence. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)" /> The card-based equivalent of Hazard was Faro (a version of the older game, Basset), which involved betting on the dealing of a pack of cards (ie which cards would end up in the winning or losing piles, and the order in which they would appear). It was another firm favourite with the Georgians, and especially with ladies; the most devoted gamers of…

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