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Gambling, sex parties and heavy drinking: the sordid lives of Regency ’rakes’

Gambling, sex parties and heavy drinking: the sordid lives of Regency ’rakes’

Scandalising high society and thrilling in the romance genre, the rake can be seen as immoral profligates or lovable rogues

An illustration showing a man sitting in a chair, looking towards a naked woman

Jonny Wilkes

Published: November 15, 2026 at 11:30 AM

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Fans of the Regency romance series Bridgerton will be familiar with the term ‘rake’, especially in relation to characters like Simon Basset, and Anthony and Benedict Bridgerton.

In that era, it described a well-to-do, aristocratic gentleman who led the life of a pleasure-seeking wastrel. A roguish libertine with an eye for the ladies what they wanted to do most with the privilege and position was to drink, gamble and womanise, and they enjoyed the scandal that their behaviour provoked in high society.

The rake in history and literature

Names like Lord Byron, Giacomo Casanova and the Marquis de Sade spring to mind when hearing the term. It was a shortened form of ‘rakehell’, as if to suggest that such men of immortality could only be found by raking though Hell itself. ‘Hellraiser’ seems the logical alternative today.

Black-and-white historical engraving depicting an ethereal woman in a flowing white gown gesturing toward a man reclining on a rocky outcrop in a mountainous landscape

English poet Lord Byron is visited by his muse in this c1810 illustration. Byron's name is one synonymous with the idea of the 'rake' | Credit: Getty Images

In truth, though, to be declared a rake tended to be done playfully rather than a sincere condemnation. Indeed, it could be said that a defining characteristic of the rake was that they absorbed the disapproval of others without meaningful censure. They were too rich and powerful, or too charming and alluring, to be ostracised by the Ton.

Read more | From balls to Bridgerton: a brief history of debutantes and the social season

In one of the Bridgerton novels by Julia Quinn, The Viscount Who Loved Me, the gossiping writer Lady Whistledown writes: “This Author has come to the conclusion that there are rakes, and there are Rakes… A rake (lower-case) is youthful and immature. He flaunts his exploits, behaves with utmost idiocy, and thinks himself dangerous to women.

“A Rake (upper-case) KNOWS he is dangerous to women.”

Yet perhaps Regé-Jean Page, who played Simon Basset in season one, put it best – if a bit bluntly – when he summed up a rake simply as “a Regency f**kboy”.

Historical oil portrait of King Charles II enthroned in red and ermine coronation robes, wearing a crown and holding a scepter and orb

King Charles II, c1676. Though generally associated with the Regency era, rakes first came about during the Restoration | Credit: Getty Images

Rakes in the Restoration period

Although Bridgerton has forever linked them with the Regency era of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the rakes actually made their debut in the Restoration period, after Charles II came to the throne in 1660.

The royal court was heaving with them, the so-called Merry Gang, which included John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester; George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham; and Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset. The latter once exhibited truly rakish conduct when he got drunk, stripped off on a balcony overlooking the street and mimed a number of sexually explicit acts with his equally inebriated friend.

Read more | Love affairs, screaming fans and tragic deaths: inside the lives of history’s biggest heartthrobs

At the same time, the rake also became a narrative staple as men with low scruples and expensive tastes started appearing in restoration comedies. From there, they have enjoyed a status as a regular feature in the romance genre, unexpectedly waiting for the love of their life to come along.

Sepia-toned historical portrait of a man wearing a long curled periwig, white cravat, and buttoned coat

Charles Sackville, a rake who famously got drunk and performed lewd acts | Credit: Getty Images

A Rake’s Progress

The rake has not always been regarded as a loveable figure, however. In his series of eight paintings from the 1730s, A Rake’s Progress, the English satirist William Hogarth depicted the dramatic descent of the immoral and lascivious Tom Rakewell.

It starts with the moment he inherits a fortune on the death of his father, a moment he marks by getting himself measured for new clothes and rejecting his lowly fiancée. Each new painting shows him partying, drinking and hosting orgies, before he is arrested for debt and marrying an elderly spinster for her money. In the final scene, Rakewell has lost his mind and is in the mental asylum, Bedlam.

Authors

Jonny WilkesFreelance writer

Jonny Wilkes is a former staff writer for BBC History Revealed, and he continues to write for both the magazine and HistoryExtra. He has BA in History from the University of York.