Aug 22, 2011 — Two hundred years ago this summer, England entered its Regency period. Many associate the era with Colin Firth's turn as Mr. Darcy, but it was also a time of political uncertainty. To celebrate the period's 200th anniversary, author Stephanie Barron suggests three books that put Mr. Firth to shame.
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This statue in Weymouth, England, commemorates King George III entering the 50th year of his reign in 1809-1810. It was donated to the town in 1809. (iStockphoto.com)
Three Books, Two Centuries And One English Regency
by Stephanie Barron
Aug 22, 2011 — Two hundred years ago this summer, England entered its Regency period. Many associate the era with Colin Firth's turn as Mr. Darcy, but it was also a time of political uncertainty. To celebrate the period's 200th anniversary, author Stephanie Barron suggests three books that put Mr. Firth to shame.As the summer winds to a close, I'm thinking about the bicentennial. Not the one we celebrated with tall ships 35 years ago, but the one just across the pond: the 200th anniversary of the English Regency.
It's a term often associated with fussy furniture, but it refers in fact to the last nine years of King George III's life, when he was put in a straitjacket and his son was asked to mind the throne. The Regency began with a massive kickoff party in the summer of 1811. It ended with George III's death in January 1820. In between, the English got food riots, Luddites, Jane Austen and Waterloo.
For most Americans, the period comes down to one man: Colin Firth, whose star turn as Austen's Fitzwilliam Darcy still brings grown women to their knees. For those who'd like to know more about those racy nine years, a few good books come to mind.
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