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Searching for the Past in Present Day London

west-end-1800My imagination is a fickle thing. You would think that, as a voracious reader, it would be well developed and up to the task of imagining character’s faces, clothing, and homes. Sadly, no matter that I’ve spent most of my life exercising this muscle, I rarely manage to do more than produce a vague, blurry image in my mind of whatever is happening in my latest novel. I don’t know what other people imagine when they read—I sincerely hope that they have clearer images than I do.

Of course, it’s much easier to picture everything when you have a point of reference, when you’ve actually visited the location in question. Ever since I moved to New York City a few years ago, my entire experience of reading books set in the city has improved. I know what Central Park looks like now, can picture the sidewalks characters are walking on, etc. This is why, when the opportunity arose for me to take a two month study tour in London, I jumped at the chance. Finally, I thought. Finally I’ll get the chance to actually see for myself all of the classic Regency London sights.

You know what I’m talking about. It seems to me that most every book about Regency London includes the very same venues: Almack’s, Hyde Park, White’s Club are probably the main three seen in almost every Regency romance. Beyond that, though, it seems that every couple getting married without the benefit of a special license (which, honestly, isn’t many) gets married in St. George’s, and everyone with a town home seems to live in Mayfair. Women all go shopping on Bond Street, men all buy their horses at Tattersall’s, and most people seem to make it out to the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens at some point in time.

I’m generalizing, of course. I don’t mean to say that every book set in Regency London is the same, or that there are no authors who do research and provide extra details about the locales their characters are visiting. It’s simply that I’ve lately realized just how many books I’ve read have mentioned these same locations and that I seem to know far too little about them.

Did you know, for instance, that Almack’s began as, essentially, a version of White’s that allowed women in? Did you know that White’s Club is still open today? Have you ever stopped to ponder exactly how it is that so many people were able to squeeze entire houses complete with ballrooms into Mayfair? (To be honest, I still can’t wrap my head around that concept.) I’ve read a number of books where authors simply mention these generally accepted sights of Regency London, barely even describing them and essentially assuming we readers just know what they are already. It’s my understanding that the appearance of such sights in Regency romances can be attributed to Georgette Heyer—as a pioneer of the genre, she set an important example for all subsequent authors.

I do like it, though, when authors manage to mention other interesting parts of London, presumably from their own research. In Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, for instance, the heroine makes a trip to a little-known church in London called St. Bride’s. Simple details like this make the setting feel more real and less like the generic, blurry London of my imagination. Maybe I’ll even stop by St. Bride’s if I’m in the area, just to see if it looks like Ms. Quinn described it.

For now, though, I’m busily preparing to explore as much of the city as I can. I intend to walk down Rotten Row in Hyde Park and imagine lords and ladies driving by those same trees in their curricles. I will walk by White’s Club and the site where Almack’s used to be (it was destroyed in 1944), and maybe I’ll meander down Bond Street to see if there are any interesting shops still there.

What about you? Are there places you think authors should mention more when writing about Regency London? Are there any sights you’ve read about and now dream of seeing?

–Alexandra

 

 

 

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reiki healing
reiki healing
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07/13/2015 10:56 am

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reiki training
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07/13/2015 9:59 am

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Anne AAR
Anne AAR
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07/06/2015 10:13 pm

When I visited London, I stared near the British Museum, so I didn’t see many of the Regency sites. But I did get to see Lindow Man and artifacts from Sutton Hoo! (Poor Lindow Man doesn’t get the attention he deserves. He’s better preserved than most mummies.) I also had a great time at the National Portrait Gallery and The National Gallery. And, of course, Westminster Alley and Tower of London.

One of my best memories of a London museum comes from the Museum of London, which isn’t as well known. I was staring at Oliver Cromwell’s death mask. The exhibit had a sign describing how he died of natural causes but then his body was exhumed, hung in chains, and mutilated. I turned to a complete stranger standing nearby and said, “”Wow, they really didn’t like him.”” In a British accent, she said, “”He was terrible!!!”” So it’s clear that many Londoners are still close to their history. :)

Judith
Judith
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06/29/2015 4:57 am

Try London Walks – http://www.walks.com/ – for 2 hour thematic walking tours in and around London – and day excursions elsewhere. There’s a huge variety and no advance booking – just show up at the prescribed Tube stop before the start time, and pay – ususally £10 per walk in London. Many of the guides I have had the pleasure of walking with have been fabuluous – some are actors and get into character, some just love their subject and want to share that love. The schedule is different every day, and there is something for everyone – from a Harry Potter tour to the Beatles, Jack the Ripper, Mayfair – there used to be a Jane Austen tour, but I don’s see it on the schedule this summer.

Dabney Grinnan
Dabney Grinnan
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Reply to  Judith
06/29/2015 9:23 am

My family has done several of those tours and loved them!

Sonya Heaney
Sonya Heaney
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06/24/2015 9:43 am

I used to live across the road from St Bride’s. It isn’t as obscure or out of the way as you might think. :) Take a walk down Fleet Street and visit the old pubs (and the church) before continuing on to St Paul’s. The City looks pretty new, but then every so often you’ll stumble over something interesting, like Roman ruins.

Unlike – say – Bath, London is a big ol’ mix of every era, on every street. There aren’t many areas you’ll recognise as being particularly Regency-looking. It’s more a case of finding specific buildings in amongst post-war structures.

P&P
P&P
Guest
06/22/2015 6:36 am

One great way to see regency London is by going on a regency tour. P&P Tours run private and bespoke regency tours using guides which are all experts on English history and English literature. We would welcome any English literature fans to get in touch… http://www.pandptours.co.uk

LeeF
LeeF
Guest
06/21/2015 1:28 am

My experience with London- enjoy it for what it is today. Quit trying to fit it into this narrow scope of Regency or Victorian or whatever.

Elinor Aspen
Elinor Aspen
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06/19/2015 7:02 pm

My first trip to London included Hyde Park, Kensington Palace and Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Grosvenor Square and the British Museum (as well as several other historic sites not particularly associated with the Regency era). We had a meal at The George in Southwark (a former coaching inn dating to the late 17th century). My most recent trip included Twinings (where Jane Austen bought her tea), window shopping in St. James (including Floris and Lock & Co.), the former site of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (sadly just a plain greenspace with a few benches), and Sir John Soane’s Museum. I also saw the outside of St. Bride’s and took a picture of its famous wedding-cake steeple.

Sheri Cobb South
Sheri Cobb South
Guest
06/19/2015 2:55 pm

On my first trip to London, I checked out the “”usual suspects,”” those areas of Mayfair we’ve read about so many times. On my most recent trip, I celebrated the sale of the 3rd John Pickett mystery by strolling down Bow Street (where I was surprised and delighted to find the Royal Opera House, aka Covent Garden Theatre–where Ethan Brundy of THE WEAVER TAKES A WIFE first met his Lady ‘elen!), Drury Lane, and Covent Garden. I also discovered a charming little pedestrians-only passageway called Goodwin’s Court. First laid out in about 1700, this half-hidden treasure is believed to be J. K. Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley–and it looks it!

LeeB.
LeeB.
Guest
06/19/2015 9:38 am

Having been to London many, many times, I’m still finding new places to visit (mainly through a website called TubeRambles) but earlier this month, I was with friends near Vauxhall train/bus/tube station while we were parking the car and noticed a sign stating that this was where Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens used to be. OMG!!! Of course, it has changed a lot but still, I was excited. And walking through the streets of Mayfair or South Kensington or Chelsea and seeing the gorgeous old homes can definitely make me believe I am in London of old (minus the cars of course).

Kayne
Kayne
Guest
06/19/2015 8:51 am

I visited Hampton Court and it made a huge impression because I love to read historicals. Another time we were visiting the Lipizzan horses but I was busy looking at the museum of old carriages:) The British Museum is mentioned fairly often in historicals and that is amazing to visit.

Lynne Connolly
Lynne Connolly
Guest
06/19/2015 7:25 am

One of the joys of writing about the past is to discover these out of the way places and customs, and bring them to life again. The Museum of London has a reconstruction of a part of Vauxhall Gardens, for instance. I haunted that place for a while. I generally write about the mid eighteenth century, when Almacks wasn’t in existence, so I’m spared that one, but I’ve passed the site, where there’s a plaque, and marvelled.
In one book (Lightning Strikes) I had a heroine living in Vinegar Yard, a notorious place where they did make vinegar, and poor people had lodgings. I’ve spent hours in the Imperial War Museum, talking to the curators, not about the magnificent displays there, but about the building, which used to be Bethlem Hospital (Bedlam). After the recent revamping, they’ve discovered a lot about the original building, including holes in the bricks that used to hold bars over the windows!
A fact like that can generate a whole book!