Aspects of an Era
with Alicia Rasley
The actual Regency-- when Prince George served as regent for his insane father King George III-- lasted less than a decade (1811-1820). But the profound cultural effects of the "Regency era" were the consequence of the revolutionary end of the 18th century, and carried forth well into the next century. In fact, the decade of the Regency can be seen as almost a "hinge" to the door that opened into the modern era-- with democracies and railroads and Wagnerian opera.
So it helps to expand the study of the Regency era into the half-century between the American Revolution and Prinny's death in 1830. This will let us explore this time of revolution and romanticism without being confined to a single decade. We can discuss the tumultuous politics and towering personalities, the elegantly simple fashions and the elaborately lush music and poetry. It was more than a time of transition. The Regency era was transformative.
So let's discuss the romantic, revolutionary Regency era and some significant aspects: The wars, the revolutions, the fashion, the technology, the literature.
(I've been blogging about Victorian literature this summer -- Trollope and Sherlock Holmes-- so there's some later 19th Century also.)
