Quilted Petticoats: worn by all women and useful in more ways than one!
As the weather is turning cooler, let's take a look at quilted petticoats. They were an item of clothing that transcended any notions of...
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May 97 min read
Moll King, of King's Coffee House in Covent Garden
‘What rake is ignorant of King’s Coffee House?’ (Henry Fielding, The Covent Garden Tragedy, 1732). There are many tall tales told about...
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May 13 min read
May Day: Jack in the Green and Chimney Sweeps
May Day, or, Jack in the Green We'll banish Care, and all his Train Nor thought of Sadness round us play Fly distant hence, corroding...
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Apr 156 min read
Revealing the later life of Nelly O'Brien
Sir Joshua Reynolds painted the courtesan Nelly O’Brien twice, between 1762 and 1764. Both paintings were paid for by her lover,...
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Mar 215 min read
John Courtoy, hairdresser, investor, miser, and enigma
Mr Courtoy, who died a few days ago, was a native of France, and, when young, served in the French army. He was by trade a hairdresser,...
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Mar 144 min read
Mary Ramsay, a female imposter
In All Things Georgian: Tales from the Long Eighteenth-Century, I recounted the adventures of Sarah Wilson, aka Lady Wilbrahammon…...
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Nov 16, 20232 min read
Dido Elizabeth Belle - Etienne Daly's Decade of Research
Etienne Daly has been researching the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle for a decade now. In that time, he has uncovered some fascinating...
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Apr 13, 20238 min read
Dido Elizabeth Belle: revealing her half-siblings
This is an updated post of my original on a former blog. It reveals information about Dido Elizabeth Belle’s siblings, much of which was...
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Feb 9, 20238 min read
The Fair Swindler of Blackheath
This is a fascinating story that proves fact is stranger than fiction. Grab a drink, sit back and enjoy! Elizabeth (Eliza) Frances...
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Nov 18, 20221 min read
Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity
I’m delighted to let you know that my latest book, Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity, is now published. If you have pre-ordered a...
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Aug 4, 20221 min read
Kitty Fisher: The First Female Celebrity
My biography of Kitty Fisher has a cover! It will be published in October 2022 (in the UK), and is already available for pre-order at...
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Jun 29, 20223 min read
A reimagining of Dido Elizabeth Belle
Dido Elizabeth Belle was born in 1761. Her mother was an African slave, Maria Bell, and her father a British aristocrat, Captain John...
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Jun 16, 20223 min read
Beau Nash's 'Rules of Bath'
Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, dandy, Bath’s Master of Ceremonies and unofficial ‘king’ of the city was born in 1674. He set the rules by which...
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Oct 20, 20212 min read
Kitty Fisher: courtesan, style icon and celebrity
Welcome to my new blog! I’m so happy that you’ve stopped by. If you enjoy my ramblings, please do consider signing up for updates. Today...
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