1700s, Regency and Victorian worldbuilding

Phyrebrat

Phyrebrat

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Hello,

I have finished the main thurst of my research into the 1100s and 1300s and am ready to start writing new drafts for those periods. As I do this, I want to get my head into the 17-1800s research.

Before I approach ABE books, do any members here know of any reference books that would be helpful for those periods? Notwitstanding The Judge's exceptional help, the two medieval books I found particularly helpful: Medieval Underpants and other Blunders (thanks Brian T); and A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England (thanks Stephen Palmer) really got me into the right mindset for writing in the oooooooold days, and I'm hoping the collective wisdom here could offer me some pointers before I disappear for another 8 months down a warren of research.

Thanks

pH
 
Today or tomorrow I will try to put together a list of books. I never made a list of the books I used when doing research for Goblin Moon and Hobgoblin Night, but I have tons of notes (along with the titles of the books where I found the information) for The Queen's Necklace.

If you are interested in the 1600s as well I could provide some titles; it's a fun period to research.
 
Here is my list for the 18th century:

Most of these I found at libraries in my area (or through inter-library loan) back in the 1990s, but many can now be found on Amazon or at other online bookstores, used, or in new editions. All these books focus on details of everyday life: customs, food, clothes, medicine, furnishings, oddities, etc. rather than on the great historical events of the day. They are a treasure house of information, but I especially recommend the starred books.


**Daily Life in Johnson’s London, by Richard B. Schwarz

**The Waiting City, Paris 1782-1788, by Louis-Sebastien Mercier, translated and edited by Helen Simpson from Mercier’s Le Tableau de Paris (A primary source. The way he describes things is as entertaining as it is enlightening. I imagine it is even better in the original French.)

Woman’s Life in Colonial Days, by Carl Holliday

**Germany in the Eighteenth Century, by W. H. Bruford

**Daily Life in Papal Rome in the Eighteenth Century, by Maurice Andrieux, translated by Mary Fitton

*Journeys of a German in England 1782, by Carl Philip Moritz, translated and edited by Reginald Nettel (Another primary source often referenced.)

A Journey from London to Genoa, by Joseph Barretti (Another primary source. Barretti was an Italian who lived many years in England. He was acquainted with Johnson, Garrick, Hester Thrale, and many other prominent people of the day, and led such an interesting life himself, if you can find a biography it would probably be well worth reading.)

**Daily Life in Venice at the Time of Casanova, by Maurice Andrieux, translated by Mary Fitton

*Pleasure and Privilege, Life in France, Naples, and America 1770-1790, by Olivier Bernier

Daily Life at Versailles, by Jacque Levron

*English Society in the Eighteenth Century, by Roy Porter

Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, by John Ashton

**European Society in the Eighteenth Century, by Robert and Elborg Forster

French Society in the Eighteenth Century, by Louis Ducros, translated by W. de Geijer

**The Pageant of Georgian England, by Elizabeth Burton (also published as The Georgians at Home)

Daily Life in the French Revolution by Jean Robiquet (This was a book I found at the library, although I was later able to get it as a free e-book online, though I don’t remember where — maybe Project Gutenberg?)

A History of Everyday Things in England 1733-1851, written and illustrated by Marjorie and C. H. B. Quenell

London Life in the Eighteenth Century, by Dorothy George

A Hotbed of Genius: The Scottish Enlightenment 1730-1790, edited by David Daiches, Peter Jones, and Jean Jones


Books that aren’t about the 18th century specifically, but which have good long sections full of fascinating information about that period:


Magic, Medicine, and Quackery, by Eric Maple

Travel in England, by Thomas Burke

Venice, the Lion and the Peacock, by Laurence Scarfe

The Shows of London, by Richard D. Altick

(I think I caught all of auto-correct's attempts to "help me out" with some of the names.)
 
Regency Romance Authors and Readers often links to articles with good information (including articles on the Gilflurt site, Vladd) although there are a lot of authors simply promoting their books there. And it's a closed group, so you have to ask to become a member before you can read the posts.

Tomorrow I will list some books about the 19th century.
 
As promised, though this list is shorter.

All of these books are, I believe, readily available through online bookstores, and some of them as free ebooks from Gutenberg, etc.

The History of Everyday Things, by Arthur Train (This book actually covers the 17th-19th centuries in America. I was interested in the Federalist period when I read it, so that’s the section I remember best.)

*1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, by Francis Grose (The title page speaks for itself: “A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence.”)

Jane Austen’s England, by Roy and Lesley Adkins

Fashions in the Era of Jane Austen, by Jody Gayle

Georgette Heyer’s Regency World, by Jennifer Kloester

Jane Austen and Food, by Maggie Lane

*The Pageant of Early Victorian England, by Elizabeth Burton (also published as The Early Victorians at Home)

**Sketches by Boz, by Charles Dickens

**Pictures from Italy, by Charles Dickens (Somewhat deceptively named, since the book describes his travels through France on the way to Italy, as well as a more lengthy section about the time he spent in Italy, with vivid glimpses of the lives of the people in every place he visited. Wonderful reading.)

*American Yesterday, by Eric Sloane (This book and the one following focus on rural and small town life in America during the 19th century, and are largely involved with describing the lives and occupations of craftsmen and farmers — how things were made and how they worked. Copiously illustrated with line drawings of tools, architecture, furniture, carriages, mills, etc.)

The Seasons of America Past, by Eric Sloane


And here is one that might also be of interest though it's a little later (1903):

Daily Life in Russia Under the Last Tsar, by Henri Troyat

____

Note: All these "Daily Life" books I've recommended in this post and the previous list are part of a series originally published in French, covering periods from the early Christian era into the 20th century. Unfortunately, not all of them have been translated into English -- frustrating for me, since I don't read French. Some of them have been reprinted several times by different publishers. There is, however, a newer "Daily Life" series, completely unrelated, published by Greenwood Press, which is far inferior and which I don't recommend.
 
Teresa Edgerton said:
A History of Everyday Things in England 1733-1851, written and illustrated by Marjorie and C. H. B. Quenell
Click to expand...
Fantastic series. There are earlier and later period too. I did a post somewhere. I have the 1948 fourth edition, covers 1066 to 1948 in four volumes. I've found the text and illustrations fantastic.

it's on Gutenberg, though not exactly the one I have. The first version might have been 1919, I forget.
 
I have some notes from another book by the Quenells, but it's for an earlier period.

Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll post a list of recommended books for the period starting with Charlemagne and on through the 17th century.

All my research has been with an eye toward the details of world building, so when I do it I'll start another thread here in GWD, rather than in the history section.
 
It was just a matter of leafing through some notebooks and making lists -- which took less time than I thought it would.
 
A book I forgot to mention when I was listing books on the 18th century (because I bought it recently and it's therefore not mentioned in my notebooks -- although I had encountered the subject long ago and used the man and his contraptions as inspiration in some of my stories):

Doctor of Love: James Graham and His Celestial Bed, by Lydia Syson. The prologue alone is worth the price of the book.
 
Ray McCarthy said:
Fantastic series. There are earlier and later period too. I did a post somewhere. I have the 1948 fourth edition, covers 1066 to 1948 in four volumes. I've found the text and illustrations fantastic.

it's on Gutenberg, though not exactly the one I have. The first version might have been 1919, I forget.
Click to expand...
The Quennells produced some great books, intended for children but useful for anyone. I have the later edition in five volumes which takes it up to 1968.
Another one they did was Everyday Life of Mediaeval Travellers, and they produced them for various historical cultures including Ancient Egypt, the Incas and the Stone Age, Romans and Anglo Saxons.
 
That's why when you want to learn about a new subject the best place to look at the library is the children's section. You can find useful books there with practical information explained in plain language without any jargon.

Academics may find lists of Kings and Battles work the best for their purposes (although that's rather limiting). For world building, books like the Quenells' are valuable resources.
 
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