The Jane Austen Handbook (22 page)

*
Works marked with an asterisk were consulted by the author in the writing of this book.

Apothecary:
Dispensed medication at the direction of a physician or surgeon. In remote country villages that did not have a physician, the apothecary was often the only source of medical advice. He would have been called “Mr. Perry” rather than “Doctor.”

Banns:
Public notice of intention to marry, read in the engaged couple’s respective parish churches three times before their marriage.

Baronet:
A commoner with a hereditary title; he would have been styled as “Sir Walter Elliot” and addressed as “Sir Walter”; a baronet’s wife was styled as “Lady Elliot.” Baronets were not peers and did not sit in the House of Lords.

Barouche:
A carriage drawn by four to six horses, with room for six passengers (four on two seats facing one another, plus two more on the driver’s box). The top folded back from the front like the top of a convertible automobile. The top of a barouche-landau folded back from the middle.

Barrister:
An attorney who argued cases before a court of law. Barristers did not accept direct payment for their services, as they were gentlemen and did not engage in trade; solicitors contracted cases and acted as middlemen for payment.

Bluestocking:
A woman who took a great interest in literary and intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Bluestocking Society, a mid-eighteenth-century women’s literary society.

Chaise:
A closed carriage suitable for two to three passengers, without a driver’s box, drawn by two to four horses that were directed by one or more postilions riding on the lead horses. A post-chaise was hired for long-distance travel and would collect fresh horses from posting inns as needed so the journey could continue uninterrupted. Curricle: A fast, sporty two-wheeled open carriage drawn by two horses; it seated two and was driven by one of the riders.

Chemisette:
A half-shirt, rather like a dickey, worn under a gown to cover the cleavage in daytime and give a gown a different look.

Cobb:
A breakwater wall along the harbor’s edge in the town of Lyme
Regis, located on the southern coast of England. Visitors often promenaded along the Cobb to enjoy the sea air and views (and still do).

Curate:
A priest hired to administer sacraments in a parish in the absence of the rector or vicar. He was paid only a salary, usually very small, and was not entitled to any of the parish tithes.

Direction:
Refers to the address of the recipient on a letter.

Doctor:
In Jane Austen’s novels, a gentleman addressed as “Doctor” is usually a clergyman—a doctor of divinity—rather than a physician.

Doctor’s Commons:
A society of doctors of civil and canon law in London and the location of the ecclesiastical courts, which had jurisdiction over all legal matters to do with marriage. One procured a special license for marriage from Doctor’s Commons.

Enlightenment:
An eighteenth-century philosophical movement that espoused human reason as the proper basis for government and ethics.

Entailment:
A legal contract dictating that an estate was to be inherited by the eldest male descendant in each generation. Such contracts kept estates from being broken up among several heirs.

Esquire:
A style used to refer to a man from a family that had an official coat of arms (i.e., “Fitzwilliam Darcy, Esq.”). The style generally indicated a man from an old and very good family.

Evangelicals:
Members of a religious movement that emphasized Biblical infallibility and accepting Christ as one’s personal savior.

Family living:
See
living;
a family living was bestowed on a clergyman by his father or another relative.

Fichu:
A triangular piece of netting or lace a woman tied around her shoulders or tucked into her bodice for modesty.

Fish:
Betting chips shaped like fish used for card games.

Franking:
Practice in which a member of Parliament signed, or “franked,” a letter so its recipient did not have to pay for postage.

Funds, The:
Investment by purchase of shares of a particular institution (for instance, the Royal Navy) that provided the investor with a regular income of about 3 to 5 percent on the capital each year.

Gambling hell:
A private gaming establishment for gentlemen only, where many a fine fortune was lost.

Gentleman:
A generic term for a man of good family. The more fastidious used the term only to refer to those who owned property.

Gentry:
Members of nonaristocratic, landowning families, including those who did not own property themselves (i.e., younger sons). Members of the gentry generally did not work for a living, except in a
few acceptable professions.

Georgian:
The era encapsulating the reigns of George I through George IV, 1714–1830. The Regency is a separate era within the Georgian era.

Gig:
A fast, sporty, two-wheeled open carriage drawn by one horse that could accommodate two passengers and was driven by one of its riders.

Glebe:
Farmland that formed part of the compensation of a clergyman, which he could farm himself or rent out and keep the profits.

Grand tour:
After completing his formal education, a young gentleman would spend from six months to several years traveling the European continent to acquire polished manners and further his cultural education.

Hack carriage:
A carriage hired from a livery stable for a short time; for instance, to take one back and forth to a ball.

Ha-ha:
A sunken ditch used to keep livestock confined to a particular area without putting up fences that would spoil a view.

Interest:
When used in relation to naval officers, referred to the patronage of senior officers or other powerful or influential individuals that an officer employed to advance in his career.

Knight:
A man who had received a title from the monarch, usually for some special service rendered. The title was not hereditary. He was styled as “Sir William Lucas” and addressed as “Sir William.” His wife was styled “Lady Lucas.”

Knotting:
A handicraft in which silk or cotton was tied in knots about a quarter of an inch apart to form a trim that resembled a string of beads or French knots. These were later fashioned into fringe to edge curtains or sewn onto fabric that was used to upholster furniture.

Lady:
A generic term used to indicate a woman of a good family. Used as a title, it indicated the wife of a peer, baronet, or knight (properly addressed as “Lady Russell”) or the daughter of a peer (addressed as “Lady Catherine”).

Landaulet:
A four-wheeled open carriage similar to a phaeton but with a box for a driver up front.

Linen-draper:
A store that sold fabric and trimming for making clothing; sometimes also sold accessories such as gloves.

Living:
A clerical appointment to a parish church in which a clergyman collected tithes or was paid a salary. The power to bestow the living of a particular parish was a possession that could be inherited, purchased, and sold. Clergymen networked with wealthy landowners who sometimes had several livings in their gift.

Mantua-maker:
A dressmaker. A mantua was a type of gown popular in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, and while the style
went out of fashion, the name for their creators stuck.

Marine Parade:
A pavement walk in a seaside resort, usually with a view of the sea, where fashionable residents and visitors promenaded.

Marriage agreement:
A prenuptial agreement detailing the disposition of any fortune that a woman brought into a marriage and the financial arrangements for her and her children.

Mending a pen:
Pens made of quill feathers needed to be sharpened or “mended” regularly with a penknife.

Methodists:
Members of a religious movement that grew in reaction to the Enlightenment principles of natural religion and deism. The Methodists espoused Biblical infallibility and a more orthodox approach to Christianity.

Miser’s purse:
A small purse for holding banknotes and coins. It was made as a long tube with an opening in the middle part and two rings that slid along the tube. One moved the rings to either side of the opening to insert money and then slid the rings back to keep the money inside at either end. Such purses were used by both men and women. When Mr. Bingley refers to ladies “netting a purse” in
Pride and Prejudice
, this is the sort of purse he means, not a reticule.

Napoleonic Wars:
Officially, the campaigns fought by the French army from the time Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of France in 1799 through the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, with a brief break in 1814 while Napoleon was confined on the island of Elba. The term also sometimes is used to include the war between France and England and their various allies that occurred between the time of the beheading of Louis XVI of France in 1793 and the Peace of Amiens from 1802 to 1803.

Negus:
Hot mulled (spiced) wine that was often served in the evening and during supper at balls.

Netting:
A handicraft in which thread is wound onto a netting needle, wrapped around a gauge, and tied in knots at regular intervals to form a mesh fabric. Very fine mesh was used to make misers’ purses.

Pattern gown:
A gown that could easily be taken apart and copied onto another piece of fabric as the guide for another gown.

Peer:
A member of the House of Lords, including (in ascending order of rank) barons, viscounts, earls, marquises, and dukes. All but dukes were addressed as “Lord Dalrymple” and their wives as “Lady Dalrymple.” In a few very rare cases, a peerage could be inherited by a woman, but they almost always fell along the male line.

Pelisse:
A woman’s overcoat.

Petticoat:
A gown worn under a lighter or open gown. A waist petticoat was like a long half-slip and was worn for warmth or modesty.

Phaeton:
A four-wheeled open carriage with seating for two to four people that was driven by a passenger and drawn by one to four horses or ponies. The body of a high-perch phaeton was suspended above the undercarriage, making it less stable, but faster and more maneuverable for experienced drivers.

Physician:
A formally educated medical man who interpreted symptoms and prescribed treatment. Physicians were gentlemen and therefore did not perform surgery or any tasks classified as “work” in the standards of the day.

Pianoforte:
A piano.

Picturesque, The:
Introduced by clergyman William Gilpin’s series of travel journals, a new idea of aesthetics in which the beauties of nature became more desirable than regulation forced upon nature by man.

Pin money:
The money allotted to a woman in her marriage agreement for her personal expenses.

Professions:
Referred to the few vocations open to gentlemen: the army, the navy, the church, the law, and medicine.

Public assembly:
A ball open to the public to attend, as long as they had paid the subscription fee. Many towns had special assembly rooms set aside for this purpose.

Public school:
A boarding school that any boy of good family could attend—for a fee. They were not supported by taxes but were “public” in the sense that the boys were taught in classes rather than receiving private one-on-one tutoring.

Pump room:
As a generic term, an establishment in a spa town where one went to drink spring water. In Bath,
the
Pump Room was located near the Abbey and was one of the most popular locations in the town for socializing. Other pump rooms in Bath included the Hetling Pump Room, where members of the Austen family drank the water.

Ragout:
A stewed or baked dish.

Rector:
A clergyman or layman who collected the great tithes, or 10 percent of the profits from cereal crops in a parish. Lay rectors hired a vicar or curate to administer sacraments in the parish.

Regency:
From 1810 through 1820, the Prince of Wales ruled England as Prince Regent in the stead of his father, George III, who suffered from dementia. The term often is used generically to refer to the early nineteenth century.

Reticule:
A small handbag.

Royal Crescent:
A semicircular terrace of homes in Bath, designed by John Wood the Younger, completed in 1774. It was the showplace of Georgian Bath and an exclusive address. Many of the residents of Bath liked to promenade along the pavement of the Crescent on Sunday after church.