This author could be forgiven for thinking that Regency London was awash with women in brightly coloured dresses, couples dancing at balls to an Ariana Grande cover and newspaper boys delivering Lady Whistledown’s latest missive with a smile on their faces and not a grubby hand in sight.
The considered choices that the Bridgerton production team made at the very beginning of the show to create a vibrant, joyful version of the end of the Georgian period, is fascinating. Whereas some period dramas have stuck closely to the original source material (for example numerous Charles Dickens’ adaptations and the BBC’s Wolf Hall, which was criticised for its lack of lighting!), Bridgerton chose a different path, leaning into the frivolity, energy and beauty of the era to provide the backdrop for the stories of the Ton.
But what was Regency London really like? Let’s take a look:
The Regency ran from 1811-1820 when Prince George IV became Regent due to his father, King George III’s, ill health.
Some historians actually date the Regency period to extend beyond 1820 all the way up to the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837, but strictly the Regency covers only a very short period of time.
Father and son had a difficult relationship. George was a devoted family man, at his happiest tending to his garden or fields away from the stifling atmosphere of court. The Prince of Wales was a notorious womaniser and gambler, who ran up huge debts that his father or parliament had to settle.
Years before the Regency, the Prince married his long term mistress and twice-divorced Maria Fitzherbert in secret. She was six years older than the Prince and a Catholic, which did not go down well with the King or Queen. The marriage was quickly declared invalid as it did not have the King’s consent and relations between the pair were further soured.
However, despite being an utter cad and all round spendthrift, the Prince of Wales was good for some things during the Regency. He took a huge interest in architecture, the arts and sciences. The result was that the Regency was a period of great cultural change. St James’ Park was redesigned into the form of what visitors see today and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton was built.
Social pursuits that really flourished during the period was the opera, theatre, art exhibitions, such as the Royal Academy summer exhibition and the creation of public pleasure gardens where social classes could congregate and mix.
One of the most famous pleasure gardens was in Vauxhall, a huge enclosed space where people could enjoy music, art and refreshments. Every night thousands of oil lamps that were hung on trees, lamps posts and buildings were lit all at once in a magnificent display.
The London Season ran between November and June and saw England’s great and good come to London to conduct business, be close to parliament and have access to the all-important marriage market.
Regency balls of the like that we see in Bridgerton were a staple of the London Season. They may not have had the soundtrack of a string quarter playing Taylor Swift and Beyonce but there was dancing, kicked off by the person of the highest social rank or by a young woman who was making her debut on the social scene. They were usually big affairs with over a hundred people attending. Women were obliged to accept an invitation to dance even if they didn’t want to but could dance no more than two dances with the same partner. If you were hungry, you might have to wait until 1am for your supper and the ball would generally finish around 4am. So a definite lie in was needed the following morning.
The Regency saw the long and bloody Napoleonic Wars come to an end. At the Congress of Vienna, Britain and other key players drew up a new map of Europe that would remain largely the same until the First World War.
The only British Prime Minister to ever be assassinated was during the Regency. On 11 May 1812, Spencer May Perceval arrived at the House of Commons only to be shot in the chest by a merchant called John Bellingham.
Also, in 1812, the first working steam locomotive was made. It was called Puffing Billy. And the period saw the rise of the steam printing press that made newspapers easier to print.
The side of the Regency that we don’t see in Bridgerton is the poverty. There was a population boom among the poor during the era, which made the problems of overcrowding and hunger in London’s slums even worse. With little option the poor turned to crime, drinking and prostitution to survive. Although there were a million and a half people living in London there were only 450 constables and 4500 night watchmen to police them.
The sheer numbers of prostitutes in London that were frequented by men like Viscount Bridgerton meant that it’s estimated 1 in 5 people had syphilis in the Regency.
Coming up
It is Bridgerton week here, so stay tuned for more newsletters on Part 1 of the new season.