Category: Elizabeth Bennet

Ep106: The Thing About Special Licenses

6/26/2025

Mrs. Bennet would like to ensure that Lizzy's special day is the MOST special. And what better way to do that than by having Darcy and Lizzy marry by special license. This episode we cover the banns, common licenses, and special licenses, and we dig into whether Mrs. Bennet's wedding dreams are likely to come true.

Select Sources

Adkins, Roy, and Lesley Adkins. Jane Austen’s England. New York: Viking, 2013.
Bannet, Eve Tavor. “The Marriage Act of 1753: ‘A Most Cruel Law for the Fair Sex.’” Eighteenth-Century Studies 30, no. 3 (1997): 233–54.
Byrne, Sandie. Jane Austen’s Possessions and Dispossessions. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137406316.
Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone, eds. “Banns of Marriage.” In The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press, January 1, 2009. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001/acref-9780192802903-e-637.
Francis, Keith A. “Canon Law Meets Unintended Consequences: The Church of England and the Clandestine Marriage Act of 1753.” Anglican and Episcopal History 72, no. 4 (2003): 451–87.
Muir, Rory. Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2024.
Pool, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist; the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England. New York: Touchstone, 2007.
Probert, Rebecca. Marriage Law and Practice in the Long Eighteenth Century: A Reassessment. Cambridge University Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511596599.
———. “The Impact of the Marriage Act of 1753: Was It Really ‘A Most Cruel Law for the Fair Sex’?” Eighteenth-Century Studies 38, no. 2 (2005): 247–62.

Ep101: The Thing About Lizzy's Pin-Money

1/28/2025

Transcript

Lizzy is officially engaged, and Mrs. Bennet has pound signs for eyes. Grab your marriage settlement and your preferred negotiator, because this episode we're getting into the history and purpose of pin-money.

Selected Sources

Addison, Joseph, and Richard Hurd. The Spectator. T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1811.
Clancy (Barrister-at-law), James. An Essay on the Equitable Rights of Married Women, with Respect to Their Separate Property, and Also to Their Claim to a Provision, Called the Wife’s Equity. To Which Is Added, the Law of Pin-Money, Separate Maintenance, and of the Other Separate Provisions of Married Women. 2nd Ed. R. Milliken; London: Charles Hunter, 1819.
Dent, Susie, ed. “Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable.” In Oxford Reference. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www-oxfordreference-com.uvu.idm.oclc.org/display/10.1093/acref/9780199990009.001.0001/acref-9780199990009.
Longman, Eleanor D., and Sophy Loch. Pins and Pincushions. Longmans, Green and Company, 1911.
Muir, Rory. Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2024.
Pool, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist; the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England. New York: Touchstone, 2007.
Staves, Susan. “Pin Money.” Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture 14, no. 1 (1985): 47–77. https://doi.org/10.1353/sec.1985.0003.

EP91: The Thing About the Lakes

6/4/2024

Lizzy is headed to the Lake District with her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. Or is she? This episode we get into the trip that didn't happen and discuss the picturesque splendors of the Lakes. If you have ever been curious about the ideal cow configuration (and you know you are), this episode is for you.

Selected Sources

Allen, Dennis W. “No Love for Lydia: The Fate of Desire in Pride and Prejudice.” Texas Studies in Literature and Language 27, no. 4 (1985): 425–43.
Dove, Jane. “Geographical Board Game: Promoting Tourism and Travel in Georgian England and Wales.” Journal of Tourism History 8, no. 1 (January 2, 2016): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2016.1140825.
Gilpin, William. An Essay on Prints. 5th ed. London: A. Strahan, for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, 1802.
———. Observations, Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty, Made in the Year 1772, on Several Parts of England; Particularly the Mountains and Lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland. R. Blamire, 1792.
Jones, Hazel. Jane Austen’s Journeys. London: Robert Hale, 2014.
Lake District National Park. “Landscape and Geology.” Lake District National Park: [email protected], September 18, 2006. https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/geology.
Lane, Maggie. Jane Austen’s England. London: Hale, 1996.
Litz, A Walton. “The Picturesque in Pride and Prejudice.” Persuasions 1 (1979): 13–15.
Orestano, Francesca. “The Revd William Gilpin and the Picturesque; Or, Who’s Afraid of Doctor Syntax?” Garden History 31, no. 2 (2003): 163. https://doi.org/10.2307/1587293.
Reych, Zofia. Born to Climb: From Rock Climbing Pioneers to Olympic Athletes. Vertebrate Publishing, 2022.
Shapard, David M. “Notes and Annotations.” In The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. New York: Anchor Books, 2012.
Stafford, Fiona J. “Introduction and Notes.” In Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, edited by James Kinsley. Oxford World’s Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Ep88: The Thing About the Bennet Sisters' Shoe-Roses

4/24/2024

Grab your dancing slippers and your shoe-roses because the Netherfield Ball is right around the corner, and the Bennet sisters are ready to party. This episode we take a look at the fancy footwear frills of the 17th and 18th centuries and the ways in which those trends transitioned into the Regency era.

Selected Sources

Cunnington, Cecil Willett, and Phillis Emily Cunnington. Handbook of English Costume in the Eighteenth Century. Boston, Plays, 1972. http://archive.org/details/handbookofenglis00cunn.
———. Handbook of English Costume in the Nineteenth Century. Boston: Plays, inc, 1971. http://archive.org/details/handbookofenglis0000cunn.
Davidson, Hilary. Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019.
Earnshaw, Pat. “Lace for Your Shoes: The Impractical Vanity.” The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club 70 (1987): 22.
Fairholt, Frederick William. Costume in England: Glossary. G. Bell and sons, 1896.
Lester, Katherine, and Bess Viola Oerke. Accessories of Dress: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Courier Corporation, 2013.
Pendergast, S., T. Pendergast, and S. Hermsen. Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear Through the Ages. Vol. 3. UXL, 2003. https://books.google.com/books?id=-tIZAQAAIAAJ.
Poppy, Pat. “The Clothing Accessory Choices of Rachel, Countess of Bath, and Other Mid-Seventeenth-Century Women.” Costume 54, no. 1 (March 2020): 3–29. https://doi.org/10.3366/cost.2020.0141.
Severn, Bill. If the Shoe Fits. New York: McKay, 1964.
Wallace, Beth Kowaleski. “Traveling Shoe Roses: The Geography of Things in Austen’s Works.” In Jane Austen’s Geographies, edited by Robert Clark, 115–27. Routledge, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351235341.
Webster, John. “The White Devil.” In The Dramatic Works: The White Devil, The Duchess of Malfi., London: Reeves & Turner, 1612.
Wilcox, R. Turner. The Mode in Footwear: A Historical Survey with 53 Plates. Courier Corporation, 2008.

Ep69: The Thing About Lizzy's Needlework with guest Dr. Jennie Batchelor

6/16/2023

Needlework in Jane Austen's novels is commonly referred to as simply "work." But what exactly does this work entail, and why is it important to characters like Elizabeth Bennet? Guest Dr. Jennie Batchelor is here to answer these questions and more. We discuss the difference between plain and fancy needlework, the significance of needlework in the pantheon of ladylike accomplishments, and the ways in which needlework functioned as a Regency woman's CV.

Thank you so much to Jennie for joining us for this episode! You can learn more about her and her work at www.jenniebatchelor.net. Jennie's digital catalogue of embroidery patterns from the Lady's Magazine can be found at ladysmagazine.omeka.net. You can find Jennie on Twitter @JennieBatchelor and on Instagram @BatchelorJennie.

Ep67: The Thing About Darcy's First Proposal with Meredith Ammons

5/16/2023

This episode we're joined by Meredith Ammons to break down the first proposal of one Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. We also get into the letter that follows and discuss the ways that this critical interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth sets up the second half of Pride and Prejudice. If you have ever wished for a do-over, this episode is for you.
Thank you so much to Meredith for joining us for this episode! You can learn more about Meredith and her work at www.meredithammons.com. You can learn more about the Jane Austen Summer Program at www.janeaustensummer.org.

Ep63: The Thing About Polluting the Shades of Pemberley

3/11/2023

Lady Catherine has stopped by Longbourn for a little chat, and she clearly needs to read an article or two on appropriate guest etiquette. This episode we break down Lady Catherine's famous insult to Elizabeth and get into its many layers and possible meanings.

Selected Sources:

Curry, Mary Jane. “‘Not a Day Went by without a Solitary Walk’: Elizabeth’s Pastoral World.” Persuasions 22 (2000).
Ellington, H. Elisabeth. “‘A Correct Taste in Landscape’: Pemberley as Fetish and Commodity.” In Jane Austen in Hollywood, edited by Linda Troost and Sayre N. Greenfield, 90–110. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
Gill, Richard, and Susan Gregory. Mastering the Novels of Jane Austen. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

EP21: The Thing About Christmas at Pemberley

12/15/2021

You have been cordially invited to Christmas at Pemberley! The Darcys have welcomed us to their home for the festive season, and we are here to walk you through the experience. If you have ever reached your hand into a flaming bowl of raisins, this episode is for you.

Selected episode sources

Brown, Ellen F. “A Brief History of the Holiday Card.” JSTOR Daily, December 20, 2015. https://daily.jstor.org/history-christmas-card-holiday-card/.
Davidson, Hilary. “A Jane Austen Christmas.” Yale University Press London Blog (blog), December 11, 2019. https://yalebooksblog.co.uk/2019/12/11/jane-austen-christmas/.
Gannon, John. “Fowl Play: Why A Christmas Carol Meant Our Goose Was Cooked.” The Conversation. Accessed January 28, 2022. http://theconversation.com/fowl-play-why-a-christmas-carol-meant-our-goose-was-cooked-35613.
Gaunt, Peter. “An Expert Explains… The Myth That Cromwell Abolished Christmas.” University of Chester, December 13, 2018. https://www1.chester.ac.uk/news/expert-explains%E2%80%A6-myth-cromwell-abolished-christmas.
Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House: A Social and Architectural History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1994.
Mortimer, Ian. Time Traveller’s Guide to Regency Britain. London: Bodley Head, 2021.
Vogler, Pen. Dinner with Mr Darcy: Recipes Inspired by the Novels and Letters of Jane Austen. London: Cico Books, 2020.

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