So, you'd like to write a Regency romance. Where should you begin? If asking veteran writers you will no doubt come to learn about the tried-and-true Regency titles relied on for details: THE PRINCE OF PLEASURE; THE REGENCY COMPANION; ENGLISH WOMEN'S DRESS IN THE 19TH CENTURY; LIFE IN REGENCY AND EARLY VICTORIAN TIMES, etc. Working industriously, you'll soon research your way through these and the other available books. And then what? It's very seldom that a new, companion-type book comes along for Regency aficionados, but one has: JANE AUSTEN: IN STYLE, by Susan Watkins (Thames & Hudson, 1996, ISBN 0-500-27900-4, oversized paper, $19.95). Using the works, characters and factual life of Jane Austen as a base for her research, the author explores areas of period life and combines this with 177 illustrations.

In the section on Society, Watkins includes all the topics you'd expect to find, but adds information about such subjects as the nursery and childhood. We all know that in well-to-do homes the children were looked after by a nanny and, later, a governess. More than a servant, yet less than a free agent, the governess held a most difficult position within the household. Living modestly, she had no social circle to share gossip, friendship or to spend time with in the evenings. While the governess was given more freedom than her fellow servants, this very freedom sometimes served to reduce her status, for while young, unmarried ladies from respectable families were never allowed outside without a chaperon, a governess often traveled alone. To her contemporaries, the governess lacked obvious charm or appeal and had no need for protection from male attention. While the author doesn't touch on this subject, she does include bits on inoculations and lessons.

The education of gentlemen is also addressed, a subject lacking in good reference material. Which professions were acceptable and which were not? This question is answered: Army officers were more aristocratic than navy men and it was possible for certain men to maintain a measure of respectability in the legal profession. Clergymen came next in the order of precedent as far as professions were concerned, though policemen were deemed so low upon the social ladder that they had to call at the servants' entrance when making inquiries. Country house and interior styles have their own chapters and Watkins offers tidbits covering carpets (Wilton carpet cost between four and six shillings per yard), room arrangements, candelabra and porcelain. This is really fine information, with much detail and the added benefit of being arranged in an easy to reference format.

A Regency author must be well versed in fashions of the day and Ms. Watkins makes this subject as painless as possible. In addition to concrete fashion facts, you'll find information on how these styles reflected social status, buying mania and shopping. Again, details abound: "'Cloaks are often more decorative than functional and made of light material; black gauze cloaks are worn as much as anything,' wrote Jane in a letter of 1801. In 1812, she bought a cloak of grey wool at a cost of ten shillings. Decorative, long, cylindrical fur tippets were also worn over shoulders for day and evening wear."

Such details are the lifeblood of a researcher's quest and one of the best sources for prices and little known details are contemporary newspapers. The Guildhall Library, London, has many period newspapers, including the Times, on microfilm, from which one can make photocopies of pertinent information and on-dit of the day.

Authors stranded stateside can access London news by scanning microfilm of the larger U.S. dailies. Fashions remained much the same on both sides of the pond, while much London news made its way into their columns. You should no doubt be able to find articles on the Coronation of George IV, Wellington's victories and fads and trends in the city. However, if you get bogged down in sorting out all the minutiae, do not despair-JANE AUSTEN: IN STYLE is the next best thing.

Recommended Title:

• JANE AUSTEN: IN STYLE by Susan Watkins, Hugh Palmer