Georgette Heyer's Regency World (7 page)

As long as he had some form of income, a dedicated bachelor (such as those younger sons of the aristocracy not subject to family expectations and the need to provide an heir) could spend his life indulging his various whims and fancies. His day often did not begin until after noon, when he arose, ate a leisurely breakfast, and spent considerable time dressing before setting off for his club around three. He could take a look in at Tattersall’s and get the latest sporting news or engage in a sparring match at Jackson’s Saloon. At five he might join the promenade in Hyde Park, there to admire the ladies, converse with friends or show off his riding or driving style if he was an accomplished equestrian or whip. In
Arabella
young Bertram Tallant, on his first trip to London, eagerly anticipated the pleasure of an evening spent with friends going to the theatre or the opera, eating supper at the Royal Saloon or the Piazza, or visiting popular haunts such as the Daffy Club, Limmer’s Hotel or Cribb’s Parlour, where he might smoke a pipe, listen to the conversation of the sporting men and even handle the Champion’s silver cup.

A well-bred bachelor, such as Freddy Standen in
Cotillion
, was a favourite among society hostesses who could rely on him to make up the numbers at a dinner party or be an agreeable guest at a ball. Some bachelors took pleasure in escorting married ladies to the theatre or Almack’s club, safe in the knowledge that no demands of a matrimonial nature would be made of them. A bachelor was also more at liberty than most married men to extend an evening spent at a ball, party, masquerade or the opera, into an all-night affair and thought nothing of drinking at his club, visiting a gaming hell or imbibing rough liquor in the seedier parts of town until after sunrise. Outside of the Season, a personable bachelor like Felix Hethersett in
April Lady
might join the fashionable set at a seaside resort or accept an invitation to stay at a country house where he could begin shooting in late August and (if he could afford it) join the hunt from November. Even for those single men compelled to earn a living and exercise their talents in the army, the navy, the Church, parliament or the law, it was possible for those dedicated to sport or the pursuit of pleasure to minimise the demands of their profession and dedicate a large part of their daily life to the delights of a bachelor existence.

Although the younger sons of the nobility did not have to fulfill the expectations and responsibilities incumbent on the eldest son, neither did they enjoy the wealth and power that came with his inheritance. Although in some cases younger sons like Claud Darracott in
The Unknown Ajax
inherited land or money from their mothers or other relatives, most relied on the income (usually a competence only) supplied to them by the family estate and which could sometimes be paid at the discretion of the heir. While such an allowance might enable them to live a pleasant bachelor existence it was rarely enough to support a family. As a result, many younger sons were compelled to find employment and generally found themselves restricted by the conventions of the period to the handful of professions considered suitable for the sons of the upper class.

They could enter the navy—and gain a suitable position through patronage of the kind Mr Beaumaris planned for Harry Tallant in
Arabella
—or join the army by buying a commission into a regiment. During the Regency a pair of colours in a Hussar regiment cost approximately £800 pounds and automatically made a man an officer regardless of his capability or qualifications. Intermittent conflict with the former American colonies, and Napoleon’s campaigns in Europe in the early years of the Regency, made the military an attractive occupation for many adventurous or romantically minded young men. For the less bold, taking Holy Orders and becoming a beneficed clergyman was generally an undemanding way of life which enabled many practitioners to continue to enjoy the popular activities of the period—riding, hunting, drinking and gaming—without censure, and, for those who wished to marry, a well-endowed living provided ample means for supporting a wife and family. The Reverend Hugh Rattray in
Cotillion
, while conscientious in the performance of his clerical duties, was also a sporting man and prided himself on his athletic prowess. A desire to enter the Church did not necessarily have to spring from a strong religious conviction or a passion for the calling; for many younger sons it was a position which could ensure a reasonable degree of comfort based on an income derived from one or more livings which were frequently made available from the family estates (known as ‘livings in the gift’).

The other main occupation for an upper-class man was in politics, either as a member of the House of Commons, or through service in the diplomatic corps or the Foreign Office. In
The Reluctant Widow
, of Lord Carlyon’s three younger brothers one was an army officer, one was at Oxford and the third, John, was secretary to Lord Sidmouth at the Home Office. For some men it was also possible to acquire a government sinecure or subsidy through appointment to public office. Sinecures were a form of government patronage often used by the King or his ministers to secure political support from powerful families or individuals. There were many positions in the gift of the government which could be bestowed on the men and women of the aristocracy and their dependants and they often paid handsomely. Carlyon’s uncle, Lord Bedlington, although a close friend of the Prince Regent and honoured with a barony, was not (unfortunately) the recipient of such a grant although he tended to live as though he were the beneficiary of a generous government stipend. During the Regency, parliament was made up of the monarch, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Whigs and Tories were not political parties in the modern sense of having a defined organisation but were two entities loosely held together by common philosophies, shared interests and the desire for power. Individual MPs were free to move between the parties and vote according to their conscience or personal interest, although family allegiances, traditional beliefs, friendship and patronage all played a part in determining where their loyalties lay. Although they had their differences, both Whigs and Tories came from the upper class and whether they were an aristocrat, member of the gentry or rich financier, they had many things in common—including an allegiance to the Church of England, a desire to protect their interests and a belief in a natural social order which placed them firmly at the top of the heap. Although his father had been a Whig, Adam Deveril, the new Viscount Lynton in
A Civil Contract
, shocked his friends by choosing to take his seat in the House of Lords as a Tory so that he might better support the Duke of Wellington in his fight against Napoleon.

The Tories were traditionally the more conservative of the two parties and were often identified as supporters of the Crown and allies of the Church of England. They were derogatorily referred to (by the Whigs) as the ‘King’s Friends’. After the Napoleonic Wars the Tories were inclined to be reactionary in government and generally resisted moves for reform. During the Regency two Tory prime ministers held office: Spencer Perceval from 1809 until his assassination in 1812 and Lord Liverpool from 1812 to 1827. The Whigs tended to be identified with the great landowners, and with parliamentary rather than kingly authority. Although they were, like the Tories, mostly conservative, the Whigs were more tolerant of religious dissent and more likely to favour (cautious) reform. During the Regency the Whigs struggled for political unity but were constantly put at a political disadvantage by internal divisions and a failure to find one leader among the various Whig factions—all of whom had their own interests to promote. In
The Unknown Ajax
, Matthew Darracott’s defection from his father’s Whiggish beliefs to his wife’s Toryism earned him many parental snubs but also saw him rise steadily up the political ladder.

Marriage

Not all men chose to marry, but for those who sought to become leg-shackled, marriage could be a serious business with the potential to materially affect a man’s social standing, wealth, power and influence. An eldest son with a title and expectations of a considerable inheritance usually had a wide choice of potential wives and it was expected that he would marry for the good of the family. In
Sylvester
, the hero startled his mother when he asked her advice about the list he had made of well-born ladies from which he planned to choose his wife since he seemed to assume that any of the ladies under consideration would be his for the asking. For the upper-class man, marriage usually meant finding a partner from within his own social sphere and, if possible, selecting a bride with a large dowry. An eldest son with lands to inherit but no fortune to go with them would often seek an heiress or a bride with a sizeable dowry or marriage portion—even if it meant stepping down the social ladder to find her. Stacy Calverleigh in
Black Sheep
was determined to win himself a bride with a large fortune and was quite prepared to marry a female from a lower social class to do so, while, despite her merchant-class origins, the possession of a large fortune made Tiffany Wield of
The Nonesuch
an attractive prize to many better-born men. During the Regency many daughters of the new wealthy merchant class married into the aristocracy and (both genetically and financially) brought new lifeblood to the upper class.

For a younger son of noble birth but modest means, the hope was that he would marry an heiress or at least a well-born woman of property. The difficulty was that younger sons were considered, for the most part, a very poor bargain when compared with the eldest son and heir, and they often married those younger daughters of the nobility who had not managed to find a wealthier husband. As the elder of aristocratic twin brothers, Evelyn Fancot of
False Colours
was deemed a far more desirable
parti
than his equally handsome and charming sibling, Kit. Although arranged marriages were less common during the Regency than they once had been, among the aristocracy and the royal family they were considered an important way of safeguarding or strengthening bloodlines, family fortunes and inheritances. The Duke of Sale felt compelled to offer for the hand of Lady Harriet Presteigne when it was made clear to him in
The Foundling
that his uncle had arranged the marriage and Lady Harriet was expecting his proposal. Sometimes parents (especially fathers) exercised a right of veto over their offspring’s choice of marriage partner, although such injunctions were not necessarily adhered to and determined sons and daughters would flout parental authority and either marry by special licence or elope to Gretna Green as Gerard Monksleigh persuaded his young love to do in
Bath Tangle
. It was rare, however, even for an eloped couple to marry outside their social circle or where there was no fortune on at least one side.

Bucks, Beaus and Dandies

The buck:
The term generally referred to the bloods or sporting types, but could also mean a man of spirit. The buck usually stood out from the crowd and a ‘buck of the first head’ was a man who pursued every kind of pleasure and often surpassed his friends in debauchery.

The beau:
Despite the literal meaning of the word, a man did not have to be handsome to be a beau. Although several of the Regency beaus had pleasing countenances, the epithet was applied more on the basis of a man’s place in the fashionable world rather than his looks or dress. A beau was a leader in society like Sir Richard Wyndham of
The Corinthian
and while he was often an arbiter of fashion, he could also acquire the nickname as a result of his manners, eccentricities, noble rank, clever wit or some other trait that set him apart or made him notorious. To be a beau, a man needed either vanity, idiosyncrasy, a desire for attention or remarkable good looks and town polish but, above all, he had to have ‘Presence’.