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by Jo Ann Staples (Author)
Games, Gatherings, and Regency Delights
Discover the games and pastimes that brought people together in Austen's era-complete with rich historical background, instructions for all the games, and full menus with period recipes to recreate the experience at home.
Jane Austen's family and friends filled many of their leisure hours playing card games, word games, board games, and active outdoor games. Her letters mention such pastimes a s billiards, chess, charades, spillikins, and battledore and shuttlecock. Word games played an important role in the plot of Emma, gambling games caused serious problems in Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park, and Catherine Morland's love of cricket and baseball in Northanger Abbey certainly set her apart from the other heroines of the age.
Learning what is unique and interesting about the games of the time with history, quotes, and complete instructions for play will enhance readers' appreciation of the complex social world inhabited by Jane Austen's characters. Preparing a meal with the menus and period recipes provided for a hearty game-day breakfast or a substantial supper to end an evening of entertaining guests will add to the experience.
