Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces, 1811 [Paperback]

Lady of Distinction (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0914046241 | ISBN-13: 978-0914046240 | Publication Date: August 1, 1997 | Edition: Enlarged

This important primary source contains sections of advice on dress, deportment, movement, correct dances, manners and politeness, rules of propriety, etc. Also covers beauty aids and recipes for health. The book contains additional fashion plates from contemporary sources and the original text has been enlarged for easier reading. This is an important work for historians, costumers, historic dancers, and anyone interested in the times of the early United States, the English Regency, Jane Austen, Napoleon, the War of 1812.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Let me hasten to recommend to you, a publication at this time in much request, and which possesses much unique merit. It is entitled The Mirror of the Graces; or, The English Ladies' Costume. You will really be pleased with the book... This book teaches the art of combining a delicate taste with a correct judgment, without either aiding our vanities, or infringing on our duties... Read this work, with attention, it is really excellent of its order." --Ackermann's Repository, Volume 5, #29, May 1811

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: R L Shep; Enlarged edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914046241
• ISBN-13: 978-0914046240
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

151 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection!, November 27, 2000

By 

A. Woodley "Patroness, Janeites, the Austen list" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces, 1811 (Paperback)

RL Shep, the publisher who had the foresight to reprint this wonderful book first published in 1811 deserve all the compliments in this world (and the next) for recognsing this book as a classic. It is at once hilarious to our modern eyes, and a startling insight into life of the well bred miss in Regency Times.

The book is packed full of classical references and piously rendered good advice which jostle in happy company in each breathless sentence. Don't think that the archaic language will put you off- it is too funny to put down.

for example - on Dancing and other accomplishments we are confidently informed; "Set then, this music of Paphos far aside; instead of songs of wantons, if we are to have amatory odes, let us listen to the chaste pleadings of Plutarch, to the mutual vows of virtuous attachment."

This book was not a comical portrayal of its day, it was read for the good advice it rendered and indeed it is very revealing on the fashion dictates of the day - washing, exercise, diet, dancing, dress and general deportment. There are even a stack of cosmetic recipes in the back which you can have a go at trying for yourself - including Eau de Veau, a face tonic, which is made by boiling up a calves foot!

From the chapter "On Deportment": "Their is scarcely an observer of manners and their effects who will not maintain that the most beautiful and well-dressed woman will soon cease to please unless her charms are accompanied with the ineffable enchantment of a graceful demeanour."

There is good advice on colours, flowers, - I guess I could go on all day. The content is absolutely matchless and if you have an interest in this period - the Regency or Georgian times, you must have a copy.

My final note is on the quality of RL Sheps books - in short Excellent. They have bound the copy so well that despite my frequent mistreatment, bending it at the spine, throwing it in full bags to carry around and so on, it is sitll in almost perfect condition.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, March 25, 2006

By 

Domestic Virtues - See all my reviews

This review is from: Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces, 1811 (Paperback)

I bought Regency Etiquette expecting a reference book which would explain in detail forms of address, rules of precedence, how to make a formal introduction, whether a gentleman precedes or follows a lady up or down a staircase, and other specifics of correct behavior for the period. Had it contained this information, I would have considered it well worth the purchase price because I would have referred to it many times.

It is instead an interesting if repetitive specimen of the conduct book for young ladies, covering behavior in a very general way - you should dress to suit your body type and station, dress and carry yourself modestly, not allow gentlemen friends to take liberties, etc. The only specifics covered are the rules of precedence, and even these are given only for precedence among women, e.g., daughters of dukes, daughters of marquisses, viscountesses, etc. There are also some strange cosmetic recipes included at the end of the book, many of them so bizarre it was hard to imagine that any women of any era would be willing to put such concoctions on their skin or hair.

As another reviewer said, having read this book once I felt no need to read it again, and for this reason I regret spending $18 to buy it. However, if you are looking for an example of a general female conduct book of the period, you may consider the money well spent.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not so out-dated as one might think..., March 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Regency Etiquette: The Mirror of Graces, 1811 (Paperback)

While a good deal of this 1811 anonymously written etiquette primer is out-of-date and hopelessly old-fashioned, it still contains some remarkably good advice to women. Examples?? (1) Dress properly. Understand your body type and what type of, what cut of, and what color(s) of clothes truly flatter you. Do not be a slave to fashion. (2) Maybe I am a bit old-fashioned on this next one: dress modestly. I find it difficult to respect a woman in a too-short and too-tight skirt. (3) Try to better yourself by improving your mind and manners.

Otherwise, the book is a product of its time. We today obviously do not differentiate between a morning dress, a walking gown, or an opera dress. We do not dance the same type of dances. And the balance of power in terms of sexual politics has changed quite a bit.

On the whole, I found this a fascinating look at the world of women in the Regency. If you are a big fan of Jane Austen or Fanny Burney, this is a great companion text to understand the women and the motivations of their female characters.