Before the Season Ends

by Linore Rose Burkard

  pelisse: An outdoor garment for women, reaching to the ankle or mid-calf, and often hooded.

  pianoforte: A piano. Genteel young women were practically required to learn the instrument.

  pin money: A colloquialism for a woman’s spending money. The allowance agreed upon in her marriage settlement, to be used on small household or personal (vanity) items.

  R

  regent: A person who reigns on behalf of a monarch who is incapable of filling the requirements of the crown. When George III’s relapse of porphyria rendered him incapable of meeting his duties, his son, the Prince of Wales, became the Prince Regent. The actual regency lasted from 1811-1820.

  reticule: A fabric bag, gathered at the top and held by a ribbon or strap; a lady’s purse. Reticules became necessary when the thin muslin dresses of the day made it impossible to carry any personal effects in a pocket without it seeming bulky or unsightly. The earliest reticules (apparently called ‘ridicules,’ as it seemed ridiculous to carry one’s valuables outside of one’s clothing) were, in effect, outside pockets.

  rubber: In games like whist, a rubber was a set of three or more games. To win the rubber, one had to win two out of three or three out of five.

  S

  season: The London social season, in which the fashionable elite descended upon the city in droves. It coincided, not unnaturally, with the sitting of Parliament, though the height of the season was only March through June.

  smelling salts (smelling bottle): A small vial filled with a compound that usually contained ammonia, to be used in case of fainting.

  spencer: For women, a short jacket that reached only to the high empire waist. For men, an overcoat without tails, also on the short side.

  squire: Nineteenth-century term of courtesy (like “esquire”) for a member of the landed gentry.

  T

  tendre: (French adjective, meaning soft, tender) Regency slang for “a soft spot”; an attraction to.

  ton, the: (pronounced “tone”) High society; the elite; the “in” crowd; those of rank, with royalty at the top. To be “good ton” meant acceptance with the upper crust, and opened many doors in fashionable society. Occasionally, those without fortune or pedigree could enter the ton—if they were an Original, for instance, having something either sensational or highly attractive about their person or reputation; or could amuse or entertain the rich to a high degree.

  V

  valet: The “gentleman’s gentleman.” The male equivalent of a lady’s maid, his job was to keep his master’s wardrobe in good repair and order, help dress his master, stand behind him at dinner if required, and accompany him on his travels.

  Vauxhall: A famous pleasure garden, across the Thames from London.

  W

  wainscoting: Wainscot was a fancy, imported oak. The term “wainscoting” came to mean any wooden panels that lined generally the top or bottom half of the walls in a room.

  waistcoat: Vest

  For more information about the Regency period,

  see the author’s website at:

  http://www.LinoreRoseBurkard.com