In April, I’m posting 26 blogs, one for every letter of the alphabet. I write historical romance set in Regency England, and I’m offering a brief lexicon of words to help you understand the story world of my Regency characters. Follow the links for more in depth information.

R is for Reticule:

A reticule is a purse carried by Regency ladies for their necessities.

Click through to read my post on author Natalie Damschroder‘s blog about what my heroine carried in her reticule.

And R is for Rake:

Google “rake” and you’ll find the definition for a garden implement.

But, in the Georgian period, a rake was a certain type of man. In her book Georgette Heyer’s Regency World, author Jennifer Kloester defines a rake as:

a man of great sexual appetite and few morals.

Hogarth, A Rake’s Progress, Married to an Old Maid

The illustration above is from artist William Hogarth’s early eighteenth century series, A Rake’s Progress.  In an age of untreatable venereal disease and debtor’s prison, the life of a rake could be perilous.

However, in the world of Regency romance fiction, the rake, or often, the pseudo-rake, is the perfect project for taming. By the end of this type of Regency romance, the undaunted heroine has tamed the feckless rake, or unveiled him as a true gentleman.

And R is for Rout:

The dictionary defines a rout as a disorderly retreat. In our Regency usage, a rout is a crowded, disorderly party, like the one pictured in this drawing by Cruikshank.

Cruikshank, Crowded Drawing Room

The rout’s hostess would clear out carpeting and furniture before the event and let guests elbow their way through the home’s public rooms. For more on hosting a rout and other Regency social events, check out this post by author Susanna Ives.

And, just for fun you can view some Georgian interiors and floor plans on my PInterest board.

Questions? Comments? Visit tomorrow for the letter S!

Images: badge, a-to-zchallenge.com; all others, Wikimedia