Tagged With: Alexander van Aken
Using Literature as a Historical Resource
Finding myself unexpectedly stranded at Eastbourne Railway Station I was seduced by a WH Smith’s book promotion of ‘buy one get one half price’. I gathered up ‘The Soldier’s Wife’ by Joanna Trollope, herself a piece of history as a descendent of the famous 19th century writer Anthony Trollope who was quoted as saying: “What … Continue reading
Mothers, Families and Springtime
The theme we have chosen for the blogs this month is Mothers (along with anything else that the theme inspires). Thanks to the sterling help of Annie in our group I now know that the van Aken brothers, Joseph and Alexander, had both their mother and father, Barbara and Peter van Haecken, living in London … Continue reading
18th Century Romance – The Bride in the Kitchen
The month of romance, February, is coming come to an end. It hosts St Valentine Day[i] and every fourth year has an extra day to create a leap year and the opportunity for women to ask men to marry them. Hopefully, having following the advice by Dr Trusler and other authors of eighteenth century etiquette[ii], … Continue reading
Romance: Instructions Peculiarly adapted to Young Women
It never ceases to amaze me how many books were printed in the eighteenth century on the subject of etiquette; for children, apprentices, young men, but mainly for young women and new wives[i]. These books seem to combine instructions for a bewildering variety of different subjects. Dr John Trusler[ii] who had published a book about … Continue reading
18th Century Romance – The way to a Man’s Heart
In the eighteenth century, romance was a story and marriage was comfort and security; a sentiment that Thomas Fuller seemed to promote in his book Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, published in 1732: ‘Of soup and love, the first is the best’. My Mum always told me the way to a … Continue reading